Good Thursday evening!

From the Heart

Sucker Pumpkin - Preschool and Elementary School

You will need the following items:

Pumpkin
Different colored Sharpies
Small (skinny) screwdriver
Bag of multiple colored suckers (Dum-Dums)
Four bowls (one for each color sucker)

Devotion – Fruit of the Spirit

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against these things.” Galatians 5:22-23

In the Bible, Paul talks about qualities found in God. God wants us to have these qualities in our lives, too.

When you think about God, do the words “hate” or “mean” or “bad” ever come into your mind.

NO!

God isn’t mean… or hateful… or bad. He is none of those things.

Paul tells us God (the Holy Spirit) produces (or makes) LOVE, JOY, KINDNESS and GOODNESS.

These qualities are called the “fruit of the Spirit.”

Does that mean it is always easy to love people?

No.

Does that mean it is always easy to be good or kind?

No.

Does it mean if you know God you are always happy or joyful?

No.

But we are supposed to let others see God through us and how we act or behave. So when we are good and kind and happy and loving, people who do not know God get to see a little bit of God by how we are acting.

Today, we are going to make a Fruit of the Spirit Pumpkin.

NOTE FROM NANA B - Prior to sitting down with the kids for the Devotion, use the screwdriver to make holes on the very top of the pumpkin. The holes should be shallow. If you go all the way through to the inside of the pumpkin, it will not last as long. The suckers should stand tall… like a buzz cut!

With a Sharpie, show the kids how to draw a face on their pumpkin… two eyes, a nose and a mouth. (There is no “wrong” way to draw the face.)

Explain what each sucker symbolizes…

Red – Love
Yellow – Joy
Purple – Goodness
Green – Kindness

Whenever you stick a sucker in a hole on the pumpkin, be sure to say which “fruit of the Spirit” it represents. Also, make sure the children use all four of the colors.

When the children finish the pumpkins, here are a few more questions you can ask…

How can we show God’s love to our classmates?

Our brothers or sisters?

Our neighbors?

Give everyone a sucker, and end the Devotion in prayer.

ANOTHER NOTE FROM NANA B – This is a great devotion to have before a preschool or elementary school party in October. Your child can take the pumpkin to his or her classroom a few days before the party as a decoration to share with the class. On the actual day of the party, all of the classmates can take a sucker from the Sucker Pumpkin. Your child can even tell the other children what their sucker color represents.

RANDOMNESS - "G" Adventure - Judith, Eden and I accompanied RT on his "G" Adventure... because we're GIRLS, you see!

And Pop came, too, just for fun!

Before the GIRLS arrived, we started the GLORIOUS "G" Adventure with the always popular GRAVY biscuit.

We also enjoyed some GRINS, GIGGLES and GUFFAWS!

We went to the Demonstration Farm at Oak Mountain, and it didn't take long for all of the kids to figure out why!

Although several different types of farm animals were represented, we were happy to see GOATS GALORE, Baby!

And the fact RT found a GOLF Cart in the middle of a field with a GOAT sitting in the front seat...

Well, that was just icing on the cake!

We had 22 other "G" words/pictures, but I will spare you and just put them in the Alphabet Adventure Book!

I hope everyone has a fantastic October weekend! I'll talk to you very soon.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda

P.S. My next post will feature all things "Roxie," so stay tuned for that one!

The Chick just can't take a bad picture, can she?

From the Heart (Bird Feeder Pumpkin Project) AND Turning 60

Good Tuesday morn!

I want to share some Fall Devotions with you the next few posts. They are tried and true... AND FUN! Gather your young kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, etc. and spend some VERY INTENTIONAL TIME sharing God's Word with them this Fall Season!

From the Heart

Bird Feeder Pumpkin Project

You will need the following items:

Medium-Sized Pumpkin
Bag of Bird Seed
Wire or Cord Strong Enough to Hang Half Pumpkin
Picture of Sparrow
Picture of Colorful Parrot
Picture of Painted Bunting
Unsharpened Pencil

Devotion – His Eye is on the Sparrow

Falling Sparrows Game – Have your family fly around the room like sparrows until Dad or Mom shouts out, “FALLING SPARROWS!” Children will all fall down on the floor until Dad or Mom shouts out “FLYING SPARROWS!” Continue as time allows. Gather the children in a circle when you are finished playing the game.

NOTE FROM ENCHANTING BELINDA – This is a great game to play before your devotion when the kids appear to be a little antsy. It gets rid of some of the excess energy.

