Pumpkin Patch

This weekend we went to Keller's Farm to a pumpkin patch and corn maze. We bypassed the corn maze figuring the kids would grow tired of it before we even began. The pumpkin patch was a hit though. Andrew and Anna really loved. Eric and I looked at each other and said, "Andrew acts like he knows what he's doing." None of us had ever been to a pumpkin patch before. I guess Andrew just agrees with the outdoors. He really loves it. Rain, snow, wind, sun... he doesn't care.

Also at Keller's farm was a barn full of hay bails and corn stalks that people could purchase. They had tons of mums and pre picked pumpkins and gords too. We opted to pick our own pumpkins from the patch. This made for an experience that was a lot more fun.

We left with 2 big pumpkins and 3 small pumpkins. I found that picking out a pumpkin is a lot like picking out a live christmas tree-- a tradition that is so special for me. The same way you pull a tree out from it's place in the line to spin it around checking for bare spots or dead branches and then making sure the trunk is straight, we would pick up the pumpkin, feel it for any soft spots, make sure it had a nice side for carving, then we would make sure that it would stand up straight. I always remember after we'd find a tree we liked, I loved hearing my mom and dad say, "we found the best tree out of all of them." I think we left with the two best pumpkins on the farm!

Happy Carving!

Another Baby?

No, don't worry, not another baby. Just read this funny story.

I am amazed at what things stick in my son's head. He's three, at what age did he start having such a long term memory?
The other day, we were driving past a store that is very near our house. We drive by it all the time. It's a Farm and Fleet that sells all kinds of odds and ends things. Last year, around the time that we had Alissa and my mom was here with us, she bought a wagon for the kids. The Farm and Fleet was one place that she looked for the wagon (to no avail). At that time, rather than getting Andrew and Anna and a very pregnant me out of the car to go into the store, we let grandma go in and look quickly by herself. This must have been significant to Andrew cause as we drove by the Farm and Fleet on this particular day only a couple days ago, Andrew said "Mommy, is Grandma going to get us a wagon?" Quickly making the connection I said, "Well, no, but Grandma did buy us a wagon didn't she?" "Yeah" Andrew said, "But she went in by herself. I didn't go with her." Wow, I thought, that's some memory.

The very next day, we had to run an errand at the hospital where I work. Having been there with me before, Andrew said, "Are we going to mommy's work?" I told him we were. Then, his memory not only amazed me again, but this time really made me laugh. He said, "Are we going to go have another baby?" Oh, man! The connection he made was not to my work this time, but to having babies at the same hosptial. I guess when you have two sisters in two years, both delivered at the same hospital, one might start to think that 's just what we do. Of course, I told him no, no more babies. He then asked, "Are we going to check your heart?" The reference this time I am guessing, was to the number of prenatal appointments he had been with me for where we would hear the babies heart beat.

So funny and sooooo cute! It's moments like these I hope I never forget!

In Threes

I can remember learning that there are numbers that are thought to be "holy." Three and seven are two that I remember specifically. I haven't had time to go back and research these numbers as they pertain to their holiness, but you can bet that I will. Especially in light of the recent things that God has been showing me in my life. I know that not everyone, even Christ followers, can say that they "hear" God. I know this because I've been a Christ follower for 17 years and I have not always "heard" God, but this time in my life stands alone. I hear God speaking to me and it's come in the form of three separate incidences all with the same message.

This is such a big deal to me, so big in fact that its almost easier to try to minimize it. I can honestly say that I've never received anything like this, in the spiritual sense. I've shared this with a few other people, but I believe its bigger than I'm able to communicate. I know that people are interested in sharing this part of my life, but there's something about it that perhaps God desires to stay between Him and me because I have not the words to express how much of an impact this is truly having on my life. Being that I'm the type of person who is expressive and likes for people to understand me with the magnitude and heart with which I speak, this idea of keeping something back is a little hard for me. Interestingly, I also believe that part of what God is teaching me is the next level of humility for me. The way that this is manifesting at least for now is that I am not able to force someone to fully "get it." The huge-ness of this, that is!

