Patron Saint of... firemen?

There's long been a joke about a statue near my mom's house... I noticed it about 10 years ago. I thought it HAD to be a mistake, but no, apparently that is how the owner intended it to be. Near my mom's house on the main road is a statue of St. Francis of Assisi holding baby Jesus. But St. Francis is decapitated. And baby Jesus has a fireman's helmet on.

Yeah, I know. Weird huh? Makes you wonder if the owner ordered it this way? Or if the statue originally came with a head on St. Francis and the owner took it off, and added a red fireman's helmet on Baby Jesus. And I don't know which thought seems worse!

I guess at the very least, it's one of a kind.

Happy November

November is here, and full of possibilities and happy things!

Speaking of happy, my new kitchen just makes me happier and happier every time I see it. Our appliances are in (dishwasher soon to be installed) and even our electricity is hooked up! I honestly do not regret spending the extra money on the upgraded kitchen trim & glass cabinet, and I love the eyeball recessed lights too.

The carpet is installed in full upstairs and they are soon to finish the downstairs. They were waiting for the stone to be finished around the top part of the fireplace. (I have no idea why the mantle looks off center in this picture; must be the angle.)
Wait, there is a cutie pie in our tub!

There's not too much left to do - second coat of paint, finishing work, adding the stone on the outside and finishing the yard. We are counting down the days until we close (10 AM on Nov 30th) . What I'm not looking forward to....packing?!?!

Happy Halloween!

Trick or treat!

Here's our little lady bug!! This year Cori was loving her costume - what a change from last year when she wouldn't go near it. (So much so that I can't even recall what we got her for a costume.) Earlier this week we carved "Mr. Pumpkin Head" and Cori was fascinated with the "mushy gushy" insides. Thursday was Cori's party at day care. Then she got to go trick-or-treating at Olive Garden on Friday night; we were there to celebrate a family member's birthday and everyone thought Cori was just adorable in her costume. (She just HAD to wear it to dinner. Some arguments you don't even attempt with a 2 1/2 yr old). She got so much chocolate that she actually got sick on the way home that night.
Saturday brought the trick or treating for our neighborhood. We wanted to take Cori around the block here - nothing too much as she doesn't need a ton of candy.

She had a blast! She'd say "trick or treat" when she went up to the doors, and she would say "thank you" when she got candy. Then she'd look at Dave and I and say "I got candy!!" with such excitement in her voice! Here she is enjoying her loot....

Cori & Um-Ma & Mr. Pumpkin Head wish you a safe & happy Halloween!

Siding!

We have siding!! 3 weeks until work is complete, and one month until close on Nov 30th!!

Time Flies

Cori is growing up fast, but I was looking through the pictures we had taken earlier this year. I swear I can see some "baby" left in the first set of pictures, but she looks "all grown up" in the second set.

August 2010:

Minimal differences, large difference, or all in my imagination?

Kiski Junction

Today we took Cori on her first ever real train ride! She'd ridden the train at Kennywood before and trains at the mall, but this was a "big train".

It was a one-hour fall foliage trip at the Kiski Junction near Leechburg (up Rt 28 near Freeport). It was a beautiful day for a car ride there (about an hour from Pittsburgh) and "scenic" doesn't begin to describe the scenery!

The train moves really slowly; it's only a 3.5 mile trip to the steel plant (where the train normally services since it is a working rail road) and then you head back up the track to the station. While math isn't my strong-suit, the 7 miles in a one hour trip certainly leads me to say the speed is less than 10 mph. (Why not 7 mph exactly? read on!)

The train moves along the Kiski river and the scenery is amazingly beautiful. Very peaceful and relaxing.

At the end of the trip, on our way back to the station, they switched tracks and we went back down and this time over the river on the bridge. It was a neat treat I didn't expect, and they stopped for about 5 minutes for you to take pictures and enjoy the view.

If you go, I highly recommend you arrive early so you can get prime seating. There is only 1 open air car, but this car fills up fast since it has the best views. You'd pretty much have to arrive and enter as the prior trip is deboarding (so an hour before the train is set to depart). If you can't get a seat outside, sit on the side of the train that is along the river. This side has the best views of the water.

I'd also recommend (and they encourage) taking a cooler or bag of food to just sit and enjoy. You'll want to bring a jacket too. The admission is dirt cheap for the view - $9 an adult ($8 for seniors / grandparents) and kids under 3 are free. Check out their web site for additional fall foilage trips this month. Reservations are recommended for the fall trips, but it just involves calling and saying how many people are coming, what ages, and your last name. You don't even pay in advance!

It would be a fun trip year round, and they have a special Christmas trip on Dec 4 & 5th. But there is just something special about the fall scenery! And or course don't forget your camera!

Indian Summer

Sunday's amazingly warm weather allowed for some play time outside in the sun, as well as the opportunity to play around with some camera settingsI love her hair swinging in action in the shot above

Cori often gets a little crazy with energy and likes to crawl all over us.
We found "Hopper" in the lillies and were playing with him for a while. Cori even held a stick with Hopper on it!

Look at those eyes - she melts my heart.

Blessing

On Saturday a very dear friend of our sister-in-law passed away. Marc was not even 40, and has 3 small children and a loving wife. He beat stage IV colon cancer and was in remission, but succumb to liver failure. Dave and I lifted a few glasses in toast to him Saturday evening, and we remembered what a great guy he was. But I know our loss isn't anywhere near our sister-in-law's or Marc's family. If you have a moment, please say a prayer for Marc's loved ones.

At my brother & sister-in-law's wedding, he gave one of the funniest, loving toasts I've ever heard to date.

I saw an poignant saying the next day:

Write your hurts in the sand

Write your blessings in stone

We remember you Marc, and know what a blessing you were. Your name is written in stone for sure.

Fall

I failed to mention, but I think most of you know, it's our favorite time of the year around here.

We're decorating, and we've reached new heights this year. Yes, we've turned into one of "those" families and now have an inflatable decoration in our yard. Cori LOVES it; I love it because she loves it. I won't begin to describe how much I fought with staking down 12 feet of pumpkin fun the first few days.

This thing is HUGE. Notice how it is half as tall as the house (and that isn't just the perespective of how this photo was shot!). I suspect that if it was level with the first floor and not the basement, we could jump on it and climb onto our roof!