Happy Fall!

Our YW at the Fall Festival!

 Jess, Trey, Barrett and Lizzy contemplating the future...

Hmmm...what should I wear tomorrow?

Hmmm...do I really want to go line dancing tonight?

(They did line dance and had a blast)

 The West Hills YM and YW (at least those 14 and up)

Ben's Baptism

My baby was baptized on October 10th. I'm so proud of him for being such a good young man. We had so many great conversations leading up to his baptism. One night I was tucking him in and he said his prayer. I said, "Ben, why do you pray to someone who you can't even see?" He said, "Mom, you just gotta have faith!"

Brown Eyed Girl

This brown eyed girl would like someone to visit her blog and make a comment. Please...

It's Here!

That crisp bite in the air has arrived!

It was 48 degrees when I took kids to school this morning.

 I was really hoping for a more gradual change from

 Summer to Fall.

 But I love it! This is my favorite time of the year.

 I love the pumpkins, red leaves, bales of straw, scarecrows, and yellow chrysanthamums!

It's time for some hot soup!

Saturday Scrubbing!

It took our family 2 Saturdays to scrub

the siding on our house!

Welcome to the South.

Yes, it's gross...but everyone gets mold on their siding.

I thought we would just rent a power sprayer.

But no, no, no. Not us. We have to do things the harder way.

We made up a solution of clorox, comet, and powder laundry detergent. We bought brush scrubbers with long rods and an extention ladder.

So with our latex gloves
on our hands, and protective eyewear on our faces, we got to work. The kids scrubbed the lower section, I took the middle, and the brave Mr. Stoner climbed high on that ladder and scrubbed to the roof. Here he is...working hard. We are so glad we did it. It was a lot of work. Our house looks SO much better!

Summer Swim Team Fun!

Lauren, Matthew, and Benjamin all joined a swim team this past summer. It was so much fun for all of us. I loved that by 10 am these three kids had swam laps and burned up lots of energy!

The bonus was social time with so many friends.

I also loved the routine of practice.

No sleeping till noon every day of the summer!

This is Ben and Ben. They are good buddies.

They both wear green goggles.

Mr. Stoner....doing his best to work as a time judge.

Lauren especially loved hangin' out
with friends before, after, and during swim meets.


Matthew with all of his friends
after swim practice.
Good times!



Go Ben Go! I loved all of the cheering from
family and friends at the swim meets!

I love this picture of Daddy and daughter!

Pellegrino

This is what happens when you surprise your husband with a bottle of Pellegrino mineral water for his birthday (because he really likes it) and then he puts it in the freezer to "chill" it and then he forgets about it. Note to Mr. Stoner

You can't put a glass bottle in the freezer and forget about it.

This is what happens!