sewing school

For her birthday Mira received money to take a kids sewing class at Joann's. It's a two part class and they are learning the basics of machine sewing while making flannel pajama pants. She loved it!

early morning devotions

6:20 am: West joins us for morning prayer and devotions

weekend with family

Last weekend we enjoyed having Aunt Carol and Uncle Mark visit for several days. They stayed next door with Mimi and we joined them for dinner, dessert and evening visits. Sasa and Granny came too. We had a great time!

pumpkin patch kids

On a very warm, blue sky October Sunday we packed up the van with snacks, diapers and my knitting basket and headed out to our favorite country (AKA non-commercialized) pumpkin patch, Fir Point Farms in Aurora. For less than half the cost of the other pumpkin patches in the area, the kids had a great time riding the cow train, playing in the nut house, jumping in the hay barn, getting lost in the hay maze, eating cider donuts and of course, picking the perfect pumpkin to take home. I loved the little farm store and the fact that there were no long lines or crowds of people like a certain, very popular pumpkin patch in the area. Oh, and we must introduce Rue, our newest little one - the blondie in the photos above. She's 21 months old and just a little doll. But more about her later.

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going private

I've been thinking a lot about this blog and how to maintain a journal feel to it for the sake of my kids for whom I keep this blog and how to be open about what's happening in our lives when it is so public. So with that in mind I'm thinking I'm going to make this a private blog in a couple weeks. I love that so many others enjoy keeping up on our lives and I welcome you to keep following our family blog if you're interested. Just send me an email with your name and email address (google account address) and I'll add you to the list of people who can access it. You can email me at shanetirza at gmail (dot) com

sweet mira is 11

Our beautiful first born turned 11 today and celebrated last weekend with a "keep calm and craft on" themed birthday party. There was beading, finger knitting, birthday bingo, birthday hat making and other crafts to keep the girls busy and giggling all afternoon. It was everything she hoped it would be and we all were so glad to see her honored and celebrated. We love you Mira. Happy birthday!