Three fall favorites in one.

Hi friends!

Last weekend we spent some awesome family time together and I wanted to share a few photos.

Three of my most favorite fall things are fires, spooky-ness (even though we don't really celebrate Halloween), and pumpkin patches. And last weekend, we did all three.

It's hard for me to admit that I like scary and spooky things because growing up, we were never allowed to get dressed up for Halloween or participate in any kind of parties related. The closest we got to the day's events was "Hallelujah Night" at church and it was always fun. But a part of me always longed to be out on the streets with the other kids doing Halloween in real style...door to door, in a costume, collecting mounds of candy that contribute to teeth-rotting.

When I look back at my memories of this day they are few. It wasn't until I was much older in my teens, that mom and pop were more easygoing about it and minded less if I went out with friends. And by that time, I was too late anyway and I didn't have much of a desire.

I don't feel like any of my childhood memories have been suppressed by the decision they made not to let me go, though. And neither does Isaac. But I do love love love the feelings this time of year brings. I love scary movies (not gory ones, but thrillers, like Joy Ride - have you seen that? Such a great movie for this time of year!) and dazzling Halloween paraphernalia that always catches my eye at Marshall's. There is something about a pretend haunted house and cobwebs that gets me excited about the season's events. And not just Halloween, but fall in general, and Thanksgiving. Leaves. Trees. Boots. And hoodies.

And though I love this eerie and mysterious time of year, Isaac and I have decided that at the moment trick-or-treating will not be on our family event agenda. It's just something we are choosing not to do. And we can celebrate the season in other ways.

So back to last weekend...

We did three things that I always love to enjoy this time of year: a fire pit, a haunted house, and the pumkin patch.

You might say the haunted house is a little the EXACT opposite of not celebrating Halloween. And I don't really have an explanation other than I just like them and wanted to go. I like what I like, I can't help it. And I like being scared (Isaac would just say I'm weird, which I am). It makes me feel cozy and warm inside bundling up to people I love in sheer fright in the Boo Radliest of nights even when my feet are frozen, as they were, on the outside.

Here are some photos of our weekend. It's weird to think that we did all three of these in one. It's a lot! But we did. And I loved it to my very core.

 

This was before going into Cox Farms. Levi was so excited he kept hitting dada in the face! And I caught one on camera!! Hee hee.

 

We visited Cox Farms our friends, Monica and Jimmy, and their two kids Juliet and Noah. Noah was asleep during this photo (he is 7 months). :)

My good friend Monica!

 



The sun was in our eyes!

 



Love to all. Have fun trick-or-treating if that's what you are up to today! Or passing out candy, or whatever you choose. But be blessed above all!

Dinner challenges and more.

Last night Levi and I had the night alone together again. It's just been the two of us all week. Isaac has been working every night. Boy am I going to miss my buddy and I's nights alone together when that ever changes. Though, I must admit, it does call for it's challenges.

The neat thing about our time together is that while I have my moments of sheer uncensored frustration, I am constantly learning. He is constantly teaching me. My son, at two, teaching me.

I won't paint roses for you here of pretty pictures, which would be nice. Instead, I'll tell you that it is all I can do sometimes to get him fed, changed, and into bed before I plop down in utter exhaustion.

TGFMS (thank God for my sisters). We have a constant running chat log on our iPhones that's been ongoing for nearly a year. Need to vent? Type it in. Need confirmation? Put in your request. A laugh? You will find one somewhere lodged in between the 43 messages missed between bath time and story time. Hellooooo personal therapy sesh!

I have a real hard time with dinner time. For one, dinner never seems to get prepared and eaten AT dinner time. And two, I struggle hard with understanding his eating habits. One day, literally half my fridge will be eaten and the next, he merely nibbles. Not to mention the only thing he wants for dinner sometimes is keena (slang for chicken)!

I have realized I beat myself up WAY too much when he doesn't want to eat what I fix. Last night I made al fresco chicken links, sweet potates, and brussel sprouts. I went straight for a bypass on the sprouts because clearly that wasn't happening, but I thought he'd like the links and potatoes. Nope. In fact, he didn't even want to eat at all. Not even green beans that I threw in earlier, which he loves.

