Glorious!

Spring and fall are my favorite seasons. If I had to pick one, I'd pick spring, but I really love fall also. I love it when the temps are in the high 60's and 70's. In the spring I love the budding trees and flowers, and in the fall I love watching the leaves turn colors. My opinion of summer has gone up a lot now that we have a home with central air conditioning and a membership at a swimming pool. Now that I have kids, my opinion of winter has gone down even farther. Earlier this week it felt like we went straight from summer to winter. Today it felt like fall. Bliss. We have had so much rain lately. Today was the first day of what is supposed to be a string of several days without rain. The temperatures also are supposed to be beautiful. Nadia had gymnastics at 9am. After that we left for Ashburn Animals as Early Intervention was having a "family fun day" there. The kids enjoyed seeing alpacas, llamas, cebu, horses, sheep, goats, ducks, cats, dogs, rabbits, pigs, turkeys, etc. They petted most of the animals, although I was the only one who petted the skunk.

After our time at the farm, we came home for lunch and naps. Ian took a longer nap than usual (40 minutes), which was greatly appreciated as I was mowing the lawn (had the video monitor with me to check on him every few minutes). I didn't get the whole lawn mowed during his nap, but I got more done than I thought I'd be able to do while he slept. After Nadia woke up, I took the kids to the playground. I finished mowing the lawn after dinner (when Paul was home) before taking Nadia to AWANA and going to choir. Let me say it was a balm to my soul to spend so much time outside today and to see the blue sky and sun shining.

I took my shower this morning before the kids woke up. I really need to get in the habit of doing that. It's better to get up a little earlier and have a peaceful shower. The kids got baths after lunch because the farm was a muddy place in light of all the rain we've had lately. We had a busy day today, but it was a really nice day. Tomorrow we don't have anything on our agenda. I'm certain we'll spend lots of time outside. I think I've mentioned before that Ian always wants to hold Paul's hand at the dinner table. I can't recall exactly when he started reaching his hand out to Paul at the dinner table, but I'd guess he's been doing it for about a year. I love this picture. It will be a beautiful reminder in the future of this sweet moment we experienced at the dinner table on many occasions. Ian also loves holding hands with Paul and I while we pray. He gets more of a kick out of it than Nadia ever has. Sometimes he reaches out his hands and says "pray" when we sit down to eat. It's so sweet! I look forward to the day when he's talking enough that he can start praying.