Recent Pumpkin Patch Pics

We recently enjoyed a morning at a local family farm/pumpkin patch with our playgroup friends. This place is a favorite of ours! It's cute and free. We love that.

Jonah with his buddy Brantley: (Both boys' parents would like for you to ignore the fact that they're in an Aggies barrel. No, we do not approve.)


Sweet niece Maggie and nephew Brady: (Poor Brady...I guess he'll be having to ride in princess and Barbie barrels for a while!)
Me and my Parker Jane on the hayride out to the pumpkin patch:


She pretty much had a hateful attitude towards the pumpkins, so I did not get smiling pictures of her, but sweet ones nonetheless:

She did, however, have a fondness for kicking the pumpkins like a soccer ball:

Jonah had fun though:

Being silly with his friend Solomon:

And it's interesting how Parker looks like she's happy in this next one when I distinctly remember her screaming like crazy during this picture with Jonah and Maggie:


Of course, when Parker decides to smile, Jonah is looking elsewhere:

And by the second take, she was DONE:
Oh well. Maybe next year.

I did have a sweet surprise when my friend Sarah emailed me this picture she took of Parker:

I guess if you want to give this little girlie directions for her to actually follow, you'd better not be her mother. She ignored me that whole morning! Especially when I had a camera out! But I forgive her. She's pretty yummy. And when she is in the mood to give love, it sure is sweet. But the fact that Jonah was old enough to run around with his friends the whole time (and not sit by me on the hayride and not really need me for anything) sure did make this mama a little sad for how fast time is going. I'm so proud of how he is growing up, but, oh, it makes my heart ache too.

Feeling blessed.

A List

I don't know where to start. So I'll go with a list. Here are some things going on in our life right now:

1. Parker Jane is a MESS. And I take full responsibility. This is how I just found her after leaving her unoccupied for about a minute and a half:

Yep, she unrolled an entire roll of toilet paper. And I probably missed the opportunity to discipline and teach on this one the second I chose to grab the camera. She's mischievous!

2. We've been busy with lots of church stuff. This is pretty much Joel's busy season for work. He's had a lot of weekend events going on the last few weeks, and he will have an event to lead every weekend for the next five. This week, our first meeting with our "new" community group was held. Our old one has divided into two groups to make room for lots of people who aren't in one. Though transitions like these can be a little tough in some ways, we are so excited about leading this group and seeing what God has in store for all of us! We had such a fun time meeting with these families this week! And I've also begun a mom's prayer/Scripture discussion on parenting little ones according to biblical principles. It's mainly for providing relational support to each other on this journey of motherhood. We will meet four times over the next 8 weeks, and today was our first meeting. I can tell spending time with these ladies will be such a refreshing time! As you can see...church life right now is busy, busy. (Good thing we like it!)

3. Joel's birthday was last month, and I just feel a need to show off the birthday cake I made for him. The pictures are less than acceptable. But it's all I've got. I stole this idea from a very fun blog called Whatever. Talk about blog eye candy! That woman is so inspirational for creating beauty in life. She makes me want to learn to sew. Or maybe just color with crayons in one of Jonah's coloring books. She makes you want to do something with color and prettiness. Her pictures are much better. But here's the fun cake:

4. I've started BSF this year, and it's been a good experience. The best part to me: Jonah LOVES it. This is pretty much his preschool this year, and I've been so amazed by his enthusiasm to be there. He did not want to go there the first day, but since then, he's counting down the days til the next time we go to BSF. He's really learning a lot, and I'm starting to see some sweet glimpses of God working in Jonah's heart and showing Himself to him. (Thank you, Lord!) It's been an added support for us this year in training our children. Just praying to not rely on it too heavily but to keep it complementary to what we're doing at home. He's been a sweetie lately.

5. And then this little girl has been changing a ton lately. She's still not really talking much yet. She only has a few words. But she does jibber-jabber a LOT. It's really cute! And my favorite thing about where she is right now is that she loves her baby dolls. Especially this one. She's always carrying it under her arm whatever she's doing, trying to change its diaper and wipe its nose. I'm LOVING it!!! We usually have a baby doll with us wherever we go.

