The Mini Train Station

On Sunday, Andy and I took the girls to the mini train station in Cedarburg out on County M. It was so cute! We got there and there were a lot of people there. Everybody was out enjoying the weather! We didn't really know what this was about, we just heard about it from my brother. I'm not sure where it came from or how long its been there, but it was a lot of fun and were definitely going back. What it is is a little train station. Little mini trains take you for rides through the woods on these little tiny tracks. They have it set up with little barbie vehicles as if your going through an intersection. They toot there horns for that! They also have Little houses and roads set up. The rides are pretty long and the whole thing is FREE! When we got there all we did was hopped on a train.There were no lines. There were like 8 trains going at once. I'm not exactly sure how it works. I think it was put together by some guys who really enjoy trains and anybody who has a little train can come and use the tracks and take people for rides. (I think, not positive). But all i know is it was really cute! Mianna LOVED it! They had a little train with Thomas the train head on the front. Mianna insisted on driving that one! :)
I didn't know about this little train station until last wkd and my guess its not very known. So, for anybody looking for a free activity for your family, check it out! Its definitely worth it! We'll be going back there again, maybe this wkd before they close down for the season. We asked and there are no set hours. They are only open Saturday and Sunday but there are no set times.

Eric's Annual bonfire

Mia's Small Birthday Party

Thursday night, Oct. 18th, Mianna had a small little birthday party since her friend Mya was spending the night. She chose to have Mya, Brianna, Maria, and Isabella. However Maria and Isabella couldnt come. So it was Mya, Brianna, and Mia. They had so much fun. Seeing Mianna smile and laugh all night brought tears to my eyes! The night was all about Mianna and what she wanted to do.
When the party began, the first thing Mianna wanted to do was puzzles. So they did that for awhile while I made her favorite dinner: Macaroni and hot dogs. Then after dinner, they danced to Mianna's favorite dance CD: the YMCA and the Hokie Pokie. They danced and danced and danced. After dancing they played a little ring around the rosies and duck duck goose. Then Mianna opened her presents and we had cake. It was a perfect little birthday party for Mianna. She had so much fun with her friends!

Mia's BIG birthday party

Mia and her Nemo and Dory cake

Eating dinner

Clean up

On October 13th, Mianna had a birthday party to celebrate her 3rd birthday. We had it at our church because of the large families and many friends she wanted to invite. She chose Finding Nemo this year for her theme so I made her a Nemo and Dory cake. Her favorite was Dory. She had a great time running around with her cousins and friends while all the adults mingled. It was a great turn out, but I think this may be the last year with the big birthday party. Next year, I think we'll just go with a few friends because she seems to feel more comfortable in small groups. Thanks to everybody who came!

No TV?

No TV?
That's right! For a year now Andy and I haven't had the entertainment of TV. It all started when we moved and we couldn't afford cable TV. Then when we got extra money, we went out and bought the cheapest bunny ears, but they still didn't work, so we upgraded to the next and they still didn't work. In the mean time, we were getting used to this no TV thing and were liking it. But for bad summer weather purposes we decided to get the $30 bunny ears. We got channels, but they were still a bit fuzzy. We had it for about a week, but it just didn't seem right. We were watching the news, which was so depressing and shows that we didn't even really like anymore. It was taking away from our family and reading time. Andy would often stay up really late watching it because he'd be into a show, then the next day would be super tired. And the worst, I found myself worrying about a lot more. It was like an on switch button for my anxiety. Watching the news, hearing all the depressing events happening and no positive really wears off on you. So, after seeing all the negative effects of the TV, we decided to return the bunny ears to the store. We've been without TV ever since and its been great. We really didn't see the negative influence it had on us until we didn't have it for awhile and then we got it again. I couldn't believe what an influence it had. And just to think, were just one family. Just imagine all the bad influence it has on millions of kids and we wonder why the world is the way it is... depression, violence, unrealistic expectations, divorce, etc. I'm not saying the TV is a horrible thing and nobody should watch it. It just depends on what you watch and how you let it influence you. For us, we found it was better to just get rid of it all together.
With all this in mind, I wanted to share a new study I'm doing in Mom's group, "Lies Woman Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free." I only read the first 2 chapters and it already is opening my eyes and reassured me why we chose not to have TV in our house. Nancy Demoss states,

"The world's deceptive way of thinking comes to us through so many avenues- television, magazines, movies, music, friends, malls, and catalogs, to name a few. A steady diet of these worldly influences will shape our view of what is valuable, what is beautiful, and what is important in life."

That is so true. Looking back I can't believe of how may struggles I went through were influenced with deceptions from some of these resources. I don't think this book should be just for woman. Andy came home the other day getting down about money and worldly possessions; not having a house, fun toys, hobbies, etc. He was definitely influenced by some of his coworkers. After reading the intro to this book, I was like, WOW, this book should be, "The Lies Men and Woman believe" because everything he just poured out to me was a great demonstration of believing one of those lies.... needing materials to be happy. We have more than that. We have God and we have each other. After sharing the book with him, he got right back on track.
Anyways, all this to say, I'm looking forward to reading this book and more things that God reveals to me in my life. I just thought I'd share my new study with all of you and how God is using it already in my life!

Hadley's weight update

I just wanted to update everybody with Hadley's weight. We went in for her recheck last Wednesday to make sure she was gaining weight because at her last apt she was only in the 5th percentile. So, we got there and the nurse asked me, what did she weigh last time. I said, "i think like 11 lbs 14 oz if I remember correctly." Then she looked at her papers and said, "I have down, 11 lbs 2 oz." I was like, hmm, i thought she was more, but whatever, maybe im wrong. Then we weighed her and she was 12 lbs 6oz. The nurse said she would go check that over with the dr and be right back. Well, she came back and said she had good news. Turns out that the nurse that we had at her 4 month check up wrote her weight in wrong in the computer. Hadley did weigh 11 lbs 14 oz, but the nurse wrote it in as 11 lbs 1.4 oz! So, the whole time, Hadley's weight was never down. She was in the 10th percentile the whole time and still is. So, I was worried for no reason! Hadley is growing perfectly! :)

Our trip to the pumpkin patch

This wkd we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go to the pumpkin patch. We attempted to go Friday, but they wernt giving hayrides so we decided to wait till Saturday to get our pumpkins. We had a lot of fun! We got four pumpkins and only spent $5.50! I was impressed. Granted our pumpkins were pretty small, but they were perfect for us! Mianna enjoyed picking her pumpkin out and Hadley's. Lucky for us, she goes for the smaller ones! :) She also fed the goats. Something she always talked about, but was always too afraid to do it. She wouldnt do it Friday, but she got brave and did it on Saturday! She's getting braver!
We had a lot of fun this year at the pumpkin patch! And such beautiful weather!
I can't wait until next year when they'll both be picking out there own pumpkins!