Please pray for my Dad...

I got a call yesterday and learned that my dad is in the ICU.... he has more than one significant health issue going on and could use all the PPT's that you can spare.

My Dad is a selfless and wonderful person, hard working, intelligent, the ultimate problem solver. I'm so much like him in so many ways (both good and bad, I'd say... I definitely got my packrat tendencies from him!)... The compassion and selflessness that he models towards those that he loves is the foundation of the type of person that I try to be. He's one of the good ones, the really good ones, and I'm so lucky to have him. I may not be able to solve all the worlds problems, but he did show me that I can strive to leave the world a better place for my having been in it. Dad, please know that you have done that for me and for countless others a million times over, and you continue to do so every day. I love you.

Update on us and Apple Orchard...

Sorry for going so long without an update, but it's been a busy several weeks. Business at the store is picking up, swimming is in full force, so we spend several nights per week traveling back and forth to the store. We've managed to squeak in plenty of Fall Fun, and even a trip to the ER on Friday night. I'll give you ONE guess who it was for.... sigh.

Caden had one of his toes very nearly cut off on Friday night, after an unfortunate run in with the recliner that Brent was sitting in. When Brent leaned forward to pull Cade up on his lap, the mechanism under the chair clamped shut, and Caden's poor toe was in the way (he'd been climbing up to get on Daddy's lap). It was absolutely horrible to see his poor mangled toe (I'll leave out some of the words I can say to spare you the visual that still haunts me)... We were at the ER for several hours, but fortunately he was spared any bone damage. But 8 stitches on a little toddler toe is A LOT of stitches to sew a tiny toe back together :(. Caden is fine, of course, resilient as ever. His toe will never be the same, and his toenail bed was damaged to the extent that it'll probably never come back... but he'll be ok.

Now that we have that unfortunate business out of the way, I'll leave you with some pictures from our recent trip to the apple orchard. Mmmmmmm.... Apple Cider and Honeycrisp Apples, I LOVE this time of year!