Pumpkin Carving

Mike is the master carver. He plots and plans. He lays out the design on the pumpkins and assures they are the perfect size.

I clean to the chorus of "Ewww, gross!" all around me. Judah thought he wanted to try cleaning out the pumpkin this year, but his contribution was to barely hold the end of the long-handled spoon for a couple of scoops.

Jazz was fascinated with the whole process. What are these strange orange things?

I like it! I really like it!

Our masterpieces! Mike carved the ship and the Jack O'Lantern with the spider for Judah. I carved the Elmo for Jazz. Everyone was delighted.

Great is Thy Faithfulness...

Great is Thy faithfulness,
Great is Thy faithfulness,
morning by morning, new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand has provided.
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

I've been humming this song off and on all week long. Those of you that know us know that we have been between jobs for almost 3 months now. Nothing earth-shattering has happened to change that reality, but I have become so aware of the reality that my heavenly Father is more than capable of (and chooses to) take care of me. He is faithful, steadfast, unchanging AND He gives good gifts to His children (James 1:17). All I need or will ever need comes from His hand. He may send it through channels of blessing so that they may also be blessed, but He is my Source.
At the beginning of this season, Mike's mom gave us a teaching CD by a pastor in Branson, MO named Keith Moore and since then we have gotten a hold of several of his other teachings. One in particular is called Forward in Faith and can be downloaded for FREE (as can ALL of his teaching series) at his ministry website: HERE. The scripture in that teaching has just come alive for me. In fact, I think that I have never been more aware of how living and active God's word is. It seems that every time I open the Bible I see a verse that I have been reading my entire life, but somehow God opens my eyes to new depths of knowledge. The greatest part is that I know there are still untold depths to delve into. Every morning that I open God's word, new mercies I see.

Reflections...

I peeking back at some of my blog entries. I came across this one from last year and realized that it exactly captures some of the things I have been thinking about my wonderful Texas family.

Enjoy!
THANKFUL FOR...

Forest Park Balloon Glow

I used the GoDigitalScrapbooking.com July Collab kit for these pages.

Fashion Girl

So I went through all the kids' clothes today and packed up the smaller sizes to pass on to others. Then I pulled out the clothes that have been handed down to us. That would be when Jazz joined in the fun... She thought it was great fun to take an item to "Bubby" and get him to help her put it on. She paraded around the house in this outfit for about 45 minutes. Judah turned to me very seriously and asked, "When did Jazzy become a fashion girl?"



I don't know, Judah. I just don't know.

Milestone Moment

So, I had my first real conversation with Jasmine today. You know, where she answered me instead of imitating me. AND, I could understand what she said.
Here's how it went down...

I asked her to bring me a diaper so I could change her. She ran to her diaper hanger and brought one to me.
"You're my good girl!" I said.
"Goo-Girl."
"That's right! You are a good girl!"
"I know." (Very matter-of-factly.)
"You know?"
"Uh. (which in Jasminese means "Yes") Gaw-Gaw"
"Gaw-Gaw (grandma) told you that you were a good girl?"
"Yesh."
At this point she grinned at me with extreme pride. I have to admit, I was pretty proud too.

Any Eaters out there?

I love to follow Grace Upon Grace, the blog of a girl I knew when I was a child. She is sooo much better at keeping up with blogging than I am. And, her entries are quirky and thought-provoking.
Anyway, a while back she posted that she was reading a book by Michael Pollan called In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto.

I checked it out from the library and have been reading it. Wow! Pollan expresses his ideas so well that you don't feel like you are reading a book about how to eat. It's a fascinating read. I haven't dumped all of the processed food out of our pantry yet (my family would NOT rise and call me blessed for that move), but I have really started thinking about what I am putting in my mouth and in my kids' mouths. However, it's not really a worried, stressed out thinking about it. I am learning to slow down and savor each bite. I also have made a view more choices for whole foods. You know, those ones God designed, instead of scientist's copies.

Anyway, I was thinking about this today and wondered how many other people had been pondering their food choices. Have any of you read this book?