the summer is fleeting..............

I do love the season of Fall.

Pumpkin spice lattes (I'm making this one at home in my crockpot!),

jeans/boots/scarves (my favorite combo),

 trips to the pumpkin patch,

and, in the words of Graham, cozy snuggles.

But I am also SO sad to say goodbye to warm sunny days.

Here's thanks to very beautiful months of August & September.

mid-air

 

thanks to Kristin for grabbing the camera & snapping. :)

oh sleep. I miss thee.

So it's been a little brutal in the sleep department around here. Of course, if I went to bed at 7 when my kiddos did, I could be getting much longer stretches here. :) I do believe a certain little girl is teething. Last week she decided she needed a 5am feeding again. This week she decided, no, it needed to be 2am instead. So I feel like I've gone back to newborn stretches of sleep. UGH. We've had a couple of mornings where she's gone till 6, so hoping we're past the worst for now!

And then there's Gman..........the boy who slept for 12 hours without a peep for 2 straight years is suddenly finding it necessary to get up almost once a night. Sometimes it's a bad dream or a drink of water or something else of great importance.

I usually don't agree with its urgency. *wink,wink. 

The other night I had fed Eden around 2 am and then could.not.fall.back.asleep. Boo those nights.

 2 hours later, I finally dozed off....5am Graham comes wondering into our room in need of............a kiss and a hug.

oh my.........can you really be mad about that?

Women constantly say "oh these are the best years....I wish I had them back....savor them................" I will admit when I haven't had more than 6 hours of straight sleep for 8 months, it makes me a teeny bit crazy. =)

But then you have these moments...........and I know exactly what they mean.

• The other week Graham comes up beside me, puts his arm around my shoulder and says, "you're my best friend." I don't even know when/where he learned that phrase.
• Yesterday he came up and gave me a huge hug and said "I love you". The first time he has ever done that uninitiated.

Yes, my boy.........you can still melt me in an instant. :)

And you, my girl, are still as sweet as ever! 

I am reminded to be so very grateful that I have tears to console, noses to wipe, diapers to change, kids to wake me up at all hours.

These precious gifts from God are also a daily joy.

Does anyone else ever get choked up singing You Are My Sunshine? The ending seriously takes my breath away. I guess that's the mom in me.

Thanking God for his grace & mercy.

And my hubby for understanding when the crazy-i-just-want-to-sleep-lady comes out. =)

And dear Sleep, when you're ready to be friends again, I'm here.

museum day

It's the annual Fall freebie frenzy here in the 'Burgh! All the local museums & attractions are offering free days......the only problem is that they all seem to happen at once. :-/ But it's one of the things we love about living here. We've been able to visit so many different venues all for free here in the city.

On Saturday we went to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. It probably sounds boring, but  Graham actually loves it! They have lots of real-like stuffed animals as well as dinosaur skeletons. So he almost feels like he's at the zoo. :)

Our favorite friend joined us!

the paleontologist, who is obviously large & in charge

 

lunch in the courtyard on a beautiful day!

 

Tea Collection

Oh my heart. These clothes. Too adorable.

UPDATE:  The Tea Collection has started a referral program and the reward is fabulous! Click here to set up an account and you'll get a discount code for $25 off a $50 purchase! Then you should get your own referral code that you can give to friends, and when they make a $50 purchase, you'll get a $25 certificate! If you check out their sale section, it might be totally worth it!

BUY 3, GET 15% OFF

It's as easy as 1, 2, 3. Take your pick of 3 items and you'll get 15% off your entire purchase. Enter promo code YAYPICK3 in your shopping bag or mention this offer at a participating store. Now through 9/25!

FYI.....they sell woman's clothing as well as infant-12 yrs. old.

I won't lie, it's pricey.

But they do have summer close-outs going on now!

I think Graham would like their summer tees.

I have now started using affiliate programs for Momtourage.

*Hoping* to earn a l.i.t.t.l.e. compensation for the time I give to it. :)

But it allows me to come across some pretty cute stuff.

And my favorite thing is when they send me a product to review. =)

 We'll see if I'm so lucky with this company.

piano time

singing his little heart out. =)

Psalm 62

I love this song, particularly verse 3.

My soul finds rest in God alone,
My Rock and my salvation,
A fortress strong against my foes,
And I will not be shaken.
Though lips may bless and hearts may curse,
And lies like arrows pierce me,
I’ll fix my heart on righteousness,
I’ll look to Him who hears me.

O praise Him, hallelujah,
My Delight and my Reward;
Everlasting, never failing,
My Redeemer, my God.

Find rest, my soul, in God alone
Amid the world’s temptations;
When evil seeks to take a hold
I’ll cling to my salvation.
Though riches come and riches go,
Don’t set your heart upon them;
The fields of hope in which I sow
Are harvested in heaven.

O praise Him, hallelujah,
My Delight and my Reward;
Everlasting, never failing,
My Redeemer, my God.

I’ll set my gaze on God alone,
And trust in Him completely;
With every day pour out my soul,
And He will prove His mercy.
Though life is but a fleeting breath,
A sigh too brief to measure,
My King has crushed the curse of death
And I am His forever.

O praise Him, hallelujah,
My Delight and my Reward;
Everlasting, never failing,
My Redeemer, my God.
by Aaron Keyes and Stuart Townend.

Be encouraged today ~ listen to this beautiful song here.

bath time