Hi folks! I got my mums planted this week, so that means it's fall right? Since my last post, we've had new beginnings, difficult goodbyes, exciting adventures, and milestone birthdays!

We finished up the baseball/softball season:

We're so grateful for the excellent coaching Caleb has received over the last several years.  More and more, we are learning about the impact that coaches have on our kids.  This is one reason we love Community for Coaches - this organization is impacting thousands of kids in the metro area through coaching with purpose. It takes a village, people!

Go Blue Dinosaurs!!!

And another great season for team Pink Energy! 

Somebody pinch me. Caleb is now officially in the double-digits!

He celebrated with friends, BBQ, and fun at the College Basketball Experience:

Caleb continues to impress me with his kindness towards his baby sister, his level of responsibility (far beyond his years), his motivation to do the right thing, and by his love for our late night chats and snuggles (don't tell him I said so ;)). He makes this parenting gig fairly easy on me....most of the time.  I'm so proud of the young man he is becoming.

And Ellie is another year older too!

She chose a breakfast for champions :)

This girl.  I could not love this little freckle-faced beauty more! 

She's so full of life and creativity and joy and resilience, and I want to be more like her in so many ways.  

She comes up with so many (often far-fetched) ideas, and works so hard to make them a reality.  And she doesn't seem to be deterred, even if others don't catch on at first.  Today, for example, she set up an entire "carnival" in our driveway, complete with rides and tickets and prizes.  They didn't get a single customer (besides the little neighborhood helpers she recruited) but she had a great time anyway! And she'll be setting up shop again tomorrow and handing out tickets throughout the neighborhood :) As I've mentioned in earlier posts, the girl can sell anything.  She even sold some "tickets" to her carnival...and when I found out, I made her return the money to our neighbors!! LOL.  These personality traits were apparent from such a young age.  I remember picking her up from her 3-year-old classroom at preschool and her teacher telling me how she liked to organize games for the other kids, and that she had gained lots of little "followers".  I'm not sure if this falls into the category of "bossy" or "leadership" (LOL) but I have prayed ever since that she would use her influence for good.  

A vision that has taken off, however, is her Ellie.Belle Sweets & Treats business! Our little mother-daughter business is thriving and we are having a blast! Ellie is a sweet blessing to those around her, and we love getting to add a little something special to all kinds of celebrations, big and small.  

Cutting butter into a homemade pie crust: 

She continues to improve her skills at cooking classes, and loves sharing these experiences with friends: 

She celebrated her birthday with a new 'do:

And felt like a super-big girl with the 7-Up she scored at the salon ;)

She invited a few friends to a night of gymnastics, pizza, and ice cream: 

Ellie and I are different in so many ways, and I'm amazed at how God put our family together- we are constantly learning from one another.  I'm so blessed to be her mama. 

Our family was blessed by so many people this summer! Let me tell you about a few....

1.  Ms. Leslie.  By now you all know about our Ms. Leslie.  She is like our very own Mary Poppins.  We love her so.  The kids had a blast with her again this summer, and I loved knowing they were with someone who truly loved on them while I was at work.  Tessa has a sweet bond with her, and we were sad when summer came to a close. 

2.  Group O'Dell.  They are more than a real estate group (though they are awesome at that too!).  They are in the business of sprinkling their awesomeness all over this big city.  We have been the recipient of their kindness more than a handful of times.  Whether it be a sweet note or gift delivered to our house, invaluable words of advice, packing my kitchen when I had a 6 week old baby, or buying theater tickets for me and the kids with a pizza party afterwards (see below), we are so blessed to call them friends. 

3.  Ann.  My longest friend.  More than half of my life I have been friends with this amazing woman.  She and her family have been a tremendously important part of my life, and most of my sweet (and crazy-adventurous) childhood memories involve her.  And now, the sweet cherry on top is that she is glittering my kids with her love and musical talent (of which I have none).  Here are a few pics from their piano recital this summer:

4.  The Hunnicutts.  It's just a little slice of heaven when we get to visit them and experience #farmlife. The beauty of this place is stunning, and our friendship never seems to fade, no matter the time or distance.  

5.  Our parents.  The ones who not only put up with us for the first 18 years of our lives, but who choose to be a huge part of our lives to this day.  And who give us much-needed breaks from our crazy lives so we can enjoy being normal humans...even if that means they lose sleep, get thrown up on, change poopy diapers, and have to put up with our 4 little crazies. 

I inherited an appreciation for the fruit-of-the-vine from my mama:

 Mom, we earned it that day!! ;)

Did I mention they take us on awesome vacations? We had an absolute blast in Gulf Shores, Alabama this summer.  The kids had their first experience flying on a plane and saw the ocean for the first time.  It was magical....except for the time when they all got stung by jellyfish the first time they swam in the ocean, and then they hated the ocean, and then they decided they actually loved the ocean since the jellyfish migrated elsewhere.  Besides that. 

You guys. I could not get enough of these dolphins. #majestic 

The sand. The sun. The dance parties.  The sweet memories. 

Take me back!!!

We rounded out the season by soaking in all that summer had to offer.  

Front-row seats at Arrowhead:

Country line-dancing date nights!

Outdoor concert on a beautiful night with these gorgeous ladies: 

Lovin' on our cousins! 

Eclipse-watching from the bridge:

WWI Museum and lemon meringue pie (of course!) for Dan's birthday:

We had an awesome weekend with John and Jackie, complete with lots of good food and good wine and good times, Kansas City style!

Sunshine and shaved ice and swimming and exploring....

Our brave little water bug:

Ernie Miller Nature Center:

Also, this summer, we said goodbye to my Grandpa Charles (aka Great Grandpa "Jars").  He was such a great example of what it means to love all people.  He was the most non-judgmental person I've ever known, and he was generous beyond measure.  He lived an incredibly full life, and he gave his most valuable possession, his time, to those he loved and cherished.  I love you and miss you, grandpa.

We celebrated his life with some of his favorite things:

Sitting in "his" booth at Outback Steakhouse: 

His signature look- the polo shirt with suspenders: 

Felipes Mexican Restaurant:

Pepsi: 

And Family : 

The 6 of us snuck away for one last little family trip before school started.  We explored all that Omaha had to offer!

We do occupy a lot of space, but we don't often get the chance to stand in two states at one time: 

We discovered some new species at the zoo....

Joslyn Art Museum

 August catapulted us into the world of "three kids in school", which has proven to be a pretty smooth transition.  When I ask William how his day was, he tells me things like "I learned about phonemic awareness" (I had to google it). We are all learning so much!

First day of school! 

I try to remember to stop and be thankful.  I am learning that gratitude transforms all of my "not enoughs", and makes them more than enough. 

These days my life is a little more messy and a lot less efficient.  

But I think I like it that way. 

xoxo, the linharts