In our family...

In our family....we do second chances...we do grace...we do real...we do mistakes...we do I'm sorry (and I forgive you)...we do loud really well...we do hugs...we do family...we do love.















Saturday, October 24, 2009

Are you ready for some football?

Here in Minnesota our short summer led to a fall that has been cold, cloudy and rainy. We have already had snow one too many times this fall. The first time it snowed I was woken up at the butt crack of dawn by little man and little lady, saying “Merry Christmas”. He apparently thought that since it snowed, it must be Christmas and he was damn excited about it. Excited enough to wake up his little sister and convince her it was in deed Christmas. They wanted to know when we were putting up our tree. Once I brought them down to reality, that it was NOT Christmas, that there was not going to be any presents underneath a tree, they wanted to go dig out their boots, snow pants and coats and go sledding. Hello? It’s 6:30 AM.  I can be such a bummer sometimes.

Anyways, all of this lovely Minnesota weather has meant that the usual beautiful changing colors have either been absent or came and went very quickly. All of this moisture and lack of sun is not good for the farmers needing to harvest their crops either. Not to mention the moods of people missing the sun.

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the beauty of the changing colors and the freshness that is usually in the air. I love raking leaves with the kids and jumping in the colorful leaves. This year, I couldn’t rake nor jump in the leaves and this year the leaves are mostly brown.

I love having camp fires and enjoying the coolness of the night. I love sipping on hot chocolate (and yes it tastes mighty good with a little peppermint schnapps added to it ) or hot apple cider. With all this rain and wind we haven’t gotten to enjoy very many fires but fall isn’t completely over so there still is hope.

I love wearing jeans, t-shirts and sweatshirts and flannel shirts. I love that when I’m having one of my menopausal moments I can step outside and instantly cool off.

I love orange pumpkins and cutting them out into jack-a-lanterns. I love red juicy apples and all the things we can make with them.

I love that with fall comes football…both college and professional. It used to be Friday night football games too  when my sons were playing in high school. Oh how I looked forward to standing out in the cool night watching my favorite sport.

Last Sunday after watching our Minnesota Vikings almost lose after having a big lead we headed outside to enjoy being outside even though it was cloudy and grey, at least it wasn’t raining. We threw the football around with little man and then convinced little lady to play with us.

A future football player?

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What do I do with this?”

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You have to tackle me.” “I bet you can’t catch me!”

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Do you wanna bet?”

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I might be a girl girl.  And I might have on a dress.

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But, don’t let that fool you because I’m much tougher then I look.

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And I can run. Fast. And you will be lucky to catch me.

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Look at my sister go! She scored again! (I think she gets this from me!)

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I love football. I love to run with the football. But, even more, I like it when you cheer for me.

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…even when my sister tackles me…

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…and takes the ball from me and runs with it!

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Such fun.

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Maybe a football player in our future? The most important thing is teaching them to be active and to have fun being active. Not to say that I would be disappointed ‘cause that would be kinda fun and you can bet that I will be there cheering on the sidelines, gray hair and all!

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We ended the fun with a few hugs and kisses…

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How can we not have fun with these 2?

CIMG0017 Life may change us, but we start and end with family.

I may not have planned to be here but I sure am glad that I am.

21 comments:

Brittany said...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this post! I wish I was there with you.. More importantly I wish Aidyn was there to run right along with them! We miss you guys SOOO much! :)

Great post!!!!

Brian Miller said...

cute pics of your football player. i want snow! ah, guess i'll settle for the cool fall, campfires and cocoa...happy saturday!

Natalie said...

They are so sweet. I could just gobble them up!xx♥

Bogey said...

You made me smile from beginning to end and I am jealous that I wasn't there to play too! But I definitely loved the picture parade and the thought of an outdoor fire accompanied by a steaming mug of Hot Chocolate! You have put so much love into those two little Gems. Thank you so much for sharing this and putting a smile on my face and a warm glow in my heart.

Busy Bee Suz said...

What a wonderful feeling I have as I read this post Lori. You are such a wonderful person...gosh, I could just HUG you to death. Those kids are adorable and SO lucky to have you in their life. The pictures are fabulous...the kids are happy. I can imagine you on the sidelines cheering little man on in the future...grey hair and all. :)
Take care, Suz

I Am Woody said...

I loved this post!! Your little people are such cutie pies!!

LPC said...

Cute!

Pseudo said...

They are simply adorable. And Fall is my favorite season too Lori.

Buckeroomama said...

You had me smiling from when your little man thought it was Christmas because it snowed. :)

mommytoalot said...

Me too...I mean I also love this post. Makes you appreciate fall that much more. Adorable pictures.

Smart Mouth Broad said...

Thank you so much for this post. It was JUST the joy I needed to get my day going. The kids are adorable and what great fun for all of you! You are so right. This is what it is all about.

Hugs,
SMB

Jeannie said...

GREAT post! The kids are truly adorable - I'm amazed how much you are able to do with and for them when you have chronic pain. Hat's off to you.

Anonymous said...

Precious!

Jan said...

Lori, those kids look so healthy and so happy!

I'm beginning to learn to love fall, myself. I'm sorry yours has been so drab!

Kathryn Magendie said...

*BIG SMILE!!* what cute pics too! .... now that I'm in the mountains, I adore fall! it's a wonderful beatiful time of year....

Anonymous said...

Gah! Your grandkids are so sweet. Lovin' her pink hat for heaven sakes! AND yes, he will be a football player, just you wait. The years will fly by and he'll be in the NFL... I'm sure of it... *giggles*

I'm having a scarf giveaway and I'm sure you could use one up there in Minnesota so come check it out and leave a comment to enter the contest. See you there!

Smiles
Di
The Blue Ridge Gal

♥ Braja said...

Love the last line, my friend....well said.

And boy I'm proud of you and the smoking thing: see how fast those months went? I remember the first few days, and I'm so happy you've shown the strength you have to conquer these things....good on you girl :)

Riahli said...

Adorable post, love the pictures. Fall is my favorite season...except for the rainy years, those aren't as much fun are they...we have ended up with a pretty rainy season this year too, no snow yet though thank goodness!

Twenty Four At Heart said...

It's so hot here still it's hard to even imagine snow or cold weather. I wish I could wear cold weather clothes. I'm still in shorts and flip flops. I do love football though. High school, college and pro. Now if I could just get a couple days of cool weather for some hot chocolate or apple cider!

Unknown said...

OH MY GOSH! Those pictures have just completely melted my heart with happiness. How very beautiful!

Yes, children make the world go round. And luckily for them, they have YOU to help them with it!

Anonymous said...

Hey! Good topic, but will this really work?