So that's the recap of life these days. I had a couple of other things I left off because now I think they could each be a separate post. Maybe I'll write them before next year.

Nearing the End of Summer

I can't believe it's almost fall! I think this is the first year I've been ready for it by August! (I can't remember...maybe I said that last year?) Trying to swim with a crazy 15-month old who just wants to go in and out of the pool, NOT be in a float, and just run around the edge of the pool has made the pool lose some of its luster for me in recent weeks. I don't have the energy for that anymore. So we're pretty much done with that. DONE. I'm posting a couple pictures from our Sea World adventure last weekend which, according to Jonah, was not as exciting as riding in the golf cart at Uncle Jim's ranch, where we stayed those few days we were in South Texas. Sea World was definitely fun, but maybe we should stick to the simpler things since our kids still find joy in those? I think for us, I'm just not sure it was necessary right now. But what a relaxing longer-weekend away it was! The refreshment came just at the right time. Mama was needing some.

And then here are a couple of pictures of Jonah at his buddy Brantley's birthday party this morning, which was SO cute. I'm sure Kate will post pictures of it soon, so I'll hold off on showing the cute cake pics I took.

Where I've Been

I haven't ignored my blog so much since...well...I guess since I was last pregnant. No worries though! That's definitely not the reason this time. =) We've just been enjoying these summer days. I'm one of those people who LOVES the Texas sun, so these hot days are just fine with me. As long as they also involve water. Except for the last two weeks, we've been going to the pool a LOT, and the rest of our time we've just been spending with family and friends and taking some small trips. We like going places, but we'd rather save the big vacations for when the kids are older and traveling with them doesn't make me want to pull my hair out. So far, this summer has included 2-week long swim lessons for Jonah and his first VBS at a local church one week in June, a two-day trip to Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine with my family, two outings to Splash Kingdom, a nearby waterpark, and a trip to Oklahoma to visit family around July 4th weekend with Jonah staying by himself there for a few extra fun-filled days. Then last week, the kids and I traveled to Houston with my aunt and uncle to spend several days with my cousin Lacey. It's been a really fun summer! We still have plans to make a quick Sea World trip later this month. I wanted to do a catch-up post with pictures from various summer events in our family's life, but I've realized that I haven't had my camera with me all that much. Sad. But here are a few...

Parker Jane with Nanny and Ciera in Bartlesville:

"Helping" Aunt Jen spread cream cheese on the ham:With cousins Samantha, McKenna, and Ciera on the 4th:

With fun Uncle Eric:And then at Lacey's, building a fort with sofa cushions, which is Jonah's new favorite pasttime:
Me and my babies at the Houston Zoo, "the better zoo EVER", as Jonah called it:

And this handsome man by his favorite animal (yes, he's still obsessed with animals. And zebras. And Africa. And all the animals in Africa.):And lastly, here is one of me with a couple of my girlfriends from high school, Amber and Erin, at our high school reunion last month. What a fun weekend that was!

Besides all that, I've been staying busy with some good books. I tend to not read very much for a while and then suddenly get in a reading mode, where I zone out to everything else and become a hermit. Yep, that's what I've been doing lately. I must find time to write some book reviews on here. I've enjoyed some good ones, and I am excited to share.

School Plans

Since Jonah is four now, there's been a lot of thinking about future school plans, so I thought I'd write a bit about our tentative plan for his education. It's on my mind a lot anyway. For now, we're planning to start out homeschooling Jonah, though we don't have any idea how long we'll continue that. It just makes sense for us to do it for at least kindergarten. Maybe longer, but we're just taking it a year at a time. Our desire is for him to be in a school at some point during his elementary years anyway, but we're really not in a place right now for that to happen. All doors to that are closed at this point. And homeschooling seems to be the best fit for a while. I honestly don't think it will be for very long, but I also want to stay completely open to whatever the Lord has for us. I'm learning not to voice strong confidence in what I know God's will to be for our future! The past has shown that He often surprises us with new plans that differ from our own, so I want to be expectant and aware of how He might work in our lives. But for now, it looks like this is best for our family. For a number of reasons.

