Pumpkin Carving

We fashioned our jack o' lantern just before lunch today. We'd meant to do it earlier, but it just didn't happen. We carved just one, which means the rest of the pumpkins can continue to hang out on our porch even though Halloween will be over in a few hours!

The girls were thrilled and dug right in. (Indy opted for a nap.)

Pumpkin slime will not deter our children. (Come to think of it, not much will deter our children.)

The girls have been talking in trembling voices about the "scary decorations" in the neighborhood for weeks, so we knew that our jack o lantern would have to be a happy one. (But, hey, who could hang out at the circus and not be happy? He never had a choice!) Once we were done we wished we'd managed to carve it earlier in the week, so that we could have enjoyed its glow longer....

Posed photographs are not our strength.

Happy Halloween, friends!

At the Pumpkin Patch

Last week Daddy managed to sneak away from his office for a morning (he might not have classes everyday but he's still a very busy guy) to take us to pick out some pumpkins. We headed for scenic Half Moon Bay, to the same farm we visited last year -- and we had just as much fun!

First of all, we're grateful that Daddy has a flexible schedule. The farm wasn't too busy when we arrived on a Thursday morning, but it was really hopping when we left. We can only imagine how crazy it would be on a weekend. Honestly, we're glad we don't have to know.

Next, we had surprisingly good weather. It was chilly and foggy when we arrived, but by the time we left it was sunny and warm. It was a typical coastal California morning -- enough chill to warrant some hot chocolate while we were there, but enough sun to make everyone ditch their sweatshirts for the ride home.

What's left to say? We love pumpkins! And, um, goats.

Kathleen loved feeding the goats, but the goats really loved being fed!

Kathleen enjoyed feeding the goats. For some reason, though, the goats did not love Madeline. They let her pet them, which she liked, but they wouldn't eat out of her hand. And once snubbed by the goats, Madeline wasn't going to do them any favors (like trying to give them food.)

Instead, we perused the pumpkins.

Indy inspected the pumpkins up close...

while Madeline preferred more of an overview.

If they could've carted them, we'd probably have had all these pumpkins on our porch!

And then we took a ride on the train.

Look, a picture of Mama! (See, it happens every now and then.)

And on a rocking horse.

And posed for a photo. Or two.

Well, we tried, anyway. (We didn't even include the outtakes from when we tried to pose all three children on a rocking horse for a photo. I think the concept was maybe okay, but our execution stunk. At least I caught Indy when he fell off. No, really. There goes mother of the year. Again.)

And then -- once fortified by some cocoa and a cookie and some pumpkin pie -- we got down to the actual business of picking our pumpkins. And for that, we need a wheel barrow. Kathleen insisted she could push it herself, but Daddy helped. Just a little.

And then we picked out five pumpkins. Five. We couldn't stop ourselves. There are, after all, five of us. And then we loaded them all up to head home. But first we tried for yet another family photo.

Not quite...

One more try?

Still no.

Like I said, we tried. And really, I think the imperfect series of photos captures our circus more perfectly than any one photo could... So, no photo, but plenty of pumpkins. Not a bad day at the circus!

doctor, doctor!

Doctor Kathleen cheerfully administers some shots to keep everyone "well and healthy." (For the uninitiated, that's what the doctor says in Richard Scarry's Best First Book Ever.)

Kathleen received some miniature scrubs from her cousin Lizzie a while back. Too big for her at the time, they were tucked away with the other gratefully-accepted-but-still-too-big-hand-me-downs. A few weeks ago I actually remembered to look through that storage bin and -- along with a number of other useful items -- we pulled out the scrubs.

Kathleen is in love. Lizzie had worn the scrubs as a Halloween costume, but since Kathleen already had her Halloween costume when we rediscovered these, she's been putting them to other use. She wears them every night as pajamas, lately layered over a long sleeved white t-shirt. (She'll proudly tell you that that's what real doctors do so they don't get cold.) And once she's dressed in her scrubs, she quickly outfits herself with the rest of her doctoring accessories -- at least until we make her take them off for bed. (Incidentally, she sleeps with those items in a doctor's kit next to her bed, so she can get them as soon as she wakes.)

