Fishing with church friends!

Our church had a fishing night and then fried up the fish we caught!  Austin loves to fish, so he was excited to be there!  He did have a fall ball practice to go to but that got canceled because of wet fields.  He likes baseball but he was happy to stay and fish all night long.  He fished till dark!

 

Steve and Ruth and Dean and Roseanna cooked up the food and we had a delicious supper!

Fishing and friends = the best night!

This was a little boys dream!

In memory of Mommy D.

Gunnar is our sweet grandson! He is 6 months old and sitting!  He's the happiest little guy and we love when he comes to our home!  We babysit while his momma coaches Ashlyn's volleyball team.  It's been working so well!  He came ready to cheer for the Chiefs and we were happy for that too!!!!!

 

Cute little friends!!!!!

All things pumpkin and the house smells amazing after baking these muffins!  And we grabbed some Linden fall drinks!  The girls love these!

I baked the muffins for a gathering with these friends.  Anne had my mom and Ruth and a few of Annies girls for a brunch.  Jody and I were there too!  It was so sweet to talk about Mommy D and her sister Annie!  Both of these ladies passed away now and what a great legacy they left behind!

Such gorgeous dahlias I'm enjoying from a lady that lives in town and grows these!  And my favorite fall candle is lit once again!  Honeycrisp Apple from Candle Chemistry!

October.

October is here.  It's the month of color!!!!  I can't wait to watch the leaves turn from green to reds and oranges and yellows!  These months are flying by in 2025 and I just know that this month will be the same.  We've got cabin trips on our mind!  Hunting season begins!  Our weekends are full of activities and it's gonna be so fun to watch the volleyball team move on to finals and districts and hopefully to states!!!!  This month we turn on the floor heat and grab for our warm jackets!  The garden is finishing up and the dahlias are gorgeous!

Welcome lovely October!!!!!

 

The sunlight is so beautiful as we walk the park paths!

The New Holland Parade is a highlight for us each fall!  We walk the streets to find our favorite waffle and ice cream sandwiches!  Austin always loves the games.  The fish he was given last year is still alive today.

Mommy Lapp joined us and we showed her what the fair and parade life is all about!

We sat along the street as the parade went by!  The load trucks and bag pipers were fun and the candy we collected still lays in Austin's bedroom.  Gunnar liked it.  We were chilly and reminded to wear warm clothes for the parade!  Ashlyn was there too but of course she was sitting with Meg and Mel!  Matthew and Daisy came on the motorcycle but we took their chairs back for them after the parade!

Our favorite Gingerbread Biscottis!!!!!

It seems like so many loved ones are dying and going to be with Jesus!  Here are a few we know and don't know but they were all ambassadors for Jesus!

I pulled out the flowers in the garden and now we have all these zinna seeds coming up!  And tons of peppers were picked off the plants!  It's time to clean out the garden before frost comes!

We laughed out way to the cabin!  There were lots of great food trucks at County Lane and Mike suggested we get dinner here before driving to the girls volleyball game and then going straight to the cabin from there!  The lobster rolls were delicious and expensive!!!!!  We licked the Nooners Italian Ice as we drove so it wouldn't melt before our main meal was eaten.  Mike decided to wait to eat his loaded hot dog from Drifters until after the game but after the game, we couldn't find it.  It must have gotten thrown out when we cleaned out the trash!

The girls played great and won another match!

We got the cabin at 1 AM on Saturday morning.  We were tired but we listened to Charlie and Erika Kirk speak as we drove in the dark.  The goal for this cabin trip was to help Dad with the pickle ball court and the boys to hunt!!!!

Putting up the huge light poles was quiet the job!

Lines were painted on the court!

Mike took Austin hunting and he used Ritchies cross bow.  They saw deer and even some bucks but couldn't get a shot.

All these cabin trips are so much fun!  The kids play, hunt, ride toys and spend time with family!

October ... we can't wait to watch you turn into beauty!

September wraps up.

 Ashlyn is still playing volleyball.  There's only a few more weeks of this sport left on the schedule and they are playing well!  Hadassah is coaching the girls so we get to hold Gunnar during game time!  It's been a blast!

