September is back again. And not only back, but over halfway gone. I’ll spare you the cliches about time, and its tendency to travel quickly… but…

Speaking of travel, Cory is currently on a travel adventure. As I type this, he’s just landed in Germany about 24 hours ago, and is spending 11 days over there, reconnecting with people he knows there, hoping to meet more connections, and finally getting a much deserved vacation.

Am I jealous? you may be wondering, and the answer is honestly no. Kara and I took him to the airport and while I will miss him every minute of every day, I don’t have a bit of interest in flying/traveling with a 4 month old baby.

(He’s going to roll his eyes, but he was the cutest thing, heading down the escalator with his suitcase and his old orange backpack from school days, and his overalls and his straw hat. Kinda looked like the farmer escaped from the farm. I guess you can take the man off the farm, but you can’t take the farmer out of the man.)

Yes, I teared up a little when it was time to say goodbye. Half of my heart went down that escalator, and I won’t get it back again for 11 days.

But no, I’m not a bit jealous. Honestly I think the only place you could convince me to fly to at this point in life, is to Hayward Wisconsin. If you know, you know. I may just do that again one of these days. Probably solo. Then everyone can say “how horrible that she’s going without her husband.” 🤣

For now I’m keeping the home fires burning; and dreaming about our plans to go to Europe together, Lord willing, after the kids are grown… or at least a bit more grown than they are currently.

As always when he goes anywhere for any significant amount of time, we have a few projects planned here, to surprise him when he gets home. (I can’t tell you what those projects are, because he will read this, and that would spoil my fun.)

This trip is a long overdue adventure for Cory. He faithfully works his fingers to the bone, and rarely takes any time for himself, so I am just thrilled for him, that he finally decided that he also needs to take breaks sometimes. But am I ever going to miss that man!

Recently I sat watching my two Corys together, and my heart could barely handle the sweetness, as the younger Cory clung to the finger of the older…

Papa Cory humming an old favorite tune from his beloved Harmonia Sacra… Baby staring up at him as though he were the most fascinating thing in the world…Hubby looking up at me and rolling his eyes, because I’m wearing my “o-my-goodness -you’re-so-cute” face, and me thinking, I’m going to miss this.

We will miss the on-demand tractor rides, and the late night history lessons. Whether he’s helping them to deep dive into the events of 9-11, or Hiroshima, or explaining how our government works, he has the simplest way of answering their complicated questions. I find myself learning things too, when he carefully explains things, like the workings and the potential devastation of nuclear warfare.

I’ll miss the nights when I read to the children, and their Papa is the one saying “Come on, can’t you read one more chapter?” And the even later nights where he and I sit up and talk til 2 am…the Saturdays we spend together as a family… I think I will especially miss his night time ritual of getting our adorable-but-wild two year old to calm down and go to sleep.

These, and so many more, are the moments I’m missing already. But it’s only eleven days. Lord willing, the time will fly by and he’ll be home again in no time. And we will appreciate him even more for having been without him for so long.

A bit of an update on the rest of us:

Baby Cory is four months old! He is going to be a talker. (I’m sure that’s shocking.) 😅 He jabbers loudly at whoever will look at him. LOVES to be held, and frantically arches his back up at anyone who looks like they might be able to rescue him from the plight of being horizontal.

He’s growing some hair! It’s nearly transparent, so you can barely see it, but it’s there, and it’s going to be so cute in a few months.

Harrison is 2 and 1/2, and what a sweet age to be. He’s been such a sweet, sunshiny little guy, and keeps us laughing. He loves to show off his vocabulary, “Mom listen to me! I know how to say Crocodile! And Alligator! I don’t say Crocidator no more! And I can say Rhinoceros too!”

He is a mess. We never know what he is going to do next.

Recently, we went to Natural Chimneys campground to spend an evening with my parents, who were camping there, and after a very pleasant evening, when it was time to leave, I COULD NOT find my van keys.

I said “Where in the world are my keys?!” and Harrison immediately said, “Oh! I throwed them in the grass! Follow me!! I show you where!”

Alas, when he “showed us where,” there was not a key to be found. Several other campers brought their flashlights and kindly joined the search, but though we sought earnestly, it was to no avail.

So we went home and got our spare keys and brought it home, thinking we’d never see those keys again. But just like the Bible says, Joy cometh in the morning. Someone found our keys, in the grass, and turned them in to the campground office! God is Good. Harrison is Trouble. But he’s the most adorable trouble I have ever seen.

We are back into the sing of the new school year. Most exciting for Elizabeth is that she’s FINALLY old enough for music class. She’s been learning the songs from the other children since she was 2, and it seemed like forever until she was able to participate.

She’s throwing her whole heart into practicing, and it nearly makes me cry to see my Ladybug, being such a big kid. What happened to my tiny little baby with mop of dark brown hair? I’ll tell you what happened. I don’t know how, but the little baby grew up like lightning, and the mop of hair turned blonde.

She is turning 5 this fall but she desperately wants to “do school,” so we’re working through some kindergarten books.

Ruthie is turning 7 in a little over a week.

