We spent last weekend at Grand Lake with college friends and it was the deep calm breath we all needed this fall. And of course, amazing Stephanie Ferris was there to catch all the magical moments on camera when the sun started to set.

I thought it might be fun to share the pictures with some fall family updates along with them.

As we get closer to Abigail’s arrival, Josh has assumed most dish duty, laundry switching duty, and Sonic runs for his cranky wife at 10 pm because I can’t survive without Sonic ice water. He’s the best hubs, dad, boss, and friend in the world and I am just so glad he’s all mine.

I dont know that a better, more all-encompassing picture of Bitty has ever been taken. Those freckles, that strawberry hair, she takes our breath away. Lydia is in full-swing with half-day Kindergarten. Her favorite parts are seeing Ruth at recess, laughing with new friends, and learning her letter sounds. Her least favorite part is the dress code/uniforms. For a girl who is highly sensory-sensitive, wearing socks, tennis shoes, and polos everyday is torture! But we are so proud of her leaning in to her weaknesses and trusting God for strength. She is impatiently awaiting Abbi’s arrival and can’t wait to get to snuggle her a few hours each day before Ruth gets home. Ha! And her thoughtfulness continues to be one of the sweetest things about her. You can always count on Lydia to give you a shoulder rub and an honest compliment.

Our Ruth Mae. She is advancing in gymnastics quickly and prefers to cartwheel instead of walk everywhere she goes. She loves second grade and she’s enjoying that her teacher plays the guitar and sings. She always comes home with a song in her heart. She takes her spelling tests super seriously each week and loves to practice her words, which is funny because I don’t think she’s spelled a word wrong yet this year! We love her when her silly side comes out these days. And she still loves being big sister. She walks Lydia into her classroom every single day and she comes home from school and immediately has Micah on her hip the rest of the evening.

This was one of the only shots we got of our ornery, always on the go little boy and its the perfect display of the feisty face he gives people. Micah is soooooo darn fun right now. His vocabulary has EXPLODED. He loves to say “Thank you mama.” “Love you mama.” and of course “NO mama!” He talks about Abbi and prays for her all the time. He’s so excited to be big brother. The highlights of his day are when he convinces his sisters to jump on the trampoline with him and when he sneaks out of bed at night to climb into Mom and Dad’s bed. He always has a weapon on hand to fight monsters and his favorite show is Duck Tales.

Sweet Abigail Grace. 11 weeks until we are planning on meeting her. She kicks all day every day and I really enjoy feeling her move around, except when she launches a foot into my ribs for hours on end. The kids laugh that she hates chicken because even the smell of chicken this pregnancy makes me gag endlessly. The kids also have fun laughing with me at my slower pace and cranky/emotional moments. Its really fun having them join in on the silly side effects of pregnancy and helping me laugh at myself. Every single time I open social media, an ad for OPAL ICE MACHINES pop up because I just want one sooooo badly that I search them often. (PS. Its not happening. They are like five hundred bucks.) We can’t imagine what life will be like soon with four kids but we are so excited to find out.