Okay, this post is well overdue, and will be pictureless since our computer is failing miserably right now, but I figure it's time for a catch up! I'm a little bit shocked that it will be Thanksgiving a week from today. This fall has been flying by! We've enjoyed a trip to the zoo in Sioux Falls with the Adams family, lots of trips to the park and library, playtimes with cousins and friends, a trip to the apple orchard with Grandpa and Grandma Stanislav, Mady's first sleepover by herself in Blencoe, a quick trip to Upland for Kendall and me, and all of the random busyness of life in a residence hall.

Mady has been loving preschool this fall. She goes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings and comes home full of stories and excitement. Each week they study a different letter and she is always excited to show us what she's learned and created. Actually, if there is one word that would best describe Mady, it would be creative. She spends a good chunk of her day drawing pictures, cutting paper, stapling or gluing things, and asking us how to spell words for whatever story or invitation she is cooking up. I'm not exaggerating when I say she went through an entire package of construction paper in about three weeks total. She loves to tell us what character we all are playing in her many games of make believe too. She's working on writing with lower case letters and it has been fun to see her tackle this new challenge. She can often be stubborn about writing a letter the correct way, but she is slowly getting it:-) Mady is still as sweet as ever. She is a wonderful sister to Drew and is endlessly patient with him. She can't wait for the new baby to come, and gets excited each week when we find out what size of fruit or vegetable the baby is. She is always asking for playdates and especially loves playing with Kaylee, Grace, and her friends Rachel and Natalie. She loves to sing songs that she learns at school, or make up sweet ones about Jesus before bed. The night is not complete, however, until we sing Away in A Manger.

Drew keeps us on our toes every day and we love it (for the most part)! It's so fun to watch him learn new words and develop new skills. He loves his sister so much and will imitate pretty much anything she is doing. He enjoys sports quite a bit and I've found on a couple of occasions that he will calm down before bed if we turn on ESPN and catch whatever game is on. He sat on Kendall's lap tonight watching soccer clips on YouTube saying "baseball" over and over. Baseball pretty much encompasses the names of all sports right now! Drew has fully embraced living in a residence hall and and loves many of the guys here. I'm amazed by how well he does with remembering names and faces and recognizing them in different places. The other day I woke up to him shouting, "Mommy, Momma!" This is completely normal and a daily occurrence, but when he followed up Mommy with "Caleb, Caleb!" I just had to lay there and laugh. Caleb seems to hold a special place in both our kids' hearts. Drew loves his papas more than almost anyone and he talks about his grandmas and cousins quite a bit too. I'm amazed when we drive around town and get close to my parents' or his cousins' houses, or where my parents work, and he starts saying the right names at the right times. It's fun to see his little mind work! He has a massive bruise running down his face in three spots right now and just had a black eye clear up from all of his climbing exploits. Hopefully we get over that stage soon:-)

Kendall has been pretty busy lately and I think we are both looking forward to the upcoming holiday breaks. The year has been good, but time to refresh is always nice! My job is going well and I'm thankful that I get to work with people I enjoy, doing work that I enjoy, while still spending most of my time with my kids. It's the best of both worlds! And of course we are very thankful for our family that helps take care of them while we are busy. I've turned the corner in my pregnancy and moved past the sick stage, so I'm also quite thankful for that. We're all fighting colds and junk right now, but that's pretty much par for the course around here. Overall, we feel very blessed and thankful for the comfortable life we have right now. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!