I was attempting to feed him dinner on the couch in a special tray while he watched Elmo, but he wasn't eating and he was whining about wanting to watch "the train" (Thomas), so I said forget it and put him in his high chair away from the TV to eat with me without interruptions. Maybe that would help? WRONG!

This only exacerbated the meltdown and we quickly went to time out.

Five minutes later I got him out and decided to just play with him. Perhaps he wasn't hungry? Perhaps indeed.

He just wanted me to play ball with him. "Sit there. No, there mama. There."

"Ok."

We played catch, fall, chase, tickle, and on...until (I think) he worked up a good enough appetite to finally sit down and eat.

While we played, he taught me a lesson. During our time together he did the most precious thing I think I've felt from him to date (aside from the head on the shoulder with a "mama" whisper)...

He said "This is fun!" And ran into my arms and gave me a huge hug.

Heart still melting here.

How silly I am when I stress over the little things like a simple lack of appetite one evening. Or a simple distaste for what I have prepared. I know his taste buds are growing and adapting and changing constantly. It's truly hard to pick out what is a deliberate disregard and a dislike, but we're learning.

And I'm certainly learning that I need to be more open to what the situation needs and how I can be more loving toward him in the process. I think he just needed me, and needed me present.

Every night mostly brings a new challenge, but I'm thankful for the ones that teach me about myself through him.

And with that, I wish you a good weekend. :)

Focusing on the Family

Hi friends. It is Monday evening about 11pm and I am laying on the couch with the TV on in the background. BBT (Big Bang Theory) just finished up - love that show! - and now I've got "Friends" on. Also love.

This is the first time in a while I've felt the freedom to write. Every time I wrote a post over the past several months I felt like I should be doing something else instead. And that something else was studying.

This past Saturday I finally took my ACE GFI (American Council on Exercise, Group Fitness Instructor) certification. And I passed! I can't even believe it. I thought I might have had a chance of passing when I took the practice test and did OK on it. But even then I still missed a lot. I was convinced that I didn't study enough. I really thinking cramming the night before (go college!) did me some good.

So, now I am certified to teach group fitness classes. Woo-hoo!

What do I do now?

I sit on my couch, eat chips, and watch TV. Woo-hoo!

I am sooo relieved not to have anything to study for. I feel like for the past several years I have been studying for something ALL THE TIME (CPT, Teaching, and now this). It is nice to be back in a position where I am not obligated to open a text book at night, write a paper, or look at flash cards.

I miss blogging terribly. And I have gotten so out of it that when I become ecstatic now to do it, I get ready to write and forget how to use my pen. I don't want that.

I remember I came to a point once where I truly felt like a good writer. And I felt like everything I wrote flowed and made sense. I want to get back to that place. And that is my hope.

I'm really excited to be Focusing on the Family too. And not just my family, but the magazine. I have several issues of this free magazine, along with others like All You, Country Living, and People, stock-piled up on my dining room table waiting for me to devour their pages. I can't wait.

But seriously. Focusing on the Family, in every sense of the word.

I subscribed to the magazine a few weeks ago and I get one every few months. It has great articles about family, spouses, kids, coping with all kinds of issues, and much more. Recipes, motivational ideas for children, and lots of other good stuff. I am getting a lot from it and excited to dive deeper into learning the purpose it might bring into our family home front.

And I'm not just Focusing on the Family through my subscription, I am really focusing on the family here, at home.

Now that school and certs are behind me for a looooooooooong while - and hear me, LONG - I am so glad to be able to rest. In Him. In family. In the joy of every day life. Reading and integrating, blogging, exercising, cooking, prepping, and organizing. I am able to really focus on the family instead of trying to multi-focus.

My current read is the soon to be completion of the "Son of Hamas," which reveals the story of a Hamas insider and his discovery to the Truth all while living through secrets and terrorism. It's a little hard to follow, but overall a cool revelation story. I'm looking forward to reading several more books in the months to come that have been sitting on my bookshelf calling my name!

I am so grateful for all the opportunities in my recent past. I'm grateful for my continuing education, for the licenses obtained in my direct line of passion, and the ability to use them in ways that God leads me.