Moving

I've decided that I like the layout better over at wordpress, so I'm moving my blog over there.  I've imported all of my posts from here, so there should the same info, just a very different look.  I'm still working on it, so don't judge.  Here's the new address:

http://meettheneebs.wordpress.com

Vacation

Roger and I had planned to go to out West for a long vacation this fall, but our plans had to change.  Instead, we stayed in STL and had a 'stay-cation'.  We did a lot of things around here that we don't usually get to or have the time or money to do.  And we were able to get a lot of things done around the house.  Here's a glimpse at what we did:

We got Elliott's "coming home" outfit

We moved around tons of furniture.  Rearranged Mia's room for her new, big-girl (twin) bed and rearranged our room to fit all the baby accessories.  Amazingly, it all fits!

We ate some sweet fall treats and got to hang out with some friends - without children! 

 

The dog (Chase) got a much-needed hair cut.  Everyone's much happier.  Vacuuming 5 times a day gets annoying to everyone.

And we got to visit a winery west of St. Louis.  It was great to be able to sit on their deck, soak in some sun, enjoy the emerging fall colors, and eat some delicious lunch.

Our vacation wasn't quite the grandiose trip that we had originally planned, but it was a great, refreshing break for us and a chance to appreciate our home, our friends, and our marriage.  Now Mia's home, we're getting back into our routine and completing final preparations for the next big thing - the baby coming!

At the Zoo

Roger had the day off Friday, so we took a family trip to the zoo.  We hit the elephant trail first, to avoid as many field trip groups as possible.  Once we were done there, Mia said she wanted to ride the carousel, so we headed that way, seeing the bears and penguins along the way.  Then she said she was ready to go home.  I was shocked!  A trip to the zoo without a trek up the large, long, looming hill to see the lions and giraffes and zebras?  Amazing!  She must have sensed how much she would have been torturing Mommy to go that far.  What a lovely little girl I have!  

Water, Water Everywhere

Hurricane Ike hit Missouri.  That's right - Missouri.  We had crazy wind and tons of rain Sunday morning as the storm passed by, leaving over 5 inches of rain here at our house and basement full of muddy, nasty water.  At its highest, the water was up over the bottom step of the basement and up to Roger's knees.  

 

The rest of Sunday was spent cleaning and trying to salvage things that had been damaged.  One of our friends, Will, came over to help Roger demo the drywall.  Another friend, Jason, brought by a shopvac to aid in cleanup.  Some other friends, the Lankfords, were very gracious and let me and Mia come over to launder some of the clothes that had been doused by the flood waters.  And my mom came down and was here all day Monday to help haul out damaged goods from the basement and mop up the mess.  Although we're all exhausted and sore here, we know that we're very blessed to have so many people surround us who care and are willing and ready to help at the drop of a hat.  In the midst of the storm we've found immense blessing.  So, thanks to everyone who's prayed for us - it's made a huge difference!  And thank you to those of you who have supplied labor, parts, or food to bless us.  We don't know what we'd do without you!

Apples

We took our annual trip to Eckerts' this morning for apple picking.  We were blessed to have a break in the rainy weekend weather to squeeze in some outdoor fun.  Mia really enjoyed picking the apples herself this year.  And she helped me make an apple crisp when we got home.  Despite lots of stress this week, it was nice to have some family fun.

Waiting for the tractor

Baby Corrine

I had the privilege of doing a photo shoot with the lovely little baby Corrine and her Mommy, Micaela.  Corrine was a little fussy, but she still cooperated enough to get some great shots.  I love doing newborn shoots and working with Micaela and Corrine was the highlight of my week so far! 

Emotions

We've been working on teaching Mia about emotions lately.  Just to be silly, we've taught her how to make the different faces for each emotion.  It's pretty humorous because each emotion-face is mixed with a smile.  

                   Happy                Scared

                       Angry              (Scared?)

 

Sad Surprised

Just Plain Cute