The Pumpkin Patch

A couple of my high school friends and I have a yearly tradition of visiting the pumpkin patch with our little ones. There are three of us and we all had our first two kids around the same time (I pulled ahead with Elisabeth this summer)! Here are some of my favorite shots that Betsy took:

Betsy is the Martha Stewart of my friends. She and her mom made these shirts after seeing them in Family Fun Magazine. Elisabeth got a matching bib.



Since Elisabeth couldn't stand along the fenceline she gets her own close-up:



And this year we made the husbands come, too. There is no way we could chase the kids through the maze, playground, and patch without them. However, when you bring men and they see pumpkins they inevitably go for the biggest one. And then prove how manly they are by lugging it on their shoulder. See how strong he is?

The Costumes

Another Charlie-ism: "Mom? This costume makes my hiney look big."

Box of Books

While we were in Minnesota last month we got to visit with some friends who have recently moved out there. We've known them, worked with them, kind of lived with them a long time and it was good to see them again- and good to NOT be all alone out there.

Bryan officially has one of the greatest jobs EVER. Well, maybe his job isn't the greatest but his employer is. The day they came to visit with us was his official first day of work at...dum-dah-dah-dum....Desiring God Ministries! And the best part is...they brought us prizes! Two books by John Piper and a conference on DVD. We were so excited!

A couple of weeks ago Bryan had asked me if I'd ever heard of Helen Roseveare. I emailed him back and went on and on and on about how I LOVE her. While we worked in Pennsylvania the director had brought me a book from his personal library that he wanted me to order for the team. It was Living Sacrifice by Helen Roseveare. I went online and searched for it and discovered it was out of print. I contacted the publisher and got permission to make copies. The woman I spoke to at the publisher told me that Helen Roseveare "was no longer living and it was such a shame because she had heard her speak once and it was wonderful." I tried to copy the book on the copy machine but it wasn't turning out very well. So, I decided to try and type it out. The book wasn't that long and I could type pretty fast so I tried it.

I didn't like biographies much and I especially didn't like missionary biographies. They were all the same and all boring (I think at that point I had read maybe two biographies so clearly I hadn't read enough to know what I was talking about). No kidding, Living Sacrifice changed my life. I've actually read it three times. I never finished typing it because it was taking forever but I added that book to my mental list of favorites.

After I sent the email back to Bryan he replied that the publisher must have been mistaken because Helen Roseveare was speaking at the Desiring God conference in September! I was so excited because maybe that would mean she would have books there! I told Bryan the title of the one I loved so much and asked him to keep his eyes open. A few days later I received this book from him by Noel Piper. Awesome! It wasn't Living Sacrifice but she was still in there!

A couple of days after the conference Sarah emailed me the link to watch Miss Roseveare speak. She is a tiny British woman who has such passion for the Lord and she's very witty! It was kind of neat to put a face and a personality with the stories I'd read.

Yesterday when I got home from work there was a package in the mail. I never get packages so I was surprised. I saw Bryan and Sarah's name in the corner so I KNEW it was going to be books. When I opened the box I nearly had a heart attack.

That's six books by Helen Roseveare! There is also a DVD of John Piper's sermons on Romans. I think there were 5 more DVD's and two more books but my husband ran off with those. I'm already a couple chapters into the first book and I can't wait to read them all! Aren't friends the best??? Especially kindred spirits! Hooray for fellow booklovers!

Fair Time

In other news...it's fair week back home and I was able to take the boys to the parade and to visit the fair.

There is so much to do at the fair- rides, games, booths, barns, tractors.... and I really thought the boys would love walking through the cow and horse barns. Wrong. Henry thought it was pretty cool and made animal noises at the different animals. Charlie said, "Mom this is disgusting. There is horse stinky everywhere," and he proceeded to tiptoe through the manure.

We quickly got out of the barns so Charlie would quit grumbling about it and went and got some donuts and cider. While we were sitting there Charlie accidentally banged his leg against the stroller tire- which had manure on it.

He was NOT PLEASED. Can you tell?

The Garden

I have never planted anything before. Ever. Once, I had a cactus and I never watered it because I thought that was the point- a cactus doesn't need water. I'm not good with plants.

However, there are many hobby farmers at our church and every year they drop off corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, zucchini, etc. I'm greatful and thankful but sometimes those things come in such a surplus I can't keep up with the canning and freezing and I end up wasting a lot of food. I decided this year that I would plant my own garden and give away my surplus so there wouldn't be any waste. Although, now that I'm typing that out the logic seems a little skewed.

But today I had my first harvest! And I am proud! First of all, let me tell you I was clueless on how much to plant. Here is the squash section of my garden. Clearly I have gotten carried away:

But, look! Here is what I found underneath my 6 squash plants:

Isn't it beautiful? I call it a star squash but if you google recipes it's best to call it a patty pan squash. I'm pretty excited to bake it up for dinner tonight. There is something about eating food I've grown myself that is especially pleasing.

