To Grandma’s house we go! (Yes, Grandma was fully prepared with a stash of empty paper towel tubes. Silas found this wrapping paper tube our first day home, and he fell in love.) Our week has been packed with friends and family time. Silas has been the center of attention in a house full of doting relatives. Not only has he been loved on by Grandpa, Grandma, and Aunt Rebekah, but Aunt Ruth Anna also drove in for an extended weekend, and Great Uncle Tim came down for an overnight stay. (We even included Charis through a Skype call to Alaska.)It really did feel like Christmas Saturday morning with a house full of relatives, a family dinner, early Christmas presents for Silas, and Silas’s first snow!  Aunt Ruth Anna grabbed Bitty Boy and took him outside to feel the snowflakes on his hand. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, but he liked watching it fall from the sky.

We had a video call with Stephen while Silas opened his Christmas presents from the family. With lots of help and coaxing, he managed to open his presents. He’s fully equipped for his visit to the farm with his new John Deere hat and tractor.Now the living room has been taken over with baby toys. He’s loved knocking down the block towers Grandma builds for him and playing fetch with Clifford, the big red dog.Grandpa has been introducing Silas to lots of strange and wonderful things including a button accordion, balalaika, and a coon skin cap. Dad has a deer head mounted on the wall. Baby was afraid when he first spotted it, but now he’ll stop and point up to it as if he likes it.

Silas was instantly drawn to Pastor Bell, my “adopted” grandpa. I loved introducing my little man to his “great grandparents.”
The autumns leaves aren’t vibrant with color, but I’ve been enjoying seeing the tree-covered hills. This cold, wet weather makes for an adjustment, but we’re happy to be back in West Virginia for the fall.