company came...

My cousin Joe and his wife Michelle were in town the weekend after Thanksgiving to attend a wedding. It was so much fun to have them visit our church service and then come over for dinner at our house.
Here are B' and Michelle after a diaper change. (B loves to run free in his cloth diaper after a change before he puts his pants back on.) He and Michelle were fast friends! There's nothing better than cuddles!

New Mexico is a long way away! What a blessing to see them and spend some time! We had a great day!

giving thanks

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. Psalm 100:4

We worked on a Thanksgiving unit the past two weeks. We learned about the Mayflower, the Wampanoag Natives, the Pilgrims; and the thanksgiving event of 1621. The bigs didn't like the idea of eating muscles or duck and N' was really concerned about why the native men didn't wear shirts everyday :0) The best part of our studies was learning about giving thanks to God for all of the wonderful blessings He bestows upon us, for who He is, and for His daily care of us.

The kids LOVE collecting fallen leaves in the backyard. They'll move them into piles, sort them into buckets and baskets, gather them in their plastic shopping cart... and then pour them out and do it all over again. So, we made a pile of leaves out of construction paper and wrote whatever they wanted to thank God for. Then we took out the tape (wow do they love tape) and hung them on the back window so they would look like the falling leaves outside. So many precious ways to complete the sentence: Dear Lord, thank you for...


Both N' and J' thanked God for our family, for "leaves that fall down from the trees" and for "mommy and daddy's friends" (which is what they call the praise team singers and band at church).

..........

N' thanked God for "corn that grows" and "[his] toy computer with the counting game on it."
J' was thankful for "[our] crayons." :0) B' enjoyed sticking blank paper leaves to the window, pulling them off, and sticking them on again.

PT and I have a long list of thanks this autumn season, not the least of which includes little B' getting in a good long nap today. He's teething again - two merciless molars on the top - and the discomfort is interrupting his overnight sleep. Is there anything sweeter than watching babies sleep?

Thank you Lord for fall. It's beautiful outside and we're so beautifully blessed in the wonder of Your love for us and the warmth of our love for one another.

above all that we could ask or think

Welcome to our new home-sweet-home. Please join us in praising the Lord for His provision. It is such a blessing to have a little more space to move around in! The Lord really worked things out for us in amazing ways throughout the whole process. It doesn't seem real yet, but we really get to live here ;0) What a sweet and humble privilege. All honor and praise unto the Lord for His willingness to show us favor. My heart is heavy for the previous owner's having to go through foreclosure, but the pricing miracle we needed was a result of that situation -- so even in that we are thankful.



The bigs love their new bunkbeds! (Another sweet pricing miracle from the Lord!) N' normally sleeps on the top, but he and J' wanted to trade tonight. B' is doing a great job learning to sleep in the toddler bed. This is his second week and we're so very proud of him. When we announce it's bedtime, he typically climbs in, pops a thumb in his mouth, and waits to be covered up :0) Now if we can just get him to stay in there instead of tiptoeing into our room when he wakes up at 4 or 5 am and realizes everyone's asleep.



They really like having a dedicated play space! (So does mommy -- I don't absolutely have to reorganize the toys at day's end if I don't want to. It's so different from having the family room and the play space in the same spot!)


There's just one room upstairs - the grown-up's office space - but the kids think the stairs themselves are a blast to climb up and down. We are so grateful unto God for the joy of moving into this space for however long He has us here. It's a beautiful answer to prayer and a manifestation of so many of our heart's desires for a living space... an exceeding abundant blessing.

"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

baby belly 4

Here's a pic I took this morning for those who have asked to see our baby bump ;0)
This week we'll reach 20 weeks pregnant with sweet babynew number 4! Praise report: today is the fourth day in a row without vomiting or waves of nausea! Praise the Lord! Please pray with us that this means the daily, ongoing vomiting and nausea are over for this pregnancy. Please join us in prayer for a healthy baby and a smooth, speedy, natural delivery also!

we made a sunny day

The three weeks before we moved went on endlessly, rainy day after rainy, muddy, overcast day. The kids were soooo tired of the rain and they were stir-crazy from being trapped in the house for so many days in a row. One morning N' said that we needed a sunshine in the window. I explained that I couldn't make it sunny out, but suggested that we make our own sunny day inside. N' and J' thought it was a fabulous idea and a few minutes later the floor was covered in construction paper, the scotch tape was out, and mommy was in serious demand cutting whatever shape they thought to add next. We spent a fun-filled hour cutting out shapes and taping them in the window in various spots until N' and J' were pleased with the result. They couldn't wait to show daddy their very own sunny day when he returned home from work that day! "Look Daddy, we made a sunny day!"