I know it has the tendency to sound like I've gone off the deep end and stepped into the bizaare part of spirituality, but know my heart on this. At some level, I'm scared and fearful of what this is that God has for me, but what I'm learning is that perhaps the "deep end" is where I'm being called. And I believe that the "deep end" is different for everyone. Which finally leads me to the tip of the iceberg that is the way that God has been speaking to me.

As I've shared in another post, I am doing a Beth Moore Bible Study called "Beloved Disciple." In this we are studying the life of the disciple John. In the first 5 weeks of this study (where we are currently) God has caused one main point to jump out at me over and over multiple times each week as I do my homework and then when I hear the message presented by Beth. That point is about "The great adventure." In a nutshell, when Jesus called his first 4 disciples, Andrew, Peter, James and John and asked them to "follow me" the 4 layed down their nets (representing the lives that were normal and ordinary) and they followed Jesus. This was the beginning of their "great adventure."
This is the first of the three.

At our celebration service this weekend, God once again used the lives of these 4 disciples to drive home this idea of the great adventure. The message was really about how Jesus never called us to be "Christians." The word Christian is not found in the Bible. It's about being a Christ follower. That's what Andrew, Peter, James and John were-- Christ followers. The same message was delivered in the context of this message, it's a "great adventure."
That's number 2.

As Christ followers we participate, and Eric helps lead, a small group that we hang out with weekly and share our lives with. For our next study we've agreed to study the Gospel of John. You might be thinking, "how can this be number 3, you could have decided to this study out of intrigue due to these other things." But no, we agreed to do this study long before I had any of these other revelations. So, this, I call number 3. I am certain that God will once again show me some reference to the "great adventure" as I begin studying this book.

Okay, so now that you know just the tip of what God has been saying to me, you might be wondering what it all means. Ahh, I ask myself the same question. The truth is that I don't know yet. I have some ideas of what God might be getting at with me, but until I have searched my heart and know that my ideas are not from selfish ambition, I will keep them to myself. What I do know is that God is calling me to something different, something great, probably something out of my comfort zone. I understand that anyone who's ever done something great has had to step out. What's my next step?

Our Kind of Place

I'm like every other girl. I love to be romanced, wined and dined occasionally, but truth be known, occasional is the key word. My husband knows me so well. He knows that the things that really get to my heart are the unexpected flowers and sweet cards. I still have a valentine (that's right a real valentine- like the one's we gave in first grade) that he put in the bathroom of our first house that said "To my beautiful wife" in his writing. I leave it in my make- up bag especially for times when I don't feel beautiful.

The wining and dining is nice sometimes. I do like to get dressed up and go out for a big, expensive dinner every once in a while. But the things that Eric and I love to do the most have nothing to do with getting all dressed up or spending ridiculous amounts of money (I know what you are thinking... clearly we like to do that, we had three kids in 3 1/2 years, but that's not where I'm going with this). When we were dating we had a place that we coined "our place."
It was a place called Hunter's Pub. We even had a booth there that if it was available we'd always sit at. Whenever we're home and have a chance to go there we do. Needless to say, we miss our dates there... well, we miss our dates period.

Last Tuesday, our usual samll group night, Eric had to work late as it's the end of the fiscal year for his company, so we decided to do the unthinkable and skip group in order to have a much needed date. For us, it was about taking advantage of our amazing sitter who was already coming to stay with the kids and getting in some time away from our house without our kids. There is a place that is new around here that we'd been wanting to try for a while. Pauley's Pub. Our kind of place! Of course, nothing will ever replace Hunter's, due in large part to pure nostalgia, but Pauley's was a close second. Both Hunter's and Pauley's are places that are not fancy. In fact, they are just what they say they are, Pubs.

So, I'll say it again, occasionally, I love to go get romanced at a nice restaurant and drink wine or a cosmo and eat expensive food, but on an ordinary day, give me my favorite jeans to wear, a pub and a couple beers. Just remember to bring me flowers unexpectedly.