One of my main motivations for wanting to homeschool Jonah right now is the desire for my kids to have a classical Christian education, and providing that in a school setting is currently not an option - although it may be at some point. The concept of classical education is something I was confronted with in a college class and then had validated to me through the lives of some families I met (like this one). I'm totally sold on its effectiveness. The more I learn and read about it and observe in other families, the more it makes sense to me and the greater my desire for my kids (and me!) to learn this way. The whole idea is that the best education is one that teaches us how to think, rather than just teach us information, and classical education employs the time-tested learning system of the trivium, which you can read more about through the following links:

About Classical Education

Classical Christian Homeschooling

Classical Education of the Founding Fathers

The Lost Tools of Learning

Ten Things to Do with Your Child Before Age Ten (I love this! Not that I plan on doing every single thing they say...)

Definition for Classical Education

I'm excited about this! I struggle a little with starting out not knowing how Jonah's education will be completed, being unsure of where he will eventually go to school. But it's just an area I'll have to trust in God's direction for the present and His capability to finish what he starts. It doesn't look like he will go to a classical school later because there's just not one that's affordable and what we want. But attending the Christian school that our church is associated with is a probable scenario at some point. It's not classical, but the elementary principal has a background in it and definitely pushes their curriculum and structure more towards classical. That's ok with me because I don't think I need to trust in a school and in teachers to provide my children with everything they need educationally; I believe I should still take responsibility as a parent for my child's education regardless of whether they are at home or in a school. The trick would be for me to know how to continue the elements of classical that I feel so strongly about, in our home, while my child goes on to a nonclassical school. How will that work? I'm not entirely sure. But I'm intrigued by the challenge. Another school option would be a university-model school here that we're interested in that would provide a classroom-learning atmosphere as well as more time for teaching my child the things I feel convicted about teaching him. Non-elective courses don't really start there until third grade though. Maybe we'll homeschool for a while, then go there for a while, and then go to the full-time school. We don't know. But these are some of the things that have been occupying my brain lately. I'm trying to learn to live more in the present and not "have my life all figured out" and trust the Lord to lead day-by-day. That couldn't be a bad place to be.

What to Make When Company's Coming, Part 2

Thought I'd share one more recipe that's so fun for when you have people over. It's a unique meal that's so yummy, and, again, this one is great for assigning parts for guests to bring. You can serve it anytime, but I tend to see it as more of a fall/winter-ish meal.

Javanese Dinner for Eight:

*1 chicken, deboned (or you can bake boneless breasts)
* 2 cans cream of chicken soup
*2-3 cups chicken broth
*curry, to taste (at least 1 1/2 teaspoons)

Cook chicken over range top. Add to the chicken 2 cans of chicken soup, chicken broth, and season with curry. Serve with rice and offer the remaining ingredients for guests to mix in to their chicken & rice (This is where you can ask guests to bring one or more of these.):

* 1 bunch green onions, sliced
* 1 cup shredded coconut
* 1/2 cup sliced almonds
* 1 large can chow mein noodles
* 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
* 1 large can crushed pineapple
*2 large stalks celery, chopped

And it's best when you put ALL of the toppings in it, so make sure your guests feel like wimps if they don't. =) But it's great...the wimps/picky eaters have plenty of options and control with this meal. It takes the pressure off the cook - it's the guests' own fault if they mix in the wrong combination of toppings. Wahahaaaa.

One other thought I have about fixing meals for company is that I frequently go Sandra Lee-style and add a store-bought item or two (dessert or sides) to go along with what I make homemade. I do love cooking for people when they're in my home and it's fun to show love by putting effort into it, but in this season of my life with two little children dirtying the house faster than I can clean it up, getting ready for company means I have to make choices to simplify in order to get it all done in time. Making simplifying choices lessens the stress for me, which in turn plays a big part in the environment I'm helping to create when guests are in our home. So that's important. And I like to think it's less intimidating to some guests you have over. There are also times when it just makes sense to pick up a Papa Murphey's take-and-bake pizza and invite someone over to share. You really don't HAVE to cook to show hospitality! Being sensitive to when there's a need you can meet relationally and listening to the nudges from the Holy Spirit about having someone over is much more important than having culinary skills and a filled pantry. Don't miss an opportunity just because you haven't had time to go to the store, plan a full meal, etc. If you really believe those things aren't what matter most, then don't be afraid to live like it.