We spent the next week (yes, it kept raining) of overcast, rainy days pulling the blinds up every morning instead of just turning them open so that they could smile at their sunny day. We didn't take it down until a couple of days before we moved. I thought about keeping it, but thought it would be more fun to start over fresh and see what they come up with the next time!

Isn't it amazing how creative you can be at only 4 and 2 years old! N' was particularly pleased with his lake and sailboat idea. J' loved the three birds flying under the clouds (she loves birds -- they're hard to see in the pics). B' was happy to tear-up and attempt to eat the scraps of construction paper that littered the floor while we worked :0)

our hat lover

N', J', and B' all enjoy any opportunity to toss on a hat. But, B' is especially crazy about hats! It's rare for a whole day to go by without him putting on a hat... any hat! Here are some sweet pics of him in his current favorite, N's cowboy hat. We took these about a month ago, but he's still running around in this one. Isn't he sweet! I wish you could hear him say "hat?" when he's looking for it! I love it!

skipping it

I try not to air controversial opinions often, but I have such a heart for this every October. So, please indulge me as I share my heart about halloween. I know many of my Christian friends choose to enjoy celebrating the day in full or in alternative celebrations of various kinds. You certainly have liberty to make your own decision for you and your family. However, I contend that as followers of the Most High God, it is important that we flee anything that is rooted in our enemy, Satan.

There are several who argue that our children are missing out on something by not participating in dressing up and candy collecting from door-to-door. However, I don't see my children missing anything. There is nothing wrong with playing dress-up or holding a fun costume party. If you are ok with sugar consumption in young children, there is nothing wrong with the occasional candy munch either. Both of these activities can be enjoyed any time of year. There is no reason why we need to participate in a halloween event in order to allow the kids to put on a hero costume or taste M&M's. We can save this fun for a sunny afternoon with the dress-up box out or for a themed birthday party.

There are also those who hold that it's an important community opportunity to greet neighborhood trick-or-treaters at our doors on what may be the only day that they actually knock. But, it has been my experience that this actually creates confusion for non-believers who assume, rightly, that Christians would not want a part in celebrating a holiday that originated in pagan practices and ideas. We are called as Christians to stand as light in darkness, not to walk alongside darkness and allow ignorance to be bliss for our children. With a little effort, we can establish healthy relationships with those neighbors who are willing, without the risk of putting our witness and walk with the Lord into question.

"Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them." Ephesians 5:11

"You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons."
1 Corinthians 10:21

So forgive me those who disagree, as I turn out the porch light and wait until November 1st to celebrate the fall with whole pumpkins and gourds on my porch. Autumn is my favorite season and I can't wait to jump knee deep into leaves and brush and wrap myself in fabulous fall jewel tones... but first, I have a day to spend in warfare-prayer for the hearts of those lost in occult practices. They will be celebrating in horrifying ways in secret places halloween night while innocent children blindly walk the streets thinking of nothing more than candy and the greatness of this year's costume. It is my prayer that as my children grow, they will join me in prayer and spend halloween thinking of the greatness of walking in relationship with King Jesus -- there is nothing better than that. No costume, no amount of candy, no number of halloween games could ever compare to the greatness of His love.

If you are interested in more information, the best objective, concise read I've found this year is on the History.com website (http://www.history.com/content/halloween). Be warned: their site is secular in nature and may have images along the side page that you would prefer not to see (i.e. skull and crossbones artwork). The purely fact-based information is useful for understanding the origins of today's halloween celebrations in the United States without any addition of opinions on the matter.

1. origins of halloween http://www.history.com/content/halloween/real-story-of-halloween
2. origins of pumpkin carving http://www.history.com/content/halloween/the-jack-o-lantern/history-of-the-jack-o-lantern
3. origins of trick-or-treating http://www.history.com/content/halloween/real-story-of-halloween/today-s-traditions

You could also refer to an article I agree with from christiananswers.net. (I don't agree with everything this site puts out but I liked this article. Again, be warned in advance as they have pics along the side page that you may prefer not to see (i.e. a woman with a bloody bandage across her face).) http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/halloween.html#harvestparties

There are many books and sites with clear, objective information. If you are unaware of the origins of halloween or if you're on the fence about whether or not your family should participate; I encourage you to do some research. Don't take my word for it, seek information, seek out scripture, and make your own informed decision.