Fall Fun!

Fall is in full swing, and so are the Dilleys!  We recently visited Westview Orchards with Nani, Papa, and GG (great grandma) Dot to pick some pumpkins.  It was a cold and rainy day, but we all had a great time anyway!  We rode the wagon out to the pumpkin patch, and Emma and Ethan had a great time running through the patch, looking for that perfect pumpkin!  Ethan even got to ride on a pony named Jake.  Emma wanted to ride until we sat her on the pony and she was terrified (poor thing).  We capped off our adventure with the classic orchard experience - cider and doughnuts!  Here are some photos from our outing.  Don't you just love fall?

 The Whole Gang

 Ethan and Mommy

 Four Generations!

 

 Finding the Perfect Pumpkin with Papa

 

 What a big pumpkin!

 Riding on "Jake"

 

The Sweetest Sound

There is almost nothing better to hear than this sound:

I'm Back!

I'm back!  I am happy to report that my nausea has subsided considerably, so I am back to blogging (and to life, for that matter).  As you may have suspected, a lot has happened since my last post, so this post will be a bit of "potpourri", after one of my favorite Jeopardy categories - a little bit of everything.

Probably the biggest thing that has happened is Emma starting Kindergarten this fall!  She is an amazingly smart little girl, and has absolutely loved elementary school.  On the first day, Nani and I dropped her off at her classroom and, after a while, she looked at me and asked, "Mom, are you leaving now?"  Needless to say, she has adjusted to school quite well!  Ethan wasn't too sure about his sister being gone at first, but now he is enjoying being the little King of the castle when she's gone.  Chris and I have been so thankful for her school and her wonderful Kindergarten teacher, and we feel very blessed that the Lord has taught Emma and us so much during this new transition time.

Another item of significance (at least to me), is that Emma learned to tie her shoes!  That may seem like it is not worthy of a blog mention, but it was a very big day in our house.  Last year, I bought her a book shaped like a shoe with strings that teaches you how to tie your shoe.  We had been through it a few times, but, one Saturday, she picked up that book, sat for about 2 hours practicing, and, by the end of the afternoon, was tying and double-knotting her own shoes.  It was such a reminder to me of how fast she is growing up.  She even asked Papa this week if they could take her training wheels of her bike this weekend.

 

Our beautiful little Kindergartener

  

Ethan wasn't too happy about Emma's first day

Giving Mom lots of hugs!  I needed them more than she did.

At her locker

As for the little man, his vocabulary has been growing as fast as he has.  He is starting sentences with "actually" and "well, Mom" and loves reading books with his sister!  He has been slightly influenced by "the terrible twos" lately, but it has been another great growing opportunity for him and us!

Ethan at the Armada Fair this summer.  So corny!

Finally, I wanted to share some pictures from this summer that never made it into the blog, but should have!  This July, we were able to see one of our favorite Louisville families - the Wellums!  They stopped by on their way to Canada, and it was so wonderful to see them.  Dr. Wellum is a professor at Southern Seminary, and we became close to their family after being a part of their young couples Sunday school class for 7 years.  Here is the photo of almost the entire gang (their eldest son wasn't with them):

 

 Visiting with the Wellums

We were also blessed to be able to see my close friend and college roommate, Wendy, and her family.  Wendy married a Michigan man (she has good taste) and we met them in Ann Arbor for a quick visit.  I couldn't believe how big her boys are getting, but it was a blessing to be able to see them.  Wendy has been an instrumental part of my life since college and one of my closest friends, and she is one of the people I have missed the most since moving to Michigan.

 Roomies!

 Almost every was happy! 

 

How's that for potpourri?  Since I am done spending the majority of my day in the bathroom anymore, I will be back blogging on a consistent basis!  Have a great day!