Trick or Treat

I have to admit that I am not the biggest fan of Halloween and what the day represents...the witches, goblins, blood and everything else evil and scary....I do not like any of that.

What I do like is the super hero costumes, neighbors spending time together, candy, going to pumpkin patches to pick out the perfect one and then carving it...

I hope this Halloween is full of love and life...and my little monkey is just that!

What goes around comes around

There is something so simple about roses that flat out lighten my load and make me feel at peace. When my kitchen table has a vase full of roses all is right in my world.

My mom was here to visit last week and normally I try and do a few special things around the house to welcome her...clean sheets, towels, flowers, put up pictures of her and Hunter, stock the fridge with fresh berries and make sure her favorite soap is in the bathroom...but this past visit I was under water with Harvest and I just barely got out clean linens. Then my mom surprised me with roses and put up pictures of her, dad and Hunter....I could have cried.

Not because I was sad or overwhelmed...but because she knew just how to love me in that moment....how great is the love between a mother and her child.

Lashes

Hunter has these thick luscious lashes...and at bath time the water collects at the tips. Everyday I find something new I love about him...tonight I am in love with his lashes and how they are perfectly him. God is so good.

scrub a dub

Hunter is in the tub! He loves this time...and now that Grandma Julie is here she spoils him with extra time in the tub to splash.

His favorite toy by a long shot is this purple octopus. He always tries to hang it on my nose...
Then we I finally can get him out of the tub it is time to brush, brush, brush. Wade thinks I am a bit too harsh when it comes to brushing Hunter's teeth...but the truth is they need it. Then I let him play with his tooth brush for awhile...really all he wants to do is suck on it....gross.
What I am learning to love is routine and how much Hunter is learning from just doing it everyday or every other...We are such creatures of routine. The past week he has been wanting to sit on the potty to go poo poo. He pulls at his clothes and rips off his diaper so he can sit on the toilet...nothing happens...no poo poo...but we have light bulbs of understanding lighting up our house everyday.

I LOVE this Kid

I LOVE this life.

The fisherman

A few weeks ago, during a visit home to see my family, my dad cooked up some of the fresh fish he caught in Alaska. First, my dad is not the type of fisherman you are used to hearing about....he does not look to catch fish....he is a fisher of men. He went on a trip with investors of CDF Bank..He went to further the kingdom...and he also caught a few fish in the process.

I love my dad's heart for the church. I admire his endurance to see through the problems and create solutions. It is fun watching him live out the life God planned him.

Light bulb

Hunter continuously amazes me.

He is learning so many words and really beginning to understand concepts. Wade has taught him the word scar...because Hunter was always pointing out Wade's scar from having his appendix removed..

He knows ear, eye, mouth, nose (his favorite), belly button, cracker (sounds like caca, yuck!), juice, car, Laredo, shoe, diaper, poo poo, aqua, water, bye bye, night, banana and so many more.

Just recently he started walking around saying "poo poo" after he pooped in his diaper. then we would say "Let's change your diaper, come on" He will run over and and sit down in the spot where we change him...smiling and giggling the entire way!

Watching him grow. Kissing away his ouchies. Rocking him to sleep. Playing rubber ducky. Teaching him. Eating messy, delicious food. Chasing him across the room. Laughing. Seeing all the light bulbs go off in his head. It is all AMAZING!

Leadership in the Classroom

Today at high noon President Obama will be giving a speech to our children in school. You can read what he will be saying here at this link

http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/

There has been great controversy and debate over this speech....which in the end has led to a great speech...in my opinion.

If Hunter was in grade school I would welcome the chance for him to hear every word of this message our President delivers today. This was my favorite part....it even makes me want to solve problems, make discoveries and do something big, something powerful for our country...

"So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?

Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America."

How does it make you feel?

I hope you have that...

No matter how HARD my day is

I will always have this special place I can go...

Just knowing that he is there....lifts the heaviest weights.

His voice...hearing his voice when I am about to crumble to the floor in defeat....his voice reminds me that I can, that I am capable and it is OK to sit and rest a minute, regain my strength and composure...then keep going....because quiting is not an option.

Quiting is giving up....giving in to someone or something else on their terms.

FINISH the race, the project, the day....you will always have the strength...the endurance...the sense of completion.

I hope you have that...special person...who sits with you a minute while you catch your breath...who picks you back up...who loves you every second of every day...I hope you have that.

Go horsey...I mean doggy

Seperation

This is the first step in hulling...removing the hull and shell from the almond. Then comes the task of separating it so that you are only left with the almond...so that at the end you have something that looks like this....

It is all about separation. I think of it like a coin machine....separating nickles, dimes, quarters and pennies. These screens have holes the size of almonds...the almonds fall through but everything else stays on top.

Hulling and Shelling Almonds is a true art form. You have to adjust the machinery to just the right settings in order to avoid chipping and scratching....Then the screens all have to be set just right in order to separate out all of the hull, shell and other foreign material like sticks.

We have been running the Huller for 2 weeks straight now and we are finally in the groove. Quality is pristine and separation is the key!

precious moments

This child of mine is as busy a bumble bees these days....he runs here, touches that, climbs on this and all the while talking about how much fun he is having. Then when he falls asleep he is peaceful and quiet like a river after white water rapids. I love when he falls asleep in my arms...that is the second best feeling I have ever felt in my life.

The first of course is when my husband is holding me...every worry, every tense muscle, all my thoughts of work and house keeping .... it all disappears the minute he wraps his arms around me...and I fall asleep loved.

Perfect People

People are mean.

People like to laugh at others, belittle, and point out every mistake ... all becuase it makes them feel better, bigger, and more important.

People say they are Christians and priase God .... and do not act like it.

People like to look good, feel good and be right....even if they are not.

People like to fight.

There are no perfect people. Amy Grant's new song hits a soft part in my heart that makes me want to sing at the top of my lungs and be the best, nicest, most loving person I can be.

"There is no such thing as perfect people.

There is no such thing as a perfect life.

So come as you are, broken and scared.

Lift up your heart and be amazed.

Be changed, by your perfect GOD."

This song takes away my anger....and my pain. I do not want to be hurt or angered by these imperfect people....I just want to love them and show them where healing begins.

I am not perfect.

And that is OK with me.

I am broken....amazed....and changed.... You?