so i know you're expecting pictures of our house, and our new town, and patrick's office, and i'm sorry! the camera is dead, i have to find the charger. (big surprise there, right?) but just so you can see how she's grown check out the shoes. these are actually from my wedding (both. not both shoes, both weddings :-). yes, she can actually shuffle around in them.

we stopped at cracker barrel on our road trip, and since it was a sunday morning in texas, we had a wait. not a big deal, we needed to stretch. hannah can now climb up into most chairs by herself. she loved the little cooking set at my dad's house. the one that matches our teaset is on her christmas list. i'm training her young :-)

so we got mr. potato head at the consignment sale, since she's learning body parts. but i didn't know this one is new and fancy and talks to you. there's a button that makes him jump up and all his parts fly out. every time, she gets really scared and runs away. if i weren't her mommy, it'd be pretty funny. no, we don't do it anymore, i'm not that cruel. patrick would, though.

you know how i like to cook seasonally, especially using what i can find around me. i really like pumpkin, but i know most people buy pumpkins for decorations, then make a pie out of the canned filling, and that's about the end of the pumpkin harvest. here is my own little pumpkin story. first, hannah picks out some good ones. (they do have little pricklies on them though)


then you cut them in half. i needed some help here!

then you scoop out the seeds, wash them, and spread them on a tray to dry. (not pictured). you can put some olive oil and salt and roast them, or you can leave them plain and put on salads or ground up in things. then cover the pumpkins with foil and bake for awhile.

then scoop out the flesh and puree it. i like to freeze mine in muffin tins because they're a good size. when they're frozen, put them in a ziploc bag, then you can then just pull out a few as needed.

my favourite part is the little fingers in the corner. priceless. these pumpkins were very special, as they were destined to become pumpkin scones. this is the starbucks recipe from online, and oh. my. so good. i added maple syrup to the glaze, and they were amazing. i dont' normally say that about my own cooking, i guess it seems kind of prideful. but these really were some thing else. anyways, you can also add pumpkin to all kinds of things throughout the year. soups and chili, you wouldn't even notice, but it adds vitamins. also pancake batter or bread, for vitamins. all kinds of things.

alas, pumpkin season is nearly over, i guess. cranberries are here, though!

my top 3 things so far about frisco are definitely

1. the food. we've had pakistani and thai and hope to try many more. in a shopping center near our house, there is thai, afghani, brazilian, mexican, chinese, indian, and of course italian and american, all in one place. so exciting.
2. the gym. it's only 6 min from our house, and you don't have to sign a contract, you can go on a month to month basis. it's heavily subsidized by the community, so it's cheap. i'm hoping to train there in the new year, or as soon as they have extra clients.
3. our guest room. at least i hope to enjoy our guest room. which can only be done if people use it. we actually have two, one which will also function as patrick's office. and we can't wait for people to come visit. you don't even have to be coming to visit us, you can just use it as a free place to stay if you're coming to the area. like a hotel. really.

we've finally gotten our cars titled (that took 3 trips to the place), and i'm going to work on licenses. our landlord shut off our power and water the day we moved in. it took extra money and over 24 hrs to get that fixed.

we definitely have more room to breathe up here in frisco. hannah and i have been jogging in the neighbourhood (another plus), and its been just cold enough for the leaves to change, so it's beautiful. we still miss patrick, he's working so hard. keeping his spirits up, when everybody else in the world is so depressing. i'm not going to listen to the radio anymore, i can't stand it. yes, i know, nobody has any money, everyone's losing their jobs, it's scary. but that's all they ever talk about. anybody else tired of that? but hey, at least we aren't getting election coverage, right? thank God. back to patrick, he's doing a great job, giving it all he's got. thankfully he can get to his territory in a day (flying, of course), so he hasn't been gone overnight much.

we're going to kansas for thanksgiving, so that'll be a very much needed break for him. all of us, i guess. no traffic (and i really mean no traffic :-), just family and food and football. and for me, miles of open space in which to enjoy my running shoes and Hannah free time. compliments of grandparents/great grandparents.

Meghan is only 10 days away from her due date, so we're hoping for any time. i'm very excited. i'll keep you posted. i'll get the camera charged and have pictures of the house. love you all. thank you for your prayers.