It's Fall Y'all! This weekend we visited an Ellijay Apple Farm and petting zoo! We arrived as the first guests with the fog and by the end of our visit we left the bright hot sun & crowds behind. Our timing was perfect!

We walked through parts of the orchard on our way to the petting zoo. One of Zachary's current favorite books is Dr. Seuss' "10 Apples up on Top". Zachary was in shock at all the apples, on the trees and on the ground! We quoted lines from the book as he pointed to apples, apples, everywhere!!


We chose this apple farm because of it's petting zoo. We were both looking forward to watching Zachary's reaction to all the live animals. And, the petting zoo did not disappoint! It was full of baby goats, a calf, a pig, 2 rabbits, lots of chickens, a rooster, several kittens, 2 lamb & even a chihuahua named Scooper (no Yetty)! All the animals that are in Zachary's Little People Farm were represented in the petting zoo. He was most excited about the chickens. And, the goats were most excited with him!


One of the highlights of Zachary's day was the pillow jumper. He would have jumped ALL day if he could! He enjoyed it most when more children came to play causing the pillow jumper to bounce and jiggle with little effort. Even when he took some hard tumbles he smiled through it!


The Tractor Wagon pull ride dropped us off at the Pony ride & Bull sitting picture opportunity. Both situations where Zachary demonstrated his brave nature.Zachary didn't know what to think but I was happy to get a few more pictures into my camera. Zachary kept sliding to his left side while riding on the pony. I think he was afraid of falling off. But, the ride lasted as long at it took to hand over the $5 bill to the attendant. (Not long!)
I love this sweet picture...


Towards the end of our visit the sun finally came out. We stopped our activities for a few more pictures
Walking back to the shop we noticed lots of headless photo opportunities -- hmmm, my description isn't great but looking at these pictures I'm sure you know what I'm talking about-


We ended our day in the store choosing our purchases. We picked up a mixed peck of apples, apple rum butter, apple syrup, apple cider & apple donuts. Zachary LOVED helping put the apples into the bag. We had to keep an eye on Z because we caught him taking the apples off the table to sneak them into the bag with out our experienced inspection ;)

We had a GREAT day and we look forward to going again next fall! We have a few brief video's of our day and we will get them up online soon. Thanks for visiting our blog! Happy Fall Y'all!!

Just an update on our life with the Z-Man.

We recently had the social worker from Families First come out to the house for his 6 month post-placement followup. China requires a 6 month and a 1 year followup for their adopted children. It was a nice visit and went well.

Zach continues to enjoy Gymboree and has discovered an affinity for "magic". He will make an object "disappear" by hiding it behind his back, followed by a rousing "TAAA-DAAA!" and a bow. We hope to catch that on video sometime soon.

We are blessed to have a very mentally and physically gifted son. He amazes us in some new way on a daily basis!

Happy Birthday Matt!! Today we celebrate Matt's birthday. And, in the morning Matt is earning another stripe onto his Jui-Jitsu belt! We are so proud of you!

Our Labor Day weekend started out beautiful with a sunny Saturday afternoon. Zachary's Grandfather Popi came over for a visit. We pulled out Zachary's pool and he just had a good ole time splashing around. Matt and I dipped our bare feet into the edge of the water while Zachary shimmied around making waves.


After some time we turned on our hose to the $1store sprinkler. Zachary didn't know what to think of it at first. But, with a little help from his Daddy he got comfortable with the idea of running (mostly around it) in the streams of water.

Zachary had a blast running in the sprinkler!

A fun day was had by all!

This post is to let all of our loved ones know that Matt is starting a side venture as a novelist. His first short novel is now available for purchase as an ebook through Amazon and Barnes and Noble for the Kindle or Nook platforms respectively. Even if you don't have a Kindle or a Nook, you can still read the book on the PC or a smartphone by downloading the Kindle or Nook applications which can be found at Amazon or Barnes and Noble and are free applications.

The novel is titled SHADOW OF THE MASTER and is a collaboration between Matt and his late mother, Nancy. She had written the basic manuscript back in 1981 and shopped it around briefly, getting no bites back then. So, it got packed away and, to some extent, forgotten for many years. When she passed away in 2009, Matt asked his dad if he could find the manuscript and if he would object if he did some editing and revision and went the self-publishing route with SHADOW. He had no objections so Matt recently set about finishing the new manuscript.

SHADOW OF THE MASTER is a short novel that provides a new and unique perspective on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ through the eyes of a stray dog that takes up with Jesus and the disciples after He shows the dog kindness. It is biblically based and written in such a way that readers of all ages can enjoy and appreciate it.

Matt is also working on his first full-length novel, an excerpt from which is included at the end of SHADOW. He hopes to have the novel completed and published by late spring of 2012.

Matt can be followed on Twitter at @mattmillerauthr. He can be reached by email at matthewmillerauthor@gmail.com. His website is http://www.matthewrmiller.net.

To view or purchase the book through Amazon, click here
To view or purchase the book through Barnes and Noble, click here

The man, the legend, the runner---Zachary!



Having fun at Monkey Joe's!