So much to talk about...
So little time.
RANDOMNESS #1 - As promised, here are a few pics of Brad and Stephanie on their special day.
Is it just me, or are they really, really good-lookin'?
RANDOMNESS #2 - Wedding News - Austin and Melia began moving into their apartment this past Wednesday. I think there will be some sort of moving each day this weekend, and then they can get stuff put away before Austin moves into the new digs.
The kitchen!
The dining room AND dining room furniture!
And a little pumpkin...
Because nothing says "WELCOME HOME" like a little pumpkin in October!
Parables from the Pumpkin Patch
Bejeweled Pumpkin
Last year, I led a little class on a Sunday evening for young moms and new grandmothers. I made Pinterest pumpkins and snacks and then wrote family devotions to go with each one.
Thus, the title "Parables from the Pumpkin Patch."
You will need the following:
Pumpkin
Tulle
Ribbon
Bag of Gemstones
Hot Glue or Glue Sticks
Devotion - You can be pretty on the outside, but God is only interested on the inside. “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.” 1 Peter 3:3-4
This does not mean it's wrong to braid your hair or wear nice clothes and jewelry.
God doesn’t mind seeing girls work on being as pretty as they can be, but he would rather see girls work on becoming beautiful on the inside... the kind of beauty that will last forever.
The kind of beauty God truly appreciates.
Let’s look at this pumpkin more closely.
I’m going to untie the ribbon, and take off the tulle.
And look. The top of this pumpkin has been cut. I’m going to take the top off so we can see inside.
(Let the kids take turns seeing the yucky inside of the pumpkin. Make sure they smell it, too.)
This pumpkin was beautiful on the outside, but it is NOT beautiful on the inside.
Do you think God knows when someone is pretty on the outside, but not pretty on the inside?
Do you think God knows when little boys or little girls say mean things, or do not share their toys or do not treat their brothers and sisters nicely?
Yes, he does.
And no matter how much you might try to hide what is on your inside, you can hide nothing from God.
Remember, God created us and no one knows us better (inside or out) than our Heavenly Father.
End in prayer.
And this is a picture of the pumpkin you can make before you have this family devotion.
When you are finished with the devotion, ask the kids where they would like the pumpkin to be placed in the house so they can see it every day in October as a reminder of 1 Peter 3:3-4
(The bathroom would be a great location, and you could write the verses on the mirror using a Sharpie!)
Quotable Quotes
"Guard your time fiercely. Be generous with it, but be intentional about it." David Duchemin
Blog Linkage
1. Go to www.missionalmotherhood.com and play catch up. There have been some very good posts this week.
2. Click on eighteen25 under My Blog List and read yesterday's post entitled "Spooktacular September 2014." (You'll have to scroll to the bottom of today's post and click on "Older Post." It will take you right to it!)
Tons of cute, doable and fun ideas for the month of October.
Way Back When...
These two items were first shared on A Simple Life in October of 2009.
Josh's Birth Day Story - Part One
As I wrote on the blog last February, Austin's birth was an emergency C-Section. I didn't care for C-Sections. In fact, I thought the women I knew who had C-Sections and "loved" them were certifiably insane. I didn't like not being able to cough or laugh. I didn't like hurting if I tried to walk upright. I didn't like the driving restrictions. I didn't like the staples. I didn't like being allergic to morphine. The list could go on and on and on. (I'm a whiner. I admit it. I am NOT a good surgical patient.)
That being said, I was determined to have Josh without the C-Section. I told my doctor not once, but many, many, many times how I planned on this birth taking place.
But I've gotten a little ahead of myself, haven't I? Before we arrived at the end of the nine months, we had the pregnancy. Because I had gained 50 pounds eating powdered doughnuts and 3:00 p.m. Sneaky Pete hot dogs every day (and I mean EVERY day) during my pregnancy with Austin, I had decided to be much more disciplined with my eating habits during my pregnancy with Josh. And I did much, much better. By the time he arrived, I had gained 30 pounds... which I think is very, very good.
