He likes stairs

I am going up mom !!!

Climbing, Climbing, Climbing

I made it !!! Yeah !!

Our Last Bike Ride of the Year

A couple of weeks ago we ventured out for probably the last time this year, on bikes that is. The weather was beautiful with it being a bit chilly but the sun was out. It was a pretty easy ride with little up hill battles. It was nice not to hear Isaiah screaming his lungs out and was relaxing. We found a cool coffee shop in Edina and stopped for a cup of coffee. I am gonna miss pulling the kids in the chariot. These are pictures are right after the ride. Everyone is in a good mood !! WOO HOO !! Good Bye Fall :( I miss you already :>(

Date Night- YAY !!

That's right folks !! My sweet hubby took me on a date. Our sweet friends, Nick and Ashley, watched the kiddos for us while we wined and dined. We went and saw the So You Think You Can Dance tour. I know I know. Alan and I are fans of the show and decided to take a leap and see how they performed live. It was good. Not great. Some of the routines were really good but in general I wanted to see a longer performance. Alan has been such a great hubby. This was the second time he went to an event with me where he was like one of ten guys.

We also went to a fabulous dinner spot called W.A. Frost. It was a great treat and anyone in the Minneapolis/St.Paul area who wants to try a new upscale restaurant -we definitely recommend this place.

Sorry I have no photo's of us looking gorgeous!! When you got kids, you don't waste time taking pictures before the event- your babysitters (i.e. Nick and Ashley) might try to bail once they see what they are in for!!!

So, we once again look forward to Thanksgiving time- our next victims- I mean baby sitters- Nana and Papaw !!

Great Grandma and Grandpa Spencer came to visit too!!

So, my Grandma and Grandpa came for a visit as well. They were somewhere in Iowa and stopped by for a short visit before heading back to Ohio. We had a good time despite Isaiah being crabby and not sleeping very well. We have loved being able to see family. I had been getting quite home sick !! I can't wait for Thanksgiving !!

Grandpa Dub and Grandma B come for a visit

Here is a picture of the lovely couple ! We took them to the apple orchard and had lots of fun. We also got to visit the arboretum. The leaves are so pretty right now. It was the perfect time to go !! No worries -we got a membership so come visit and we will take you there too!!! I forgot my camera on that outing but I am sure Grandpa Dub and Grandma B have some great pictures.



Here is Grandma B doing what she does best !! Not only did she read to the kiddos but she and Ru played with play dough for HOURS really !! They made plates, food, jewelry and who knows what else. Ru had so much fun.

Here is another picture of the Apple Orchard. Alan and E.W. also went on the men's night out at our church. They went to this thing called the Eve of Destruction!! Supposedly, school buses crashed into one another. Cars went through other cars- backwards and cars crashed into one another with trailors hitched to them. Yeah, they came back ALL vamped up. I can't say I feel like I missed much.

So family and friends, fall is about to leave us !! This is a great season to visit. It is beautiful here !! Much prettier than Texas. (Of course, in a couple of weeks Texas will be prettier !!) Thanks Grandpa Dub and Grandma B for hanging out with us. We loved it and love you .

QBP

Here's a great article on the company I work for, Quality Bicycle Products:

http://www.startribune.com/business/28666934.html?elr=KArksUUUU

Storytime

Okay, so Rachel's more or less taken over the blog and she's doing a great job. I had a spare moment though tonite and I wanted to share some stories.

I've been trying to spend time with Ru each night before she goes to bed 'cuddling'. In fact, each night before bedtime she says, "I want my daddy to cuddle with me!" And she gets upset if we have to skip it. We spend the time chatting about the day that's past and talking about what tomorrow might bring, and then we pray. We've had some sweet times together. She's used that time to open up about some things that she's been feeling, like when she told me the other night that someone had thrown a pillow at her. The someone was me. I'd thrown it at her while we were playing tag and chasing each other around the room. I'd thrown it kind of hard, and even though I'd apologized, I gathered it had hurt her feelings more than she'd previously let on. So we made peace again and prayed together. She also tells me about things that she's excited about, like someone coming over to play or going to preschool. And we come up with things and people to pray for. It's really quite cool.

I've also been finding out just what Ru knows about God and what she doesn't. She's been on a mommy and daddy kick lately, asking "What's Maddo's daddy's name?" and "What's Alex's mommy's name?" and "Daddy, what's you're daddy's name?", etc. Last night I asked her what Jesus' daddy's name was. She answered pretty quickly, "God". And then when I asked her what God's daddy's name was, she also answered "God". So I got to try my hand at explaining to a not quite three year old how God is different than ever other person in that he has no beginning and no end.

I'm often impressed with how these simple conversations present opportunities to teach profound lessons (both to Ru and to me). Today she asked me to read her a story and brought over a big children's bible we have. I asked her if she knew what the book was about and she said "God". Score one for Ru! But then we were about half way through the story and she became distracted and started fighting with her brother over a toy. We have a rule and a principle that we're learning in our home that goes like this, "people are more important than things". I find myself often asking Ru, "What's more important, toys or your brother?" She doesn't always get the answer right, but we keep asking the question. But in this moment, I asked a new question. I said, "Ru, what's more important, learning about God or being nice to your brother?" I think she really thought about it for a bit and said, "learning about God." To which I replied, "No Ru. We can learn all we want about God, but if we're don't love people, if we're not nice to our brother, it doesn't matter." And then I thought, "Wow, how did I just put that together so easily and do I live that?" I'm learning that God really wants to see Ru know the truth and he's empowering me towards that end.

My girl can be really fun and she can be really tough sometimes too. But I love her. I love her because she looks like me, because she acts like me, and because she likes to be around me. But most of all, I love her because I love what happens when I take the time to get to know her - I get to learn about love itself, by teaching her what I know and watching it reflected in her! So please keep praying for us, that we'll keep growing up together, learning together to love and bless each other and the world around us.

I love you kiddo!