Pass the Pineapple: September

Isn't the way time passes a funny thing? How some days life is paced and even; others are frantic and you can barely understand how it is already 3 PM? September was like that for us. Some moments went by very, very slowly. Slow enough that we took a moment to stop and smell the lavender...and met a new friend.

Slow enough to take in a perfect-weather parade in our small town.

Slow enough to sing happy birthday in Canadian to a newly-minted two-year-old cutie, Catherine.

Life gets so fast at other times. Faster than you know how to plan for or cope with. On our way home from Canada over Labor Day weekend, we learned Tim's Dad was in a very serious car accident. We're now two months away from that accident and he is still in the hospital getting stronger, receiving physical therapy treatment, learning how to live all over again. Looking back now, there were many blessings on this journey. He was immediately taken to a trauma unit that could handle the severity of his condition. Tim's Mom has always had a bed to sleep in with friends or family near the hospital where Papa is recovering and she's felt God's guiding hand with her. He's in one of the country's best physical therapy hospitals. We've been able to visit him and send pictures. He will be able to come home soon, he's starting to walk again, he's eating and breathing on his own! So many blessings.

The day after the accident, Sarah took the kids to her parents' house, while Tim spent the day with his Mom. He was so glad to be able to be nearby to support her. Our kids are still young, but it's almost a kind of hope we have that in the future they will be standing with us, guiding us through, laughing, and crying. We love them this little, but someday they'll be adults and instead of walking like ducks behind us, they'll be walking beside us. It's another kind of hope that we might somehow be able to walk beside our parents, holding them up, sharing their joy. We developed even more appreciation for the deepness of family this month.

And the deepness of friends. The accident meant Nana and Papa couldn't make it to Grandparents' Day at the girls' school. Sarah's parents both had work obligations. Our neighbors at the old house, who are a third set of grandparents, were able to join the girls...and they even made it into the paper!

Simon turned 11 months old at the end of September. He was crawling fast, had four teeth, and still loved to be spoon fed baby food. We try to soak him up, slowing down time as much as we could for mental and digital pictures to store up these baby days.

Baby days are so much work, but then he smiles or waves or claps and we're back in the game, shrugging off the exhaustion to scoop him up and make him giggle one more time.

Speaking of time...this picture was one year ago!

Now these two busy boys are into everything!

Tim and Sarah got to slip away for a night to celebrate Tim's childhood friend's wedding. Isn't the bride so pretty!?!? If you've ever been married, you know that's a day when time is suddenly gone. Sure, it must be an actual 24 hour period...but to the bride and groom, it's less than a blink of the eye. It's here and then gone no matter how hard you try to cherish every single moment of the beginning of this new lifetime together.

Time has to be forced into slowing down sometimes. Like a retreat or a vacation when you step away and enjoy what God has created. When you have a to-do list, but you're going to be. The girls had a weekday off of school, so we went to the Indy Children's Museum and watched our little creations learn and play.

There was a great new Pop Culture exhibit with toys, music, and fashion through the decades.

Our girls were REALLY into the hands-on fashion. When it was time to pick the last thing to do before we left, they immediately agreed on "making the dresses".

Simon wasn't really into that, but he did love the baby play area. Water to splash! Stairs to crawl! Buttons to push! Blocks! Feathers! Light switches! His own kind of heaven.

Speaking of heaven...nothing quite washes away the stress of the day like cozying up with a kiddo or three.

Mommy and Felicity do our preschool activities daily. This gem was a stand-out piece of work for the month.

We spent another fun morning at the zoo when Catherine and Aunt Annette came for a visit near the end of September.

Catherine and the boys had their first train ride - we documented it!

Our county fair happens the last week of September. The girls proudly displayed their first sewing projects!

We also rode rides, watched or participated in the parade, and ate our fair share of fair donuts. Simon even got a taste because you just haven't been to the fair without the fair donut! He liked our reasoning.

September was not only the month of time/timelessness...but also the month of the Hrywnas! We got to see them for a third time at the lake house when Tom helped Tim take Papa's boat out of the water for the season.