Purple Paradise

I feel like we are blessed to have a home we love, in a garden of Eden. There is beauty all around when there's love at home, and lots of purple surroundings too.:) Purple is my most favorite color. All of these pictures except the sunset were in my yard.

I had a wonderful time searching out purple shades of fall for this photo challenge. Celia was a great help. She always is, Celia loves to clean, create, and give affection. She will make a lovely woman and mother someday. Nature, my family, & my faith in Christ bring me great happiness.:)

Festivities 2011

We really enjoyed the Halloween festivities this week. We carved our pumpkins. Joseph seemed to think it was like whittling he'd go over and over the cut out holes. He definitely wanted to carve more. Emmy didn't quite believe me about the bunny on the Trix box being a good pattern for her pumpkin. Turns out she was right. It was designed for a more medium size pumpkin so Emmy came up with her own design which turned out great!

We scooped the seeds and baked them with salt. Emmy loved them. Her and I ate and ate them, and then she ate some more and brought some in her school lunch the next day. We had Emmy's ortho appointment so we went with the tutors to get that done. Celia trick or treated at the reception desks and read books with Allie. Spencer read books too in a corner with Jono. Spencer did fair, he liked to holler a little, but we made it through and had a fun time dressing up for that.

Later we met up with the neighbor kids and trick or treated. We came home and visited with Rah Rah. I enjoyed dressing up I did two costume this year and went to 3 different activities, 4 if you include trick or treating. Emmy wore her costume 5 times I think and really enjoyed the celebrating. Next up, Emmy's Fifteenth Birthday celebrations.~

"Soup"er Social

Our ward had fun festivities last night. We had soup, rolls, desserts, and cold root beer. Spencer was too interested in the dry ice coming out of the witches brew. We had a little costume parade and a trunk or treat. It was a great time with friends. I made some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies that seem to be a hit with Emmy and her friends which I was happy about. Joseph and his friend Gingerman( that is what Celia calls him) were both army men. The trunk or treat is something we look forward to each year. It was really great.~

Shades Of Autumn (Red)

My sister in law Dawn is doing the shades of fall photography challenge and I thought I'd take some pictures too. This is the color red with a fall flair.~ I hope ya like it, this is my first attempt, hehe.:)

New couch, for the win!

It feels Christmas like to me as I bask in the happiness of getting something I've desired for quite some time. I think it was 5 or so years ago when I started to mention we needed a new couch. Recently, the old couch has been falling apart. I bought upholstery hooks in hopes of sewing up ripped patches, but with so much use, my sewn areas didn't stay cinched together. I washed the seat covers and cleaned it often, but it was getting too old to brighten back up.

Brian saw that this seating, after 15 years, needed to go the way of all the earth. He mentioned we should call the neighborhood clean up where you can set big items in front of the house and the disposal trucks will come and pick it up. Then, he mentioned we could find a replacement couch. That was my green light, go a head to shop for one cue!..

I knew what I wanted and Emmy and I went out and searched for 3 hours and found what we were looking for. On my list of things it needed were; stain resistant, water resistant, durable, comfortable, hides dirt, fits in the area, and I had a budget. It was an amazing find with a seller that was willing to deliver and come down in price. We got the deal of the century and I am so elated over this purchase. I must be such a homemaker to have this be so exciting, but it really is.

Fairies and Friends

I didn't realize how much we like to dress up around here.:) Emmy was invited to a youth Halloween party with a friend. Good thing her costume was just waiting to be worn.~ I have my camera back from the camera shop, the lens was replaced. Its very exciting to be back in business of taking photos not on my phone only.~

A few weeks ago Emmy was a purple prankster drawing on Celia and Joseph with purple permanent marker. Joseph had a curly mustache on half his face and scribbles on various body parts that were showing while he was asleep. Emmy tagged Celia with a Emmy was here sign on Celia's arm saying "I love you"! Emmy loves purple and her sneaking around at night reminded me of a fairy of some sort causing mischief. I found a costume on line and ordered it for her. It was a great surprise and I am pretty proud of my self for finding the perfect size. Although Emmy can fit into almost everything.

