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.}

Deep Thoughts...

My friend Mandy posted this question on her blog over the weekend:
Moms, I Need Your Opinion

Moms, are you more content when:

A) You know all you have to focus on is your kids & your home?

B) You have additional passion outside kids & home to focus on?

Why?

I was struck by the fact that I didn't have an immediate answer. It took me a while to think through where I am at on this spectrum. Here is what I posted in response on Mandy's blog:

...I’ve determined that I am really most content when I’m doing A, although sometimes I’m called to B. I am most passionate about knowing and serving Christ, and there are times when He calls me to focus outside of my family/home in service to Him. There are seasons when He gives me rest, though, and allows my focus to go back to home/family. I feel like my other “passions” (running, teaching, etc) can easily be set aside with very little impact on the contentedness of my soul.

If you're a mom, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Do you think it's possible to be only A or only B? Is it a spectrum? Are there seasons for each? Post your thoughts!

Happy Birthday, Karis!

A {short} year and 16 days after Ethan came along, Karis joined our little family. She was sweet and gorgeous from day one...and all three of us fell in love with her.

It seems that Karis has spent much of the first six years of her life being "Ethan's little sister". She learned ABC's with him, potty trained with him, laughed with him, loved Star Wars with him, shared a bedroom with him...sometimes because she wanted to...and sometimes because that's just the way life is when you're born that close together.

I love that in the past several months, Karis is finding herself. She's strong and great at gymnastics. She creates amazing abstract art. She loves broccoli, but not asparagus. She has an eye for making beautiful jewelery. She can catch fish likes it's nobody's business. She loves animals and wants to be a veterinarian. She doesn't like soccer so much, and wishes there was cross-country for elementary school. She is embracing her role as big sister more and more every day. She's still painfully shy, but her friends are starting to number two hands instead of two fingers. She can share the gospel story {even if it is only with her little sister at this point} like she just graduated from seminary.

Although there are days our personalities clash and I'm much too hard on her, I love this girl like crazy. I don't know what I'd do if God hadn't surprised us with her. Lord, please guard this little girl's heart, mind, and body as she grows into a young woman in the coming years. We pray that she will continue to cherish things that are pure and innocent, and that she will gain the confidence to share Your Love Story with everyone that she meets.

I did it!!

Well, I ran my half-marathon this past Sunday. Don't look at me funny, but...I really enjoyed it!! I know it sounds so weird to run 13 miles and say that you've enjoyed it, but I did. I think I might officially become a half-marathoner.

(my cheering squad...that's one of my high school track coaches in the yellow jacket :O))

Seriously, though, I had the "perfect" experience.

I could train while my hubby was home with the kids or they tagged along on bikes. {There were two times I left the kids with a neighbor friend for quick work-outs, and I managed to get over the guilt of that. I mean, how many times have you left your kids with a friend so you could get to your hair or doctor appointment or whaterver. I've convinced myself it's not any different...}

I experienced no injuries and never even got a blister until my 12 mile run.


All the kids started sleeping all night for about the last month, so I was well rested.


The training plan worked step by step. {I did alter the last week a bit since our schedule was crazy, I had that wonderful monthly visitor, and the mileage just seemed really high to me.}


I don't think I could have asked for a better race morning. The weather was overcast and cool. The crowd wasn't overwhelming. My nerves settled after my second "potty" stop before the start, and I didn't have to take any potty stops along the way. Everything went smoothly.


Once the horn blew, I just settled in and had almost two hours of "church". It was really an amazing feeling. I was doing what I feel like God created my body to do in a place that He created for me to enjoy while quietly singing prayers and praise to Him.


My goal was to cross the finish line in 2 hours or less, with no walking. At about 9 miles I knew that {unless something crazy happened} I was going to finish under 2 hours. At that point my goal became to get as close to 1:50 as possible. I finished in 1:51 and some seconds (official times haven't been posted yet)...and I didn't have to walk at all!
It felt good accomplishing this goal. I still think, at some point, I'll try a full marathon, but I'm waiting till the time is right...and I think I'll only put myself through one of those, just to say I did. But this half-marathon thing I could definitely see myself doing on a somewhat regular basis. That's okay with you, Mark, right? :O)

Happy Birthday, Ethan

Today our first born {strong-willed, athletic, intelligent, emotional, stubborn, hard-thinking, germaphobic, reasoning, thrill-seeking, handsome, never wrong, family-loving, scientific, quiet} son turns eight years old. Lord, we pray that You will use the foundation we've partnered with You to build these past 8 eight years and grow this boy into a man that loves You...brings others to love You...and chases hard after You.