Trunk or Treat



After last year's smash hit Halloween costume, we were feeling a little pressured to keep up.  We decided a fun costume for this year would be "Madeline" the famous french orphan. 



Seriously, how cute is she?

For whatever reason, Madeline spent the first half of Trunk or Treat bawling.  The more candy she got, the more she cried. Even despite the safety of Spiderman!

Eventually she figured it out!

We spent the rest of the night walking around our neighborhood in the wagon and handing out candy at our house.  The beauty of this was that Madeline never figured out that you're supposed to EAT the candy, she was just happy to count it and put it in her bag.  Eventually we ran out of Reese's cups to hand out, so we just gave away her stash. Genius idea. No sugared up kid - No extra calories for these parents!

Zoo Boo

So after a failed attempt last weekend, we finally made it to Zoo Boo! We even picked up a couple of hitchhikers (namely Clara and Jenny. Poor Jenny had to sit between the 2 car seats in the back our jeep. Ouch).  It was a gorgeous fall day to be at the zoo....which is probably why there were 30,000 people there.  Have I mentioned how much I hate crowds?  This was only exacerbated by the fact that Madeline did NOT want to cooperate at all. She didn't want to ride in her stroller. She didn't want to walk.  She didn't want to be carried. I think she wanted to swim in the shark petting pool and that was it.  We still managed to have a fun evening though!

Not too many pictures due to the fact that stopping for more than 5 seconds was prohibited by the crowd.

Madeline ditched her costume relatively early on. It did make her less angry though.  She REALLY like petting this goat.  

  I think they're fixated on a cow.  We really did got to the ZOO, not a farm....

End of Radiation Celebration!

It was a beautiful night for some fall fun at the Bales Farm.  We also celebrated the end of radiation treatments for Clara!

Hopefully she's a better driver than her mother.

Picking apples with Ryne. And eating them.

(See that bag in the back? Apparently Brad has some notion of making applesauce?)

Hay ride!

And now there's some fresh pressed cider in the fridge. I love fall.

Ninja

Lately our friends have been referring to Maddie as "the ninja."  Why you ask?  Because she's sneaky. Really really sneaky.  She just waits for everyone to get distracted and then before you know it, she is doing something that she's not supposed to.  Here are some examples from tonight:

Like stealing blue cupcakes.

"Hey Clara, that's a nice necklace you've got there..."

"Victory is mine!"

Seriously, she's really sneaky.

Clara

We have lived next door to our friends, the Handshoes, for over 5 years now.  They were some of our very first friends in Indiana.  Jenny and I were very excited to find out we were pregnant together, and even more excited when we found out we were both having baby girls.  Clara was born 5 weeks after Madeline.  They go to the same babysitter, play in the church nursery, and hang out because that's what neighbors do.  Maddie really likes Clara's Elmo couch as seen here.

This summer we were devastated when we found out that Clara had a cancerous brain tumor.  Devastated really doesn't begin to cover it.  Picture me, person who never cries, completely sobbing in the middle of a hospital lobby.  And at work.  And in the car.  And climbing into Madeline's crib every night for weeks just so I could hold her a little longer.  I just couldn't quite get my head wrapped around the idea that this sweet, little girl that I've babysat for and is so much like my daughter, had a brain tumor.  It hit a little too close to home.  Of the things that have literally brought me to my knees in prayer, this is at the top of the list.     

One of the scariest nights of my life was the night I sat at Riley Children's hospital, hanging out with the Handshoes and trying to be of some service.  Every hour the nurse came out with an update.  Hours and hours of surgery.  But the awesome thing was to see how much peace we all had knowing that God was in control of the situation.  Had we not been there under those circumstances, it would have been a pretty good night hanging out with friends. 

Fortunately the surgery went amazing, as have the treatments in the months that followed.  We are all so thankful that Clara and the whole Handshoe family have pulled through this like troopers.  It is incredible to watch the church pull together like the family it's meant to be and to support one another.  Thank you for all our friends in Ohio who prayed for what was happening.  Our prayers have been answered in so many ways. 

Tomorrow we're going to the End of Radiation Celebration!

We're going to celebrate this amazing little girl and thank the God of peace, hope, and unfathomable love.

Fall Pictures with Leaves!

Ok seriously we're swimming in fall pictures. I love it!

This had better be the only tree hugging I catch....

She LOVED the leaves.

We love watching her discover.

More Fall Pictures

Ok so we wound up having family pictures taken twice this year...don't ask.  But the good news is that we have lots of great pictures! Here's a sneak peek from our most recent session: