Happy Thanksgiving...

...from the two little Bunch Turkeys!

Ben and cousin Abby Lynn at Grammy and Granddad's.

Ben is absolutely in love with his cousin. They run around the house and laugh, fall down, roll on the floor, etc. etc. etc. It's a welcome break to have another kid to entertain him!

He just loves her..!Steppin' out in his turkey outfit...Smocked by Pippi...Sewn by Mommy.

Grammy managed to get in one picture before Benjamin lost it. Such a gorgeous day and he was ready to run.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Merry What-a-kuh-wanz-mas?

Okay, so here goes my first (and hopefully last) rant of the holiday season 2009.

The Gap Commercial.


Two, Four, Six, Eight
'Tis the time to liberate

Go Christmas, Go Hanukkah,
Go Kwanza, Go Solstice

Go Classic Tree, Go Plastic Tree
Go Plant a Tree, Go Without a Tree

You Eighty-Six the Rules,
You do what just feels right

Happy Do-Whatever you Wannakuh
And to All a Cheery Night

Thank you Gap, for reminding us all (Just as Burger King did in the early '90s with Your Way, Right Away) that rules don't matter, that we should all get our way right this second, and that the Christmas season is about much more than the birth of our Savior.

Watch it here...

Halloween and Pumpkins

So it's officially over. The 2009 Calvary Pumpkin Patch has come and gone. And, for the most part, Benjamin missed it. He came up for a few minutes on Saturday as we were cleaning up and tearing down, but we are still afraid of him being out in the cold air. Simultaneous double ear infections and double pink eye are something we wish to never relive.

We LOVED the "my-size" pumpkins. And we moved them all over the place.

Always taking time to stop and smell the roses...and mums...and leaves.

Anything organic, really.

"I'm ready to haul some gourds, Dad!"

Saturday afternoon we put on our costume and headed over to Lauren and Jonathan's for Spencer's first Harvest Party.

Enjoying a cupcake on their back porch...

Our buddy, Spencer...the CUTEST giraffe on the planet!

Spencer wondering why he isn't eating a cupcake as well...

Now going backwards a day...

We went down to Jenny's parents' house on Friday to have dinner...and treat Pippi and Poppa to an early trickster on their doorstep.

At this point, he's recognized where he is, and starts to smile...

I mean, what can I say??? How cute is this pose?

We carved a pumpkin. It had tons of seeds, which I was excited

about roasting...and then left at their house.

Enjoying a good book after pumpkin carving and dinner.

Saturday night, Benjamin spent his first of two nights - for the first time - with his Grammy and Granddad in Jonesboro. He did GREAT...loved every minute of it. Even the 120 or so extra minutes he has seemed to put into his awake time now that the hour has changed.

Geeez...I hope this 5:30 AM wake-up doesn't last long.

Have a great week!

Some Big Shoes to Fill...

It started with this artificial pumpkin...being carted to and fro throughout the house. In the Wagon. To the couch. On the dining room table. To the bedroom.

Now that we have actual pumpkins all over the front porch, he brings one in every time we come into the house. And we move them back out. And he brings them back in.

I know this is a horrible picture. I'm too tired to edit it. But you'll get the gist. We're all about shoes these days. One day when he was sick, he took his morning nap while wearing his Willet saddle oxfords.

Most days he HAS to wear his jack-o-lantern crocs.

Got a little growing to do yet...but GoreTex is a good thing at any age!

And, I ask you...Does it GET any cuter than this?