Time has passed faster than I can keep up. Each day I find myself standing in shock looking at the calendar. How? How can it be harvest?... And Halloween?... And, unbelievably, Thanksgiving??? What on earth is happening? This entire month has been two days. I'm not kidding. The calendar is stealing away the time. Trevin is well into his school routine, Myla is officially 18 months old, and harvest is complete. Here we go...
ROCA BERRY FARMS & ROBBER'S CAVE
We spent a day at Roca Berry Farms with my family! Everyone, except James and JT, was able to come and the kids had a great time running around at the pumpkin patch.
Shooting the cannon.
We were celebrating my brother, Ryan's, birthday. It may not have been his first choice to go to the pumpkin patch, but that didn't stop him from having some fun.
Hayrack Ride
Trevin picked out a really cool green pumpkin. If you'd like to see it, it's still on my porch rotting...
Corn Maze!
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| Oh that Nebraska wind... |
Rope Course! Trevin did pretty well keeping up with the big boys! Although, it helped that Scott broke his foot and was attempting it in a boot.
Myla still takes a nap every day, so a busy morning at the Pumpkin Patch wore her out. Uncle Joe must have looked like a comfy place to crash.
My favorite part of the day is when we visited Robber's Cave in Lincoln. This is what Ryan actually wanted to do for his birthday. We went through a tour of the cave and heard some really cool stories about it. It's Lincoln's hidden gem. It was really neat; the kids even had a good time!
HELGOTH'S PUMPKIN PATCH
A couple days earlier, I joined Trevin on a school field trip to a different pumpkin patch. My friend, Alyssa, said that I should start writing pumpkin patch reviews with all of my experience. I think two in one week may have been my limit.
This was my first field trip as a parent and now I know why Trevin comes home so tired from school. He runs all day long. I had to keep track of a group of boys and by the end of the day I was exhausted, too.
We had so much fun and I loved being able to see him in this setting with his friends. At one point he held my hand while we walked around and I couldn't help but wish that he would stay a kindergartener forever.
ZOO
We had dentist appointments in Omaha in October, so that meant another stop at the Zoo! It was Columbus Day, so Ashton and JT both had the day off. They decided to meet us in Omaha for the day.
At the Cat Complex, we spent some time watching a Jaguar at the outdoor exhibit. We were standing next to a tree when the cat walked over and "marked his territory" on the tree. It was really windy that day. I felt like member of the SWAT team. I dove onto Trevin, laying us out flat on the ground. I examined Trevin and myself and was pleased to know I was successful in preventing us from getting sprayed. (I may have inflated that story a little. But in my mind, that's how it went down.)
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| Feeding the fish! |
We LOVE the aquarium. It's our favorite part; but I'm pretty sure it's everyone's favorite part.
I usually enjoy the jungle, I mean it smells foul, but it's packed full of awesome plants and animals. But this time I didn't enjoy it. There were THOUSANDS of BATS flying all over the jungle. I don't know what this was all about. It's not usually like that, but they were everywhere. They were flying into the walking caves, diving down at my children. It was like a horror film. Just imagine the movie Birds... except it was Bats... I never realized how afraid of bats I was until that day. My heart was pounding, I was sweating, and my eyes were constantly darting back and forth in fear of more flying at us. People, it was terrifying.
Another family with children was standing in the midst of the bat tornado, as calm as could be, taking photos. As I scurried past, several bats flew at us and I let out a shriek. The family looked at me as if I had lost my mind. But I knew the truth... they were the ones that were crazy.
TRAVEL CAMP REUNION - CONCERT
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| "The Jordan Era" |
Christian Resource Center celebrated 40 years of ministry this year. We had a Travel Camp Reunion for all 40+ trips. It was so fun to hear stories from years past and to hear of the life-changing impact that CRC has had on students for decades.
After the reunion, they had inflatables and games set up for the kids in the afternoon, but all of it was just a prelude for the music festival that night.
Ryan Martinez, Remedy Drive and I AM THEY. I was pinching myself every second of I AM THEY's performance. They are one of my favorite bands and I was fangirling hard.
And I was there with some of my favorite people, so it was especially memorable. It was the perfect way to end September. No doubt about it.
HALLOWEEN
The cowboy and his cow. We went to Scare the Square in Aurora and made the frigid lap to fill our buckets with candy. We also went to Stockham to make the rounds. Stockham is the best place to go because only a half-a-dozen kids trick-or-treat there... So at each house they load you up by the handfuls and pass out cool stuff like full-size candy and glow sticks. Myla must have left her manners in the barn because she tried to empty out the candy bowl into her bucket. She was so cute, she got away with it.
My favorite part, aside from watching Trevin try to corral Myla all night, was when Myla would say "thank-you" for the candy. She pronounces it "Me-moo", which is hilarious given that fact that she was a cow.
