Seasons Are a Changin'...

Well, as Autumn is upon us, we are finding all of our jackets and jeans and dusting them off so we can get outdoors. Something we've learning living in Erie, PA is that you don't stay inside if it's above 32 degrees outside. You just don't. Because there are plenty of days that will be BELOW freezing that we'll get lots of indoor activities in.

Madilyn found out what a tire swing is, thanks to her great friends Pierce and Autumn. This was definitely the high-light of that playdate! :)

Fall fun at the Erie Zoo! Madilyn loves to look in the "barn" and see the chickens inside!

In contradiction to everything I just said, we went to the Children's Museum this morning. My mom bought us a pass (thanks, Mom!) this year so we can go as often as we like. Normally this would be saved for a snowy day, but today was chilly, rainy and windy so we decided to pull out an indoor activity :)

Madilyn gives a fabulous puppet show.

She loves the grocery store, and she tells all the kids "Thank you for coming," when she is the cashier.

The princess found her castle.

Here the face painting station. She LOVES it! I think she loves it so much because she sees me doing makeup in the mornings. She's very creative!

But her all time favorite station at the Erie Children's Museum is the boats and ducks in the water. She can literally play in it for an hour. Loves it.

There are many more adventures for us this Fall as we change seasons and prepare for the Winter ahead. More pics soon...I promise! :)

Being Green and Saving Money!

Well, as those of you who know me already know, I'm not totally into "being green." I see the benefits of being responsible and good stewards of what God has given us, but I'm not overboard...but I DO LIKE SAVING MONEY!!! :)

This morning, we had a playdate at the park...

So, I skipped driving to the gym for a workout. Instead, I grabbed the stroller, my grocery list, a letter to mail, and a prescription to drop off and headed out for our playdate at the park. Whew! Honestly, though...it felt good to not spend extra gas on all of those things... and I got my workout in for the day! Yay! So we jogged 1.6 miles to the park to play and then walked to Walgreens, the post office and the grocery store before heading home (thankfully, they're within a few blocks of each other).

Madilyn brought Kitty of course. She had so much fun playing in the big tree tunnel with Olivia!

And, the swings were the hit of the day! Madilyn thought Kitty needed to swing, too. All in all, such a fun morning... and very productive! :)

Our big 3 year old!

Well, Madilyn is officially 3 years old!!! I absolutely cannot believe it, and I have cried a few times in the last couple of days because she's just growing up so fast! Three years old just seems so "kid-ish". She's not a baby and not even a toddler. She's a "pre-schooler." I'm so proud of her and the little lady she's becoming.

Some things I really love about this stage: She's learning to be a good friend. I see moments where she's starting to reach out to others when they're sad or if they don't want to play what she's playing. Granted, she's not perfect (as none of us are!), but she's such an amazing little girl. I'm overwhelmed by the destiny that God has planted in her little heart and the good things that are in her future! There is absolutely no better job than being a mom in my book (Hands Down!). What an honor!

She's really funny! Madilyn is starting to crack jokes and play with us like never before... and she's got a great sense of humor. And her laugher and her smile... they melt hearts (even in the grocery store we get stopped sometimes because people just love her little voice and the cuteness of the sparkle in her eyes and her smile, Oh her smile!). On a side note, a couple of days ago, I asked her what her favorite part of the day was. She said, "Playing with you, Mommy. That was my favorite!" Oh... melted me like butter.

She's got a sweet heart. She's tender. She's kind. She's loving... and she's starting to grasp the beginning of who God is and His plan for her. Oh, this excites me most of all! She has memorized her first memory verse: Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth." She's really good at saying it and telling us about all the things God has made that are around us.

She's three, and I'm so excited to see what the future holds for her and for us! Madilyn's name means "prayerful" and "magnificent", and that's truly just the beginning of who she is. She's amazing, she's incredible, and I'm grateful for all the time we spend together! Wouldn't trade it for the world!

We took Madilyn to Build-A-Bear for her birthday, and she loved it! She picked out her "Madilyn Kitty" and got after it!

They told her to hold onto the kitty's heart, put it against her own heart and close her eyes and make a wish! She was VERY into it. :)

She got to give Kitty a bath before picking out her clothes.