DEVOTION - I have a picture to show you. This bird is a sparrow. A sparrow is a very small bird. He weighs about the same as this pencil. (Pass around an unsharpened pencil and let everyone fell how light.)

Sparrows do not fly south for the winter. They live here all year long… even when it is extremely cold.

Sparrows are everywhere. They are common, everyday birds. Lots of birds are more beautiful than sparrows. (Show picture of parrot.) Lots of birds sound much more lovely when they sing than sparrows. (Show picture of painted bunting.) Sparrows are considered by people to be ordinary.

All of that is true, but Jesus had something special to say about sparrows:

“When sparrows are sold, two small sparrows cost only one penny. But not even one of them can die without God’s knowing it. God even knows how many hairs are on your head. So don’t be afraid. You are worth much more than many birds.” Matthew 10:29.

God loves the sparrows, and He pays attention to their lives.

God loves you much more, and He pays close attention to your life. God knows how many hairs are on your head. And God knows what is going on in your life. God knows when you are sad about something, and when you are happy. God knows when you are afraid, and He understands.

We can care for sparrows, too, just like God does. When it is very, very cold outside, birds need to eat more food for their little bodies to stay warm.

We’re going to clean out this half of a pumpkin AND fill it with birdseed. Then we are going into the backyard to find a place to hang it.

We will watch from our window for a few days, and see the birds eat from their new birdfeeder!

End with a prayer thanking God for knowing and loving you so well.

RANDOMNESS - TURNING 60 - You read correctly. I am 60.

To be honest, I am not fully comprehending anything that happened a couple of weeks ago...

On that fateful day...

When I turned 60.

WHEW! I literally cannot wrap my head around it!

I still feel VERY 59.

But 60 or not, we still had a BIG to-do in the front yard!

This one enjoyed her Baby Pool Kitchen BESIDE the BIG to-do.

This one...

And this one...

NEVER STOPPED SLIDING.

NEVER!

This one worked on her tan, and wandered around.

Pop played hard.

The next day we decided he might have played a little TOO hard.

I had a lovely little Krispy Kreme Doughnut Tree (which fit my mood, I tell you)...

And I blew out six birthday candles (which also fit my mood).

NOTE FROM ENCHANTING BELINDA - I want you to know I went down the Water Slide a few times, too.

Unlike Pop, who somehow had fluffy hair AFTER playing in the water all afternoon, I had to come inside, quickly dry my hair and get back to the party.

That is why the lady in the picture blowing out candles isn't wearing any make-up OR sporting nicely coiffed hair.

After doughnuts and the obligatory ten-minute sugar high, the kids crashed and watched a movie while the grown-ups visited.

All in all, it was a very fun 59th Birthday Celebration.

UGHH! I mean 60th Birthday Celebration!

I hope everyone has a great week!

Take care, and I'll talk to you in the next day or so.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda

P.S. Five of us went on RT's "G" Adventure this past weekend.

RT spent some time with GIRLS and GOATS...

And experienced other "G" things along the way.

I'll share more next post!

The Wild, Wild West

Good Tuesday afternoon!

I'm going to put the entire Wild, Wild West trip in one post.

I'll hit the highlights and lowlights.

I will share a small fraction of the pics I took.

I will keep the verbage light and airy.

At least, that's the plan!

ALABAMA

The smile plastered on my face was 100 percent fake.

Not gonna lie!

MISSISSIPPI

We went through Tupelo (home of Elvis), but as any good Southerner will tell you, we had already spent time in Tupelo paying homage to Elvis many years ago.

All that to say, we didn't stop and we didn't take any pics.

TENNESSEE

We've been to Tennessee dozens and dozens of times, but on this specific trip, we stopped in Memphis for Gus's World Famous Hot and Spicy Fried Chicken.

Guess who was "hangry?"

ARKANSAS

I have never had a life experience in Arkansas, so I was getting ready for something really, really spectacular.

This is what the entire state of Arkansas (and part of Oklahoma) looked like on our first day of driving.

We stopped at a Waffle House for dinner.

We saw an unbelievable and frightening lightning display.

It wasn't so much a "life experience" I will remember as a "near-death experience" I survived.

OKLAHOMA

The end of Day One we ended up in Tulsa, Oklahoma at a very clean and comfortable Marriott Hotel.

We saw not one, but two, murals on our way to the Interstate in Tulsa the next morning.

We drove by fields of windmills...

And oil rigs with fields of windmills behind them...

And we stopped for Arbuckle Fried Pies at a little roadside store.

There were many different flavors to choose from in a large display case.

Mikie had peach...

Roxie had vanilla custard...

And I went with the chocolate.

