Rainy Day = Umbrella Time with Daddy

We finally got some much needed rain here in South Carolina. It has been quite dry for the last 6 weeks or so. I was thrilled for the rain and for the cooler temperatures. I can really feel Fall in the air and for this I am grateful. I have said many times before that I really don't love HOT weather, but I LOVE fall. I love the changing of the leaves, cool temps, wearing jeans and opening my back door to let fresh air in:) It just refreshes my spirit. Well, the rain did just that for my sweet children. They were excited to use their new unbrellas that we found at the Dollar Store. Kate's is Dora and Sam's is of course none other than Spiderman. Sam's class has been studying the vowels the first few weeks of pre-school and this last week was "U." They had an umbrella parade with all the K-4 classes. It was a big deal and everyone stopped what they were doing to watch all the precious 4 year olds parading around with their umbrellas. When the rain set in this past weekend, Rob took the kids out to do a little parading themselves. Kate was excited to get to participate. I love that something as simple as rain can bring such Joy and Happiness!!! Yay Fall!!!

Boys and Their Swords

This morning before 8:30, Sam was running around playing knight or something and fell smack down on his sword. Poor little guy. He was brave and didn't let it keep him down for long. He did however catch a glimpse of his "boo-boo" in the mirror and just the sight of it brought back the tears for a moment. Isn't that always the case, you have no idea how bad you are hurt until you see blood and then it hurts a WHOLE lot more. Anyway, very glad that it wasn't more serious. Wanna keep those baby blues safe and sound.

and Maggie Makes THREE

If someone would have told me 5 years ago that I would be bathing three children four years and under at the same time in the same bath I would have slapped them silly and called them insane. Well, look at these beautiful babies!!! I am the luckiest mom in the whole world, crazier than ever, but still the luckiest. We added Maggie to the bathtime routine the other night for the first time and they ALL got a real kick out of it. I am not sure anyone really got completely clean, but fun was for sure had by all.

Silly Faces

Pre-church silliness~ The kids were trying to outdo each other with silly faces, so I thought I would join in. My face is not nearly as cute as theirs:)

Three's a Crowd...Nahhhh!!!!

Today after school I put Maggie in the pack 'n play while the big kids played. I ran downstairs to straighten up the kitchen and when I came back this is what I found...Priceless! They do love their baby sister. She is a good sport about it and loves them right back!

Hillsong - Desert Song - With Subtitles/Lyrics

This song rings true for me today, as today I felt as though I was in the desert and fire all at the same time. Nothing in particular, just "life." I needed to replay this over and over. I thank God for always bringing me to Him when the heat of the fire seems unbearable. Knowing that the fire is what brings me to Him, thank you God for the fire.

Westminster Apple Festival

Katie wanted a butterfly painting done and that's just what she got!! She's my girlie girl for sure.

Sam got a Darth Vader arm painting done...To my knowledge he didn't even know who Darth Vader was, but he Loved it none the less:)

Sam rode this ride with daddy. He loved it and wasn't scared a bit. My little boy is growing up!

Sibling ReConnection After School

Each afternoon that we return back to the homestead from picking Sam & Kate up from preschool we rush right to the kitchen table for some lunch. Maggie and Sam are both starving and Kate usually enjoys a yogurt because she eats lunch at school. After everyone has a belly full, including me if I am lucky, we try to spend a little time together reconnecting and talk about our days. Sam and Kate's renditions of their days are always entertaining. Each have different "favorites" about their days, but both always seem to enjoy the playground the most, who wouldn't right? Being free outdoors with sand, swings & friends is bound to be fun!! After everyone has exhausted their thoughts from the day, we usually get down on the floor and play or at least watch Maggie play. The big kids get a real kick out of watching Maggie. Today they all went to their rooms and brought back an armload of toys they wanted to share with her. Sam mostly dumped his matchbox cars and Kate a lot of furniture from her dollhouse. Maggie, of course, proceeded to shove each toy into mouth to make sure it tasted ok. She is so hilarious and is so excited to be in the middle of all the chaos. It warms my heart to see them all "loving" on each other and creating a great bond as brothers and sisters. Having them so close in age is a true gift and one I would never want to change (on most days anyway). Here are some photos from today...

OverWhelming Urge To Blog

So, I know it has been ages since I have actually blogged and that the closest thing to a new post has been a photo slapped up here. Well, I want you to know that I have been wanting to blog forever and for many many reasons I haven't, with the main reason just being sheer lack of minutes in my day. The other reasons being that most of what I begin to blog about just seems irrelevant. BUT...I have decided irrelevant or not it is still what is going on here in the DeFoor house or at least what is brewing in my brain:) So with that said, I am going to be back to blogging for my sanity and if it seems irrelevant to you I'm sorry in advance...

Life around here has been fun, exhausting, heart-warming and eventful these days. Summer has been a blast, but the heat nearly killed me. If my family, friends & church would move with us, I would move to a more mild climate in a heartbeat, I LOATHE being hot. Having a new baby has proved to put the kabosh on doing a whole lot outside our four walls. I knew that adding a third child to the mix was going to really add its challenges and I was right. The good news all the challenges thus far have been ones that are surmountable, so as they say... "this too shall pass." I have learned to take my showers in the evenings to make my mornings less hectic. To be honest showering at night is the best thing for me and for Rob since I am usually covered in a layer of spit-up thanks to Maggie's perfected projectile spit-up. Most days it is all I can do to just make it to my bed without collapsing. Rob and I have been immersed in watching the LOST series from the beginning this summer. Since we aren't doing a lot of going out these days, this has served to be a fun way to melt into the couches and relax at night. I am very hooked and we are almost to the final season and I can't wait to see where all this craziness is going. Rob...not so much, but he seems to tolerate it for me.

The start of the Fall season has proved to be equally busy so far. Sam and Kate both started back to Southside Christian and are LOVING IT. They both have wonderful teachers and are thrilled to go each day, which makes my heart warm and taking them easier. Rob and I are just amazed at how God has used this school to teach our children more about Him and to impress upon their little hearts the preciousness of Jesus and what he did for us.

Labor Day has come and gone and we spent our weekend at the Lake with my family and Rob's mom and sister. We played, ate, swam & talked the whole weekend. The weather was cooler and the screened porch was a perfect place to be. Maggie started crawling this past weekend and so now we are off to the races around here. She is only 7 months and my bet is that she will be walking before Thanksgiving:) She is quite eager to keep up with Sam and Kate already.

The pictures above are just a sampling of our Labor Day weekend activities...most of the photos were taken by Sam and Kate as they snuck my camera:)

Daddy teaching Maggie the therapeutic art of watering our garden. She LOVES the Baby Bjorn and being right in the middle of whatever is going on. Please notice the dish towel Rob has hanging for "spit up patrol." If there is one thing Maggie has perfected in her short 7 months with us, it is the perfect projectile spit up. Lord knows I will be thrilled when I don't have to change her or me 7 times a day.

Maggie-7months