Leaves are Falling (November 10)

We decided that this particular Saturday would be a great day to play in the leaves. The weather was pefect and the sun was shining. However, we realized that most of the leaves had not fallen yet. So, we drove around until we found this spot near our house. We had a super time!

How do you get more leaves to fall when the wind is not blowing any of them down? Well, all you need is an awesome daddy with a rake!!

Our Day trip to Garden of the Gods (November 9)

The Garden of the Gods is located in Southern Illinois and is part of the Shawnee National Forest. We love walking along the trails and climbing on the rocks. As you can see from our photos, the Garden of the Gods is a beautiful place to visit in the fall.

Pumpkin Patch Photos (November 1)

Welcome Baby Abby!!

Sweet Abby --One Day Old

She is so smart. She already knows the pledge and how to salute the flag!

Abby's parents are crazy about her!!

Aunt Jen enjoying holding such a sweet baby girl!

Al with his sis and new niece, Abby!

Abby already has Uncle Al wrapped around her fingers!!!

Luke is a very proud big cousin!! He just loves to hold babies. I hope that excitement continues through April!! Yes, despite his absence from the photos, John David was at the hospital with us. However, he was quite fond of Abby's pink & white balloons. So, needless to say, the baby didn't make a very big impression on him like the balloons did. I'm sure he will notice her more at Thanksgving!!

Abigail Joleigh Smith
was born Thursday afternoon at 2:52 p.m. weighing in at 7 lbs 14 oz and 19 inches long. Congratulations, Terry and Joelen (Al's sister)!!!!!

We love you, guys!!

Mom and baby are doing wonderful!!

Fun Night (October 31)

Woody the Sheriff & Buzz Lightyear

Luke was very excited about going to Fun Night at church to see all of his friends. He was also looking forward to getting candy and his face painted.

The first of Luke's friends that we saw was Doctor Jamison.

Then to our surprise, his friend Ben had dressed up as Buzz Lightyear, too!! Ben has a little brother, Jon Ross, who is John David's age and his parents had dressed him up as Woody the Sheriff, also!!

Several of Luke's friends also came as Buzz Lightyear......Jonathan, David, Ben & Luke.

Jonathan & David saw Luke a week earlier at the library for story hour and loved Luke's costume. So, they went home and told their mom that they wanted to be Buzz Lightyear like Luke. We had no idea that Buzz Lightyear had made such an impression--It must be the cool jet pack!!
Finally, we found Ashley. Luke wasn't too sure about Ashley at first because her hair was red instead of brown. But he soon gave the Little Mermaid a hug.

John David enjoyed the night mainly from his stroller. Luke enjoyed playing games--football throw, duck pond, fish pond, digging for treasure, and the dunk tank. John David was very happy with his helium balloon!
Hannah, John David, Ashley & Luke

When we got home, we lit the candles in our pumpkins, turned on our porch light and sat on our front porch. But we didn't have any trick-or-treaters. The above photo is my only one with Woody wearing his cowboy hat!
We enjoyed the night with our boys very much!!

Of course we had to dump out our treat bags and look at all of our candy!!! Everyone got to choose one piece of candy to enjoy. The younger kids chose suckers while the older kids chose chocolate!! This was John David's first experience with a sucker!!

He thoroughly enjoyed it!!!!

Celebrating on Tuesday Night (October 30)

What cute trick-or-treaters we had at our Tuesday night supper. Buzz Lightyear, Little Miss Pumpkin, and Woody the Sheriff were so "busy" that it was hard to get them to pose for a photo.

It was especially hard for one year old Woody to sit still. You definitely have to be quick and ready to capture the moment.
Three year old Buzz really liked Little Miss Pumpkin. Of course, could you blame him.....???

Anna Grace Litsinger at 4 months

Big Brother Luke on the Farm at 3 years (Summer 2007)

I saw a slide show on another blog and thought it would be great for blogging these photos of our farm boys. We took these photos in August and I never blogged them because there were so many and it was hard to choose just a few. Hope you enjoy these photos of our "country boys!"

John David on the farm at 1 year (Summer 2007)

Pumpkin Carving Time (October 26)

Luke, John David & Daddy ready to carve their pumpkins!
Luke posing with his big orange pumpkin!

Last year, we painted pumpkins. This was Luke's first year to carve a pumpkin so he had no idea what was on the inside of a pumpkin. We decided to take Luke's shirt off since it could get a bit messy....so we thought. As Al cut into the pumpkin, Luke and Jen talked about how many seeds might be inside the pumpkin. The photos below of Luke's facial expressions as he discovers what is on the inside of a pumpkin are priceless.

Next, Al tells Luke to clean out the pumpkin by sticking his hand in the pumpkin--well, let's just say Luke made quite the declaration that he does not like to be messy. Daddy told Luke that if he pulled out 5 seeds, he could have a small piece of chocolate. Well, most of us could stick our hands in a pumpkin and pull out 5+ in one try. Oh, no. Luke pulls out one seed at a time. Each time, a little less painful than the previous time. However, with each try, Luke has to have Daddy's help with pushing Luke's hand into the pumpkin. Sometimes we all need that little bit of encouragement.

Of course, Luke wanted to be clean immediately after finding his 5 seeds.
It's always easier watching someone else get messy. Right, Luke?
Luke pulled out the 5 seeds and Daddy pulled out the other 100+ seeds. Daddy also carved the pumpkin for Luke according to his directions. Notice the pumpkin's front tooth. He has the tooth that Luke lost.

John David's Turn!
We took John David's shirt off because he does like to get messy. This is the kid that doesn't mind eating with his hands and having a good time doing it.

Well, there may just be something about pumpkin guts that turns even a kid who likes to get messy away.

Yes, John David also didn't like touching the pumpkin goo. However, he did try a few bites of his pumpkin.

Mommy got the honor of cleaning and carving John David's pumpkin.

John David admiring his glowing pumpkin!!