October

It's been such a nice weekend! We took Danica to Briley's Pumpkin Patch yesterday. She was too little for the pony ride last year, so I was prepared to let her ride this time. She didn't want to. I'm not sure why. She rode the horse at her fall festival last year and spent some time with a horse this summer, so that was odd. We still had, fun, though. She loved the animals, so we spent most of our time with them. As a matter of fact, that was all she wanted to do when Mema and I took her to the fair last week. We only rode two rides!

Joe had his tonsils taken out this month so was home for almost two weeks. It was so nice to have a clean house and a cooked meal prepared when I arrived home. I'm considering letting him be a stay at home dad. Probably not, but it was really nice. He missed the fair, but went with us to the pumpkin patch.

I am excited to report that Danica has 4- 24 piece puzzles and can now put them together all by herself! I'm a proud mommy! She can also ride a tricycle without help from me! She loves play-doh and Mema just bought her 4 colors. She asks to play with it everyday when we get home from work/school. She was so excited this morning when we arrived at church today to discover her class playing with play-doh. It's really not my favorite thing to do, but she loves it. The OCD in me hates to get the colors mixed up, but I learned quickly that I needed to let that go. She likes to smash the colors into each other, to the point there is no separating them! Fun times for sure!

Danica has begun to ask WHY a lot lately! She asks a question and "why" follows at least 10 times. I've got a new trick I use now. I answer the why questions until I run out of things to say. Then I end the last why with a song, "because, because, because, because, because... because of the wonderful things he does. We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of oz!" It's so much fun and she loves it. One day I thought she kept asking me why just to get the song. I love it!

We've got a busy week ahead. I joined the Junior Women's Association and have my first committee meeting on Tuesday night. I joined the Membership Recruitment Committee and the Fundraising Committee. Earlier this month, I signed up to cook a meal for the Ronald McDonald House and had so much fun. I'm also signed up for events with the Boys and Girls Club, the Food Bank, and Habitat for Humanity.  I'm so happy to be back home- in a community where volunteership is highly valued. It's so rewarding to help others! I'm also helping REAL Crisis Center make preparations for their 40th Anniversary Party. My family is donating 2 items for their silent auction. All the proceeds will benefit the center! I feel so blessed to be a part of these organizations!

Danica's Fall Festival is Friday, so they will be celebrating with a different theme everyday this week! We are also participating in PCC's yard sale, ECU Homecoming Parade and Tailgate, and going to a birthday party on Saturday. Talk about being busy! 

And last, but certainly not the least: Joe and I have bible study. I'm sure I mentioned that we are participating in a Financial Freedom group. Our group leader asked us to lead group while he is on vacation. We both felt so honored to be asked and can't wait to serve in that capacity. He also asked us to consider becoming group leaders during the next Financial Freedom series. I also serve in Children's ministry and realize how eager I am to get involved in our church. What a blessing the Lord has been to our family and what an honor it is to serve HIM!