Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from our family to yours! xo

Trunk-Or-Treat!

 

Today was the first (hopefully annual!) trunk-or-treat that our beloved faith community held. And what an amazing day it was! From the absolutely glorious October weather, to the twenty-two trunks that made our first trunk-or-treat possible, everything about today was absolutely perfect! Each of the trunks was unique. and it was so very fun to see the ways that people chose to decorate. Equally as fun was seeing everyone dressed up- kids and adults alike.. Everywhere I went I heard people saying how much fun they were having and how fabulous an event this was and how they hoped it would become an annual thing. Many thanks to Children's Ministry and Women's Fellowship for coming together to make this event happen this year! It was such a wonderful way to celebrate Halloween and we are looking forward to next year already! xo

[This Moment} Halloween Week At Dance

{This Moment} A Friday ritual. A single photo -no words- capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you are inspired to do the same leave a link to your moment in the comments section below for all to find and see. We wish you a lovely last weekend of October and a happy Halloween. xo

This Morning

A little sewing and a little math during morning lessons on this very chilly day today. xo

Well Done, Sister Suffragette!

This is the first time that early voting has been an option in Massachusetts, and I am so glad to have been able to take advantage of it! Ballot cast, Sister Suffragette sung (as is our tradition) and off we went! xo

Bat Ship Version 2.0

When it comes to practicing cursive the sillier the better! xo

Eight Days Old

There is nothing like kicking off the new week with baby snuggles! We got to meet the new baby of one of our favorite families from church today. Welcome to the world, sweet boy! It was a joy to finally meet you! xo

Officially Rainbow Pledges!

Yesterday we journeyed to Plymouth to attend the statewide Rainbow Girls Pledge Ceremony. Seven girls in total received their pledge pins (four of them from Natick Assembly). The ceremony was absolutely beautiful and all the girls, Rainbow and pledges alike, did a wonderful job! During 2017 three of the girls from Natick Assembly will be initiated as Rainbow Girls, with Emma following suit in a few years (a girl needs to have celebrated her eleventh birthday before she can be initiated). Thank you to all who made yesterday so special! They are looking forward to their initiation ceremonies already! xo

Friday Morning Baking

In which Emma makes molasses cookies for last night's Halloween party at the Rainbow Girls pledge meeting. xo

{This Moment} A Hole In One!

{This Moment} A Friday ritual. A single photo (or three) -no words- capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you are inspired to do the same leave a link to your moment in the comments section below for all to find and see. Wishing all a lovely weekend! xo

A Lovely Surprise

Yesterday a surprise arrived for Grace and Emma. Adam, who we met when we took the girls to Disney for the first time two years ago, had bought them these Elsa and Anna figurines to give them on the Disney Cruise (he and his husband Tony were also coming on the cruise, too). Since we didn't end up going thanks to Hurricane Matthew, he let me know he'd be sending a package for the girls instead.

When we arrived home from doing errands yesterday we noticed that there was a package waiting for us. I was shocked to see that it had arrived already! The girls were very surprised to have two such beautifully wrapped packages to open yesterday, and even more when they saw what was inside!

Thank you, Adam and Tony, for all your kindness! We are grateful our paths crossed two years ago and are so sorry to have not been on the cruise this year! Hopefully our paths will cross at Disney again someday! xo

In The Pumpkin Patch

Growing up in Bethany Connecticut we always went to the pick-your-own pumpkin patch at Clover Nook Farm. I loved wandering through the patch each year looking for which pumpkin I would choose to take home as mine. So, it came as a great surprise to me when I moved to Massachusetts after college that pick-your-own pumpkin patches were next to impossible to find. In fact, until this year I had found only one.

This year the girls had asked to go pumpkin picking "In an actual patch please, mama?!" and so I figured that we would head back to the patch that we had gone to before. After all, it was, as far as I knew, the only one around. That patch was fine, but for whatever reason it never really clicked with us (as evidenced by the fact that the last time we were there was October 2011)! 

On Friday, when I was checking Facebook, I noticed that a friend of mine had posted about another pumpkin patch in the area. I was so thrilled and very grateful for her post, and had a strong feeling that this place would be worth the drive out. 

Clearview Farm reminded me a lot of Clover Nook and it felt like home to me the moment we arrived.  It was small (which we love), and while there was definitely a fair amount of people there (it was an absolutely glorious Saturday afternoon) it was not crowded by any stretch of the imagination (another thing that we absolutely love). This farm was totally our kind of farm and exactly what we had been looking for! 

We took the wagon ride out to the patch, though we could have just as easily have walked. Everyone there was super friendly and very helpful, and the pumpkins were some of the best we'd ever seen! It was a perfect way to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon in October (made even sweeter by the yummy cider donuts we bought on our way out). xo

Book Ceremony Day

Today at breakfast Emma proclaimed: "Today is my book ceremony day!" Clearly, she was excited that she and the other third graders in her class would be receiving their own copies of the Bible this morning during worship. When they were four years old they had been given story Bibles, but today they would be entrusted with all the  stories of our faith (and in the UCC they are just that- stories). Much like Rose Ceremony Day, Bible Sunday (or "Book Ceremony Day" in Emmaspeak) is a much looked forward to time. As I  was making dinner and thinking back on all the events of the day this evening I realized  that this was in fact the last Book Ceremony Day for our  family. It seems like just yesterday Emma was four years old and being given her copy of the story Bible, and here we are today watching as a new Bible is bestowed upon her. These years are flying by much too quickly for my liking, though I have to admit that for as much as I don't like how quickly time is passing by I do love seeing each and every new thing that comes their way. xo

At The Apple Orchard

Yesterday was an absolutely glorious autumn day. Perfectly crisp and lovely. The kind of day where the orchard just beckons for a visit. We were happy to answer the call, and happier still to have the place to ourselves. It was lovely to be in that space; listening to the birds sing, filling bags with apples and chatting with each other. Such a beautiful way to spend an October Friday. xo

{This Moment} Playing Chess

{This Moment} A Friday ritual. A single photo (or two) -no words- capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you are inspired to do the same leave a link to your moment in the comments section for all to find and see. We wish you a lovely weekend! xo