Braids

Meredith's hair is long enough for braids.  

French braids are my favorite.  

So fun!

Moving Week

In the midst of our final packing push and last week in our home in East Oak Lane, we've been playing and having fun with Granna, who's in town for a visit, (and she of course is lending her VERY helpful pair of hands!). :)

Of course Meredith is thrilled to have "ganna" here!

After a productive evening of packing on Monday, we took off on Tuesday morning for West Mt. Airy - for a visit to The Nesting House (a favorite of Mama's!) and a trip to the Morris Arboretum.

 Meredith insisted on carrying her Bible (a small pocket sized new testament) all day long with her babydoll, Baby Ellie of course.  A little evangelist!  ;)

It was a beautiful day and a welcome diversion from packing and organizing!

Applesauce and the First Day of Autumn

This week I made a special farm run to Ray's (our bi-weekly raw milk and egg pick up place) to get 5 bushels of beautiful red courtland apples.  :)  So today, on the first day of autumn, my friend Rhonda and I made the first batch of the season. 

We made it through 3 bushels of apples and canned all but a tiny bit!  YUMMY!!

A wonderful way to celebrate the beginning of autumn, don't you think? 

Art Room Tour

Saying good bye and packing up my creative space in this home is by far the toughest part of moving for me.  This little room on our 3rd floor has been a haven of creating for me this past year and I've absolutely loved it!  Having space to spread out and work on multiple projects is so fun and kind of "how I work best." :)  Here's a wee tour to show you and to celebrate this season in this space!

Erik made the wooden "ART" hanging on my door a few years ago for me

a favorite excerpt from an anthropologie magazine - pretty much sums up this space :)

One of my favorite quotes by Charlotte Mason:  Education is an atmosphere

My overflowing stash of fabric - love this little built in cupboard!

For our move, I am thankful to go through so much in this room and downsize into a more manageable/tidy stash of my most needed and used creative tools, fabrics and accessories.  It feels like spring cleaning!  I'm excited to have my own wee space in our new home to make my own and to continue creative play with fabric, paints and paper.  Maybe I'll give you a mini tour of that corner sometime in the future! :)

September Family Photo

Last Sunday we have a few spare moments (amazing!) before we headed to church.  So, we snapped a few family photos - Erik's very good idea. :)

Cucumbers and Strawberries

Meredith keeps surprising us with her original ideas and creativity.  This weekend she came up with a new take on raspberries. :)  

30 weeks!

This week I finished week 30!  Hoorah - the final stretch (literally) is here and I'm getting excited!  I met up with my dear friend Jenny on Friday and we finally got a belly shot together. :)  (We are exactly five weeks a part in our pregnancies.)  It's been a blessing to be pregnant together through this season of life, and it's so fun that it's not long now for either of us.  Jenny is expecting a girl and I'm expecting ?

Boy or girl, our babies will grow up as friends!

Moving

Yep, you guessed it.  We're moving....again.  This time we'll be living in Germantown, just a little further into the city of Philadelphia.  Even though this home has only served us for one year, we are so very thankful for this season to share space with our dear friend, Madeleine.  This past year has been a time of transition and growth in many areas of our life, and now we're both moving forward to new opportunities.  It's been a summer full of prayer and waiting to know when/if a move was the right decision for us.  

On August 30th (a day before our lease ended!) we went forward with the decision to move.  With that scary step made, we've been blessed with the assurance that it is the right step for us at this time.  God has opened up many doors and provided just the right new home for us. :)

Germantown is a part of the city that is closer to center city (good for Erik's commute), six blocks from Jane's teaching job at Germantown Friends School, and near/within a community we know several families already.  We are so thankful and excited!

Our moving date is in 2 weeks - eeks!  So, today we had a MEGA moving sale.  It was a hit and we made out like bandits - sweet!  I never thought we'd make $150 on things we no longer need/want and most of which was priced at $1 or less!   

We forgot to take photos during the yard sale, but I caught a few of Erik and Meredith bringing back our huge signs from 5th street.  This was the key - sucking people in from the big road. :)

Sewing Projects

I've been prepping for a few art/craft shows coming up this autumn.  So any spare moments I can put together I'll pop up to my art room. 

My most recent adventure has been making baby girl skirts (12 month size).  Too fun!  They have been quick to sew up and oh-so-fun to choose fabric for. :)  

These are a few of my favorites.

Apple Picking

Our friends (and neighbors!) took Meredith and me apple picking this week!  We had a wonderful time and it was a gorgeous day - cool with bright sunshine. :)  

All day long Meredith loved saying, "goin' apple pickin'!"

Meredith and her buddy, Zach, enjoyed apples as a break from picking in the orchard.  

Nothing better than fresh apples. :)

 The farm also had an impressive load and display of pumpkins.

This one was the largest!

Rainy Days

We've had lots and lots of rain here over the past several days.  Yesterday Meredith kept asking me about going to the park...not today sweetie!  Just before nap time there was an impressive thunder storm.  We watched it together from our 2nd floor window seat. :)

Whoa...that was bright lightening!

And...loud thunder! 

I'm not scared! :)