The scrubs were a timely discovery. Between well-baby check-ups and flu shots and an odd infection (on Madeline's leg -- better now, thanks), the circus has made a number of trips to the doctor of late. Some highlights from those visits:

• Kathleen barely cried when she got her flu shot. She started to, and then she stopped. Madeline, on the other hand, could not be consoled. "Dockta hurt me!" she'd wail. Kissed and hugged and sung-to and bribed with milk, she simply continued crying all the way home and then some. The child knows how to hold a grudge.


• Madeline charmed the doctor at her two-year-check-up, singing and talking and moving the entire time. Our pediatrician was spared the indignation that Madeline can demonstrate when vaccinated, since we did that at a separate appointment.


• Indy is, indeed, enormous. At his belated four-month check-up (just before we left for South Dakota), he weighed over 21 pounds. Happily, though, he's completely proportional, in the 98th percentile for both weight and height.


• Indy has four teeth and a super smile. He still insists on eating every three hours through the night, so now that he's six months old, we've finally broken out the rice cereal. He has tackled it with the same enthusiasm he downs his milk.

Indy's first meal of rice cereal. So far, he's a happy eater.

I'm roasting a butternut squash right now, which will be his first taste of vegetables. Let's hope he likes that, too. And let's hope it induces a little more sleeping!

Here I raise my Ebenezer;

Here by Thy great help I’ve come;

And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,

Safely to arrive at home.

-- Robert Robinson

Two years ago today we rejoiced, reunited.

And today we rejoice again, marveling not only at the way time passes so much more quickly on this side of a deployment, but also -- and more importantly -- at the faithfulness of our God. He brought us through the deployment and Madeline's arrival and then from Hawaii to a new home (a house and a church) and grew our family to include a sweet, chunky little boy. And though not every moment has had the giddy exhilaration of a midnight reunion where the dust of Iraq mingled with Oahu's orchid leis and freshly washed, still sleepy babes, every moment has been -- every moment is -- gift.

But it's easy to forget that in the dailyness of life. Buried in laundry and discipline and dishes, I forget to lift my eyes, to see the enormity of what my God has done for me. I need, like Samuel to build a monument, to mark the victory:

Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer (which means “the stone of help”), for he said, “Up to this point the Lord has helped us!” (1 Samuel 7:12)

And so today we pause -- still buried in laundry and discipline and dishes -- to say, "up to this point the Lord has helped us!" Grateful for all He has already done in our lives, we have every confidence that His great love and mercy will be as evident in our future as it has been in our past. How blessed we are.

The Wedding Wrap-Up

Finally, a glimpse of the reason the circus traveled to South Dakota. Granted, this isn't much of a glimpse. Mama and Daddy and Kathleen were in the wedding party, and that made it a little difficult to take many photos. But since we're all about sharing, here's what we've got:

1. Aunt Annie was a beautiful bride. She and her best friend Kevin were married in a darling white clapboard church that was decorated with candles and autumn leaves. We wish them every blessing.

2. Aunt Katherine and Kathleen hanging out before the ceremony. Kathleen was so excited to have been asked to be a flower girl for the wedding -- except that she called it being "a flower fairy." And sometimes a "flower fairy princess." Mama and Daddy were a bit nervous about her role, since our three-going-on-four-year-old can be, well, fickle. But Kathleen was a natural. The doors opened and she strolled down the center aisle of the church, beaming and tossing autumn leaves from her little basket. She was darling. And we were very much relieved.

3. Aunt Annie and Kevin asked Daddy to wear his uniform for the wedding. Madeline was only a few months old the last time that she saw Daddy wear his blues (not that she'd remember), so she was impressed. I love how she's gazing at him. He's her hero, after all. (Mine, too.)