I had two little complications during my nine months with Josh... the first being my first bout with gestational diabetes. I had taken the test and was waiting for my results. The day I was scheduled to receive the results, I met my friend, Shelly, for lunch. I ordered the hot fudge cake for dessert when she informed me SHE was on a diet, and I absolutely could not eat hot fudge cake in front of her. Shelly was a formidable presence. I knew she was very serious. I also knew if I ordered the cake after she had TOLD me not to, she would throw it on the floor. (I am not kidding!) She was that kind of friend.
So, as a compromise, I ordered the cake "to go." She wasn't happy, but she didn't wrestle it out of my hands either. We said our good-byes and I went to my house. I was walking in the door with my box of cake making my way to the fork drawer when the telephone rang.
Now you have to understand something. I was living in Cullman at the time, and telephone calls (especially from family and friends from Trussville and Hoover) were precious. Also, I didn't have a cell phone with free weekend minutes OR an answering machine. I didn't have the option of NOT answering the telephone. Coming into the house a mere thirty seconds later, I would have missed the call altogether.
"Hello," I answered breathlessly as I started opening my cake box and reached for the silverware drawer across the kitchen. (I had one of those extra long telephone cords. Remember those?)
"Mrs. Faulkner. This Dr. Walton's office. I just wanted to tell you your test came back and you have gestational diabetes," an anonymous nurse-type person said on the other end of the phone.
"What does that mean exactly?" I asked, with a chunk of hot fudge cake and whipped cream dripping off the end of a fork right in front of my face.
"It means STEP AWAY FROM THE CAKE," she said. No, no. Not really. But she might as well have said those words. I lowered the fork as she gave me instructions, growing angrier by the minute at my EX-friend Shelly.
It was going to be a very long pregnancy without sweets... and my EX-friend Shelly was going to pay dearly for causing me to miss my LAST piece of hot fudge cake for the next 25 weeks. Yes... she was most definitely going to pay!
I'll let you know HOW MUCH she paid next Tuesday!
Family Fall Party
Plan an early afternoon party for just your immediate family. Here are a few suggestions for a couple of hours of enjoyment in the fall.
Make a mini scarecrow to decorate your front door by stuffing old baby or doll clothes with hay and using a stuffed sock for the head.
Set up a row of pumpkins and take turns trying to land a hula hoop or a circle of rope around one.
Have a harvest slalom race in which runners must weave through a line of potatoes or turnips. (Or parsnips! You could use parsnips, because believe me they would be much better on the ground in a slalom course than on a dinner plate on your dining room table. I'm just saying.)
See who can squirrel away the most acorns or pinecones in ten minutes.
Get one ear of dried corn per player. First, hide the corn around the yard, choosing spots that are neither obvious or too hard to find. Now round up everyone and explain the object is for each contestant to retrieve an ear and remove all of its kernels. The first one to succeed is the winner. Once everybody in the group has accomplished the task, you can feed the kernels to the squirrels and the birds.
Plan an afternoon of leaf raking for the whole family. Make sure you have enough rakes to go around and get busy. After a couple of hours of hard work, reward your family with an old-fashioned hot dog roast. Sit around a fire eating hot dogs, marshmallows and drinking hot chocolate. (And don't forget to let the kids jump in the biggest pile of leaves. That's kind of the whole reason to rake in the first place, don't you think?)
Taken from Family Fun Magazine, October, 1999.
Weekend Happenings
1. Roxie is heading to the Cullman County Fair tonight.
2. Austin is working the Donoho game tonight.
3. Mike and Josh are watching the season finale of one of their shows tonight.
4. And I'm going to drink hot chocolate in honor of our first COLD FRONT OF THE SEASON!
5. Josh's birthday is Saturday, so some of us are taking him to the Original Pancake House for a birthday breakfast before he goes to work for the day.
6. After eating pancakes, I think Mikie and I are going to break away from the group and head over to Pepper Place to stroll hand in hand through the pumpkins.
7. I hear there is an Auburn game Saturday night, so some of us will be eating things which contain sausage sometime during the evening hours.
8. On Sunday afternoon, we're having cake and ice cream to celebrate Josh's 21st birthday.
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I refuse to believe this little guy is now 21 years-old.
Have a fantastic FALL weekend. I'll be back Tuesday with pics from Josh's birthday weekend, pics from Pepper Place, another Devotion From the Pumpkin Patch and more, more, more.
Take care, and I'll talk to you next week.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting and EVER-AUTUMNAL Belinda
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