Why We Click Stupid Links

Ok, check out this article if you have a minute...what do you think?

Why We Click Stupid Links

(yes, I do find it amusing that we have to click a link to read the article...but I don't think this one's stupid. :) )

Growing

Just a couple ways we're growing these days...

Leeks from the all-but-dead garden!

I wear PINK sometimes. It's true. My mom is proud of me. :) 

I hated pink growing up. Having girls has broadened my horizons.

 Peter's feet have been growing. He is now wearing man socks- exactly the same ones as Christian, so I had to sew red thread on Peter's to tell the difference. Reminded me of sewing on name tags on my clothes preparing for boarding school. Ah, memories.

Growing our hearts, slowly. After reading 1,000 Gifts and being made quite aware of my "amnesia of the soul", I decided (with my sometimes-interior-decorator-like husband's hearty approval) to put up a permanent reminder...here's what it "means":

The apple: reminds me of my sin (you know, Garden of Eden picture)

Grace: God has given me so much grace, in spite of my failures, he offers me...

Bread: the bread of Himself "I am the bread of life", "This is my body, broken for you...remember"

Thanks: because His grace (found in the little things as well) I have SO much to give thanks for!

Wine/goblet: Reminds me of Christ's blood shed for me; also reminds me of celebration (we like getting out the fancy glasses and fancy drinks when we want to celebrate something as a family)

Joy: the more I learn to give thanks in everything, the more full of joy I am

Flower: ok, well, flowers just give me joy. :)

Have a good week!

Back and Forth

Back at the beginning of October, we had a big birthday bash celebrating Mike, Ed, Judy, and Grandmother- their birthdays (and Anne's) are all within a couple weeks of each other.

My squishy niecey!

 

Fortunately Mike likes our pickled peppers- they're pretty spicy!

Teary Tirzah

Ransom's impersonation of Teary Tirzah? :)

Ok, fast-forward- this is our only picture from our trip to the Canyon with my aunt and uncle- a fossilized coral (we thought it looked like snake or lizard skin!). Still fascinating.

And fast-forward to last night!

 The kids came home from Auntie Grace's and did a little cleaning, and a little dressing up...

then we started the pumpkin gutting/carving!

Peter's ready for battle! Ok, I think paintball helmets are creepy. Seriously.

Berea Monkey with 3 little buns- no more, no less.

Anne dressed up as Aravis (The Horse and His Boy) when she was dressed up as "an upper slave".

Even princesses can get their hands dirty.

Aravis and her horse, Whinn (sp?)

 Not exactly sure how jumping off the couch was allowed- I guess parenting looks different behind a camera. :)

I cannot believe what a young man Elijah looks in the picture- 7 years old in just a couple weeks!

Looking forward to making toasted pumpkin seeds today!

 After pumpkin stuff was dinner! We've somehow started a tradition of having bread bowls- this year filled with chili. The kids also got bottles of pumpkin spice soda for a treat and Christian and I got Sam Adams Harvest Spice Ale in honor of Martin Luther. :)

 Our silly pumpkin face!

Aravis's dress finally dried! It used to be mine (from Africa) when I was 8 or so.

Not pictured, but videoed... after dinner we had a treasure hunt for the kids to find packets of candy wrapped up in tin foil...then we watched a good, old school (pretty sure Catholic) Buttercream Gang movie- The Secret of Treasure Mountain. Fun times. :)

Requiring Obedience

Here's a good article from John Piper...nothing breathtakingly new, but a really good reminder nonetheless!

Parents, Require Obedience of Your Children, by John Piper

A Little Catch-up

Ah, life. Life has not included taking a lot of pictures lately (as usual). Trying to stay in order, here are a few things that have been going on...

Right after getting back from CO, my college roomie and her family surprised us at church, so we made them come over later to hang out- so fun to catch up!

The next weekend was our women's retreat- a beautiful camp near Payson, a couple thousand feet lower than Flag, so it was great to see green again- even some ferns and wild grapes. It was a great time of getting away, thinking about how I can better deal with "messy" relationships (by the grace of God, I had a hard time coming up with any!), and just getting to know people better. Yay for coffee!

Anne got a puzzle for her birthday, so Peter and I did most of it. :) I have a hard time letting go once I get started on something, but I thought I was remarkably self-controlled- at least until we got most of the way done with it. Sorry about the flash glare- I'm too lazy to pull out the tripod to make it clear enough w/out flash.

I decided I need to be more intentionally thankful (after reading the 1000 Gifts book), therefore the return of the Thankful Tree- now to work on actually writing down the things!

 Lots of squash! I haven't actually canned any this year, but have just been slowly baking/freezing/using it. I love the carmel-y flavor of baking it, as opposed to steaming or boiling it. I've been making pies here and there, "pumpkin" cookies for Christian's adult Sunday school class, and using the puree in spaghetti sauce or baked oatmeal.

 And feeding people. Always feeding people. As soon as breakfast is done, it's, "What's for snack?!" Oy.

T and B have been reeeeeally showing their personalities lately- T is really quick to cry, B is really quick to get mad; when they are both happy, it's just so fun to listen to them! :)

 Christian was in charge of the men's "project" (not allowed to call it a "craft") at some friends' co-ed baby shower. 

Not content with candle holders, he invented these mini bows and arrows- all the guys had a lot of fun with them and a lot less complaining was heard about them having to go to a baby shower. :)

Not pictured are any pictures of my aunt and uncle's visit last week, where C and I got to take them to the Grand Canyon and found a slew of fossils (sea shells, coral) and did a little hike. Also not pictured are any pictures of Christian's brother and sister-in-law's quick visit. But at least they'll be coming back for Christmas, so we should at least get a few pictures then! In the meantime, everything's brown and windy again and school carries on. :)