First Halloween!

Little Westly's first Halloween was all tricks and treats!



Westly was Toad from the Super Mario world. Daddy was Mario and Mama was Princess Peach!

Westly's First Avila Trip

What would October be without a trip to Avila Barn? We took Westly there for his first autumn experience. He enjoyed climbing on the pumpkins, smelling all the yummy spiced baked goods, and watching people pick out produce.

Westly's Little Testimony

This Sunday we had an emergency with our little boy. Sunday morning we took him to the ER because he was vomiting, going from screaming to completely sleeping and being lethargic in minutes, yet had no fever (so we knew he wasn't fighting the flu). After finding blood in his poop, the doctor determined he had intussusception: his intestines were folding in on themselves like a telescope. They gave him an enema, but that did not unfold his intestines, so we took an ambulance down to Cottage hospital in Santa Barbara for surgery. The pediatric surgeon there wanted to try the enema again before surgery. After three attempts, the third enema worked and fixed his problem! God answered our prayer of no surgery! We spent the night and were able to go home Monday evening. Westly is now eating and pooping and completely healthy! It was the worst, scariest day of our lives with lots crying and tons of prayer, but once again the Lord was with us. He kept Westly calm, gave us peace and wisdom, and healed our sweet brave boy without invasive surgery. Hallelujah!






Thank you everyone for your prayer and support. Westly should be fine--there is a very small percent chance this could happen again, but of course we'll pray against that :) As a side note, our experience at Cottage was wonderful. The staff took such great care of us, etc.

Please continue to pray for Westly and pray for his parents, that we can recover from this traumatic experience. We took it harder than West did, I'm sure. Pray the Lord will heal my heart and continue to comfort us. We love you all!

Autumn Yummies

Autumn is my favorite season for treats. Candy everywhere, pumpkin goodies at Starbucks, hot cider brewing, and apples at their peak! I started the season off with an apple crisp from my trusty A-Z Cook book. Then I kick started October with my fave Martha Stewart pumpkin cookies. Try them out!


Apple Crisp:
2 medium tart apples (like granny smith) thinly sliced
2 tblsp water
4 tblsp flour
3 tblsp sugar
3 tblsp butter softened
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat to 350. Divide apple slices between two 10 oz custard cups. Sprinkled with water. Mix flour, sugar, butter, and cinnamon with flour until crumbly. Layer over apples. Bake uncovered until apples are tender and topping is golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Makes 2 servings.




Pumpkin Cookies:
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp pumpkin-pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 can (15 oz) pure pumpkin puree
semi-sweet chocolate chips OR cream cheese frosting

Preheat to 375. In medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda and powder, pumpkin-pie spice, and salt. Set aside.
Use electric mix to beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture in two parts and pumpkin puree in one, beginning and ending with flour. Drop dough on cookie sheet.
Bake 15-20 minutes until puffed and edges golden. Immediately transfer to cooling rack.
Frosting: either melt chocolate chips or use cream cheese frosting. Spoon either one into small ziplock baggy, snip corner, and use to pipe frosting on cookies when cool.

Happy October!

We're embracing the season in all its glory! Decorations, pumpkin goodies, and Halloween movies. Most exciting thing about this October: the Mini-Doodle is here to experience it all!