Pumpkin Carving Specialists

We are a little late this year getting to our pumpkin carving, which Tim and Emma take very seriously! ☺ They like to surprise each other with their carvings then put the candles in and see whose is the brightest. Nate even jumped right in...pushing his way up the stool behind Emma and using a spoon to help out.









I carved Nate's for him. His is the smiley face without teeth, and I decided to save mine to make pumpkin bread, muffins, etc.

Where has the past year gone?!

This week our family is excitedly anticipating Nate turning one!!! Next Sunday, November 1st, our baby will be one year old! I honestly do not know where the time has gone.

In light of Nate's wonderful personality, we are planning a monkey party. I'm not sure I've ever done a more fitting theme for someone. Just to give an example our little monkey, here is a picture of when Nate ate Vaseline a couple weeks ago. Oh my!!!


I LOVE how his invitations turned out. This stamp set is so fun!!! I made coordinating thank you notes that I will show you after the party.

A personal story of forgiveness

For 14 years there was a person in my life with whom I did I not have a good relationship. In fact, there was a time that I would have called her my enemy. I grew to resent her, hanging onto my hurt and allowing bitterness to grow in me. It was a constant source of hurt in my life and a wound that was repeatedly injured as I had occasion to see her on a fairly regular basis.

If I knew I was going to see her in a day or a week or a month, I would spend all the time leading up to it in dread, fear and anxiety. Whether the interaction proved to be good or bad (and it was most often bad in my estimation), I would spend the next several days rehashing every word and action and wishing I had done something differently.

At the same time, God was working on me. I longed to have a friendship with this person and I would pray constantly for things to change. Over the years I would vacillate between hopeful and persevering to spent and apathetic. I thought I would see signs of change and then be blindsided by a callous word or lack of acknowledgement. The wound would be reopened. I would crawl to the foot of the cross bloody and bruised and cry out to God for vengeance...release from this relationship...vindication...anything to show me that He would take up my cause. (Lamentations 3:58)

Repeatedly God would direct me to the same Bible verse in Isaiah 43:18-19. "Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making ways in the desert and streams in the wasteland." And, in fact, I could not perceive it. But I kept praying and claiming the words of these verses...for 14 years!

I'll admit that I lived in defeat many days believing that things would never change. I would give up hope only to be rebuked in the spirit and encouraged to persevere in doing good. But what about her?! I would protest. The answer was always the same: You are not responsible for her actions. I will deal with her according to My Word.

I read numerous books on forgiveness. I looked up every Bible verse I could find on the subject. I cried and prayed and did it all some more. And then one day....or maybe over several days...things changed. I can't tell you what exactly because it was subtle. We didn't discuss it. We just started being friends. There was an olive branch offered and an olive branch received. There were opportunities seized. There was a joining of hearts that could only happen with Christ's redemptive touch.

The thing about it that struck me so profoundly was this: it no longer mattered who was at fault. For many years I believed I was a victim in this relationship gone bad, but towards the end I knew God was working out my own salvation through this thorn in my flesh. It no longer mattered where the blame lie, and I doubt I could remember after 14 years. Reconciliation did not come because of something I did; rather it came because Christ was working in two hearts that finally—separately—yielded to Him.

The thing that did matter was my response. My response to God: Was I obedient in living out the words of Mark 6 to love, do good, bless and pray? Did I persevere in prayer? Did I allow God to heal my bitterness and resentment? And my response to her. Did I humble myself and look for opportunities to serve her? Did I turn the other cheek? Did I offer forgiveness even when it was not asked for?

God has abundantly blessed me through this thorn in the flesh that I endured for 14 years. He has taught me and disciplined me and lavished his love on me. He has been merciful and gracious. And because of HIM, I have a new earthly relationship that brings me deep joy.

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." ~ Matthew 6:14

To this you were called!

"Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." ~ Luke 6:27-28

~ We are to love our enemies, and Romans 12:9 adds: Love must be sincere! God doesn't just want us to behave toward other people. He wants us to be sincere.

~ Do good to those who hate us. Humble ourselves and find ways to serve them.

~ Bless those who curse us. Only speak well of them. Turn negative words into positives.

~ Pray for those who mistreat us. Yes, pray!

I learned today that this is our calling. It's right there in 1 Peter 3:8-9.

"...live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called."

We are called to treat our enemies with love, goodness, blessing and prayer. They are not just something to put up with or persevere. They are our calling! Lord, give me the strength to respond in obedience to your Word.

(*Gleaned from Jesus, One and Only by Beth Moore.)

To this you were called!

"Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." ~ Luke 6:27-28

~ We are to love our enemies, and Romans 12:9 adds: Love must be sincere! God doesn't just want us to behave toward other people. He wants us to be sincere.

~ Do good to those who hate us. Humble ourselves and find ways to serve them.

~ Bless those who curse us. Only speak well of them. Turn negative words into positives.

~ Pray for those who mistreat us. Yes, pray!

I learned today that this is our calling. It's right there in 1 Peter 3:8-9.

"...live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called."

We are called to treat our enemies with love, goodness, blessing and prayer. They are not just something to put up with or persevere. They are our calling! Lord, give me the strength to respond in obedience to your Word.

(*Gleaned from Jesus, One and Only by Beth Moore.)

Soccer begins!

Emma has been wanting to try soccer for over a year now, and we finally had a break in her schedule so we said OK. We chose Stars Soccer because it is a Christian program that teaches skills, sportsmanship, biblical principals and having fun! Plus it is indoors, which is a plus in Colorado for fall sports. (It can get quite cold!) And it is a 6-week program, so we thought it was a perfect opportunity for Emma to try it and see if it is something she will enjoy.




Emma's team won (a nearly all girl team that played a nearly all boy team ~ Go girls!), and her coach said she did a great job of applying the skills he taught in practice. A number of parents commented about how athletic and fast Emma is (I think two years of track helped). We were so proud of her! And she really is very athletic, so it is fun to see her using her gifts and talents.

This is how Nate spent his time at the game....playing with the older boys or trying to climb over the wall to get on the soccer field!

Flashbacks

There are a few things I never got around to posting, so I thought I would do a flashback to some of those memorable times.

This is from Emma's fall season of cross country.




These are random pictures at the lake (our favorite place to be in the summer).










And finally...this is Emma's field trip day learning about Indians. They went to the Manitou Cliff Dwellings then to a church where they built tee-pees, made headbands, painted their faces, etc. Tim went as a sponsor, so it was even more special for Emma to have her Daddy there.

Emma's Creations

Emma loves crafts as much as her Mommy, and she loves to create surprises! These were my birthday surprises this year.

A quilt made out of felt squares that she and Tim decorated.


And two nature scenes with teepees.



These are the most valuable gifts I received this year and are so precious to me!

Livin' on Tulsa Time!

My mom, Emma, Nate and I took a six day road trip to Tulsa to visit my brother Tomy ~ we drove 1,700 miles total! What a time we had!!! Here are some highlights.











On the way home we stayed a night with my Grandparents in Texas. Nate loved playing with Great Grandpa!


And we got to come home to this! Tim bought flowers for me and Emma and balloons for Emma and Nate. It was a sweet surprise!