4. Madeline can find fun anywhere, even in a sanctuary. For that reason (and since Mama and Daddy weren't exactly free to restrain her during the ceremony), Madeline and John David hung out in the church's nursery with a nice teenage girl (recommended by the pastor) during the wedding. That poor girl earned her money, as our sweet, extremely tired, monumentally put-out baby screamed for the entire (though, mercifully not lengthy) ceremony. (We couldn't hear it. That's the beauty of the basement nursery.) Consequently, by the time we got to the reception, he was tuckered out:

After a little nap he joined the party, too. He might not be much of a conversationalist, but Indy loves to visit. Just look how happy he was to sit with Grandma and Aunt Eileen! It was such a treat to be able to catch up with family we've haven't seen -- in some cases, ever. Aunt Eileen, for example, hadn't gotten to meet Madeline or John David before the weekend. And the last time she'd seen Kathleen, our girl had been just weeks old!

And then, we danced. And danced and danced and danced.

When our feet could dance no more, we headed back to our house and tucked our littles into bed while we repacked our suitcases.

The next morning, just after we took this photo, we all headed our separate ways. Our girls are already asking when they can see their cousins again...

The cousins, minus Matt and Ethan, who were home for their football games...

Cheer, Cheer...

This one's for you, Grandpa!

Apparently Kathleen has begun training for operatic performance... I also love that the girls seem to think that Notre Dame has "royal" sons, rather than "loyal"!

And though it wasn't their most spirited interpretation of the fight song, both girls do love to cheer for their Irish.

Go Irish! Beat Trojans!

(We know it's a long shot, but like Lou says, "You gotta believe!")

Great Faces, Great Places

South Dakota's license plates read "Great Faces, Great Places." And that pretty much sums up our first two days in that state!

Thursday: Great Places

South Dakota's landscape impressed us from the moment we stepped off our plane in Rapid City. (Well, from the time we stepped outside the airport to find our rental car, anyway.) The sky seemed so vast, so open. We suddenly felt quite small.

By the time we'd loaded children, carseats, and bags into our SUV (which, thanks to providence was equipped with four-wheel-drive) it was too dark to appreciate the landscape as we drove from Rapid City to Deadwood, where Aunt Annie would be married. We could certainly see the snow, though! It swirled in the light from our headlights, fascinating the girls. They couldn't understand why we wouldn't drive down the interstate with the windows open. Madeline made a habit of cheering, "I see snow!" (Incidentally, that sounds more like, "I see no!")

We stopped briefly in Deadwood, visiting with Annie and her fiance, the Golby Grandparents, and some other family members. After some catching up, we loaded everyone back into the SUV and followed Margaret, Craig and (COUSINS!) Ali and Lizzie out to the house we'd rented for the weekend. We'd share it with Katherine, Eric, Sarah and Melissa, too. We'd figured that the extra space would make it easier for cousins to play and littles to nap and parents not to lose their minds. As it turns out, we were right about that.

What we hadn't realized was that the house we'd rented was out. in. the. country. We were so, so grateful to be able to follow Craig and Margaret on our first trip out in the dark and snow and unplowed roads. They'd made their way to the house earlier in the day, so they knew what they were doing. We couldn't even tell that the road to the house was a road at first. Who knows when or if we'd have found it without them!

To get to our (otherwise fantastic) house, we had to follow a dirt (not paved, not gravel -- dirt!) road for two miles as it twisted and turned through the hills. But first we had to pass through an active mining area. We couldn't exactly tell what was going on that first night, though we could see the lights of the big trucks moving around in the quarry. We snapped some photos of the crossing in the daylight. It was a little intimidating. We found it even more so as the giant mining trucks barreled by us!

Once the treacherous drive was behind us, we settled into our house. It was more than big enough for the three families -- boasting five bedrooms, a finished basement (with foosball!), and a living room with a vaulted ceiling and a stone fireplace. So, the cousins explored and played, running off a bit of energy until the littlest ones were bundled off to bed. (Madeline slept in a bed! Fortified with chairs, but still, a bed!) Then the relieved and travel-weary parents enjoyed a glass of wine in front of a roaring fire before we, too, collapsed into bed.

