We love Loebs

A great perk of being back down South is getting to see more of our families and the great friends we made while living in Memphis.  Our friends Pat and Heidi came from Memphis to stay with us this past weekend.  We met Pat and Heidi while going to Grace Church during our first four newlywed years there.  Since then we have shared many adventures together like camping and canoeing in Arkansas, building canvas stretchers in Pat's workshop, going to the spring Double Decker festival in Oxford, MS, exploring Colorado and doing some hiking up Pike's Peak, sitting around campfires roasting marshmallows in the winter, and doing something festive each fall from carving pumpkins to baking.  Heidi and I also got pregnant within weeks of each other, and our babies are now just two weeks apart. This family (including their adorable mut, Bingley) is dear to our hearts...

William and Greta getting some tummy time

Practicing sitting up in their boxes

"Can I chew on you?"

Bingley loved the floor length windows

Bundling up in crochet hats and hoodies for going outside

Enjoying dinner after grilling out

The boys decided to do some projects including putting in another outlet in our basement

It was a little chilly this weekend but we still got some outside time in 

Taking Greta for a spin on our new mower

Finishing up our DR table with some assistance from Pat...who has a lot more knowledge of woodworking than we do!

Boys continue working while girls go tend to babies

Greta reaching out her pretty little hand to William, and William still not having a clue 

Getting ready for the 80's double feature at "Movies in the Park" - The Princess Bride & The Goonies!

It's not fall without caramel apples!

 We had fun taking pictures of the Loebs family, as they had not yet had a family photo taken!  We had to remedy that for the upcoming Christmas card.  I am no professional photographer, but it was fun to play.  And my husband certainly is not the world's greatest photography assistant - lol.

We love y'all.  Thank you for coming to visit!!

Kicks n Tummy Laughs

At 5.5 mos, William has discovered bouncing (with a little Fred Astaire flair) as well as tummy sleeping.  He seems to really enjoy both!

Thank you Aunt Stephanie and Nola for letting us borrow his new favorite toy!

Click here for video

A Fall Weekend

Matthew has started working part-time at a private civilian dental practice (aka "moonlighting") on Wednesday nights and one Saturday a month to get some experience in that kind of setting and make a little extra dough.  Though he was gone most of Saturday, we still managed to have good quality time together as husband and wife.  And William and I had some fun ourselves on Saturday getting outside to play in all the beautiful fallen leaves.  We all got to share meals together and work on projects outside after church on Sunday.  Weekends are just... therapeutic. breath of fresh air. absolutely necessary.

I just love my two boys and this season - of weather and life.

Roasting squash while drinkin the morning joe and smelling my new pumpkin candle... tiny happinesses :)

Painted dining room a dusty golden yellow this week.  No more too-dark red!

Working on printing and framing as many pictures of loved ones that I can, and of course multiple pictures of our cute lil' hambone

Fall photography session before our walk.  Sorry for so many...I can't resist.

Got a feelin he's gonna love our neighbor's willow tree as he grows up.  Each strand becomes an instant jump rope, tether, whip, gilly suit... I can only imagine...

He smiles every time he sees his new toy from Grandpa - an Aflac ducky that talks

I was anxious to see what color these guys would be in our front yard...  Amazing!

Another attempt at cooking, not being a slave to a recipe.
If Ethiopian met Fall, this soup is what they would taste like.

In a nutshell----sweet n nutty squashes, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, apple, chicken broth, apple cider...1. roast squashes...2. saute veggies in seasonings like garlic, thyme and curry 3. add in mushed squashes with smooshed apple and simmer, thin with chic broth and cider 4. add nutmeg/salt/pepper and cook on low... top with bacon n sour cream

Also yummy with meat (we pan seared a center cut of ham)

Started our hubby/wifey project - making our DR table (yikes)
Table is based on this Ana White plan

tried just gluing the top pieces together without using biscuits, but it was wonky

Using our friend Pat's biscuit joiner to connect the boards better so that they lay flat

Much better

Next step for another day - clamp two more boards together overnight, then put all four together to create the 3' x 6' top

"Take me in for my dinner!" :)