Carnival for a Cure

Here's the report:
Last Friday was the event we had all been working toward and praying about for many months. The Cystinosis Carnival for a Cure. This was a benefit that was organized by an individual who, though I've said it many times, is so talented and stinkin' organized! When it all came together, I realized even more that the person that takes on the organization of an event of this size better have her stuff together and no one does more than my friend Amber. Nice going Amber!

The event was a huge success. The grand total at the end of it all was over $16,000. For a first time benefit I would say that's pretty good. We set the bar high for coming years though! I'm certain we'll rise to the challenge year after year. In the heat of all the organizing, planning and putting together of things for the carnival, I found that it was easy to lose site of our real purpose: helping find a cure for these two little lives who we love so much (and the many others affected by this disease). As we were setting up for the event and the tension was raising as we grew closer to start time, Alexis and Evan walked into the gym and my heart softened. I thought, "Look how beautiful these two kids are. This is for them. It's not about what the tables look like or how perfect the signs are, it's about these two." God was so present Friday night. I know that everyone involved would agree that He showed up in ways we couldn't have guessed he would. People from all over came out to support and love this amazing family and if you looked around it was pretty clear that everyone was having a great time.

What a privledge to be a part of something so significant.

Stay Tuned

The time has finally come. Carnival For A Cure will take place tomorrow. This is the event that I first mentioned in my post about my friends who have two children who have Cystinosis, a rare metabolic disease. A group of us, including our affected friends, have participated in the organization of this event under the direction of one very talented and serving friend. I look forward to sharing the results of the carnival and silent auction with you. Stay tuned...

Sibling Rivalry

We've reached the point in time where it's become quite necessary for us to move our almost 7 month old out of our bedroom walk-in closet where she sleeps in the pack-n-play and finally into her crib in her own room. Well, it's not really her own room, she shares it with her sister. In our few attempts to move her before, it seemed like it just wasn't worth the stress of having her in there with me being so worried that she'd wake up Anna. The truth is that Alissa hates her crib and loves the pack-n-play. Understandable being that she's always slept in the pack-n-play. What she needed was to have the room to herself for a while as she got used to sleeping in the crib.

So, I took the plunge and moved Anna's crib into Andrew's room and finally let Alissa have a room to herself. Last night was our first night and would you believe that everyone slept all night? Alissa screamed in her crib for probably 15 minutes before finally zonking, but the other two seemed relatively unphased by one another. I could hear them talking to each other for a few minutes before falling asleep, which actually did my heart a lot of good.

Oh, right, I titled this Sibling Rivalry. It's becoming more and more evident to me how each of my children's personalities could affect their relationships. Anna, who has always been fairly aggressive is also pretty sly. I find myself scolding Andrew when he complains that Anna took something from him as she sits there suspisciously quiet. I think she does the "wrong" thing, but gets away with it by being quiet. I gotta watch her!
Andrew, on the other hand, complains and whines about so much. He's very good with using his words and has quite a vocabulary. I'm grateful that he expresses himself so well, but the trick is turning the whining into something more productive.
Alissa is certainly too little to evaluate, but so far I see her demonstrating a disposition that really reminds me of Andrew. I guess time will tell.

Instant Gratification

For as long as I can remember I've been the type of person who wants instant gratification. I guess I take comfort in that I'm like most other Americans. Our society caters to my type with drive throughs, on-line ordering, and the multitude of weight loss fads. I mean I've even started placing my Sam's Club order on line and then I just go pick it up. I know people who have their groceries delivered to their houses.

Okay, the thing that made me think of writing this post was this recent plateau that I've reached with my weight loss. In the beginning of this leg of my weight loss journey I lost a significant amount of weight in the first few weeks. 17 pounds to be exact. But then I just hit this wall and despite my effort, I could not get past this point. It's easy to see why so many people fail at weight loss, myself included. Sure, I wanted to throw in the towel, but my mind automatically goes to, "then what?" After I put back on the 17 pounds and plus some most likely, then what would I do? So, I decided to persevere. I read all about plateaus and how to get past them.

In addition to Weight Watchers I added some serious exercise, which I knew I needed to do all along. This spinning class has been just awesome. I look forward to getting past this plateau and moving closer to my goal.