‼️Which reminds me, if she invited you to her birthday party and you don’t get an invitation from me, please don’t take offense. ‼️

I personally witnessed her telling way too many people that “they are invited,” and I can only imagine how many people she invited while not in my presence, before I pulled her aside and forbade her to invite anyone else. 😅

Ruth has her own little world that she lives in, and there she reigns as queen. Cory, described our children this way recently: “Anna Grace, she’s a lot like me, Oliver… he’s like his mama, Elizabeth is more like me… Harrison is a lot like me too. Ruth? No, I didn’t forget about Ruth. I just saved her for last, because she’s one of a kind. Ruth… is a princess.”

This is a 100% accurate. Her imagination knows no bounds, and I think she has the potential to be the writer I’ve dreamed of being.

Oliver is getting taller by the day.

He is 8, going on 9, and he’s at the age where he loves to show off his muscles, which comes in really handy when I need a hand with a chore. 🙂

He is taking piano lessons, in addition to singing lessons, and after he establishes a good base knowledge of piano, he hopes to transition into learning violin, “like Granny.”

I was very excited to find a violin for him at a thrift store, so he is over the moon and ready to roll. He has a short attention span like his Mama, but from both of us, he also inherited a stubborn streak a mile wide, so I have high hopes that he will stick to it and learn it well.

Anna Grace is also taking piano lessons. She is enjoying it, and learning fast. I’m very thankful that our children all seem to have inherited their Papa’s musical tendencies. 😍 I hope our home will always be a home full of music.

Anna Grace thinks she may want to be a teacher when she’s older, and she has started to help out in a new way this year, that has made school much more doable for me. She has taken to teaching the little girls in her spare time, and it’s just wonderful. This means they are getting extra phonics and math drills, on top of what I’m able to give them, and I’m already seeing a difference in Ruth’s reading progress. I’m very thankful for her willing help. I don’t know if she will change her mind, but I think she’s well on her way to being a great teacher.

A few things I’m loving this fall:

🍁Horizon Organics Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll creamer… I tend to shy away from creamers, but this one looked pretty healthy, and it turned out to be pretty good hot or iced.

🍰Cake Decorating! I did not need a new hobby, but my YouTube algorithm decided to give me one regardless. I have made two cakes so far this month and had way too much fun.

🍪Biscoff Cookies. I have always loved them, but recently the kids and I have been particularly enjoying them. If you have never had them, what are you waiting for? They are not a healthy snack but they are a very addictive one. Just what I need 🥴

🔥Hot Honey Gummy Bears. This one was the most unexpected. Kara bought me these bears and I tasted one, to be polite, not at all expecting to like it. Surprisingly they were delicious! They have a very nice kick, that somehow works with the fruit flavors. But also not diet food.

📕An Everlasting Meal, a book by Tamar Adler, about intuitive cooking. This book was recommended to me by my friend Candace, and I have a hard time putting it down! The author has such a beautiful, simple approach to cooking, and it’s really inspiring in a lot of ways.

Hmm. I’m sensing a theme here. Do I love anything that doesn’t involve food? 😅

I mean, I love coffee… ☕️

Another thing I love is seeing friends who I haven’t seen in a while. Like that time a few weeks ago, when I was in the middle of making food for some of my mama friends, when suddenly, in the door walked someone with a big smile and a lovely bouquet of flowers!

I mentioned I was making food, and I am a very chaotic cook, so my kitchen was destroyed. My brain was working so hard trying to process the fact that there was someone in my house at this point, that it took me a few seconds to realize who it was! I said what was supposed be a very calm, “Hey! What’s up?” And then I realized. SHARON!!!!!

Gone were all attempts at calmness, and my mother in law was pretty confused about why I was so excited about this particular visitor. I may have jumped up and down. 🙈 We hugged and I definitely cried, and we laughed and talked over one another, and finally, from the rocking chair where she sat rocking my baby, came Nanny’s voice… “Umm, who is this?”

Who this was, was my dear Sharonie. (Cory gave her that name, and I’m pretty sure we are the only people to call her that, but anyway. ) When my family and I left the old order Mennonite church in 2010, I was an awkward 19 year old, and that is a very tough age to change churches. (Honestly I think any age is a hard age to change churches… but not the point here.)

In the new church that my parents chose, I knew literally NO ONE. But the second Sunday we were there, this pretty girl walked up and introduced herself, and offered that I could sit with her. This turned into her offering me rides to youth- (I didn’t have my license yet.)

We became inseparable best friends almost immediately. That summer and fall, we did everything together. She was even with me on the evening that Clarence introduced me to Cory. She spent an incredible amount of time in our home after we were married, until she married Wayne and moved to the aforementioned Hayward, Wisconsin.

Now I only see her occasionally, and as sad as that is, we still keep up enough, that we can pick up where we left off every time.

Sharonie, you come crash my kitchen anytime. I loved watching our kids connect and play together. 🥰 I fully intend to visit you, in the next year or so, but we shall see.

Other highlights from summer:

We had the best time! So many great memories!

So there’s our fall update. I hope your summer was as delightful as ours has been. (I think this has been one of the best years of my life.) 🥰 Thank you Jesus❤️

Take care til next time!