joy and sorrow

it's been a busy week already! monday night my whole family met in portland and were treated to a feast by my brother danny. he is the top salesman for his business out on the west coast, and was visiting from nevada for a conference. after dinner, he took matthew's kids to toys'r'us and bought them all kinds of toys. danny is so generous and such a good person. i'm so proud of him.

yesterday i had a meeting in the morning for a new women's ministry starting at my church. it is exciting to talk about the vision of the group and what sorts of service projects we'll be doing. then i babysat caleb and noah for a couple hours. it is going to be a lot of fun watching noah and josiah grow up together and go to school together, etc. their personalities are pretty different from each other, but they play very well together.

besides trying to keep up with laundry, etc., i've been trying desperately to balance our checkbook. i haven't done it since july, so i have a lot of making up to do. i'm just about there! into october at last. i've been working at the coffeeshop when i can, and will be there 10-3 today. mom's going to take josiah home with her.

and finally, some tragic news. i got a call this morning from my mom. her little muffy got hit by a car last night. we both broke down crying over the phone. muffy was a two year old, two pound, black long-haired dachshound. she was fearless and adventurous, and a bit ditsy. i'm sure she was enjoying her little jail break out of the house. muffy was my dad's favorite of the dogs, so he's heartbroken as well. i wish i had a digital picture of her to share with you. she was too cute. i'm worried about her sister molly and 'momma' frankie. i'm sure they're a little traumatized. it's so hard to lose a pet.

squirrel island

it seems like we are always too busy to do fun things on holidays this year, but columbus day proved to be a delightful change of pace for us! we still got up at 6 a.m. as usual and logan went off to work on squirrel island. then at 10:30 a.m. josiah and i caught the ferry to join logan for lunch and explore his new job site. josiah was fascinated by the wake made by the ferry, which took 20 minutes, and was excited to see his daddy waiting for us on the dock. i was stunned by the beauty of this small island when we arrived. it is 2 miles long and 1/2 mile wide, with 105 buildings on it, all built in the late 1800's and early 1900's. the winding paths are lined with wild flowers and there are monarch butterflies everywhere! the island is so quiet and peaceful. i'm sure the sea air and cold will be exhausting for logan, but the beauty should provide some stamina. as we waited for the ferry to return, josiah giggled incessantly at all the dogs who were waiting with their owners. he loves dogs so much! he really enjoyed this little adventure. here are some pics from our day.

did i mention my brother was a contestant on 'the biggest loser' this season???? matthew mcnutt, representing maine. he was sent home, but you can still track his weightloss progress on nbc's website. his progress is astounding! the show is airing several months after the fact, but i'm not allowed to show current pictures or give stats or details. he still has until the finale in november to continue losing. he looks amazing!!!

www.nbc.com/The_Biggest_Loser/36_at_home/me_matthew/bio/index.shtml

modern conveniences

with josiah's new 'surfing' skills, i thought it was time to purchase the leapfrog table. with saved 'babysRus' cards, it was a steal!!! and hopefully it will provide the little maineiac with hours of entertainment (so mommy can get something done!!!).

welcome jordan nathanael todd lemons!!!

we had a fabulous surprise trip to mass this weekend when little lemons arrived over a week early! he is soooo beautiful and we are thrilled for cameron, jenelle and josiah on their new addition.

we stayed with josh and sarah crumlich, the newlyweds. they were great hosts! and crystal had us over for the most delicious chicken alfredo we've ever had. she is amazing. josiah sat at the table with us like a little man. he behaved very well this weekend, which makes us beam with pride.

we enjoyed driving around saturday and sunday visiting with our dear friends, and the birthday party for jordan allowed us to catch up with clay and larissa and kristin. time was too short. there are so many others to visit that we didn't make it to, so we'll have to come again soon!!

i'm a big boy now!

if you doubted me before, here is proof that josiah is growing much too quickly. i don't know if i should laugh or cry.

The Perry's are blogging!!!

yikes!!! is the web ready for this madness??? :) of course, i don't think you'll be seeing too many posts from my better half or my mini me, so i will be speaking on behalf of the nutty perrys.

logan started his job this morning. he'll be painting exclusively on squirrel island off of boothbay harbor, taking a ferry out all winter, then trekking through snow on foot to the island library that they are refurbishing. no longer self-employed, logan will be able to come home at 4 p.m. and not have estimates or paper work to do!!! his home will truly be his sanctuary of repose.

the picture above was taken 9.10.2006, the day of josiah's dedication at church. that was also the day that he began crawling (at 6 1/2 months old!). josiah just pulled himself up to standing a few days ago, and now i spend my days running to catch him before he tumbles and cracks his head open. he is fearless!!! as soon as he was able to pull himself up on a chair or the couch, he was trying to let go and walk. he is scaring me to death! it is heart breaking to scoop him up and cuddle him while he wails in pain, but as soon as he recovers he is at it again.

i am keeping very busy being a mom, but at the end of the day it is hard to see that anything has been accomplished. i clean all day but the house is inevitably trashed again after dinner and josiah's bedtime routine and logan's return home etc. i will probably be working some at my parent's coffeeshop this winter and i hope to begin painting during josiah's naps. i still have a lot to do to finish our home projects though.

chez perry is open for visitors, so please come!!! we miss all of our friends and think of you often. the foliage in maine is magnificent right now. it is supposed to peak sometime in the next week or two, and then we'll be on our way to winter. i am excited about the slow pace of winter after our hectic and exhausting summer.