Happy Halloween from the Brindley's

Puppy

Matt & AnnMarie came over for dinner last night. Yumm...chili & homemade corn muffins. AnnMarie brought smores galore for dessert...lots of yummmmmm.

Anyway, AnnMarie bought a puppy yesterday morning and they asked if they could bring it. Lilia loved the puppy so much and tired it out pretty good by running all around downstairs. Alex liked the puppy, but I think they were too close in size. They puppy could lick his face and jump on him too easily.

Matt, AnnMarie & the new puppy...to be named

Hiking at Ridley Creek

Yesterday morning was Beautiful!!! The weather was a perfect fall day. We headed out to Ridley Creek State Park to do some hiking. The kids were dressed in costume just for the fun of it.

At one point on our hike we walked past some bow hunters. Good thing the lion and the giraffe were on the trail.

Sittin, waitin, wishin

Today we had plans to go to the zoo. Lilia was dressed in her Halloween costume waiting by the front door.

I had Alex in the kitchen with me getting food together. I thought he was getting tired so I made him a bottle and when I went to check in on Lilia I found a sleeping giraffe.

We eventually made it out the door to the zoo after some sleepy time.

Strollin the zoo

For Halloween Lilia is a giraffe and Alex will be a lion. We were going off of Madagascar. We call our Alex, "Alex the Lion" as a result of that movie. And if you didn't already know which animal is Lilia's favorite before now, then you aren't reading this blog very closely!

So we headed off to the zoo today. Lilia was in her costume, partly because it's super warm and partly because she loved the idea. Alex just wore the hat for a short time. It was too chilly not to be bundled when you're just sitting in a stroller.

Yummy snacks

Gorilla

Bald Eagle

Big Ole Cuddly Polar Bear

Alex

Favorite games

Alex's favorite game of the afternoon turned into climbing up the steps outback, then holding my hand to walk down them. After that he would crawl around the back yard and then up the stairs to do it all over again!

Simplicity

This is Lilia playing out back with a string and some sticks. So simple.

Festive Fall Table

Festive fall

I love this time of year!

I love decorating with nature.

I love collecting leaves!

I had SO much fun doing the table. The big green leaves are those ones that are actually a weed and grow randomly in the city. The rest I collected on a walk.

Christmas Tree

My parents came out on Friday. One of the things we did was to clean up the back yard and take everything down. As we cut down the plants and flowers Lilia wanted to use them to decorate her "Christmas Tree."
After spend hours outside working it felt amazing to come in and sit down to a delicious bowl of vegetable & rice soup.

Cleaning up the backyard

It feels really good to serve and love your friends, especially when they aren't expecting it! 

A dinner guest

Tonight we had Whitney over for dinner. She is the Chinese girl that came to the wedding with Dave and other Chinese folks. She became a Christian within a couple of weeks of being here in America. So she joined us for dinner.

Alex liked her and wanted to sit on her lap. Here he is playing with a piece of her broccoli. (We didn't make her eat it.)

It was an interesting night in that we just lived life with her. We talked while the kids played on the floor with Dave. Then she hung out with us upstairs while we got Alex ready for bed and gave Lilia a bath.

One thing she said that stuck with me was a bit sad, but for Chinese cultural normal. Dave was sitting on the floor and Lilia would run and hug him, sending him flying backwards. Whitney said that her father never said "I love you." I asked if she knew that he did and she said yes. Her mother told her that he did, but it was hard for him to express it. Maybe God will use tonight way down the road in her life to show him an aspect of the kind of Father He is. Maybe it will show her that it's ok for a dad to play, hug and be silly with his kids; especially his daughter. Who knows what she'll walk away with from our night together? We were just living life and inviting her be a part of it.

Alex

Chicago

I love Chicago! It is a Beautiful city; very clean with lots of beautiful things to look at. I loved the architecture and the mums planted all around the city. Lake Michigan was the most beautiful color!

I was in Chicago last weekend for a Mandatory Bridges Moms Conference! There are so many new moms within our organization and the goal of the weekend was community. God did an incredible work in my heart personally. I made some great friends and had a great time. I came home refreshed in every way! I can't wait to go back with my family to enjoy the great city!

Alex & Lilia each at 1 year. What do you think? Do they look alike?

Grammy & Grandpop

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday to you...

Dave & Alex

Standing for a moment

Alex at Rittenhouse Square

Brother and Sister

Innocence of a Child

Lilia isn't feeling well tonight. I gave her some tylenol and I prayed for her. After I prayed for her she said,

"Mommy I want God to live in me. But how can he get in me; there's no hole."

I explained to her that God sends his Spirit and how his Spirit is like the wind. We see the wind because it rustles the leaves in the trees. (It's from the Bible.) Then she said to me, "Oh now I get it."

Oh to have the faith of a child!

-Age 3.5

Still Here

Silence. I've got nothing to write about, but wanted to let you know we're still here.

Coming up...Alex's 1st Birthday is October 12th. We are celebrating on Saturday the 9th.

Next weekend I'm flying to Chicago for a mandatory mom's conference with Bridges. (Bridges is the organization with Campus Crusade for Christ that works with international students at universities.)

Then of course there's Halloween.

Lots to look forward to, but nothing to write about today.