Some Belated Pictures While We Wait

An afternoon at the pumpkin patch

The colours, the air, the view......all breathtaking!

Even the kids were feeling the mood and happy to cooperate

Just loving the colour!!

And we managed to find a couple of contenders for Halloween!

Speaking of Halloween............I must confess that I've been horrible this season.  Fall is usually my favourite time of year for taking photos of the kids.  Thanksgiving flew by and not one picture to document the day.  Halloween snuck up on me and NOTHING!  Claire looked so beautiful in her Renaissance dress..........and I have not one picture to show for it.  It really does make me feel sad, or maybe just inadequate, or overwhelmed.  Not sure the right word!
There is so much going on right now with the birth of Avery just a few days away (more on that in a minute), the adoption which is surprisingly moving forward, albeit slowly, but still forward, renovations that are not going to be done before the baby joins us (so not ideal!) and the challenges of raising the three we have.  Throw into the mix that Adam essentially works 2 full-time jobs, I have been working 11 hours a day up until yesterday, juggling almost daily doctors appointments and trying to clean before my parents arrive to help while I'm in the hospital.  Everyone says I'm "Super-Woman" and it's true that some days I feel like that.  Then there are those other days (like this morning) when I lose my cool with a daughter that wants to wear short leggings under her skirt when it's -4 degrees, a little boy who simply refuses to go to school and is throwing a tantrum akin to a 2 year old and a teenage son that is testing his parents in areas I never thought I'd have to worry about.  It's these days that I just collapse, wonder what the heck where we thinking?  Doubt manages to creep in as I worry about how I will juggle another "little life" amidst all we have going on.  Just the additional money I need to put into the children's RESP every month has me concerned.  But somehow, I know we will manage.  Why?  Because we always do!  Some months may be tighter than others, we may have to say "no" a bit more often than we used to and the Christmas list will need to be scaled back a bit this year too.  But in the end, family trumps all of the materialistic junk we THINK we need.  In fact I would go further to say that the more you say no to your children, the harder things become, can only lead to a closer bond with our kids.  Kids don't need us to be their best friend.........they need us to parent them..........lead them...........and help them mature into adults that are productive, moral and responsible in the world.  And in that regard, I think Adam and I are on the right track.  There may be a few bumps in the track but together it's our adventure!

Now, for those of you waiting eagerly for some Baby Avery pics; you won't have to wait much longer!  Originally I was scheduled to be induced yesterday........but..........the doctor convinced me to bake her a few more days as all looks well and she is tolerating staying in a bit longer.  My new scheduled induction date is Sunday night.  I'll be at the hospital for 7pm where the doctor will assess me.  If I require Cervadil, to soften the cervix, I will be admitted and staying overnight.  If I've progressed on my own then I will be released and return early Monday morning to begin with the Pitocin and the induction.  So it looks like Monday November 12th will be Avery's birthday!  Stay tuned and I'll update the blog when we are home from the hospital.  Thanks to all my friends who have been keeping tabs on me, calling, emailing etc.  You definitely help the wait to go faster. :)