John 1:1-3...

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

(John 1:1-3 ESV)

our little singer...

Josiah LOVES to sing.  And I love, love hearing his little voice sing so unabashedly.  Here is Josiah singing one of his favorite songs:  Rise & Shine.  I will often hear him belting this out when he wakes up in the morning or gets up from his nap.

It's also been neat to watch Josiah catch on to many of the Christmas songs.  Joy To the World is one of his favorites now...

butler's orchard...

Our field trip group went to Butler's Orchard to pick pumpkins at a discounted price since we're considered a school group.  This was the first field trip I was able to bring Josiah, and the boys had such wonderful FUN!!  I tell ya, Butler's really knows how to do their fall festival right!  It was great being able to make this memory with them.

 My little cheeseball...

 There was a cobweb made out of ropes that the boys had fun crawling around on...

 There was a little barn filled with hay.  The kids had a BLAST throwing, jumping, and playing in the hay.

 Josiah had fun playing in their "corn-box."

 This pic cracks me up because the boys didn't know what to do with the water pumps initially.  It was hard work trying to pump the water out to move the rubber ducky!

 There was also a petting farm.  The boys enjoyed seeing the farm animals.

 They also got to climb into a real tractor that had a slide in the back.

 After all the fun, we finally made it to the pumpkin patch.

 My boys love smiling into the camera.

Awww, there it is!

Fantastic fun!

scripture memory...

William and I have been trying (trying being the key word here) to do some Scripture memory during our breakfasts and lunches.  William has been doing such a great job soaking in God's Word and hiding it in his heart.  I am always amazed at how easily he can memorize things.  Kids really are such sponges at this age!

It has also been neat to see the Lord bear fruit with Josiah from these times even though he's not "required" to participate.  I have him do as much as he's willing, but focus the time with William.  Here's Josiah reciting Ephesians 6:1  "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right."  His first memory verse!

care group pumpkin patch outing...

We decided to try Jumbo's Pumpkin Patch in Frederick this year instead of going to Butler's because it was significantly cheaper.  (Bill wasn't able to make it out because he hurt his toe.)  We had a great turnout despite it being a little farther out.  The day was a bit hot, but gorgeous!

 We went into the corn maze with the Erguetas and TOTALLY got lost!  We must have been wandering around in there for at least 45 mintues.  Jamil had a genius idea to just cut through the corn when we got to the edge of the maze.  Whew!  So glad we made it out!

 The boys enjoyed roaming through the patch and being able to pick their own pumpkins.

 Dave & Paul...

 All in all, a fun-tastic day!

what we've been doing all day at our house...

 Playing UNO!

 William was trying to teach Josiah how to play.

Grateful for these tender moments when William is being such a wonderful big brother.

lancasater '11 (last day...)

Our last day in Lancaster, we visited a life-sized replica of the Old Testament Tabernacle.  I don't have any pics of the actual Tabernacle since we weren't really allowed to take any.  But here are some highlights from our last day in Lancaster.

 Josiah likes to pull his shirt up.

 Josiah with his shirt pulled up and lots of cheese...

 Back at the vacation rental, enjoying the "playground" for the last time...

 More cheese...  Josiah got his shiner from falling and hitting his head at the water park.

 The boys LOVE playing with Uncle Jimmy.

I think this was a soup of some kind that William made.  Yummy...

It's always such a blessing to be able to afford to get away as a family and make memories with my mom and brother.  Jimmy, thank you again for your love and generosity.  We are so indebted to you and love you dearly!

lancaster '11 (hershey park...)

The last big thing we did was spend a day at Hershey Park.  I was afraid that it would be filled with all things chocolate, but other than the name, we wouldn't have known we were at Hershey Park.  With William's dairy allergies, I thought it might be tempting to him to be surrounded by chocolate, but that wasn't the case at all.  They had a chocolate factory we could tour, but that was outside the park.  So we were grateful that William was able to enjoy himself without having to worry about his allergies.  =)

 Josiah's first time riding alone on a ride.  He did so well even though I'm sure he wasn't sure what to expect.  Up until this point, he hasn't really been on any rides before.

 Josiah cracked me up the more I watched him ride.  He typically would have this stoic expression, so we never really knew if he actually enjoyed the rides or just put up with them.

 William loved playing skeeball.

 Josiah had to have a try, of course.

 The "Frog Hopper" cracked me up.  It lifts them up in the air and drops them a little.  William would not try this ride for some reason.  He is very picky about the rides he will go on.  I was hoping William would go on with Josiah, but William was adamant about not going.  Josiah, on the other hand, was willing to try anything.  So he went on his own.  Again, he had his stoic expression, so we weren't sure how he was taking it all in.  

 Josiah sat next to a little girl who was FREAKING OUT the entire time, screaming her head off.  I was afraid Josiah might start crying because of her, but he just maintained his stoic face.  We weren't sure what he was thinking...

 But then he finally cracked a smile!  I was relieved that the terrified little girl next to him didn't phase him.  (You can disregard the older lady next to them, even though she obviously is very much enjoying the ride.  She seems unphased by the little girl as well.)

 Josiah liked it so much he wanted to go on again.

 And he cracked a smile much quicker this time.  =)

 Driving for the first time!  I love the expression on William's face.

Josiah having his turn at the wheel, too...