September and October

I've totally neglected the blog, so I'm going to do a re-cap of the last two months via pictures.  

September 19, 2014...George turned three years old!  He chose a campout birthday party.  In lieu of camping out with a bunch of three year olds, we had his party at a nearby park.  We pitched tents for the kids to play in, roasted hot dogs, and even had a pinata shaped like a tent!  It was the easiest birthday party to date, and it made my heart swell to see George with all of his friends.

George found the 'prizes' in the tents during set-up.  He was pretty pumped about the binoculars.

Waiting to bust open the pinata!

Just after George turned three, it was time for his first trip to the dentist.

He did great!

We hit up a pumpkin patch the first weekend in October (definitely too early...our pumpkins rotted before Halloween).

Then, before we knew it, it was Clay's birthday.  I asked Clay what he'd want to do for his birthday.  He chose lunch at Chick-Fil-A, a quick trip to the McWane Center (both during his lunch hour on a work day), and dinner at home with donuts for dessert.  He also chose to carve pumpkins, which was a favorite for all of us!

But, I think George was most excited about the donuts.

The next weekend, I got the chance for a girls' weekend at the beach!  It was the most perfect weekend.  Great company, great weather, and two days of pure laziness.  

On a whim, I picked up a box cake mix while I was at the grocery one Friday.  I had some extra icing I had made from George's birthday party, and thought it could be fun for a Friday night treat.  

I had no idea how much fun it would be for Clay and George.  They totally took it over!

George insisted on both of them wearing these aprons.

This was all Clay and George's doing, I really had no part in it (even though I was a 'professional' cake decorator in high school.  My skills were not useful here.)

George wanted to make Pops a birthday cake- complete with all the 'toppings'!

The last weekend in October, our dear friend, Jessica Wright, came and did family pictures for us!

Here are a few of my favorites.

I just love her work.

 Then we blinked, and it was Halloween weekend!  Saty wanted to paint pumpkins with all the grandkids.

George, Rogers and Frannie loved it!

While they were drying, everyone got to pick out the face for their pumpkin.

I could not have been prouder of George's masterpiece, Mike Wazowski.

Then it was Halloween!

Oh, these boys make my heart so full.

 Hey, look!  I made it in a picture!

Our friends, the Caldwell's, came to trick-or-treat with us.

I just couldn't decide between these two pictures.  So I put them both in.

 Clay and I moved from a neighborhood with about 20-25 kids trick-or-treating to a neighborhood with about 300 kids running around the neighborhood.  No exaggeration there.  We hopped on a hayride with some of our neighbors and cousins to cover as much ground as possible!

 Oh...George and Hank.  These two just melt me into a puddle every. single. time.

 Cochran Cousins on Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

It's hard to believe November is upon us, and the holiday season will be here in a blink.  As I look back over the past year, and see just how far the Lord has carried me and my family, I am so thankful to be able to taste and experience joy and happiness again.  I am so excited for the next season of life for our family, but I am most thankful that the Lord gives me the awareness to appreciate where He has me today, in this moment of life.  My heart is so, so full- even though we miss Nan every single day.  And as much as we anticipate Billy's arrival, I love to soak up the time we have just as a family of three.  What a sweet gift Clay and George are to me.  I love my days with them, and the Lord has shown me so much of His mercy and love through them both.