Fall temps and lessons learned

I'm behind on posting so I'm going heavy on photos and light on words.

My dad's surprise retirement party in WV went great! It was such a fun surprise and he had a great time visiting with lots of friends. Isaac and I enjoyed the cooler temps and embraced the fall feeling! Isaac wasn't crazy about long pants and his long-sleeved shirt but was still very good for the trip!

My sweet dad with his Gone Fishin cake! We're hoping retirement = lots of trips to Florida!

Isaac is finally walking and it makes outings a lot more fun! We took a trip to the park for playing and a picnic last week to enjoy the cooler temps (ahem...mid 80s for those northern readers!).

no good photos because walking = always on the move!

We are at a new milestone with Isaac. It's called I'll do it my way and I don't care if you don't like I will just throw whatever is closest to me in your direction and then laugh when you tell me no :) Seriously, this 18-month old phase has been an extreme challenge to me as a mom. I've learned some important lessons, including how important the "container" is to Isaac and not just the food (don't you know that blueberries in the original leaky, sharp corner plastic container taste MUCH better than the same blueberries in a nice clean bowl?). Anyway, the biggest change has been that he insists on feeding himself and once I learned to let go of the mess and just let him do it himself, everyone is happier. Well, except the after dinner me cleaning off what is now a permanently sticky floor next to the table!

These boys are hard to handle some days, they challenge me to be a Godly mom 24/7 (even when I have to give myself a timeout to cool down and decide what response works best to whatever has been said/thrown/etc.). But it all comes down to wanting to be the one who loves them most in the world, the one who wants them to know how much they matter and how much the other "stuff" doesn't, and teaching them that as much as their mommy loves them, they have a God who loves them even more. While I'm not sure I will miss all this "excitement" they give me, I do know that someday I will look back at this season and realize just how beautiful it was - sticky floors and all.