Feel free, once more, to share your best recipe for entertaining so all of us can benefit, and I'd love to know any more tips you have or lessons you've learned on practicing hospitality in your home.

Processing

I have a lot on my mind and weighing on my heart this week in regards to doing ministry. I'm not talking about the kind of ministry that comes with an official title or position. Or that comes through being married to someone who has the title. I'm talking about plain ol' church ministry that we're all called to be a part of. Discipleship. The building up of other Christians. The whole thing of being the Body of Christ. It's a wonderful, beautiful thing, and I love that we each get a part to play and have all been specially gifted for edifying each other and helping each other towards growth. What a special thing. I happen to love it. But I must say, there are times it gets really hard. It's a hard role to play in people's lives. You are putting yourself out there to be an example, and that requires a whole lot - constant confession and repentance when sin comes up in your life, a teachable attitude yourself, accountability, a true spirit of authenticity, and a servant's heart that puts you in a place of seeking how to help others in the first place. That doesn't come easily and naturally; we have to let Jesus give us that kind of heart. It certainly isn't what mine is like on its own. But another part of discipleship that is challenging is the willingness you have to have to speak truth in all situations. To share God's words on a situation. To proclaim His way as better than our own. Which isn't too terribly difficult for some of us....until it is resisted. When people don't want to change and really don't want their thinking challenged, it gets incredibly hard to be obedient in sharing truth. The apostle Paul's words to the Galatians (in Gal. 4:16) resonate with me just a little right now, "Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?"

It's so sad to see it happen. To see people get uncomfortable with the truth and decide to move on from it, slipping further away instead of climbing closer to where God wants us. Anyone who's ever been involved in ministry to people within the church knows that lukewarmness is a big deal. At least in our part of the world. In my experience, it's the biggest obstacle to overcome in ministering to people. To be used to help move people out of that and into real passion and love for God is quite a task. Honestly, lots of people are just wanting to stay right where they are. They want to get involved enough at church that they have good Christian friends, but that's really all they need church involvement for. It's a social organization, nothing more. They really want to be with people who think just like them so that they are never challenged to think differently. Or to live differently.My heart is breaking a little over this right now.

Now, I'm well-acquainted with lukewarmness myself. I've spent many more years in lukewarmness than I have in passion. And even now...almost eight years after I made a new choice to live more passionately for Jesus...I see that He's already made me different than I was, but I still struggle so much. I lack so much enthusiasm, passion, and obsession for Him. I need to grow in this. But I want to grow in this too. It's why I have people in my life to push me towards this kind of growth. It's why my deep friendships are with passionate people. People who challenge me. People who disagree with me and aren't afraid to tell me why but always do so with biblical support. It's why I am in community with other believers, on several different levels. It's why I love the church I'm a member of - that I can find people like that if I want to be around them. I'm just really sad this week that there are so many people avoiding those very relationships because they truly want to stay where they are. There are some who, instead of fleeing temptation as fast as they can, ask for clarification of the "lines" between godly and worldly living only so they can get as close to it as possible and not feel guilt or possibly not to have anyone confront them. Besides all the ways this way of thinking is detrimental to that person's spiritual growth, it also affects others, can infest a group and help others get "stuck" as well, and misrepresents Jesus to those who don't know Him.

So the issue becomes how to minister to these people. Jesus hates lukewarmness, but He loves people. I want to extend mercy, as I know very well I've been given it, and I want to love them so well that they stay within reach and are still in a place to have their hearts penetrated by truth. But what happens so often is that truth divides people. Truth offends. And we can't be afraid to share it when the Holy Spirit asks us to. The tricky part (if I had to do it on my own) would be to balance that mercy-filled patience for people with the call to encourage others' growth which sometimes requires more direct words or teaching. Thank God I don't have to figure that all out on my own! I need Him to just do that through me. And I need not be so surprised when the truth does offend. It's pretty much what the gospel is.

I needed to process this and redirect my mind towards truth, but I'll blog again soon - with more thoughts on recipe and meal ideas for company. Thanks for your responses on that! I'd love to get more recipes!!