Pumpkin Patch 2014

One of my favorite fall activities is to go to the pumpkin patch.  While living in Hattiesburg, we always met my parents in Collins at Mitchell Farms, so we decided to head back there since we knew it was a great place with tons to do. It was a bit warm (EK shed her cute denim jacket immediately after we arrived) but we had a fabulous morning together. 

The hayride was a hit

One of EK's favorites is always the tire swing.  

They LOVED the big slide!

That boy loves to climb.

So thankful for Kay Kay and G....and the light up princess wand that G was kind enough to purchase in the gift shop.

EK really wanted to do the corn maze.

We were all jumping for joy when we finally made it out of that thing!

W's favorite activity by far was the train.  He rode it 3 times and would have gone 25 more times if we would have let him.

Decisions, decisions..

Thankful for this time. Thankful for these people. Thankful for the memories made. 

Fall Festival

We had the best night at the Fall Festival at our church.  J has worked so hard to make tonight a reality and I think everything went beautifully.  My kids took advantage of the jumpies being set up all day and got some good playing time before the crowds rolled in.  A perk of daddy's job for sure!

Sweet friends!

I asked my crew for a family picture and this is the best I got.  Oh well. 

So very thankful to have Kay Kay and G to help wrangle the wild ones.  

We love Aunt Haley!  It is so amazing to have my parents and Haley in the same town with us. Living away from family for a while has really helped me appreciate them so much more! We couldn't make it without them!

Walker was so excited to see his precious teacher Ms Mandy.  He ran over to her and gave her the sweetest hug.  He said "I love Ms Mandy.  She's my best friend!"

We played some games and won some pretty awesome prizes. 

Loved seeing some of our d-group girls too!

The pastors took turns in the dunking booth.  Ella Kate thought it was hilarious to see J in there.  Walker just kept asking why he was having to do it.  J took quite a few dips in the little pool during his time in there!

Tonight was a great time of fun and fellowship with absolutely perfect weather. It could not have been any better and I loved spending the evening with some of my favorite people!

Dandelion Designs

My friend Sarah Largen is amazingly talented and is the designer of Dandelion Designs.  She makes precious personalized labels for boys, girls and for the holidays. She is offering a special between now and October 24 where she is graciously offering the proceeds of the label sales towards our adoption expenses.  We are so grateful for her generosity and for all the people who have been so amazing to help us on our journey to Emma.  So, check out the ordering info and options below.  We hope you find something you like or find some cute Christmas happies.  Thank you for helping to bring Emma home.

Is This Real Life?

Being a Mississippi State fan is like being on a constant emotional roller coaster.  It's work.  I mean, my first year at State, we had a winning season but after that, it was 3 wins a year for several years. We lost to Maine.....MAINE!!! We lost a game to Auburn with a score of 3-2. It was just bad. This year it seems like it actually could be our time to break through and do some things well....and it's all because we gave up our season tickets....just kidding....but not really!

Game Day was in the Junction and it was crazy loud with the beautiful sound of our beloved cowbells.  Paps made for an interesting "celebrity picker."  At least he put away the crocs and socks he always wore in the carpool line at the preschool I worked at in Hburg for a rather dashing maroon suit complete with bow tie and white shoes. He's a character for sure. 

While we were busy watching our Dawgs take down the tigers, Ella Kate was busy working on a little banner. She was so proud and I love her creativity.

Love my little Bulldog family!

And then there is this.....the Mississippi State Bulldogs are 6-0, bowl eligible, and the #1 team in the nation!!!!! It feels pretty great to be on the winning side of things! For those of us that have been on this roller coaster for so long, this wild ride just got really fun! We've got a long way to go, but for this week, we will celebrate being on top!!!

Friday Fair Fun

We spent our Maroon Friday at the fair. It was hot, hot, hot but the littles loved it and we enjoyed getting to hang out together.

Walker did not go to the fair with us last year, so for the last week or so, EK has been giving him a very detailed run down of all that he would see and do.  She spent a great deal of energy describing the Ferris wheel, so that was our first stop today.

EK is finally tall enough to ride some of the rides by herself. She thought she was big stuff!

Walker and I took a spin in the teddy bear swirling thing.

The hot air balloon ride was a crowd pleaser.

Seriously, they thought it was awesome.

And you can't go wrong with a carousel ride.

We checked in on some farm animals on our way to the car.  The kids really liked watching the baby ducks go down their slide.

We had a great day with our little crew,

Weekend Recap

It is crazy to me that we are in October now!  This year is flying by and we are just hanging on the best we can. On Friday night, J had to be at church for a Prep 7th grade homecoming party, so the kids requested a pallet party. We surprisingly made it all night!

On Saturday morning, we slept until 9:00!!!!!!!!!!! We woke up just in time to watch all the SEC Nation coverage in Starkville and the Game Day coverage in Oxford. We watched the game at my parents and pretty much feel like we must be bad luck charms for the Dawgs!!! They are doing so much better without us in Starkville!!!! If it means we go 6-0 on Saturday, I will gladly stay home!

 

I really do miss seeing friends and the game day excitement, but it is pretty awesome to just hang out with my people in the comforts of our house.  The Dawgs are some kind of legit this year, and I LOVE hearing all the positive things the announcers have to say as we watch on tv.  This Saturday is going to be seriously crazy with Gameday in town and the #2 and #3 teams playing! It's like a wild dream. Who would have believed that MSU would be involved in the Heisman and Playoff talk?!?!

After the Bulldogs took care of Texas A&M, we took advantage of the gorgeous fall day and did a little playing outside. It was perfection. 

I love fall. Mom sent me this picture of Ella Kate's work in the hall at school. I just think it's precious. 

Walker had a bit of a runny nose this weekend, so he and I snuggled up to watch our church via live stream. I loved getting to still be a part of church even though I could not be there. I'll be doing that a lot in a couple of months with Miss Emma. 

And don't forget!!!! This Thursday is our Noonday Collection fundraiser at the Layson's house. I would love to see you there but if you can't make it, you can always order online.  The instructions are below. 

Have a fabulous week!!!!

Shopping With a Purpose

Emma used to just be a name. Now Emma has a face (and very little hair) and we are super close (like in the next couple of months) to bringing our girl home!!!!!!! My sweet friend Courtney is hosting a Noonday Collection trunk show where a portion of the proceeds will go towards our adoption expenses. If you aren't familiar with Noonday, they are an amazing company that empowers impoverished artisans around the world. The products they sell are gorgeous and what is better than helping provide sustainable income for people all over the world AND getting some beautiful pieces of jewelry or other accessories along the way? Our party is next Thursday, October 9 at Courtney Layson's house in Madison. Let me know if you need directions! You can check out the pretty things in the Noonday Lookbook. Just go to www.leslieleon.noondaycollection.com

If you are not able to attend the party, no worries, you can just go to that site starting on the 9th, pick out what you would like and at checkout, put "Nelson Family Adoption" in the trunk show field. We so appreciate your support as we get ready to bring Emma home! So, go "shop with a purpose", help artisans around the world, make one less orphan...and knock out your Christmas shopping!!!!!!