I love Kroger!

I don't know if it's the area where we live or what, but I have very pleasant shopping experiences at both Kroger and Publix. The people are so friendly and accommodating. Today, when Bradley and I ran in Kroger to get some groceries, we accidentally picked the loudest, squeakiest, messed-up-wheel car buggy. Once we were in the produce section, I was too lazy to go back and get another buggy. But, as we continued to the deli, I realized the cart was so obnoxious that we wouldn't be able to use it. So, I was about to walk/screech us back to the door, and a nice Kroger employee saw/heard me and volunteered to go get another buggy for us. I told her she didn't have to, but she insisted, so we sat still and waited. It took her a little while, but that was because she was kind enough to get paper towels and wipe off all the dew that was on the new buggy. I was so appreciative of all this. So, I transferred my groceries over to the new, identical buggy and then moved Bradley over. He absolutely lost it! He is the kind of kid who really does not like change once he's settled somewhere. So, the crying and angry tears began. I knew it was annoying for all the other shoppers, but I was just going to ignore him. He usually gets over things after a few minutes if he can just work it out on his own and in his own loud way. But, the kind Kroger employees really wanted to help. The deli lady wanted to know if he could have a piece of cheese, which I told her she could offer if she wanted. (But, I knew that he would probably not accept or want it.) Bradley didn't want the cheese, so she offered him a sucker that she had in a basket from Halloween. He didn't want this either. Then, the previous employee who was kind enough to get us a new, identical buggy, shows up with a Kroger balloon. Bradley didn't want that either. I tried to thank them over all the screams and tears and said that I was sure he would get over it after a little while. So, we strolled away and the tears finally stopped after he got distracted when I ran into my friend's mom. I just thought, how nice that these people wanted to help make Bradley happy, even if it was a futile effort! I just love Kroger!!

Bostwick Days 2008

Saturday was our annual Bostwick Days Parade and it was lots of fun! This year, the horses/mules got to be BEFORE all the 200 tractors, so it was alot less waiting and much more fun. Papa, Bradley and his friend, Ronnie, drove Pat and Kate in the parade while me, Rachel, Tommy, Thomas, nana, pop and 2 other little boys rode in the back. It was a fun day with lots of greasy food, fun slides and bounce things, farm animals, and the parade. We came home early in the afternoon and everyone laid down and rested. It was a really fun day!

Happy Halloween!!

Rachel and her friends enjoying their yummy snacks

Bradley had a great time playing with the classroom toys

this was a game where the kids passed the pumpkin

and then got a piece of candy

Ready to trick or treat!!!

a beautiful angel and a sweet little lion

trick or treat!

our buckets are full!!

Halloween was lots of fun with Rachel's class party that morning and then a restful afternoon, followed by a chili dinner with the grandparents and then trick-or-treating in a nearby neighborhood. It was a really fun day! I always enjoy watching Rachel interact with her friends. The parents put on the Harvest party and it had some great snacks, a cute craft and a game with candy prizes. Trick or treating was a blast in a small, flat neighborhood with just the right amount of houses and tons of candy! We took gege and nana with us, and the men stayed home. Rachel LOVED being a beautiful angel and leading the way to each "open" house...if the lights were off on the front porches, the houses were "closed". Bradley didn't care anything about walking between the houses, but loved saying "trick or treat", and as the night went on, he just said, "treat". Both pumpkin buckets were nearly filled when we finished, so we got in the car and headed home to show daddy, papa and pop. Bradley wouldn't eat any of his candy and didn't want anyone to touch his bucket or his candy until we got home. Rachel picked out special pieces of candy to eat on the way home and a couple when she got home. We had plenty of sugar and a great Halloween!!!

Another son, another blessing!!

We are sooooooooooooo excited to find out that we're going to add another son to our family. We are so blessed to already have a daughter and a son and now, to be adding another son, is just awesome! Coming from a family of 2 girls and 1 boy, I can't wait to see how different it is to have 1 girl and 2 boys!!!


It's always especially precious to have an ultrasound and get to actually see your baby moving around. It's so cool to see all his little organs, his spine, his head, his heart fluttering, his nose and lips and of course his boy parts! We really are looking forward to seeing how baby 3 looks and whose coloring he'll have!