CHICAGO
In case you've never heard me say this, take trips with your friends. You won't regret it. Chicago was no exception! Eight of us left last Thursday for our friend, Braden's, wedding. We all jumped at the opportunity to celebrate with them and to make some memories along the way.
We took two vehicles and split up girls/guys on the trip there. At one of the rest stops, Taylor asked Seth to get her a bottle of water. This is what he got her.
It was so big she couldn't take a drink while she was driving without assistance. He was just asking for extra bathroom stops...
The first night in Chicago we ate at Maggiano's Little Italy. We ordered the meal to come family-style, which basically means it's an all-you-can-eat buffet brought to your table. It was a ton of food, but worth every second of the misery that followed. We had Caesar Salad, Spinach & Artichoke al Forno, Fettuccine Alfredo, Gnocchi & Italian Sausage, Chicken Parmesan, Veal Parmesan, Cheesecake, and Crème Brûlée. Yeah, that's it.
James' cousins, the Helms family, met us for supper that night and we celebrated Ruthie's upcoming birthday!
The next day the 8 of us friends took the train into downtown Chicago. We saw The Bean and went to the Field Museum of Natural History.
We all piled into one vehicle while we drove around the suburbs. In the back of the car, some of us girls had realized we forgot to put on deodorant. I said something about not wanting BO. James piped in from the front seat and said, "It tastes like country fried steak." We all looked at each other, totally confused as to what we just heard. "What??"
James replied, a little more cautiously this time, "I thought it tasted like country fried steak." Everyone else broke into laughter, much to James' confusion. He thought we were talking about the "veal" we had at the Italian restaurant the night before. So just to clear things up, he doesn't think my BO tastes like country fried steak...
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| Trey & Emily, Me & James, Caden & Ashli, Taylor & Seth Apparently family makes the best friends. |
We found Buddy Guy's Legends Blues Club and spent a couple hours there before making the mandatory stop at Giordano's for pizza.
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| This guy sang "Sweet Home Chicago" and a song about a mouse in his house. |
Saturday was wedding day, but we had the morning and most of the afternoon to hang out. We went out for coffee and hit a few more shops before grabbing some lunch where I met this beauty...
That pretzel spoke to me in ways I can't explain. Hot pretzels are my love language. And coffee. And donuts. So I guess just food...
We caught most of the frustrating Husker game and then it was time for the wedding!
Braden and Deanna got married at a beautiful venue, the Morton Arboretum. We had planned to explore the grounds before the wedding, but it was a damp and chilly day and we didn't last long. (Side-note: It took us all weekend to decide how to pronounce Arboretum. We were those people.)
The ceremony was beautiful, the food was wonderful, and the party was incredible. I've never heard a DJ as good as theirs. He was top-notch. We had the best time celebrating two really cool people. We danced 95% of the entire reception, and boy, did I feel it the next day.
Sunday came and our friends all hopped in one vehicle to come home. James and I had planned to stay an extra couple days to spend some time with his family while we were in town. We got to watch Noah's basketball game and get some much needed catch-up time with our beloved Helms family. We adore them all and never tire of time spent with them.
Monday, James and I took the day to see more in the city. We went to the Museum of Science and Industry. We toured the German U-boat that was captured in WWII. We loved the weather exhibit and the model trains, and saw a movie in the Giant Dome Theatre. We walked through the Farming exhibit and found it interesting the things they chose to display about agriculture. James even tried out a tractor simulator! You should be laughing at that sentence.
We had such a wonderful time with friends and family and were grateful for the opportunity to sneak away for a few days. But we were certainly thrilled to see the kids when we returned!
BACK ON THE FARM
I went out for a girls night to celebrate McKenna's birthday in October. Love these gals and the laughter that seems to always follow us wherever we go.
We've finished harvest and are making plans for winter. James has goals for farm jobs and house projects and we're all looking forward to some quieter days. Winter isn't all bad, in fact, I'm starting to like it.
It's hard to believe, but we have a nephew in high school! How? (I feel like I've asked that question before...) We tried to catch a couple football games for our nephews this season and it made me fall in love with this season all over again. I was raised in the bleachers of sporting events watching my brother play ball, and now it's fun to see my kids spending time doing the same things I did.
James and I have a goal to start taking regular date nights. For the first 6 years of our marriage, we tried to squeeze in a date night every month, but realistically, it was more like every other month. It usually only happened if there was any room left in our schedule after everything else claimed time, and it was generally a result of a conflict needing to be resolved or trying to remember what the other person looked like. We're committed to be more intentional about our time together and prioritizing our marriage before any other responsibilities or needs. On this week's date we shared a nice meal and then stopped to do some ring shopping for James for the second time in 4 months. He's now on his third wedding ring in 6 years. We found a nice $30 one at Walmart. I say "nice" loosely; it looks nice, but I will not care when he loses this one. I've learned to detach myself from the rings I give him. I'm becoming wiser.
