Wassssuppp.

I feel like a friendly family update is in order. Sometimes life can get so busy that I start to get overwhelmed with all I want to remember.

So here's some updates:

Fall is in full force here in Pennsylvania and it's fabulous I tell you, fabulous. The weather is PERFECT and it's gonna be hard to leave it. Of course, I haven't lived through the average three feet of snow yet, either. So, I'll keep you posted.

Here's what's going on with all my favorite little people:

Miss Avery Elizabeth



Oh sweet, Avery. Avery is just THRIVING in Pennsylvania. She loves her school, loves her teacher, and loves everything academic. She is already reading me little books, recognzing any and all patterns, and is just thirsty for knowledge. She really is a little smarty pants; I'm so proud to be her mommy.

More than doing well academically, I'm proud of her sweet spirit and disposition. She is very nurturing, very giving and has a very sweet heart. Mrs. Wakely, her teacher, told me Avery was the most polite student she'd ever had and she would love to have a whole class of her. She also has asked Avery to move to sit next to a boy with some special needs in her class because she said Avery is extra kind, patient, and helpful to him. Make. Me. Cry.

Right now Avery likes: all things "schoolish", her family, all things girly ... oh, and any kind of outing. She's definitely happy with a full schedule. She wakes herself up for school every morning, gets dressed, gets some juice and is always ready to hurry to get to school. Sometimes at night she'll get very wide-eyed and excitedly ask something like, "Mommy, can we get up really early in the morning and paint our nails and drink coffee and watch the news?" She makes me laugh. She is also a tad bit boy crazy ... yikes. There is a little third grade neighbor boy who comes over to play outside some and rides Avery's bus in the afternoon. She's definitely smitten with him right now. Last week she was extra giggly as she jumped off the bus. She handed me a note that had been folded about seventeen times and told me to , "Check it." (Check it??) It was a note from the boy ... it had hearts ... I'm pretty sure it said, "I love you." LHM!
Of course this was followed by a not so nice note just a few days later that Avery brought me to read to her. I told her it said, "let's just be friends ..." not exactly the truth, it was definitely  harsher than that ... and let's just say if he shows up any time soon I'm going to show him the difference in Southern and Redneck. Grrrr.

Mr. Dalton Davis

Oooohhh Dalton. Dalton hasn't been doing quite as well. He is still extremely attached to me, very sensitive and reminds me of a different family member he misses from home almost every day. Bless.

We say that he's a lot like Arliss from Old Yeller, always carrying things around in his pockets, or just holding tightly to an always-evolving favorite toy of the day. He's still very obsessed with animals and is always in play-mode, especially if it involves outside play. He's also staying dependent on his afternoon nap and sleeps 2-3 hours every afternoon ... with me. He's the best little snuggler and I love that he's still such a big napper ... because at 26, I still need an afternoon nap, too.

Yesterday we were getting ready to lay down and he was taking up at LEAST 2/3 of the bed. I kept saying, "D, will you scoot over? Okay, scoot over a litte more ..." He looked up and said, " Moo-ommm, don't you want to lay by me?" Well, of course I do. So, I snuggled right up in the tiny spot remaining.

One thing that I'm LOVING about Dalton, is what a great big brother he is. Do they fight? Um.Yes. Multiple times a day. But, they are great playmates ... and for that I am very thankful.

Right now Dalton is loving guns, swords, The Hedbanz Game, building towers, using the iPad or iPhone to watch YouTube videos of people showcasing their own Schleich animal collections (I'm laughing just typing that), pestering his sister, and lunch at our new favorite haunt in town, The Chinese Buffet. Dalton, Sawyer and I go at least twice a week ... Sawyer is free and Dalton is $2. Ummm ...yeah . It's cheaper that McDonald's and the kids LOVE it ... and I love the Hot and Sour soup. It's a win-win.

Dalton really is the most precious little thing ever, he's just  one of a kind. I have a minor obsession with him. And he knows it.

Mr. Sawyer McKinnon

Last, but obviously not least, our baby Sawyer. But, DO NOT call him a baby! He will cross his arms and start sputtering, "I not a baby!! I big boy! Dalton's a baby!" Which will cause all kinds of chaos ...so just don't. Thanks.

Sawyer is just a ham! He is always making me laugh with his hilarious antics, absolute fearlessness, and constant nakedness. At least Dalton has finally started wearing clothes. Sawyer does the world's cutest booty, so maybe he's just trying to show off.

