Resemblance?

Jon sent this to me. This is Ava at 14 months, the age Eli is now. Amazing how similar they look. I try to tell people all the time that Eli looks like Ava and they never believe me....

Montecito Tea Fire

A bit of a sad weekend for me here as I watched my alma mater, Westmont College, suffer serious damage from the Tea Fire in Montecito, CA. The college lost quite a few buildings and the faculty, many of whom live adjacent to campus, lost a huge number of homes. Amazingly, there were no injuries to the students on campus. If you think about it, please pray for those Montecito residents who did lose their homes and for the campus itself. The thought of "beauty from ashes" comes to mind as I pray that Westmont is able to extend itself to its surrounding community and offer hope in this hope-less time. I am thankful to be a part of that great community and my prayers go out to everyone affected.

Gobble, Gobble!

The girls and I made use of the pinecones falling from the neighbor's tree and made some decorations for the fall. I had made something similar in grade school that my mom still has and it was fun to repeat the craft with them. Here they are displaying proudly their creations!

Ava's turkeys

Jillian's turkey

Oh the fun to be had with a box!

Here are some cute pictures of the kids enjoying a box. And some other random shots of all of us. The one of Ava and I makes me smile...we look so much like each other.

Recess!

I heard a comment the other day that homeschoolers don't play outside, they have recess! Here are our little bugs enjoying a beautiful Fall day. Ava and Jillian teaching Eli how to ride in a wagon and her proudest accomplishment, she made a hopscotch board!

San Francisco Zoo

We went to the San Francisco Zoo with our good friends to celebrate their daughter's birthday. We were blessed with some beautiful cool weather and a great day. The kids all had a lot of fun and little Eli got a chance to see some animals he had only previously seen in books. He fell in love with the zebras and giraffes and had a great time getting up close to some farm animals. We took a train ride as well which Eli wasn't too sure about. He enjoyed it until the conductor surprised us with bubbles in the tunnel which for some reason freaked Eli out. Oh well, maybe he'll just stay a car/airplane lover!

The girls consider whether or not to actually touch the goat

Ava the Fearless charges forward

Eli figures he'll use the same defense mechanism he uses at home: hiding

Future zoologists

Finally, animals just his size!

Our train ride

Eli was quite concerned over what was happening

The four of us!

Everyone's favorite part, posing with the "animals"

Going green, with worms!

We decided to try our hand at vermicomposting which in layman's terms means feeding worms rotting vegetables and waiting for them to poop them out to fertilize your gardens. I attended a workshop and brought home our worm bin complete with a pound of red wigglers. While Jon hid far, far away we put together our worm bin and put the little guys in their new home. The girls had a great time and its been fascinating watching the process. Next up is planting our vegetable garden in the new raised garden bed that Jon lovingly made for me!

Sisters! Sisters!

Nothing brings me more joy than seeing my children loving and enjoying one another. Of course they have their moments, but overall these little ones really love each other and love being with each other! And I love watching them love!

Jillian and Ava playing dress up

Really, they're holding hands while watching TV

Ava pushing "the baby" around

Our little tap dancer!

Eli's First Birthday

We celebrated Eli's first birthday with family. Eli had an animal themed party complete with a turtle cake. He enjoyed all the attention and the presents but mostly the attention. I can't believe a year has gone by already. What a wonderful addition to our family. Eli brings us so many smiles and so much joy. Happy birthday, Mr. Man!

Eli's first hot rod!

Ava made a birthday card special for Eli!

Happy First Birthday, Little Man!

Eli's turtle cake

Eli enjoying his dairy-free, egg-free, peanut-free banana cake!

All the cousins enjoying cake...or frosting!

Our little guy, all tuckered out

...and the entertainment arrives!

Eli's first birthday gift

Eli received his first birthday gift in the mail from friends Chris, Tanya and Finn in Portland. He was very excited to rip open the bag and find a...box!

So the sisters get involved to show Eli what a birthday gift is and that there is actually something IN the box!

And he is thrilled with the end result. Thank you Auntie Tanya, Uncle Chris and Finny-Finn!

Eli-12 months

Eli waves hello

Eli and his best buddy, Ava

Eli's favorite part of the day--mealtime!

Hey, everyone needs some morning cartoons!