LITTLE FARM FALL FESTIVAL

Today was a beautiful fall day. It was sunny, about 69 degrees(a little chilly for me)with a slight breeze. What a nice day for an outing. We decided to take Emma to this little farm festival for children. They had hayrides, horse and cart rides, Arts and craft for the kids to do and little farm animals. Emma loved the animals and really wanted to pet the baby cow but, it got scared every time Emma got near it. She loved watching the pigs and even got to hold one of the bunnies. She is just so cute to see around animals. She just loves them so much.
We then went on to a little wading pool that the children could fish in and win a prize. She got tired of trying to pick up the fish with the little rod, that she just reached her hand in and picked up what she wanted. Next we went onto the pumpkin painting. She loves to paint. She really got so into painting the pumpkin, that we finally had to say are you all done. I think that the whole pumpkin would have been completely covered in paint if we let her. After painting the pumpkin we decided to get something to eat. She had a hot dog some chips and a little bite of my whoopee pie. YUMMY! Not the healthiest lunch
When we were all done with lunch we let her do one more craft. It was making a little paper scare crow. It was so cute to watch her attempt it. We had to teach her how to use a glue stick. She thought that she was painting again. She picked out the shirt, overalls, shoes, eyes, hat and drew the mouth and nose all by herself. I'll have to take a picture of it and post it. Right now it is on the frig.
All in all she had a wonderful time and so did I. She was really tired and it was time to go home.
On the way out there was a scare crow sitting in a chair in the farm stand. She stopped, looked at it and asked "what's that mommy" all the time she was keeping her distance. I told her that it was a scare crow and she kept asking "what's that". She really didn't want to get too close to it. It was so cute to watch her. She finally did get a little closer, as you will see in the pictures.
Then off to home we went and down for a nap.

COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS CHILDRENS MEMORIAL GARDEN SOCIAL

This past weekend was our Compassionate Friends, Children's Memorial Garden Social. It was a rainy day but, many people turned out to celebrate our Children's lives.
This event takes place every year where we hold our meetings. It is in a garden that was made in memory of all of our children that have died too soon. Although it is a beautiful way to honor our children, it is still very painful to be there knowing that everyone there has lost a child or children. Where else would you want to be though? Of course amongst people that know what you are going through. It is always very hard for me to go to these events now. There are just so many people there and it pains me to know that so many children have lost their lives.
As we arrived we were greeted by friends that we hadn't seen in a while. It was nice to catch up with everyone and see what they all have been up to. It's amazing that almost seven years ago this Nov. we met these people for the first time. A club that you don't ever want anyone to join but, very glad it is there. Even though time has gone by, these will be people that we know we can always count on for a shoulder to cry on. They have been there with us from the very beginning.
As the day went on we caught up on everything that we have been up to and everyone finally got to meet Emma. They were all very happy for us. There was a real nice cookout, nice gifts and some little things for the children. Next it was time to release the butterflies. Everyone was given one for each child they lost. Then you can either go into a private place or over to the garden and release them. It is always an emotional time. It is part of letting go. Just to know that our boys are out there somewhere, is very hard for me.
This year was different because Emma was there to share it with us. She wasn't so sure about these creatures. She wanted so bad to touch them but, was afraid to. She eventually did. She really enjoyed the day and had plenty of children to play with. It was beautiful and sad at the same time to see hundreds of butterflies flying around and on all of the flowers. Here are a few pictures of the day.
I will eventually catch up on summer with my blog.