Rough Housin'

Natalia has always been our rough and tough little girl...and is anxiously awaiting the day when she can REALLY wrestle her little brother. We keep telling her that she may be in for a surprise when that day comes! :o)



You can imagine her delight when Adam semi-tackled her today!

Oh boy! I can just hear myself now--saying those words ingrained in my head from childhood, "take it outside or down to the basement!"

Reprieve

What glorious weather we had yesterday!

As I was taking the above picture Natalia asked me, "Mommy, why are you laying on the driveway?!" I told her it was because the orange leaves looked so pretty against the bright blue sky. She still though I was a bit nuts. :o)

We decided to head to a nearby lake for a little 1 mile hike before dinner and the last of daylight faded. How odd, yet wonderful it felt to leave the jackets behind!

Does anyone know what these white fuzzy things are? They're probably weeds, but they just struck me as pretty.


Little legs got tired going up and down the hills...it's a good thing Daddy's legs are strong!

Running and kicking up leaves...

My Girl

It's been awhile since I put some of Natalia's silly nonsense on here. Here are a few of her recent sayings that cause us to shake our heads and wonder when she got to be so grown up!

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Natalia, in hallway after having an imaginary conversation on her cell phone: "Mom, Aunt Kim said that I can come over and play with Morgan. She'll be here in a few minutes, okay?"

Me: "Are you pretending, sweetpea?

Natalia: "No, I'm for real!"

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A few weeks ago when I got the call that my grandpa had passed away I was upstairs with Pete and crying when Natalia came up. She asked why I was sad. When I told her that Great Grandpa was now in heaven with Jesus, I added that sometimes people cry when they are really really happy AND sad at the same time.

Sweetly she replied, "Mom, I'll be your friend."

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And today, this was how we passed the morning while Adam napped.

Who knew a cupboard organizer shelf, the post of a ring toy and lots of "ironing" could provide such enjoyment?! An imagination is a WONDERFUL thing! :o)

Backfire

I thought I was being productive.

Do any of you ever get into THROW IT OUT, CLEAN IT OUT, ORGANIZE MODE?

Has it ever backfired on you?

Just want to let you all know that if my blog posts from the last few months suddenly have pictures missing...it is not that something is wrong with your computer. It was me.

I had no idea that Picasa Web Albums were storing every picture I uploaded here in a file. When I was dejunking files this past weekend I accidentally erased a whole bunch of things. (sigh)

Is it any surprise to my fellow Type A-er's out there that I'm uploading them again? I just can't stand the thought of pictures missing in these old posts!

(big long sigh)

This may take awhile. :o)

A Post In Pictures

These pictures are from this past week...

...a week of remembrance, of laughter amidst sadness, the brilliance of autumn fading as the last of the leaves hang on with tenacity, cherishing loved ones, the purity of a child's smile, and the joy of being busy at home. Enjoy!

Grandpa Lentz and Nana Ruth


The trees at Byerland Mennonite Church were just beautiful.




Grandpa's legacy.


Me and my groom.


My younger brother Joe and his wife Kim. Aren't they cute?


I did get a good pic of my parents, but this one just makes me smile...because they make each other so happy, and that makes me so happy. :o)


Natalia and "Cousin" Hannah. They were immediate buds. :o) You can clearly see their penchant for cheese, can't you?


My newest nephew Eli--isn't he delicious?


My house smelled so good yesterday. (Recipes for White Wheat Oat Nut Bread and Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting will follow soon.)




And a few shots from outside the house this morning.

Employee of the Month

I'd like to introduce to you Winkler Enterprises' newest employee...drumroll please...Natalia Marie!

Not only does she give great hugs and tell funny jokes, she scribbles 180 squiggles a minute, takes elaborate phone messages, and has an amazing imagination. That comes in handy in this line of work, let me tell ya!

Her personal goals include going to preschool, growing up to be taller than her daddy, getting her masters in "Letters and Numbers", and becoming fluent in Polish.

Let's make her feel welcome, folks!

Leaves of Change

The biggest change came a few days ago. My grandpa said goodbye to his earthly body and is now experiencing glory. I can only imagine what heaven must be like, while I cry tears of sorrow and joy.

I'm anticipating sweet time with family this weekend as we gather, both far and near, to celebrate his life and mourn the hole he's leaving behind. He used to always say, "be sweet" as we'd say goodbye after a visit. And he gave the biggest of bear hugs that left you with the lingering smell of his spicy cologne. I could always count on his regular prayers for me, for Pete, and our children. And I loved the sound of his laugh.

In the midst of my sadness though I've been enjoying the beautiful colors of autumn in our area.

The other morning the kids and I took a walk (it was 70 degrees afterall) and collected some leaves. I love decorating with natural things, and got the idea last year to preserve some leaves by dipping them in parafin wax.

If you're interested in doing the same, here is what I did.

MATERIALS:

about 30 leaves (make sure they aren't dried out and crumbly, or wet)
24 tealights
a clean, empty coffee can
a small saucepan
wax paper


DIRECTIONS:

1. Remove tealights from their tins and pull out wicks.
2. Place coffee can in saucepan, load with tealights (as many will fit), then add 1 inch of water to the pan. ***If you add the empty can to the pan of water before adding the tealights, you'll create a pocket of air underneath the can. Not what you want.
3. Use medium heat to gradually melt wax. (About 10 mins. to melt all of the tealights.) Do not boil.
4. Then, holding leaves by their stem, dip just the leaf portion in the wax, let excess drip off, then lay on wax paper until dry (about 10 mins.).

***You can also use a black permanent marker to write things you are thankful for on the leaves prior to dipping and later clip to a string with tiny clothespins to display.

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Welcome to our home.

Today I am thankful for...

...my husband and children, our home, family and friends, the sunshine and bright blue skies, the free gift of salvation and grace for each day, my heritage, that I can be a stay-at-home mommy, my husband's stable job, good nutricious food to eat, the many years and memories I had with my grandpa, and the hope of heaven.