My adventures as a mom, a theologian's wife, and an ex-pat across the pond
Kate made Lizzie a gorgeous quilt I am so excited about!! They’re my favorite colors and it’s such a perfect size and weight. I am so honored by this gift- a labor or love for sure! Rachel made Lizzie some really cool bunting, too- I just need to get it hung so I can take good pics- what cool friends!!!
{*Note: for whatever reason my pictures don’t enlarge just by clicking on them anymore…? So, just hit ctrl + and the whole screen shot will get bigger. Do ctrl- to get it smaller again. This will work for anything, not just pictures on blogs.}
I am in the process of nesting for sure- wanting to make sure we get every moment out of every hour with the kids before chaos ensues! For me, it has meant lots of crafting and baking and stuff my family really appreciates. Since Halloween was looming, I made sure not to forget the special things we do, not because we love Halloween, but because we love a reason to make stuff. ;)
So, we made caramel apples.
In the midst of stirring caramel, I baked these beauties…no idea why! They’re cinnamon egg bread braids.
Josh carved a pumpkin for the kids. We forgot last year, so it was a must! Have you ever tried to get a picture of your 2 favorites? Then, you know my pain. I thought I’d share it with you. Anyway, Luke did manage attending his nursery class, although he was all tears upon arrival {see yesterday’s post for more info}. He had a god day and even won 2nd place for his own decorated pumpkin that has his scribbles and little black foam spider stickers all over it. Bless his teachers for knowing he needed a win.
We also made candy corn popcorn balls. Always a fave. Forgot to take a pic. Oops.
Finally, we trick or treated with 20 of our American buddies and their families and ended at our flat for a little shindig….and by “little,” yes, I do mean huge…as in 50 people in our small flat. It worked somehow. Can I also just say that costumes you can’t wash are a crime against all parents?
The kids have been off school the past 2 weeks and evidently going stir-crazy is part and parcel to school holidays. As such, since Christy, Bethany, and I each have at least one child off from school, we have been getting together to have some play time or activities- especially for the 5-year-olds. Christy hosted a leaf-pressing craft, as well as leaf impressions. Bethany did a fingerprint corn on the cob craft at her place. So, I did Halloween sugar cookies- a true labor of love, I tell you. ;) I really, really, really miss my Kitchen Aid mixer for baking. Alas, I managed to make the sugar cookie dough a day in advance so it could harden in the fridge and be ready for rolling the next morning. I also made my mother-in-law’s awesome buttercream frosting and did 4 colors. We all contributed cookie cutters and even some sprinkles. {Yes, there was a lot of chair cleaning and vacuuming, but not nearly as much as I anticipated.}
{I used this recipe, subbing margarine for butter and vanilla bean paste for extract, tossing in a bit of almond extract too. Here is the buttercream frosting.}
We have been on holiday last week and this week, so both kids have been home. We have gotten together with a lot of friends and done some crafty, outdoor, or special stuff while we’ve had them at home. I did want to share some pictures of my time with just Luke while Rebekah is at school, as well as some of us with our friends. :)
A few nights ago, Luke and Abigail raided the dress-up box and scored some pretty sweet costumes. I thought they looked so cute! Then, Rebekah found the astronaut costume- I am so glad Nana hits the after-Halloween sales and finds these great costumes for us. ;) The donkey was Mercy’s. We also have Buzz Lightyear, a chicken and a leopard, too, as well as a host of princess and ballerina stuff, of course. It will be interesting to see what Luke chooses for Halloween. Rebekah has decided she wants to be a bride- we have that, too. We like dress up around here, I guess.
And some of our holiday pictures…
Last week we said goodbye to our dear friends, the Nighs. Once again, I am losing a great friend and life will change again. The Lord has been so good to provide such great friends for us to make this time in Scotland incredibly precious and forever etched in our memories. Anyway, I only managed a few pics of the actual party, but here they are…
Yes, we had a lot of food…but that was good because the Nighs have been a huge part of our community here and many families came to say good bye.
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