a little crazy

My husband just came in to tell me the gardner wants to talk to the art director.

I laughed.

He meant me.

You see we're taking our family pictures here tomorrow and

for the last week I've asked him to please not blow away the falling leaves.

I like them there.  And honestly we don't really have enough here yet so I've needed to let them gather.

This all means he can't mow the lawn.

And he thinks I'm a bit crazy leaving the messy leaves.

But I like the mess.

I like how it looks natural, not manicured.

And I'm ok if they think I'm a little crazy.

I probably am.

I'm just excited to work with a dear friend

setting the stage to hopefully capture some fun shots

of our family right where we are, right now.

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Oh and for my notable quotable friday.

It happened.

I've hit that 'don't embarrass me mom' phase with my 9 1/2 year old son.

Even the fact that I just wrote that will probably embarrass him.

He begs me often, please don't put that on your blog, which is why I don't write about him as much as the girls.  They on the other hand will say take a picture for your blog.  It's funny the technology they're growing up knowing about.

The big kids are having a high tea at their school today.  And my son said, "No offense mom, but I kind of don't need you to come."  And when I said well I already am because Ava is at your school too.  And so he asked me to please not embarrass him.

Oh sigh.

Do you remember how you felt like your parents could embarrass you.

I told my friend about our conversation last night.  My friend who has known me since first grade.

I said, "Doesn't he know he has a cool mom?"

To which she replied, "But your mom thought she was cool too I'm sure."

Oh sigh again.

I appreciate that he felt comfortable enough to politely tell me this.

But it won't stop me from being me.

It won't stop me from being active in his life.

I think I know what it is.

I talk to his teacher too much.  And he's afraid I'll share things that will embarrass him.

So I'll respect that and respect his sense of needing to have some privacy.

But I won't stop being there for these moments.

And I won't stop documenting them.

Happy Weekend everyone!

fall party

Back when my son was just four years old, I had a fall party for his preschool friends.

It was their last year of preschool and we were a close group of moms and kids.

I recently came across the photos and thought I'd share.

I had fun finding the vintage clip art and recipes for a fun fall party.

This was fresh squeezed oranges, rice milk and bananas blended together, with black licorice for straws.

I found an assortment of ideas for this snack mix through searches on the web.  

Barefoot Contessa's Chicken Chili Recipe - I was pregnant with my third baby
when we had this party.  I craved this chili all the time!   

Martha Stewart - Cranberry Oat Cereal Bars (really a fancy rice krispie treat)

As an activity, the kids got to decorate pumpkins.  We also let them paint their own leaf  placemats.
I later added scripture and laminated them as a fall keepsake.

So crazy...all these kids are nearly ten years old now!

Pumpkin Carving Parties

 I know lots of Christians don't celebrate Halloween.  We don't celebrate the dark and scary side of things, but do take part in the fun and festive things about this time of year.

Last night we went to a pumpkin carving party.  It was a family affair and one that my kids wholeheartedly were into this year. 

 It was the first time that my eight-year-old son designed and carved his own pumpkin completely on his own, and the first year my five-year-old drew her own designs.  The three-year-old very intently worked on scooping out the insides for everyone.

And I had fun helping the girls cut out their cute little faces.  This is another one of those ways that creativity brings joy and bonding for families and friends.   Sometimes I put it off because it feels like it's going to be messy and a lot of work.  But once you're in the middle of it, you realize you're having so much fun, and making a party out of it is even better. 

At the end of the night many of the pumpkins were lined up and lit inside to see the beautiful designs.  Pretty cool aren't they?  The kids then played and the parents chatted.  It was a fun way to kick off this weekend of celebrations.

Here is our little collection at home, with our dog Bella making a cameo appearance.  :)  She's actually wondering what it is I'm doing out here.


To bring this activity back to our faith and to make it a teachable moment, a friend gave me this pumpkin carving devotional.  In case anyone else would like to do this, I'll copy it here.

You Are God's Pumpkin 
This devotional was written by Kelly McFadden 

God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. Therefore, as the Scriptures say, "If you boast, boast only about the Lord." —1 Corinthians 1:30-31 (NLT) 

For most of the country, the crisp cool air of autumn is upon us. A sure sign of autumn is that Christmas decorations are popping up everywhere in retail stores. Halloween costumes and disguises are selling out in stores as trick-or-treaters are ready to take over the streets. A popular symbol of both harvest time and Halloween is the pumpkin. I was thinking recently that being a Christian is a lot like being a pumpkin. Perhaps you are visualizing this orange, round vegetable and wondering how you could ever be compared to one of these squashes! Simply put, like a child chooses a pumpkin to carve and mold an image upon, so God carves and molds His own unique design in you.


The Scriptures tell us that the Lord chooses us. He lifts us up and washes the dirt from our skin. Then he opens us, connecting deep inside to scoop out all the slimy, yucky stuff, including seeds of doubt, spite, lies, and fear. Then He carves a new creation, and makes our faces shine by putting His light inside for all to see.


Sometimes I feel like I don't want my light to shine because I am ashamed of a thought or action or pattern in my life. I try to hide the light Christ has put in me, and blend in with the crowd. What I forget is that when God carved me, created me, and gave me His Son, I no longer had to count on my own strength. I can count on the Lord's. It is He who washes me clean; it is He who gives me a spirit of strength and perseverance; it is He who makes me pure; it is He who frees me from sin; and it is He who gives me hope. When I realize that my part of the equation is to rely on His strength and power, then I can do as Scriptures say, and shine His light through the power of the Holy Spirit.


What starts as an everyday squash turns into a lantern of light. What starts as an everyday person turns into a beacon of hope for all to see. Through our union with Christ, we are given the light and wisdom of the Holy Spirit who enters and dwells in our lives. It is He who picked you out and carved you just the way He wants you. So make sure you keep your lantern lit for all to see.


GOING DEEPER:


1. What sins are in your life that you need to release and allow the Lord to scoop out for you?
2. Each time you see a pumpkin this autumn, think through why it is so important for you to be a vessel of light representing our Lord.


FURTHER READING: Psalm 19:7-10; Colossians 2:3


May you have a blessed weekend with your family, celebrating and enjoying this harvest season.

Pumpkin Patch

Most of this school week has really been dedicated to my kids.  Many of the days I've spent helping in their classrooms and today I got to chaperon the kindergarten field trip to the local pumpkin patch.


I released any expectations about getting my own things done and just enjoyed being with my child.  Today was Ava's turn.  I didn't get a single picture of me with her.  Boo.  I seem to forget so often.  But I'm the 'class photographer' so I have plenty of everyone else. :)  We did the giant corn maze with stations and clues to Halloween related questions they had to answer along the way.  There was an adorable "Spookley the Pumpkin" show and they got to each pick out of course, their own pumpkin.


I love this time of year and I love seeing the fun of these traditions through their eyes.


I overheard some lovely kid quotes this week. So many make me laugh or smile.  One was a bit shocking.  But my favorite was from my own kindergartner.  Seeing my legs she asked me, "Mommy do you have splinters all over your legs?"  "No dear, mommy just needs to shave."  I'm happy to report I got a shower in this morning and all is well.  Didn't mean to scare any little ones.

Fall Fun

My sister was in town from New York visiting and my normally camera shy child was posing like crazy as we were getting ready to leave.  She caught these on her iphone.  They're some of my most favorite photos of my girls posing with our fall decorations.