They were different from the Alabama fried pies I have had since my youth, but still very, very good.

As we were leaving with our fried pies in hand, we walked across the parking lot to look at two horses we had spotted...

And one was a Clydesdale.

I know it was a Clydesdale because of the thousands upon thousands of Budweiser Beer Christmas commercials I have seen over the past 60 years.

Until I return to Oklahoma to visit my pretend friend, The Pioneer Woman (which I hope will be in the very near future), the above will be my "life experience" in the great State of Oklahoma!

KANSAS

Everyone said Kansas would be the hardest part of the drive because there was absolutely nothing in Kansas except flat land and blue skies, but after all the horrible weather we drove through in Arkansas, I must say Kansas was very peaceful and relaxing.

And even though the windmills had first been spied in Oklahoma, I liked the way Kansas continued to carry the theme all the way to the Colorado border.

Also, we stopped in Hays, Kansas to eat at a little place called Gella's Diner, and it was oh, so delicious and lovely.

And I will just add this little nugget to the story...

When we got out of the car to walk up the cobblestone street to Gella's, we heard live bagpipe music being played somewhere nearby.

I'm not usually what you would call a bagpipe groupie, but it just kind of fit my mood, I tell you.

I gave Hays, Kansas FIVE STARS!

COLORADO

We ended our Day Two drive in yet another Marriott in Denver, Colorado.

Our dinner was from a Chick-Fil-A drive-thru because (after 13 hours on the road) all we wanted was familiar chicken, cozy pajamas and a comfortable bed.

And it suited us just fine!

My Colorado "life experience" will be remembered as one of the best night's sleep I have ever experienced.

Quite possibly one of the Top Ten Best Night's Sleep in the past 60 years!

I was JUST THAT TIRED!

WYOMING

I have to say, Wyoming was a surprise. We were supposed to stay in Colorado for most of our Day Three journey, but because of a GPS warning of a wreck on our route, we ended up in Wyoming for the majority of our day...

And it was lovely.

FUN FACT FOR YOU - If we raced past the obligatory "WELCOME TO" state signs (and I didn't have time to take a pic), there wasn't any way to keep up with which state we were leaving or entering on my camera.

I just knew some of the Oklahoma fields were going to look a lot like the Kansas fields...

And some of the Colorado mountains were going to get mixed up with the Wyoming mountains.

And in the end, it was going to bother me greatly.

I came up with what I think was a brilliant plan of taking a picture of my feet whenever we entered a different state to keep everything separated, accurate and in order.

This is the exact picture I took while leaving Colorado and entering Wyoming.

Feel free to use this tip. It's just a little gift from me to you!

So we decided to have lunch at a place called Cactus Jack's.

As you can tell from the outside, it was an "iffy" spot to stop, but the other side of that...

There weren't that many places to stop, so you had to be willing to try something "new" and hope in the end it didn't kill you.

It was clean...

And the food was good (chicken-fried steak for the win)...

And we were happy.

The entire time we were in Wyoming, we were halfway expecting to hear big, sweeping "cowboy music" and see John Wayne-types riding alongside us on horseback...

But no such luck.

Mike and I, however, cannot wait to go back to Wyoming!

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

We arrived in Salt Lake City, dropped Roxie off at her new apartment with her roommates, Kylie and Helen, and drove to our hotel for the evening...

Hyatt Place Salt Lake City/Cottonwood.

Now the hotel was fine, but it wasn't anything super duper special...

Until you looked out your window the next morning.

I asked Mike if we had to pay extra for the golf course/mountain range view, but what became obvious as we explored Salt Lake City with Roxie was this simple fact...

If there was a window, there was most definitely a view!

We walked around downtown SLC for a little while (very pretty, by the way), grabbed some lunch and headed only a few minutes away (30 or 35) to the top of a ski resort on the outskirts of town.

I cannot remember why I'm hiding behind the big boulder, but I am only a few steps from the car in this pic.

It is an amazing, beautiful place, and Mike and I are looking forward to exploring it much more in the months to come...

Or maybe we'll just stay at Roxie's apartment and stare at her for days at a time.

Yeah.

That sounds fun, too.

I'll be back in a day or so with this, that and pics to prove I'm telling the truth.

Take care.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda

P.S. Here are just a few photos of some of the things Roxie has been doing in the 20 days since we dropped her off!

She and Kylie camped and hiked in the Grand Tetons...

And Emma and Nat came for a long weekend to horseback ride, hike and see all the sights.

P.P.S. The next post will include a few more pics like these from my 60th Birthday Fiesta.