My favorite thing he says right now is when I tell him, "I love you, Sawyer." he always says, "I love you too, Mama!" Presh. I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing that.

Another sweet Sawyer thing is how many times a day he brings me boo-boos to kiss. I'm not sure why, but I'm totally flattered that he thinks I alone can make him feel better.

Sawyer loves people and loves to be rowdy. I really wouldn't be interested in taking him to any non-child-friendly establishment alone (even places like Target or the grocery store)  ... he's too busy. And loud. And not exactly "quick to obey."

But, he's hilarious ... and cute. So, I think we're going to keep him.

He's also potty training himself ... I blame it on peer pressure. He started wanting to go "pee pee" when Dalton did (that wasn't messy at all), but then evolved into going on his own (still pretty messy). THEN Aaron caught him going "poo poo" too. Consider yourself lucky that you're not related to us or you could have received much more detailed pictures via text from Aaron. Yikes.

Sawyer is loving animals, trains, cars, coloring on the walls, playing with Dalton, building castles, wrestling, and books. I think Sawyer may turn out to be a "quality time" love language. I almost always put Sawyer to bed at night and we usually read several books and sing lots of songs. Almost always I can say, "Run get in your bed, buddy; I'll be in there in a minute with your chocolate milk." He'll run as fast as he can to his bed and pile lots of books on top of himself waiting on me to get in there. While I'm reading the books or singing he'll throw his arms and give me a big hug. It's the sweetest most lovingest thing ever. I've gotten to where most nights I just end up laying down by him and singing songs until he falls asleep. When he says "one more song, Mama" I have a pretty hard time turning him down.

I love that crazy boy.

My Man. The Hubs. My Baby Daddy. The One and Only.

Richard Aaron Boone 

How awful is it that I really don't have any new/unposted pics of my cutie hubby?? And he's even been looking particularly cute lately. We are having some family pictures done soon, so stay tuned.

Okay ... I lied. I'm going to repost some pics:

Aaron is doing great in PA. Really great. He's totally excelling at his job, he's made lots of good buddies, he's killing monster bucks, and doing what he does best: being an awesome hubby and dad. He serves, cuddles, tickles, listens, laughs, hugs, prays, leads, and loves well.

We are still church hunting, but are enjoying our church from home, Fellowship Bible Church, live online services on Sunday mornings, and love that I can still catch the recorded sermons when I miss. However, we have been reached out to by so many sweet, Godly families that I can easily get emotional about it (shockerrrrr) that have brought us into what already feels like a church community. God has RICHLY blessed us with friends here and I know that was one of the things that Aaron and I were most nervous about. God is so, so good.

Aaron has been meeting with a group of men and studying a book called The Exemplary Husband ... So, I'm looking forward to him getting more and more exemplary. And bringing me my favorite mexican dishes for lunch and flowers yesterday afternoon is a great start-so keep up the hard work, babe. Thank goodness you have someone as level-headed, never-moody, always-serving, never-disrespectful and forever looking lovely like myself. I really do make it easy on you.

Me, Myself and I



I think I'll skip the picture portion: just picture me showered with make-up on and hair fixed, a summertime glow from all the sunshine we're getting here, dressed extra cute, oh, and looking thin and just having it all together. Yeah. That's me.
 I'm  really doing well too! I have started attending MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) and I've met lots of nice ladies there. It isn't a bible study, but more an avenue for moms to meet moms, which has been fun and a good outlet for me.

Definitely the most encouraging thing I'm doing right now is hosting a Beth Moore study on the book of James in our home on Thursday nights. I am just eating this study up and feeling like God has me just where He wants me ... "so where else would we want to be" (Aaron tells me a couple times a week ... or more)?

I'm also uber-thankful for all my sweet friends back home, mainly my PLU's whom I stay in contact with via GroupMe group texting and get  to walk alongside spiritually via www.goodmorninggirls.com as we have been studying the book of Colossians and emailing back and forth every day. It makes me feel like I'm still right where I left ...only 1200 miles away. Love. Those. Girlies.

Of course there are days I get down or overwhelmed, but I try to stay positive and focus on the MANY blessings in my life. We are seeing major fruit here and I don't think I've seen Aaron this happy and just content ... ever. So, that alone is worth it.
 I am excitedly counting down for Lynda's long trip up here for Thanksgiving. We're taking Avery to NYC for the weekend (Pennsylvania Perk!!!)! And then a long Christmas trip home ... in just 49 days ... but who's counting?
 Overall we're doing well, learning lots, and enjoying life. God is continuing to refine us ... and for that I'm thankful.