I love that my phone put together an album called Mommy D OVER THE YEARS.  I have so many photos of us together because I was intentional with taking a photo when I had a visit with her!  And over the funeral time of her passing, we looked through so many old photos too!  I love this one of me and my older cousins with Daudy and Mommy D!!!!!  I remember right where this was and could you there yet today!  So precious!

The garden is growing gorgeous lettuce and radishes!

The day of Mommy D's funereal was also the day of Charlie Kirks memorial service.  I want to watch the service so I taking it bit by bit.  With it being over five hours long, it will take me a bit to watch the whole thing but I sat and looked through the new book my mom gifted me!  There's so many powerful words being spoken and the name of Jesus is being proclaimed!

Wednesday is the day that I would visit Mommy!  I didn't stress if I didn't get there for some reason.  It didn't happen every week but it was the day that I tried to make a visit with her!  You never knew if she would be awake or how sharp her mind would be when you arrived but she was always happy to see me and I loved it!  I didn't stay real long because I was then off to workout class by noon!  

This was last Wednesday.  I visited her grave now instead.  The flowers that were laid on her grave were still blooming.  I miss you Mommy D!!!!!

And Gunnar got to go along on my morning walk!  He fussed and made baby sounds as Lind and I made our laps around the park!  He's such a cutie pie!

Our church had a "Meet you at the Cafe" night!  This was for the ladies from church that RSVP and they didn't know until that day where they were going and who was going to be there!  They knew it was going to be ladies from church but didn't see the list of friends until they arrived!  I met with this group of ladies at the Village Cafe and chatted and laughed and made new connections with church friends!

And we are in thick of school these days.  Austin is liking his new teacher!  Being in fifth grade is going well for him.  Last week was a lot of studying.  He had a book report to do.  A few tests to study for plus the normal spelling words and bible memory!  I am so grateful that we have good teachers to teacher our children well!  I got to review and learn a few things too while I helped Austin study!

 

As I watched the Charlie Kirk memorial I jotted down a quote from his wife Erika Kirk.  She said, "Your role is to make heaven crowded!"  I have a small spot in the kitchen that has collected quotes or notes over the years and now I have a new one to review!

These Gingerbread Biscottis are a hit right now in our home!  I made a double batch and they are so good dipped in coffee or tea!!!!  The house smells amazing after baking these and Austin loves how professional they look after the chocolate gets drizzled over top!

Home ... it's the place where I get to display the cute pumpkin patch photos I took of the kids when they were younger!  Its the place where I can have fresh flowers on display in the kitchen!

It's the home where we eat a lot and I wonder how many times this pantry door opens each door?  I grabbed myself a hot Pumpkin Chia after grocery shopping and it was delicious!

And herels a photo of my grocery haul yesterday.  Every Sunday I like to sit down with a paper and pen and a cookbook and plan out our meals for the upcoming week.  Then I grab groceries on Monday.  A favorite right now are the Sugar Snap Peas from Target.  They are so good!  The girls love these!  Also the chocolate milk from Maplehofe Dairy Farm.  The boys love this drink!  

With taking the kids to school in the morning, we had to come up with a solution about making a stop at Latte Luv!  We you drive past the best coffee shop around every day, you need to have self control and not let drinks drain the money bag!  We decided that Tuesday would be the day if we stopped!  The kids love the Autumn Shaker but this morning they both got the iced vanilla breve.  I already made a cup of coffee as I packed lunches so I passed on a drink this morning!  These morning school runs came be so sweet!

September is almost over.  We are in the last days of this favorite month!  It's been beautiful.  It's been on the dry side and we could use the rains!  The garden is still looking good but the flowers are dwindling down.  The radishes and lettuce were awesome!  The farmers are started with cutting the corn down in the fields around us!  That always sends the mice running and we almost always catch one in the basement.  The traps are set if they find their way inside.  The school sale is over and Austin has a few more fall ball games to play.

I love September but the next month coming up is the month of color!!!  Fall leaves start to burst with color!  I can't wait to see it!