Nap anyone?

What happens when Garrett doesn't sleep during his naptime? Well, I found him like this a little before 5:30 yesterday.

Apple Picking

We went apple picking last Friday. This has become a yearly tradition and we really like it. This was our fifth year going. We definitely go for the memories as much as for the apples.

The first year we went to Edwards Orchard in Poplar Grove, IL. After two years of trying other places, we have returned there both last year and this year. They have a nice orchard, a wonderful store with lots of "goodies", a good place for the kids to play and the people are friendly and down-to-earth.

Here's what we picked:


Here's some of the fun we had along the way:

Fall Days and Remembrances of Summer

I will admit it! I don't enjoy fall. I don't savor the "cool crisp air and leaves on the ground." I like it HOT! I like the summer! Thankfully today is in the 80s. So, it's nice still. But, it's getting dark earlier in the evening, the nights are getting cooler and there are Christmas decorations at the stores. Fall is coming (and by some definitions is already here)!

One thing that fall brings, which I do enjoy, is our annual apple picking trip. We started this when Karissa was in kindergarten. So, this will be the fifth year of what has become a family tradition. As of today, we are planning on going on Friday.
Perhaps I will even remember to post pictures... but, don't hold your breath! I am looking forward to making apple pies, applesauce and drying apples. YUMMY! I also like pumpkin pie and pumpkin butter. So, I guess that fall FOODS are good! Just not fall weather!

Fall also brings a re-evaluation of our homeschooling. For instance, about a month ago, I was thinking, "What do a second grader and a fourth grader REALLY need to do?" This is a good checkpoint for us. "What's working? What's not? What's missing? What's overkill?" This year, I also asked the kids ONE thing that they would each like to learn this year. Micah wants to learn a lot about fossils. Karissa wants to learn to cook a simple meal. I think that we can accomplish both. However, Karissa's task would be easier if her brothers didn't have food allergies and she could make mac-n-cheese or grilled cheese and tomato soup or something like that. Math is going well. Spelling is going well. English is going well. Reading is going well. History is going well. Handwriting is going well for some and not as well for others. Piano is going well. Science is so-so. (And our kids have a teacher with a chemistry degree!) Memorizing 1 Timothy this summer was a good experience for the kids. I hope it sticks with them for their whole lives. We'll need to review a bit, I'm sure. We intended to start a new passage this fall, but haven't gotten very far.

Fall also brings a reintroduction of the "crazy life" to our family:

Gymnastics (for Karissa)
Soccer (for Micah)
AWANA (for Karissa, Micah and Matt)
Piano lessons (for Micah and Karissa)
Family Small Group (for all of us)
Sewing lessons (for Karissa and I)
Bible Quizzing (for all of us)
...and a myriad of other activities.

I realize that these are all our choice (and I don't think I'd choose to have it any other way), but things sure are BUSY!

For Laurie, and anyone else, who has wondered about the last couple of months in our family, I'll give you a quick rundown and a few pictures.

From July 27-August 5, we went to MI and stayed at my parents. Matt did some sort of computer training in Grand Rapids. He and Dad put a new roof on my parents' barn. Matt and I celebrated our fourteenth wedding anniversary. My Grandma arranged for she, Mom and I to take the kids for a ride on a "scale model" train along with some friends. We went swimming at "Uncle" Burt and "Aunt" Cindy's pool. We went to the zoo with my Mom and Aunt Cindy. We went blueberry picking. We also got to see people that I haven't had a chance to catch up with in years!

Here are a couple of pictures that I "stole" from my Mom's blog:






From August 11-August 16, Matt went on a trip to the Boundary Waters with his Uncle Doug. He has lots of good memories from this trip. He left his pillowcase with all of his extra clothes at his parents, after he stayed there the night before their trip. He also has a good "hero story" (as Karissa calls it) about he and his uncle helping a ranger paddle someone who was injured out of the "boonies" to a place where they could get to the hospital. He took a lot of really good pictures. Here are a "few":












Here is a picture of Rachel one month ago today. Such a big girl!



Here are some pictures from August 20th, our "first official school day". (Micah would not consider himself in second grade until I declared a specific day that we were starting, even though we did some academic things on and off all summer!):






How do those of you with more than one child EVER get any good pictures?

Labor Day weekend my parents came to visit. On Saturday, we went to Brookfield Zoo. Micah was lost for about 20 minutes at the end of the day and it was definitely a time of great prayer. Daddy was standing right next to him and had looked at him about 15 seconds before I asked, "Where's Micah?" These things can happen so fast! Thankfully, Daddy found him sitting nicely on a bench. God is good!





