Brrrr . . .
I had forgotten how cold Michigan is this time of year,until I went home this past weekend. However, it was worth every chill! My nephews (Stephen and Preston), and niece (Chae) made it all worth it, for sure!
They seem to grow so much more quickly when I'm not there to see them on a regular basis. It is definitely hard not being there to see them change.
The occassion was Stephen's tenth birthday, and it was certainly fun. He has a special place in my heart as do Chae and now, Preston--something that just cannot be put into words.
I was also able to visit with my nearly ninety-year-old grandmother, who is certainly one of my greatest heros!
And thanks to my two "sisters," I was treated like royalty--such a blessing to have them in my family! Thanks everyone for making every bit of my trip a success!

My man . . .

Josh has been so amazing with Laura Grace! It makes me all the more certain that he is going to someday make a terrific father (not that I didn't already know that). Not only is he SO great with her, and the love is certainly reciprocated (all I have heard today is "Jo . . . shshshshsh!"), but he shares a lot of ME with her, and I appreciate that. We both have fairly demanding jobs at times, and he is always understanding and sacrificial of the demands of mine.

Yep, her again . . .
We had her again this weekend, and we just happened to visit Barnes and Noble at storytime with Maisy! I thought for certain she was too young for this experience, since it involved coloring with crayons, a joy to which she had not yet been introduced and a big giant mouse of whom I was sure she would be scared.
Well, my good sense was proven wrong. She actually LOVED coloring with crayons (and even kept them out of her mouth), and as for Maisy, she couldn't get enough . . .

Pumpkin Patch
Josh and I had Laura Grace this weekend, so we decided to take her to a pumpkin patch--we knew this would be a great world of orange "balls" for her, since "ball" was her first word and is by far her favorite one! Anything that resembles anything close to a ball is in fact just that, and she will tell you that until you acknowledge that she is correct.
Anyway, she had a great time, and we had just as much fun, I think.