Halloween 2008

The week of Halloween 2008 was one of the most beautiful autumn weeks we have experienced. Every morning on our drive to school Ashlynd points out the beautiful sunrise that God has bestowed upon us. She points out every color she sees and follows the location of Mr. Sun as we travel. Each day it amazes me how observant Ashlynd is about her surroundings, she has definitely opened my eyes and heart to all the gifts God gives us daily. One evening I stopped at the mailbox and she could see the tree in our front yard from her car seat, she got all excited...mama how did those red leaves get on our tree? Amazing they were the most vibrant red leaves that we had seen this season. From that point on she pointed out every tree or bush with red leaves.

Halloween week started with the Canterbury "Hat" parade followed by the inguinal Madden/Busch Trick-or-treating adventure in West Autumn. 2 princesses and a bride.

Mrs. Larson & Ashlynd - Canterbury Hat Parade

Proud Ashlyndrella

Best Friends

CANTERBURY KIDS

Ashlynd started pre-school this year and wow is she enjoying her experiences. As you can see the CHEESE in the first picture to her 1st trip on a BIG YELLOW SCHOOL BUS with out mom. They went to the pumpkin patch in October.

BOILER UP!!

The Madden family always has a wonderful fall season, no matter what the outcome of the Purdue season may be. Ashlynd attended 4 Purdue football games this year and is quite the trooper. She takes "Tailgating" to heart as she plays on the tailgate of our Yukon or Papaw's truck. It's fun to watch her interact with all of our tailgating friends, Hammer and the gang, Hunter, Larry & Brian Miller, Mike and we can not forget her favorite, "Purdue Pete". As we leave the house each Saturday morning at 5:15am, Ashlynd makes the trip in her p.j.'s to take in a few extra winks. When we arrive she gets geared up in her tailgating gear and starts to nibble on the food (which she can now reach on her own). She really thinks she is big stuff as she pulls her juice box or milk out of the cooler. All morning Ashlynd plays ball toss, colors pictures and all of the other fun activities a 3 year old enjoys at tailgating...I almost forgot...MAMA WE HAVE TO FIND THE CHEERLEADERS. Each week we have a different picture of her with the Purdue cheerleaders. Finally, we walk into the game and before the 1st quarter had ended she has pointed out Purdue Pete, the band and closed her eyes for a football game nap. Unbelievable, 1 hour of sleep in a roaring stadium, fans yelling at the top of there lungs behind her, and she sleeps so sound. I can't say I don't enjoy every minute of the snuggle time the Purdue games provide me, it takes me back 2 years ago when she was just a small peanut. Once she wakes up at half time she looks for daddy

to actually watch the football game, as she does each Sunday.

BOILER UP!

GO COATS! (IE COLTS)

My Daddy likes the Steelers!

BIG "3"
As we approached September 9, 2008 the excitement grew with in our house hold. We learned when Ashlynd's birthday was and that she was going to be 3 and that being 3 makes her definately a BIG girl now. I thought that this was the best place to start blogging and capturing her cute sayings and share our lives with friends and family. I will have to add more pictures from Ashlynd's actual birthday party but as I said this is a start.

Getting started

I need to dedicate this post to a dear friend that has encouraged me to start this blog. Court, we shall see how this goes, wish me luck.

SOLD!

The next chapter in our lives leads us returning to Fort Wayne, Indiana. Clint's home town, close to family and what I like to refer to as "home". With the direction from God a year ago we decided to move home. Jobs fell into place, lodging worked out and 7 months later we sold our house in Indianapolis, In allowing us to move forward with purchasing our wonderful home. As you can see by the picture from the back side of the house this was the selling point for us. We have been very busy for the past 3 months painting, unpacking, landscaping, and just getting settled in. Once I have pictures of our efforts I will add them to this post.

Twas The Night Before Christmas...

Christmas Eve was so much fun. We went to Church then we came home and ate some fun snacks. Next mamma & daddy helped me write a letter to Santa leaving him milk & cookies. Finally, mamma read her favorite Christmas stories to everyone in the family, Twas' the night before Christmas and the story of baby Jesus.