"So, my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light."

James 1:17 The Message

Weekend Update: Another October Weekend

So, I'm coming to the conclusion that Fall is probably Pennsylvania's most glorious time of year. I may sound like a broken record, but I don't care: Pennsylvania is amazingly beautiful. It is. We are surrounded by mountains/ ridges here that are covered in the mostly brightly colored trees I've ever seen ... It is just unbelievable. Pictures just can NOT do it justice, especially not my iphone pics. I don't think I'll ever get used to it; at least I hope I don't.

I'm actually going to start our "weekend" update with Thursday so I can document Aaron's first Pennsylvania deer ... It was kind of a monster; I've never seen a deer that big. Not his antlers, but his body. That thing weighed 285 pounds. Huge.

I'm kind of annoyed that none of my pictures allow you to see the sheer mass of this thing ... But, believe me. He was big.


Friday Aaron needed to take his deer to be processed and then go look for a book for his new men's group, so the boys and I tagged along. We drove out in the country to find the meat processor and then into town to run some errands.
After we wore the boys out we decided to test our limits and try to take them to eat ... Eventful, but not awful. The restaurant was also a dairy barn, so we sampled their treats.

That night Aaron had bible study so the kiddies and I had a movie night. They wanted a fort, but this was the best I could do.

And those aren't snacks they're eating ... That's dinner. Yep. Clearly I would not be a good single mom.

They watched The Prince of Egypt almost all the way through. Then they started getting extra silly so we started putting babes to bed.

Saturday we were pretty lazy ... Aaron and Avery ran a few errands, I took a shower ... Good times for all.

I cooked a bunch of yumminess for dinner: Ranch Style Chicken, Twice Baked New Potatoes, and a yummy green salad with all of our favorite ingredients: Romaine, Baby Spinach, Bell Pepper, Banana Pepper, Red Onion, sautéed mushrooms, cheddar cheese and croutons. Oh ... And the star attraction: homemade ranch. I'm typing all that out to remind myself to make it all again very soon.
Pretend not to notice the fact that all three of those dishes have a hearty helping of cheese ... Oopsy.

That was pretty much our Saturday ... It's a life of excitement for sure.

Saturday night Sawyer decided to wake up about 512 times, Aaron even put him on the couch and turned on the movie Secretariat ... he stayed awake through the entire thing. What?? He continued to wake up several more times ... not okay. He totally botched our plans to try out a new church this am, thanks Saw-Dog.
 However, after naps we went on a VERY fun outing! Our sweet Pennsylvania friends, the Wanck's, invited us to Dawn's parent's, the Thrush's, house in Milan, PA. The Thrush's have a small dairy farm and lots of acreage and beautiful property. The kids got to play hard with the Wanck's boys, Parker and Graham who Dalton and Sawyer are a wee bit obsessed with. Dalton had been counting down how many more "night-nights" for several days, and I think it lived up to his expectations: four-wheeler riding, hay-bale jumping, creek splashing, cow feeding, bonfire burning and more ... it was SO fun.

I made them take some family snapshots before they got too filthy ... good call.

Clara, the calf, was just six weeks old.

Moooooooo.

Avery was a little less interested in the creek splashing and fire building ...

The Thrush's were LOVELY and I so enjoyed their hospitality. Mrs. Donna made a Panera copy-cat Broccoli and Cheese Soup and homeade breadsticks (yum!!); Dawn brought a batch of Chicken and Corn Chowder yumminess; and I brought the Pioneer Woman's Olive Cheese Bread and a "Better than Anything" cake. I think everyone left with full bellies.

 Donna and Curt were wonderful to host such a crazy group of kiddos, let us play all in their home (not get mad or even flustered when we found Sawyer painting his nails bright red on their carpeted stairs ... even though I almost died right there) and feed us too. It was such a nice day, and honestly such a sweet blessing and reminder that God is going to meet us just where we need Him, when we need Him. That He cares about little HUGE things like putting sweet, Christ following people in our path to welcome us in and make us feel right at home. Thank you, LORD!

 I really think it may have been my favorite Pennsylvania day to date. Loved our weekend.



Hope you have a GREAT week!