Blessing Near Brasstown Bald

My parents finally did something this summer they've been wanting to do since they first met each other almost 30 years ago: they bought a house in the mountains on a lake. God's blessing over their lives, mixed with a downturn in the economy, gave them an opportunity for an incredibly sweet purchase in the North Georgia mountains, and we made our inaugural trip this weekend.

I am so blessed to have the parents I have. Not only have they passed down a spiritual legacy to the next generation, they are now also adding to that a physical legacy of a "resting place" - a place where friends and family can meet for many years to come.

Though it was a short visit, the weather was beautiful today, so we journeyed over to Brasstown Bald - just a short car ride away - to take in the view. It was well worth it! Because it was such a clear, beautiful day, you could see the skyscrapers in Atlanta off the south side of the tower. If you look closely in the last picture below, you can see the shadows of the big city in the background - towering over the mountains in front of it. The best part is that everything that man created in that city doesn't even compare to the beauty of God's natural creation in the rest of the picture!!

Halloween 2009

Despite the drizzling rain, we all enjoyed watching E's delight grow as she realized - for the first time ever - if you say "Trick or Treat" (on Halloween), people give you candy. To my dismay, she also figured out very quickly that if you let mama hold your candy, she eats the chocolate pieces when you aren't looking.

Posing with Indiana

Trick-or-Treating: Our Very First House

Downtown Halloween Candy Extravaganza

Enjoying our Spoils

Grandparents and a Two-Year-Old

It's been a week full of grandparenting around here! We travelled over the weekend to see grandparents in South Carolina, then on to grandparents and great grandparents in North Carolina. Lots of fun, lots of sweet sweet memories, and lots of "2"-ish behavior. LOTS of it.

Thanks to access to TV (a luxury we don't offer at home), E has developed a crush on Blue, the canine star of the preschool show, Blue's Clues. I have to admit that I am encouraging it a little, as I am about to need some heavy incentives for potty training, and Blue is much more tolerable for this mama than Barney or Dora (and conveniently available via YouTube). I'm also working in a little Veggie Tales on the side, but since I'm guessing that Veggie Tales underwear is a little harder to come by than Blue's Clues, I'm hoping that the enjoyment of maybe both will stick around.

Words are beginning to morph into real phrases - not just the crazy jabber that we've heard up to this point. Some of my favorites from the weekend are most certainly, "Grandaddy, I want ice cream!" and "No way! Are you serious?" (a phrase she hears often from her daddy).

And, to my total embarrassment, she now points out the sign for Starbucks when we are driving down the road and says, "Coffee! Coffee, mama?" Yeah, that's nice...

Pumpkin Carvin' with Uncle R

We continued the fall festivities this evening with three other couples and their kiddos, all carving pumpkins with our little ones for the first time.

Some wanted nothing to do with the pumpkins, some tried to eat the pumpkins, and some...like my dear sweet child...instigated pumpkin-goop-throwing wars.

Luckily, we were in a pretty fun-loving crowd, so she had the opportunity to enjoy being herself.

I think it turned out pretty good.

Thanks for letting us wreck your house, Uncle R! Can we do it again next year??

Fall Festival at the Farm

Trying to stand up on the Giant Pillow

Sliding with Daddy

Riding on the "Cow Train"

Playing in the "Corn House"

(A playhouse filled with dried corn kernels)

Bouncing all the leftover corn out of my pants

Sitting on a hay bale decorated as a pig

Petting the donkey

Feeding the goats

Riding the pony

Riding the train

Playing in the pumpkin patch

Sacked out!!!

I think we've got a Bost Family tradition on our hands, folks!

Look, Mama! It's Raining!

It's the second day of beautiful fall sunshine here in the South. After a week's worth of muggy, hard rain and lots of associated damage, I think everyone is welcoming the change. E and I have had a lot of conversations about the rain these past several days.

I walked into the room today just as E was saying, "Look, Mama! It's raining!" - only to find her half-dressed, peeing all over the floor.

To which I could only reply, "Yes, baby, it sure is."

A Real Photo Shoot

This past Monday, we subjected Elle to the mercy of a camera for two hours (which is, by the way, the breaking point for photographing a toddler). Nathan Maloney, a new friend of ours who is easing into the world of portrait photography, snapped away while I changed outfits and scenery and props for two hours straight.

I am SO pleased with the pictures!! They are a perfect representation of her little personality in this stage of life, with the major benefit of a photographer who is thoughtful and artistic with a camera, and totally unafraid to catch a beautiful candid moment. Professional pictures are worth every penny.

We've got some deciding to do before we start ordering, but here is a sneak peek of a few of my favorites.

Dominion

E is beginning to understand that humans have been given dominion over animals, and is trying to figure out exactly how to carry out that authority with all the creatures that cross her path. She has found, for the most part, that most wild animals, such as squirrels and stray kittens, simply do not come when called. Other animals, such as our own Indiana, come all to quickly to slay her with kisses, even when not called. She has successfully learned to tell him "back" (very seriously, with the finger point and all), and just tonight she tried "popping" him on the nose after watching me do the same a little earlier for a foul he had committed. Truly, she is taking it all in these days.

Just about a week ago, she figured out that if she holds onto his tail while he runs around the house, it's a little like...well...flying. And it's apparently quite fun, too. She begins by calling him, then grabbing his tail, then counting, "One, two....ONE!" And this has become his cue to take off; in some cases trailing her behind him, and in other cases, leaving her sprawled on the floor - but either way, giggling hysterically.

We're working on capturing a video, but until we do - here are a few fun shots of the good times these two have been having together lately, only this time with a leash instead of by the tail.

Go Dawgs!!!

Glory, glory to old Georgia!
Glory, glory to old Georgia!
Glory, glory to old Georgia!
G-E-O-R-G-I-A.

I'm not really this crazy about anything else ephemeral, but I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE college football season. This year, thanks to a friend, we get to enjoy it baby-cheerleader style! Even better!!!

Autumn Invitation

Dear Autumn,

Your arrival brings mixed feelings for me every year. You're a busy time of life for our little family - days mixed with lots of fun and lots of responsibility, then ending with very tired minds and bodies. The falling temperature is certainly welcomed, but the falling leaves signal the beginning of the death of some very beautiful things that are dear to me. However, you bring new colors of your own to replace the ones that are fading away, and offer many gifts for the harvest from things that have been tended to carefully throughout the hot summer months.

This is a time of thanksgiving, a time for pause to remember what God has blessed us with during the days past. We have certainly been given much! It's also a time to prepare for the coming winter days, to brace for the coldness and the fading daylight that sends us indoors and inspires mulled cider and heavy coats.

May we have the grace to accept the coming changes, and to be thankful for every day's measure of blessings. May we have strength to walk forward as we begin to watch once-beautiful things fade and fall to the ground. We know that every season has its purpose, and that God gives us only what is best, even when your changing winds begin to make things around us seem a little colder.

Thank you for the ways in which you teach us the about the character of God and His purpose for our lives. We are looking forward to your arrival!