by now, if you’re reading this blog with any regularity, you know our lovely cher is less than 3 weeks away from having that baby. yep, the fall is upon us, her ankle is on the mend, and it was a fine day to gather and celebrate the 4th child who will join the bugtussle family.

an unusual occurrence my three all tucked into the back seat for the party!

my favorite crew of farmers, farmwives and farm kids spent this first perfectly autumnal sunday together. we ate the finest foods, gifted cher some necessary items and filled their freezer with an array of pot luck leftovers for the crazy days that will soon be upon them.

diapers on the line, must be real. actually my bad, a mis timed thundershower thwarted my best efforts to pass down clean and dry cloth diapers!

it is well past dark, my own posse is snuggled into the cool night. i so wish i had words to describe the depth of my emotion right now. instead i leave you with an image captured by my eldest today as he wandered the creek banks.

childhood is so brief, infancy even briefer. each moment is indeed a precious gift.