Our Pumpkins

I just had to post these pictures of our "pumpkins" carving their pumpkins Sunday.  We had a beautiful day, and for the first time ever in my life {at least that I remember}, we carved our pumpkins out on the driveway. You'll note Natalie's {fancy} shoes in the one picture and understand why she spent about 12 seconds participating in the carving process.   

I look at these pictures of these beautiful kids and know, without a doubt, that God is in the business of creating masterpieces.  We know that we are blessed every day that He gives us glimpses of the destiny He has for them and allows us to partner with Him in the process of fulfilling it.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well, true to my expectations, September and October have been incredibly busy.  Aside from a few days here and there when I've been moments away from an anxiety attack, we've had a lot of fun.  Here are some of the highlights and a few pictures:

• Wednesday Adventure Club is off to a good start.  I love the kids in the small group and love that Mark has decided to join me in serving them.  It's not free of challenges as we try to adapt the material to their maturity level some weeks and keep a couple ornery little boys in line, but I love to hear their sweet and faith-filled prayers!
• Ethan had a great time at his "Minute to Win It" birthday party.  It was great to see him interact with his friends...some of whom we met for the first time.  
• It's been a great soccer season.  Ethan loves the game and has an amazing sense of it.  He handles the ball like a pro and can play any position well.  It's so exciting to watch him play.  Karis does not love soccer...in fact, multiple times she has said she does not like it.  It's crazy {and somewhat disappointing} because the girl has great ball control and is faster than probably 97% of the other girls she's played against.  She easily scored 4 goals in Saturday's game against a team that evenly matched her team.  She's good, but she doesn't have that competitive instinct. {It will be fun to see her go back to gymnastics instead}
• I was able to go in and eat lunch with Ethan and Karis during Family Lunch Week.  After lunch I got to spend recess time with them.  Although it was a bit disturbing to see what elementary recess looks like these days, I was proud of our kids and their responses to what was going on around them.  
• Natalie, Levi and I have enjoyed some good times at the Library Family Story Time and Nature Center Mommy and Me class.  While I hate that Ethan and Karis aren't here to participate in these things with us, I love having the time with our two little ones. 
• We kicked off our MOPS year.  I love being back on steering team.  There are days when I wonder whether I should have committed to it or not, but I am always reassured when I see things come together and see moms needs being met.  I love the team and I love our children's pastor, who invests so much in this ministry.  I'm excited about what the Lord has in store for our group this year. 
• We've had two weekends full of the stuff Autumn is made for. One weekend we went to Mt. Geez (a big hill that over looks miles of rolling hills) to watch the sunset and then hit up DQ one last time before it closed for the season, rode bikes/ran on the bike trail {Natalie's first trip riding on the trail and she went 3.5 miles!}, and hiked a trail at Mohican State Park {during which 875 rocks, leaves, and sticks were thrown into the river}.  This past weekend my family came down to visit and enjoy staying up way past bed time, blueberry pancakes, soccer games, picking out pumpkins and jumping in leaf piles with us, and we went to a Harvest party with some friends for hayrides, decorating pumpkins, and a super intense soccer game involving kids...and middle aged adults...:O).    

Happy Birthday, Babe...

On this day, 32 years ago, before you even took a breath, God had numbered and designed every single one of your days...placed everything inside you that would make you who you are today...an amazing husband, daddy, teacher, coach...I am amazed and so thankful that, in those moments of creating you, He had me {us, these kids, this life} in mind. He's given me more than I could have asked for or imagined. Love you, babe, and so do they!

{Well, I couldn't not post for Mark's birthday after doing Ethan and Karis'. It'd be too much work for me to pull out and scan his baby pictures this morning, though, even though I'd love to show this one we have...so you could see that, at one point in his life, my husband was chunky.}