TREVIN:
+He's five-and-a-half now. He'll make sure you know it's different than "just 5".
+One day on the way to school, he told me, "Mom, I like when you drive me. You don't waste any time." I don't know if he was calling me out for speeding or slamming James for lollygagging.
+He hears phrases and tries to repeat them, but doesn't always get it quite right. He told me the other day, "Mom. Myla butt-headed me!" Headbutt... Not quite the same. A few days later, James and I answered him at the exact same time with the same word. He smiled and yelled, "Ooo! Jinx you owe me a Minnesota!" I told him I don't have enough money to buy a Minnesota.
+School is going well for Trevin. He really enjoys it, but still hates PE. We're working on it. We have noticed that school has made him more brave. He's a little more eager for adventure and tries new things. It used to be a struggle even to get him to draw anything freehanded, without me showing him how. But now he sits down and draws all sorts of pictures from his imagination. He's not so afraid of failing and it's been so good to see.
+We're well into the 2nd quarter of the school year. We had parent-teacher conferences at the end of the 1st quarter. His teacher said he's learning quickly and that he makes friends with everyone. She said he's witty in class, cracking jokes and making them laugh. Most days, when I pick him up from school, he makes sure to hug his teacher before he leaves. He's got a sweet spot and I think it's growing. It's been such a good fit for us.
+Hampton Lutheran takes a lot of field trips and Trevin has been loving that! They went to the State Fair at the beginning of the year and have gone to a literary fair where they read books and met authors. They also had an apple field trip to the Leadership Center. They picked apples and then learned about different varieties and then got to prepare some food using the apples. On Halloween they trick-or-treated to the nursing home and sang some songs for the residents. The pumpkin patch was a fun trip and they have another trip planned for next week. We love that he has lots of opportunities to learn outside of the classroom. Needless to say, he loves it, too.
MYLA:
+Oh this girl is all energy and giggles. She keeps us laughing and is constantly repeating whatever we say. She loves to put on shoes, even if they're her brother's.
+We're back into the phase of life where everything is strung across the house. She is constantly dumping out boxes, bags, totes, drawers, containers and then just walks away. I forgot how busy kids are at this stage.
+She uses her onesie as a pocket. It's not uncommon for us to be changing her diaper, only to find toys, magnets, cards, blocks, crayons, etc. stuffed deep in her shirt. Who needs a bag when you wear a onesie??
+She loves being with Dad. She cries every time he leaves and squeals his name when he gets home. They have a special bond. Everyone always said that having a girl would be different, but I didn't believe them until we had a daughter. She is so special to him and him to her. I love having a front row seat to see it all.
+She cut a few more teeth, bringing her total up to 11 with one more about to pop through. It's very obvious to us when she is teething, because she is a completely different child. It helps us really enjoy her sweetness when she's feeling fine.
+Myla shows a little interest in potty training. She often tells me after she's gone #2. So I've sat her on the potty several times just to get her used to it. I'm in no rush to potty train her, diapers make life easy. But if she continues showing interest we may give it a shot.
+Myla had one breath-holding spell in August and DIDN'T HAVE ANY in September!!! Then, the last week of October, I was working at church alone with Myla. As we were loading up to leave, she tripped and fell on the carpet. She let out a hard cry and the all too common silence followed as she held her breath. I walked back to pick her up in hopes of comforting her. As I held her, I watched her face; she appeared to be frozen. I had a flashback to the 4th of July. This looked more like her pre-seizure activity and less like the regular breath-holding spell. The panic swept over me. I laid her down, fully expecting to be forced to watch her seize alone. I've never felt tears form so quickly. I gritted my teeth and realized that I had stopped breathing as well. I felt a mixture of adrenaline and pure weakness. My mind was rushing but my heart just simply broke. The fear that I thought was no longer there, had completely consumed, once again. It took me as it's captive. I watched her face, in fear of what I would see next. Then she took a breath as she passed out. Instant relief washed over me right there on the church floor. She was passed out for about 10 seconds, which was the longest she'd ever been unconscious following a breath-holding spell. I held her close and wept. I shook for 20 minutes, unable to stop. I whispered love over her and thanked God that he spared her from a seizure. Moments like this will never get easier, but I know that they stretch me, they grow me, they make me a better mom, they give me perspective, they teach me lessons I couldn't learn any other way. And for that, I'm thankful. She hasn't had any breath-holding spells or seizures in November so far. Often times I feel like we're in the clear, past the season of panic, but every now and then I'm reminded that we don't know what's ahead. Still just taking it one day at a time.
We're settling in for the winter and looking towards the holiday season with anticipation.
Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving,
from the Huenefelds.
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