Here are a couple of pictures of Rachel and Grandpa from that weekend:




Here's a picture from September 5 of Rachel "reading books". She's almost 10 months old here. Aren't you impressed?



Oh, and I forgot to mention that sometime between the first day of school and Labor Day our house almost flooded. Exciting times!

I think that gives you a good "snapshot" of the last couple of months in the life of the McFarlane family. Is that good enough Laurie?

Garrett's Home

Thanks for all of the prayers and encouragement. Garrett was discharged this afternoon and we were home by 1:30. He is trying to use up all of the extra energy that he couldn't use for two days in as short of a time as possible.

Life is always exciting and we are thankful for God's protection and blessings. We are also thankful for friends and sisters and neighbors who sacrificially offered their time to help with the logistics of the last couple of days.

Poor Garrett!

Please pray for Garrett (and Matt). They are staying at the hospital tonight.

Yesterday evening he got a little bug bite on his face while we were having a bonfire at the neighbor's house. No big deal, right? I put some stuff on it. He seemed fine. He went to bed.

He got up this morning and it was a little swollen, but not too bad. By lunch his cheek was very swollen and his eye was swelling. So, after lunch I gave him some benadryl and he took his nap. When he got up, his eye was pretty much swelled closed and his cheek looked like he had the mumps (or worse). So, I called the doctor. We ended up having a 6:45 appt. By 7:15, I was on my way to the hospital. (I had Garrett and Rachel with me, Matt was home with the "big kids.") They drew blood for a culture and put in an IV for antibiotics. I told Garrett to sit still and he said, "Oh-tay" and didn't even flinch or cry when they poked him (for a LONG time in this Mommy's opinion). Soon the doctor decided that Garrett would be admitted for IV antiobiotics and observation. They are worried about infection in his eye, by his sinuses and possibly even close to the brain. (He also had a low grade fever by the time we got to the hospital.) After much checking and "begging", I was informed that Rachel would not be allowed to go to the pediatric floor with me and DEFINITELY could NOT spend the night. She is nursing pretty much exclusively (a little avacado, a little banana, a little sweet potato, but she's never had a bottle and doesn't even eat solids more than once a day, if that). Because of the food allergies in our family, I REALLY don't want to use formula for her if I can avoid it. So, Matt ended up coming to the hospital to relieve me while a neighbor read a book in the living room (the kids were in bed). Garrett had barely gotten upstairs when they informed Matt that Garrett would be in the hospital for at least 24-48 hours! Matt's sister, Dione, is going to help some, but I'm not sure how we are going to manange the logistics of this. Matt had a consultant fly in this afternoon for a project they are doing at work and they are paying him a LOT of money per day. Matt has really been getting ready for this and has a lot of responsibility for this project. So, he needs to go to work in the morning. My biggest thing is getting home to feed the baby AND not leaving Garrett alone at the hospital.

Please pray, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. I went to a doctor's appointment about 5 hours ago and things have been crazy ever since!

Just in case you were wondering...

Yesterday the kids and I made a blueberry pie together. We used fresh blueberries from Michigan and it was really yummy, even if it was a bit soupy. Today, Garrett and Micah had haircuts. Garrett's is a little crooked and needs a bit of a trim when Daddy is home to hold him still.

So, I'm making progress on that long list of things that I'm not so good at doing.

Of course, Rachel is eating more foods, not less. So, there's no improving on that item on the list at this point. :)

Watermelon King

Garrett has loved hats and shoes for as long as he could get them on. He loves to try on shoes and hats belonging to anyone and everyone! He likes every style and color. He thinks they are WONDERFUL!

Last night, he came up with a new hat or, more correctly, a new crown. I left the dinner table before everyone else last night and was busy getting some things done. A little bit after everyone had left the table and it was cleared, I heard the shower running, but I saw Micah and Karissa running around the house still. When I went in the bathroom, I saw Matt standing in there and heard Garrett singing in the shower. I asked, "Did he get really dirty?" (He doesn't get a bath every single day and I didn't think he was that dirty yesterday.) His answer was surprising. "Well, his hair's a little dirty. He was the watermelon king." HUH? Apparently after Garrett finished eating his slice of watermelon, he decided that the quarter circle of rind would make a good "crown" and declared himself the "watermelon king." I asked Matt what his response was (wondering how much trouble Garrett had been in). I think Matt had a difficult time adequately reprimanding someone with a watermelon rind on their head. But as our friends the Sommerfelds have reminded us, "If it won't be cute in 3 years, you want to stop it now."

Sorry, but there are no pictures. Matt didn't want to encourage it that much!