Saturday, October 6

Busy Bees

It's been a while since I last wrote! We have been busy bees here in the Hesse house. My parents came to visit for a long weekend (Thursday afternoon to Monday afternoon), and we had a really nice time together. Here are some highlights...

1.) Yard work! Havings helpers here is so nice so we can tackle projects like cutting the hedges, chopping firewood, and planting fall flowers. Unfortunately, only 5 of my 24 pansy plants survived, but I won't point the finger (although I will tell you that it wasn't MY fault!). It seems that every attempt I make at introducing some color to the front of our house is foiled in some way. Besides the bummer of that, another failed flower attempt only darkens my reputation as having a black thumb. I do have 2 indoor plants growing -- and two herb boxes! I swear! I guess I'll have to settle for a little fall scene of already-grown pumpkins. I can't mess those up, right?!

2.) The Zoo! My mom and I went with the Souders to the Nashville Zoo. We haven't been there for about a year, and Kaden was so much more into it this summer. He's become fond of snakes and crocodiles recently, so he especially enjoyed those displays. It was a gorgeous day here in the Tennessee, and we had fun catching up with Erin and the boys.

3.) Homemade applesauce! You can see some of the finished product in the picture above, along with the beautiful posies my parents brought for me. :-) Dad was the apple peeler, and Mom and I were the stir-ers, spice-ers, and jar-ers. It is seriously tasty stuff, folks. I grew up on homemade applesauce, and I'm really happy to have it in my own home now. Plus, I learned how to can! Canning is very simple, but something about it seems uber-domestic, doesn't it?

4.) Dinner @ Daddy's restaurant! My parents really enjoy Italian food, so we took them to Josh's restaurant on Saturday night. We had a tremendous dinner, and we all enjoyed the charming, intimate atmosphere. We took our new portable DVD player for the kids, and it worked like a CHARM. That thing is worth its weight in gold, I tell ya. Both the kids loved playing with balls of pizza dough, too. It was a very fun evening!

5.) A great church service on Sunday! We had a guest speaker -- Ed McGlasson, who authored the book The Difference a Father Makes. I haven't read the book, but based on the message he taught based on the same subject, I highly recommend checking it out. Whether you are a dad or if you just have a dad, McGlasson's book is for you! My parents and I give him a teary two-thumbs up! :-)

6.) DIY Tailoring! Josh got a few new suits for work, and two of them had unfinished hems. Instead of paying for a tailor, we decided that we had enough other potential uses for a sewing machine that it warranted buying one. Neither one of us are experiences sewers, but lack of experience never slows Josh down. (That's one reason why I love him so!) With my mom's assistance, Josh tackled his pants and won! They came out great! Plus, we've already done a pillow for Kaden's room (we being Josh and Kaden). As you can tell, I have not tried my hand at sewing yet (my last experience was Home Ec in Jr. High), but I bought fabric yesterday to make a pink pillowcase for Laney. I also bought fabric to make no-sew fleece blankets for the kids (more on that when I get them both done).

7.) Family Campfire! We enjoyed our first night by the fire for this fall season. Complete with S'mores and careful restraint of Kaden to keep him a safe distance from the fire, we had a great time. Josh and I both love sitting out by the fire, chatting, and enjoying lots of marshmallow roasting. Bring on fall!

Speaking of which, the kids and I are on our way outside to enjoy some of this great fall weather. I hope you all have a beautiful evening where you are, too!

3 comments:

Lucinda Perry said...

Sounds like so much fun. I hope we find ourselves heading out your way soon - to enjoy fall with you all. I love you and miss you SO much! I'm glad you had fun with your family!!!

Anonymous said...

You have such a sweet family. :-)

Anonymous said...

Was the "posey-ruiner" a little girl by the name of Delaney??
We had a great time visiting, Jenn and we love you very much. Love Mom