Saint Doll Exchange

I am a part of our church's Mom's Group.  Last month, you could sign up to be a part of a "Peg Doll Exchange".  Everyone in the group picks a different saint.  I chose St. Rose of Lima.  

Next, I had to paint 23 (that's how many people participated) St. Rose dolls.  Then at our monthly meeting, we did a swap and I came home with 23 different Saint dolls.  

Just as I predicted would happen, I didn't start working on these little ladies until 4 days before they were due.  

{This is the blank canvas that I started with.}

 {Face and body coming along}

 {Work in Progress}

 {Just a few more details needed}

 {The finished product, St. Rose of Lima!}

{Savannah was so excited to play with them  the next morning.}

 {She likes lining them up and then knocking them down. I can't wait until she starts asking questions about these amazing people and I can share their stories with her.}

Lisa gets married!

Recently, Savannah likes to ask, "Wanna snuggle and watch George?" How can I say no to that!? She may just be using me to watch Curious George, but I don't care.  I'll take all the snuggles I can get.  

 My little baker

 Sometimes I need to cook or do the dishes, so she snuggles with baby. 

 Getting our nails done for Lisa's wedding! (Beautiful bride, in the middle.  My aunt Jacque is on the right)

Savannah made her debut as a Ring Bearer.  It's 2017, we're breaking down gender roles over here haha

Truth is, this is what happens when you have a family full of girls.  

One of the servers didn't show up for the wedding, so my dad saved the day and relived his alter boy days.  We were dying with laughter to see how close he had to get to Lisa and Tom during their vows.

 We were proud of our little Ring Bearer.  She did a great job following directions.  

 After the wedding, our friends picked Savannah up for the night.  She was pumped to get to sleep over at Evie's house.  

 I loved getting pictures of these buddies while we were at the reception.  

My sister came home from her summer in Montana in time to celebrate! 

Savannah is so happy to have Aunt Katie back!

 My sister and three cousins.  We may be a small family, but we love big!

 6:20, oh my!!

 Sometimes, a belly is just as good for stickers as paper.

 Back at Deanna Rose, no shocker there.  They close in a few weeks so we have to go as much as we can.  Savannah is going to be one sad girl when we can't go every week. 

Faith 5K Weekend

Right after Tom's sisters, mom, and nieces left, we packed up and got ready to spend the next 6 days in Minnesota.  Tom's sister puts on a 5K that we wanted to be at, and since I won't be traveling up there for the holidays, we thought it would be nice to make this an extended visit. 

Before we made it all the way to Alexandria, we stopped in Victoria to see some one our favorite people.  Sally and Libby don't go to school until 8:45 or 9, I can't remember, but either way, it gave us some fun times together before they left. 

 We celebrated Emma's birthday a few weeks early with a little Happy Birthday song and presents.  

 She was in need of a new Vikings shirt, so we couldn't let her down.  She's got some growing to do in this shirt, but it will be nice to have for a few seasons.  

We just love this spunky little 3 year old!

 Gotta get decked out in Gopher's gear when we go to MN!

 And the vikings bib is a must at meal time. 

 One of the days we were in Alexandria, we went on a short walk to the top of a hill and got to admire the fall colors at Inspiration Peak.  

 The whole gang - everyone had a kid (mine was just hiding in my coat)

 These two were too cute together!

 We made a quick trip to "The Man's Mall".  Savannah was giddy with excitement when she saw Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.  She kept pointing at them and saying "Jesus!! Jesus""

 The morning of the 5K was super foggy and a little damp, but the sun eventually came out and ended up being an amazingly beautiful day.  

 Getting ready for the balloon release.  I wasn't sure if Savannah would actually let the balloon go, but she loved watching it float up to all the babies in heaven.  

 Savannah enjoys to "fake sleep".  She kept "falling asleep" and then would just laugh when she thought we weren't watching anymore.  What a nut!

 We had a poster made for some dear friends who lost their baby at 16 weeks earlier this year.

 Look at that family support! Amazing!

 Savannah's first time visiting cousin Faith.

We went to an apple orchard that had a whole fall fest theme going on.  It was a lot of fun for the kids.  Hay Bales to climb on, slides, pumpkins, and a corn maze.  

 I don't make it a habit to post unflattering pictures of myself, but this one just cracks me up.  Recently, Savannah has been obsessed with taking pictures of us.  When I saw this, the first thing I thought of was that this is how Savannah sees me everyday.  HAHA no wonder she wakes up every morning and tells me that baby is getting big.  

 Tom's turn for the "Savannah angle".

 Adorable family of three! 

 How cute is this picture!?

 Rubes!!!

 This sunrise picture doesn't even do it justice.  This is one of the perks of leaving at 4 am.

 Our trip home got off to a bit of a rocky start.  We left at 4, and by 4:30 we were on the side of the road being pulled over by the local police.  Let's just say, these small towns don't appreciate you driving 70 in a 50.  Somehow this sweet cop gave Tom a warning and told him to slow down.  I think he could sense how angry I was and felt bad for Tom because he still had 8.5 hours in the car with me.  

We ended our trip at Chick-Fil-a.  Savannah returned her toy in exchange for ice cream.  She is definitely our child. 

 She finally fell asleep about 40 minutes away from home.  I didn't want to move her when we got home, so I just sat in the car with her for another hour at home.  

That what our whirl wind trip to Minnesota.  It was great to spend so much time with family.