We told the kids Tuesday night and of course, Bradley didn't care or pay attention. Rachel understands and was very excited. She had wanted a baby sister, but we talked about the fact that she would be the only girl and she and I could do all the girl stuff together while daddy, Bradley and the baby did the boy stuff together. She thought this was pretty cool and can't wait to see and hold the "cute little baby". I'm sure she'll be a huge help and a wonderful big sister, as she already is! I'm sure Bradley will love his baby brother and I can't wait to see him assume the role of big brother! We're looking forward to a very eventful, joyful, blessing-filled Spring!!

**We're already almost 100% set on a name, so we'll announce that soon!!**

First FIRE of the Season

Gathering firewood

Daddy's little helper

Bradley's "WOW" face

(his look of fascination and amazement)



Look at the roaring fire!

Daddy and his babies

It's been so chilly lately, and with the dampness adding to the chill, Nick and Rachel decided to build a fire last night. This has always been a favorite thing of Nick's, and it looks like it's a favorite of Rachel's too. She wanted to help Nick get firewood, and insisted on helping put kindling in the fireplace to get it started. She also hung in there next to Nick while he blew air on it to get the fire to start. She even wanted to eat her sandwich on the hearth, so she could be next to the fire. Nick really did enjoy all her help and enthusiasm! Bradley didn't care about the process of making the fire, but did his famous, "WOW" face with the wide open mouth and wide eyes once he saw the huge flames. He also was very proud of himself when he started saying "fiwer", which is how he says "fire". There's nothing more "homey" than a good fire and it really warmed up our den.

Pumpkin Patch Visit #2

The class waiting to go in

(can't you see their excitement?!)

Petting a baby goat

Rachel with her buddy, Kate, on the hayride

Rachel picked a lovely pumpkin

a line of kids waiting to go down the slide

Yesterday was Rachel's first field trip. We went to the pumpkin patch with her class and had a great time! We visited the petting zoo and got to pet some goats and a bunny. We also heard a lesson about how pumpkins are grown and then went on a hayride. Then, all the kids and moms got to pick small baking pumpkins and then we headed to the playground for snack. I thought it was really fun and enjoyed my time with Rachel. I couldn't wait to see how she interacted with her friends and how all the kids behaved, but Rachel wanted to hang with me more than with her friends. I was surprised, but loved it. Lots of the kids hung with their parents, but there were some who ignored their parents and just played with their friends. I got to see which kids had strong personalities, which ones were tattlers, which ones were super-shy and which ones were needy. (All in 2 1/2 hours!) I'm sure some of the kids were acting differently than they normally do, just like Rachel was. I think some of them were just a little freaked out to be out of their normal school environment. I met alot of really nice parents and almost all of them had younger children that they brought (and chased) on the field trip. I missed my little Bradley, but was glad to be able to focus all my attention on Rachel. And, of course, he had a blast getting all of Gege and Papa's attention. At noon, we left the patch, met Nick for lunch at Cracker Barrel (per Rachel's request) and then Rachel and I went to Old Navy to get her some jeans. We remembered that Party City was in the same shopping center, so we walked over there and picked out Rachel's Halloween costume. She had been fluctuating between Pocahontas and Sleeping Beauty, but when we walked in and saw the giant wall with about 200 costume choices to pick from, we had a little trouble deciding. Finally, Rachel saw a beautiful Angel costume, and that's what she decided to be. I was thrilled, because it was much cheaper than the Disney costumes, plus I think she's an angel already! :) And, Bradley will be a lion, since we're recycling as many of Rachel's costumes as we can.

It was a really fun day and I loved our girl time!

Fall Cuties

my big boy loves swinging on his tummy

One of my favorite pics of Rach recently

(this is also her favorite way to pose)

Swinging is so much fun!!

my beautiful little girl

my little cutie

Bradley's wearing daddy's stocking cap

I guess Fall is finally here...at least for a few days... and since the weather has been so pleasant and cool, we've been loving going outside to play! We went out tonight after supper and had a blast. It was so chilly, that we could have put on a jacket, but did okay with long sleeves. Nick let Bradley wear his hat since his little ears were getting cold. I just loved the pictures of both kids from tonight!