The other day Emmy and I watched a cute show called "You're So Cupid" on Netflix. It reminded me so much of my friend Lisa. She was so into creative dating and matchmaking. After Emmy and I watched the show together we were reminiscing of being in Lisa's wedding and we pulled out the dresses we wore in it. Emmy was a flower girl, but somehow she was able to get the dress on and we took a few pictures. Dressing up is fun to do.. We had a great time reminiscing and remembering Lisa. Lisa made sure we each had tiaras and beautiful jewelry to go with our classy dresses. I was extremely happy to be in her wedding and have Joseph be the ring bearer and Emmy, the flower girl. Years pass by so quickly and things change, but it is fun to dress up!

Staff Devel Getaway

Spencer, Joseph, and Celia didn't have school on Friday. It is staff development day. That is a longtime to entertain these kiddos at home so we went for a ride! I told Celia we were going to go to King's Beach. She asked if we needed crowns. She is such a cutie.:) The beach is located about 2 hours from us in the Sierra Nevadas. Its Lake Tahoe, but what a beautiful beach on the Lake it is.

It was great for the kids to play around in the sand. I loved hearing the water wake against the sand while seeing the beautiful sun reflecting on the water. The mountains and trees add to the views. It really is the best of both worlds to have the beach like atmosphere mixed with the water and sand. Maybe that is why I love Muir Woods and Stinson Beach so much.

There were only a handful of people around. That is my style. We heard a man playing guitar. He was playing "Brown eyed girl". I love that song. Actually, we were serenaded by a few people around us having fun with their guitars. We saw a few people who kayaked by and it looked like someone was decorating for a beach wedding with gorgeous flowers near the clubhouse. The best part about our getaway

was how calm and happy we all were there. The kids built volcanoes and commented about the sand being like gold! I discovered a crab leg and a dried mini jelly fish. Joseph and Celia found wands that looked like they should be in the Harry Potter movies. I didn't want to leave. Spencer was loving the sand so much he took off his shirt to feel it on his body, so that was my cue it was time to go, hehe. As we were leaving the view from my rear view mirror was perfect. I'm sure we will visit again.:)

Advocate

Transitions are hard for our little Spencer Doodle. Apparently, it is tough on his school staff as well. Spencer has had rough week and a half at his new placement for school. We are collaborating though which helps and I pick him up each day, and work with him and he is on a shorter schedule. I go from 11:30 am to noon then drive him home. The behaviorist assistant has been taking copious notes on how I interact with Spencer and successfully direct him around the room and to the car. So far the first two days we have seen significant improvement in Spencer's school day. This is my work to help Spencer to learn and grow and get appropriate education in a positive way. Its not unattainable, but takes quite a bit of determination, education, emotional strength, and stamina. I am grateful Brian's support. His presence at Spencer's IEP was invaluable. I am glad he and I are a team with the same purpose, idea, and love for Spencer.


Emmy and I got to go get pedicures last night. I loved doing that with her. She chose dark purple toes, shes my teen and even though we didn't talk the whole time like I would with another girlfriend, it was a great time. I needed the backrub from the big chairs they sit you in for spa pedicures. It helped me to sleep better last night, sleep which makes everything a little easier. Today Celia and I went to the gym. Exercise is a great de-stressing tool for me as well. I am going to eat healthy, rest, and take time to renew my mind spiritually. balancing hard work for a great cause, and rest may just bring long lasting fulfillment in the end, I hope it does.:)

Meeting Maggie

Spence asked for a ride yesterday afternoon. Celia, Spence and I went to the Village park in Fair Oaks where year round hens and rooster cluck and cock a doodle do around town. It was so peaceful there. I was worried about taking both the kids out by myself, but it turned out to be a fun time. Spencer swung a little and Celia went on the slide several times. Spence and Celia both chased the chickens, but it was when a lady came over and asked if Spencer could play with her dog, that the real fun started. The beautiful black lab retriever's name is Maggie. She let Spencer throw her ball, which I helped with first then Spencer was doing it on his own.H e loved the feeling of Maggie's fur and liked her tongue sticking out while she was panting from all the great exercise she was having. Spence did act a little rough with her sometimes, but the dog was calm and would voluntarily bring the ball to Spencer even when other kids were gathered around, wanting a turn.

I'm glad we stayed long enough to have Patti ( Maggie's owner) come up and ask if Spencer could play with her dog. She told of of how Maggie was a retired service dog. She was very calm and good, being seven years old probably attributed to her mellow, patience away of being. It was too bad when we were turned away form Spencer getting his own Canine Companion because he was too rough with him. It has worked out alright for our family not having one more member to clean up after, but it was very nice to have Spencer get to play with this lovely dog. It was definitely a high light of the day for Spencer.:)