Happy Halloween...

Happy Halloween from Curious George and his little Banana...

Fall Adventures

I've neglected my blog for some time now due to the business of life. But it was calling me back, so let me catch you up on some of our fall adventures. After Florida, Ed went to Ohio for a conference, I went to MD to visit family, the boys went on the Martin man camping trip, we went to Charlottesville (sheltons we missed you there!) to go apple picking, went to children's museum, and had a fall festival at church, just to catch you up on a few. Oh yes, and baby C has cut his first tooth so that made for an interesting, or should I say tough, weekend. Here are some pics:

First Annual Martin Man Camping Trip

Micah hiking up a difficult trail. He walked the whole way. He would not let Ed hold him!
Ed and Micah at the Summit of Hawksbill
Apple Picking at Carter Mountain in Charlottesville
I just had to put this in here. This is at the Children's Museum in Annapolis. What's up with me lately? I don't know. First the squirrel and now this snake. I get the chills just looking at the picture. I held this snake so Micah would pet it. The things you do for kids!
Micah at the Richmond Children's Museum...we went with William and Trey Haun.
Some of our youth at the Fall Festival. Micah loved that inflatable behind them!
Baby C at 5 months

Florida Trip

Our trip to Florida was so fun! We came back exhausted and ready to be back on a schedule. It was like my boys let out a huge sigh of relief. Micah maybe had one nap the whole time and Caleb well didn't sleep at all during the night. Don't you just love that? Well the plane was fun because it was Micah's first time. After the craziness of going through security, Micah found his seat in the terminal and said to Ed, "Daddy, you sit over there. Ah, this plane is so fun!" Ed laughingly told him that this was not the plane. We boarded packed plane and took off. Micah wanted to hold Ed's hand during take off, he was a little scared. We watched Finding Nemo and enjoyed our drinks. The pilot came on and said, "Thank you ladies and gentleman for choosing Air Tran today, ..." Ed said who was that Micah. He said, "God." (Wouldn't that be awesome? I love the mind of a 2 year old.)

Micah on the plane and no that is not the ocean in the window. It is the engine, or whatever that thing is, so micah couldn't see anything out the window.

We arrived in Orlando that afternoon and enjoyed dinner and catching up with the Beelers. Then left for camp the next day. The camp was perfect for a youth retreat. But it was a little rustic for me. There were a lot of big Florida bugs. I think I ended up with about a hundred ant bites on my feet! We had a watchfrog at our door every evening. I had to be careful not to step on him. And Micah even had a visit from a baby lizard in his bed, that yes, I had to catch. If only you could've seen me with two styrofoam cups trying to catch this bad boy without getting too close!

The kids in the dining hall. Elizabeth had a hard weekend of being single moms. With three toddlers, a baby, and her being pregnant, it got challenging.

After the retreat, on Monday, we went to Sea World. That's us walking in the park. We had a lot of fun, it was pretty hot. Micah really loved seeing all the animals. I'm not sure what his favorite was, either the penguins or sharks.

The day we left. Please ignore Elizabeth and I...how cute are the boys! Micah and Charlie had so much fun together. Charlie taught Micah how to sing in a microphone and play the guitar and sing. For those of you who don't know, Charlie is amazingly musically talented. He LOVES David Crowder! He watched a DVD they have of him. Charlie will set up a microphone, grab his guitar and play along with Crowder, mimicing every move he makes. Not only that, but Charlie does the exact strum pattern on the guitar. He also can keep the beat of any song with his hands and knows all the words to so many songs. It amazed us! It is so cool to see the way God has gifted all our kids in different ways already at their age. And it is exciting to me to think about how God may use that giftedness for His name! One of Micah's gifts is his athletic ability. He will be one of those kids who is good at any sport he plays, and I am not really saying that just because he is my son. Some of you have seen him dribble a basketball. I mean, he's two. But already I'm praying that God will use that for His name, not for Micah's name!

Ah Yes, Fall is Here!

The air is crisp, the mums are out, pumpkin spice latte in hand, football in full swing, candy corn in bowl, and house decorated! We are there! My husband would make the case that fall is the best season because of the 5 C's. College football, Colors, Candy Corn, Corduroys, Camping.
I decorated my house this weekend and had so much fun doing it. This is a picture of our family room. We've had our windows open all week. It has provided the best sleeping weather!
I know we all live in different regions of the country and so some are still in summer and some are progressing quickly to winter. But those that get to enjoy a true fall season, isn't it great?

On another note, we are heading to Florida on Thursday to visit with our dear friends, the Beelers. We are very excited to see them and let our little ones play together. Elizabeth will be great with child, I'm sure! (she's due next month) On Friday we are going to their youth retreat because Ed is the speaker. It is so weird to think that the kids will be swimming and water skiing, etc. Not exactly a typical "fall retreat". We are very excited though to see them and catch up. We miss all of our seminary friends very dearly and there are days we wish we were back there together! We are thankful for a time to visit at least one!