Now if only those tomatoes would turn red!

Date Night

And, no, it wasn't with my husband. It was me and Charlie! We have this great small town movie theatre that shows one movie a week every night at 7pm. This week it's "Ratatouille" and we've been waiting patiently for it to arrive!

Here is what I love about boys- yesterday morning before I left for work I told Charlie we were going on a date to the movies after supper. You would have thought I just told him he was a superhero. The minute I got home from work he was on my heels ready to follow whatever instructions I gave him. He cleaned up, dressed up, put on his "church shoes", grabbed my hand and took me out the door.

We had to stop at the cell phone store because my new phone wasn't working properly. When we walked in he immediately told the lady behind the service counter,

"My mom's phone is broken and that's why we're here, and you're going to fix it and then we are going to THE MOVIES! Because I'm no a date with just me and my mom and we are going to THE MOVIES!" and on and on he went. He even showed her how to take pictures with my phone. She was so gracious to pretend like he had just taught her something new.

The movie was cute but the time we spent together was better. At the beginning of the movie I told him I had his drink if he needed it and he said,

"No thanks Mom. But I would like to snuggle." And he climbed into my lap.

Later he made his way back to his seat and there was a "kissing part" in the movie. I whispered, "yuck! kissing!" and he replied,

"I just like kissing you, Mom. Only you."

And I wish I could have frozen that moment forever.

Weekend with the Grandparents

Apparently they'd had enough.

Why my posts are few and far between...

Hours of refreshing entertainment right out our back door.... a relaxing summer indeed!

My Daredevil

This is the far away picture of Charlie and me on the "Super Duper Looper."


Notice the tiny little boy in the FRONT SEAT of the UPSIDE DOWN rollercoaster. And he went on it THREE times. FEARLESS.

Preschool Art

I am incredibly impressed with Charlie's preschool teacher. He has learned so much this year and he continues to amaze me. The thing that's so great about teachers is they are able to see what our children are capable of when we don't even realize it. Almost daily, Charlie brings home a drawing or a craft. Some I save in the cedar chest full of photos, letters, and memories. Some get sneaked into the trash. I know that's horrible but 4 days of school a week times 24 weeks is close to 100 art projects. I can't save them all!

However, this week Charlie brought home one of my favorite pieces! No kidding, I was wishing for some new art to hang on my wall and I was thrilled when he brought this home! It matches the colors in my living room perfectly and Charlie was so excited when I dug out a frame and hung it on the wall. I thought I'd also share the picture with the whole internet (or the 5 people who read this blog) : )

It's pretty enough to hang but still has the touch of a 4 year old. And it's pussywillows! My favorite "flower". He's been learning to cut with scissors and he did such a beautiful job on the vase (with help I'm pretty sure). I'm so proud!

Tackle it Tuesday

This is my first attempt at a "theme day." I won't be a regular but every now and then I'll try it for fun! I had something I wanted to tackle today anyway so I might as well blog about it.

This is my work bag. I put home things in it to take to work and work things in it to take home. I usually keep it pretty organized but these past couple weeks have been busy so my bag is out of control. Here is my before pic- stay tuned for the after pic!

**UPDATE** Whew! It only took my lunchbreak! Some cool things I found were my favorite lipstick, a coupon for 1.50 off my next tank of gas, a wedding invitation (oops!), and a rebate form I need to send in ASAP. Now instead of a bag full of loose papers I have my purse (no receipts!), my dayplanner with all the little scraps taken out and all the dates written in, and one file of policies to deliver. Not bad!

I give up

I wanted to brag on my kids today and post some cute pictures. Charlie was laying (lying?) in the yard flat on his back with his frog umbrella over top of him. I asked him what he was doing and he replied:

"Waiting for the rain."

It was too cute so I ran inside to find my camera. It took 10 minutes to find it, 2 minutes to realize the batteries were dead, 2 minutes to find batteries (the last ones!) and of course by that time the cute moment had passed. He wouldn't hold his umbrella, wouldn't smile, etc. So then I decided Henry deserved a picture on the blog. My digital camera is fairly new and I haven't mastered the delay from when I say cheese to when the actual picture takes. So his eyes are closed in 10 pictures in a row. And now he's crying. So for your blog reading pleasure I'm posting the only picture my now finicky computer would let me post without a major issue.

This is the picture we mailed out for Christmas. Yes, I combed Henry's hair, and no, I didn't intentionally give him a mohawk (but I secretely think his mohawk is awesome). He's got an awful cowlick and I won't shave his head. He's too pretty! The deer in headlights look is the one he likes to give when it's time to get his picture taken. Once I figure out this whole posting thing I'll try to catch the boys being cute. TRY being the most important word in that sentence.