October Recap

Early in the month we took the kids to a pumpkin patch where we picked cotton and corn, fed goats, went on a hayride and got pumpkins.





In the middle of the month we celebrated Jen's 32nd birthday.


Last Sunday we put the kids in their costumes and took them to a huge festival at a big local church. Addy hit the bounce house and the giant slide while Colston got his first ever taste of cotton candy. Both kids rode ponies.


This week we carved our pumpkins. The kid's handled the gutting while Jen and Judy got all artistic.





And tonight we trick or treated. Pics to follow.

Today Colston Discovered....

That he REALLY likes Ketchup.

Yet another example of how different our kids are.  At 4 years and 4 months Addy still hasn't even wanted to taste ketchup.  It was all we could do to pry Colston's cup of ketchup out of his hands so we could leave Five Guys today.

Church & Money

Today our faith community gathered around the idea that God is trusting us with the money that we have. As the teacher it was my job to lead our folks in a conversation on this important, but sometimes uncomfortable topic.

Not that I need ideas since the teaching is done, but I'd love to know how you feel about your experiences with churches and money.

Where have you seen churches get it right?

Where have you seen them blow it?

Do faith communities discuss this topic too much? Too little?

What do you want/need to hear/learn about money?

Poop! (and Poop)

A couple weeks back we put Colston on his little potty- just for fun. When he got up there was a nice puddle of tinkle. Surprise and cheering soon followed.

Ever since we've been putting him on the potty whenever we change a diaper. Tonight I (Fred) was in charge of his before bed prep. I put him on the potty and could tell he was doing a bit more than #1. (The grunting was the clue.)

I peeked and found.....a little bit of poop in the potty! Naturally I called Jen in to celebrate.

There was much rejoicing. (If you don't understand this, go buy me a few boxes of daipers- Pampers size 4- and you'll get the enthusiasm over a toddler using the toilet.)

Colston sat a few minutes more and when he got up there was a good bit of poop in the potty.

We cheered.

Then he smiled and backed his bottom right into our white, terry cloth shower curtain.

Oh....poop.

Addy's First Open House

We went to Addy's preschool a couple nights back for our first open house as parents of a "student".

While it was fun to enter her learning environment and watch her interact with the other kids and adults- it was also a bit surreal.

I had a moment where I kind of fast forwarded and imagined her in different grades for the next 13 years. Yikes!

The best part of the night was going to music class and hearing all the songs they've been learning.

Here's a pic. Addy is in the purple shirt just to the right of the teacher.


I love that girl!

Fall Is Here....DUCK!

The weather in Raleigh has finally caught up with the calendar. The leaves are starting to manifest the hues of the season and are beginning to detach and drift downward. But leaves aren't the only things falling from the sky in our neighborhood.

Our streets are lined with majestic, mature oak trees that are trying to secure their legacy by releasing acorns. These suckers bounce about 4 feet high when they hit the road- and make a serious thud when they find the roof of your car. Drive by at the wrong moment and you'd swear it is hailing.

On the positive side, now the teenage boys in the neighborhood have something to throw at each other. Oh to be young again.

Please Pray For My Friend Jared...

He's in his mid 20's and is having some kind of swelling in his brain. He just had a specialized MRI this morning (Monday)- which should help the docs get a clearer sense of what is going on.

Ask God to continue to send peace, wisdom, great medical care and healing.

I'll post more on this later.

Sneak Peek

Tonight Addy & Jen struck gold and found Addy's costume for Halloween/the Fall festivities (depending on your ideology).

Most 4 year old girls would want to be a princess, Dora or a ballerina.

My girl wanted to be an Emperor Penguin.


I love her!

Yeah, She Said It...

Jen was telling me about going into Colston's room tonight to see if he was asleep. She said,

"The room was dark and I couldn't see him, so I bent over and looked into the CAGE..."

Yeah, that's about right.

On The Wall...

I'm glancing up at this painting in the coffee shop I'm working out of this am and realize it contains this quote:

" It'll cost you nothing to dream - and everything not to."

So dream on people!