Mr. Squirrel

I had a friend in high school, Becky, who loved animals. I remember her family had these squirrels in their backyard that they would feed. They of course named them as well and they were the funniest names. Becky, if you are reading this, what were their names. And what was the name of your cat? Anyway, last week I had an incident that reminded me of those squirrels, so Becky, this story is for you!

You know, those who know me well, know I am not an animal person. The only time I am just amazed at animals is at Sea World. I love to touch the sting rays and dolphins. Other than that, you could say I don't have much of a heart for them! Well the other day we went to a park in our neighborhood. Long story short, there was this little baby squirrel that was following people around. It clearly had no mother and was following people to take care of it. My mind went back to the book, "Are you my mother?", one of Micah's favorites.
I saw this lady pick him up and pet him. Micah watched this little squirrel out of curiosity. So we walked on by after the lady put him down. Ed was in amazement that this squirrel was so tame. We walked to the other end of the field and there at our feet was this little baby squirrel. It was our turn to be followed. He was all around Micah's feet and so Micah kept picking up his feet not to step on him. I decided this was the cutest little thing and obviously was so domesticated that without even thinking I picked him up. Before I knew it this little thing was in my hands and I was petting his super soft fur. Ed about freaked out that I would get rabies or something. I let Micah pet him too. He was the cutest. Then I put him down and he followed two guys to another area of the park. I amazed my husband so much he took a picture.

Hopey Girl!

Dear Baby Sister,

Today is a big day in your life! Happy 18th Birthday! This birthday is a little different from all the others. You will celebrate today with no family, no old friends, but all new people. While it may be hard, I hope that you "feel the love" from all the people that love you so dearly.

18 years ago, Mom was 3 weeks past her due date, and we thought you would never come. But like in all things, you arrived in your own timing, when you were ready! I will never forget, I had just started 5th grade, and my teacher and classmates all knew we were waiting for you! It seemed like everyday when someone came on the PA to our room, everyone would look at me hoping it was time. But on September 5, 1990, the PA sounded with my principal's voice. He said, "Mrs. Charleston, can you send Katie MacPherson down for early dismissal? Her new little sister is here!" Everyone cheered and I ran down to meet Grandma Mary in the lobby. She took us to the hospital to meet you for the first time.

Things really changed when you arrived on the scene. I became Momma's little helper and babysat you when mom had to go back to work. We had an instant connection. We shared a room until you were about 3. In the mornings you would wake up in your crib and call out to me. It was so sweet! Then you became a toddler, a very difficult one. It is no secret that you were trouble. But that trouble was disguised in humor and absolute cuteness! That is why you got away with so much!

I just wanted to tell you how proud of you I am. I am so excited for you and your new adventures in college! I pray for you all the time. Today my prayer is that the Lord blesses you with new friendships that will last for a lifetime. No one said going away to college is easy, but it is so worth it! May the Lord draw you closer to Him each day and may you love Him more than anything else in this world! I love you, Hopey girl! Happy Birthday!

Good Old Sam...

Thirteen years ago last spring we had an unforgettable day in the MacPherson family. After years and years of begging for a dog, our wish was granted. I was 14(just finished my freshman year), Krista was 9, Michael was 8, and Hope was 4. My mom let me in on the secret that my parents had gotten a yellow lab mix, a little puppy. They got him from the lab rescue. I could not believe they actually did it. I knew my brother and sisters would be so excited, but nothing prepared me for their reaction. My mom brought him in one day after school. She just walked in the house with this adorable little puppy in her hands. The kids just squealed! My brother who was quite the dancer, just started dancing (the butterfly in case you cared!), shouting "Oh yeah, Oh yeah, we got a dog, Oh yeah!" Priceless!
It took us forever it seemed like to decide on a name. Some that were in the running were Reese's(i don't even know why now!), Simba(he looked just like him), Max(i think), and others I don't remember. His name...Sam. I'm not sure how we got to that. Knowing my parents they chose it and directed us towards that name, letting us think we named him!
We had years and years of fun with him. He was a great dog! Very playful and loved attention. My favorite story is when he was a puppy and grabbed my sisters braided hair and starting shaking his head pulling it as if it were a toy. Her head was just following the pull of his mouth side to side. Krista just yelled "Katie, help!"
Well, Monday, my parents came home from vacation, called for him, and there was no answer. Good old Sam had died that day. He was very old and we knew it was coming. Sam dying has symbolized the ending of things in a lot of ways. My youngest sister just headed off to school and my parents now have an empty house for almost the first time in their marriage. Sam dying was like an official end of an era in our family. All of us kids are out on our own...well almost! My dad and a family friend, Mr. Mike, took Sam to Mr. Mike's house and buried him in the back of their property.
I loved Sam, but I'm not exactly an animal person. But when my mom called to tell me that he died, I was genuinely sad. He was such a good dog! I think my brother loved him best. Michael was Sam's buddy. So I know my brother may miss him most.