Kitty ended up getting Sketchers Twinkle Toes shoes, just like Madilyn has.

She gave up her paci on her 3rd birthday in exchange for her new kitty. And, she did great and slept all night! As I type, she's sleeping without a paci, holding Kitty and taking a nap! She's getting the hang of growing up quite well, I think! :)

Fun with friends

How hard is it to get toddlers to all look and smile at the same time? (And, I'm not sure why this is underlined, but I don't know how to fix it.)We went to Frontier Park the other day because it has a fun playground... but we ended up finding that there's a really cool path around the park. Here are some pictures of our adventure.

A fun stream to throw rocks in!

Madilyn with the Read's on the bridge

And, on a completely different occassion:here is our friend Megan. She is moving to Washington State in a few days to begin a professor's job, and we will miss her lots... we made cookies at her house today! Madilyn really loves Megan and thinks she's pretty much the coolest.

Hello and Goodbye

These seem to be the two phrases most used during this present season of our lives. We are constantly meeting new people, explaining to them what we thought about a PA winter, and telling them how long we'll be here. Or... we are sending off our new friends to the next season of their lives while we stay here in Erie.

I have made 6 great friends over the last year we've lived here. Four of them no longer live here. So, I'm down to 2 girls that I'm close to. Thankfully, their kids are Madilyn's best friends...so it all works out.

It's such a strange season. It's not even close to being as hard as an Army wife would have it ...I know there are couples out there that have it much tougher than we do. But, at the same time, it's hard. It's hard not seeing my husband every evening and getting to hang out on the weekends. It's hard surfacely meeting hundreds of new people but not feeling like any of them really know you or what you're about. It's hard saying goodbye to the closest friends you've had in a year and wondering if you'll meet anyone that's as nice as them to tide you over for the next 3 years until you move again. It's hard.

There are days that are quite lonely during this season of our lives. There are some days that seem like they'll never end. But, there are also days that fly by so quickly that I feel like I didn't get anything out of the day like I wish I had (more hugs from Madilyn, more smiles from Cameron, more coffee with my girlfriends, etc.).

Today, the scripture that really hits home is:

"This is My command-- Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

When I feel lonely--He's there. When I feel discouraged--He's there. When I feel like no one knows me--He's there. When I feel I've messed up as a mommy-- He's there. When I feel like I've failed again--He's there. And, HE IS REALLY ALL I NEED :)

I'm so glad to have Jesus in my life!

Grammy's In Town!

Well, Grammy came to visit this past week, and let me tell you... we had a lot of fun! So much fun, in fact, that I was completely worn out! My mom helped me get my sewing machine going, and we made a plethora of new things including but not limited to: curtains for Madilyn's playhouse, Madilyn a dress, a matching hair bow, hemmed up 5 pairs of pants and more!

Besides sewing, we traveled around Erie and did a lot of the fun things that Erie's known for in the summertime. I'm exhausted just thinking about it! :)

We started off the weekend by eating at Steak and Shake. Yummy!

Then, we visited Waldameer, which is an amusement park and water park. This was Madilyn's first time to ride amusement park rides! She absolutely loved them, and her favorite one was the one that took her up 10 feet in the air and spun around. I was seriously trying to not have a heart attack! She's so adventurous and brave! :)

We also visited the Erie Zoo, which Madilyn thinks is her 2nd home! And we got to go to the children's museum and the beach. It was a lot of fun, and many great memories were made.

In Everything Give Thanks...

When Madilyn and I visited the zoo yesterday, she asked to ride the carousel. This is her favorite thing right now! She even prefers it over the train ...so we got on the carousel. We were the first in line, so Madilyn got to pick her favorite animal to ride on--the brown horse. As we were patiently waiting for everyone to pick their spots, I decided to take the moment to affirm Madilyn. I said, "Madilyn, God has a great plan for your life...do you know that?" She quickly put her hand in my face and said, "Hold on Mommy. Dear God, thank You for the carousel! AMEN!," and she screamed the "amen" at the top of her lungs! Precious! This is the first time she's prayed on her own about something that we haven't prompted her to. Makes a mommy so proud!

As she gave thanks, it reminded me of something. God's Word says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." James 1:17

He is beyond faithful, and He gives good gifts to His children. Take time today to notice the good things, and give thanks to Him!