When the sun came up the next morning, we could finally see where we were, and the snowy views were incredible!

We'd managed to find a "great place" to stay!

Friday: Great Faces

Later that morning we headed out (through some pretty serious snow, at points) to see South Dakota's famous " great faces" -- on Mount Rushmore -- for ourselves.

It was entirely worth the drive.

The whole crew at Mount Rushmore. (From left to right: John David, Mama, Kathleen, Daddy, Aunt Eileen, Lizzie, Margaret, Ali, and Madeline.) You might not be able to see it, but Lizzie is holding her social studies book. With Mount Rushmore on the cover!

Indy wasn't too happy about the cold, fuzzy bear-eared coat notwithstanding.

Madeline didn't seem to mind as much. (How much do I love the photos from Mount Rushmore? They're almost too much fun to be real! Though they are, in fact, real.)

We went into the park with our family, Margaret's family, and Daddy's Aunt Eileen. While we were there, Katherine's family joined the party on their way in from Illinois. We had an enthusiastic reunion just outside the park's theatre. The movie was quite good, but the arrival of an aunt, an uncle, and two more cousins totally eclipsed it, at least for our girls.

On our way out of the park, we got an up-close-and-personal moment with a mountain goat.

Kathleen and Melissa ventured closer than Mama would have...

In addition to great photographs and an introduction to a goat, our trip to Mount Rushmore afforded us the opportunity to purchase and stamp Indy's own Passport to Our National Parks. It was his first national park -- many more to come!

The rest of our trip was devoted to wedding activities, which deserve a post of their own. But our introduction to South Dakota's "Great Faces, Great Places" was wonderful. We'd love to take the whole family back again sometime (we'd even stay in that same house -- though maybe in the summer!) to enjoy more of that beautiful state. (We want a meet-up, Hendersons!)

A wintry weekend

Sorry we've been absent for a bit, friends. Once Daddy completed his comp (we won't know the results for quite a while yet, but we are hopeful that all went well), the circus took a bit of a vacation! Well, we didn't leave for "vacation" right away... in fact, we didn't leave until Thursday. But we spent Tuesday and Wednesday packing and preparing for a trip to South Dakota for Aunt Annie's wedding.

When Indy heard "vacation," he broke out his sunglasses.

When Madeline heard "South Dakota," she broke out her hat and mittens.

As it turns out, Maddie had the right idea!

Although the weekend was cold and very, very snowy, we loved (almost) every minute of it. (You simply cannot love every minute of traveling with three children, three and under -- at least, that's what I think. ) South Dakota was gorgeous. Annie was a beautiful bride. And there were cousins. What more could we want? (Well, maybe just a little less snow.)

We'll share more about our wintry weekend over the next few days! For now, we're settling into California autumn and missing our cousins...

study, study, study

Playing school is a favorite game around the circus. Reading, coloring, counting, writing letters -- anything that might be interpreted as school gets high marks around here.

For example, here's Madeline, "hard at work" with a coloring book.

Even little Indy has been hitting the books. (Of course, the real accomplishment is the sitting, not that we're bragging about him or anything!)

But one member of our family is actually doing school this weekend. Daddy is taking his comprehensive exam in American politics, an important step to finishing (in a few years!) his PhD. His exam started on Friday afternoon at 3pm and won't finish until Monday morning at 9. He's been holed up in his office at school, writing furiously, coming home late at night and leaving early in the morning. Before we arrived at graduate school, I imagined that studying American politics would entail examining policy and strategy and perhaps current events. I was wrong. From what I can tell, it's largely math. Complicated math. Much more complicated than the calculus that befuddled me in high school. And even worse, they write about the math. But somehow Daddy manages the math (probably why he's in charge of finances and tipping in restaurants) and all the rest of it. We know he can do it, but we know he'd appreciate any prayers for endurance, good health (the kids all have colds - again), and mental acuity...

Good luck, Daddy! We love you!