Our Pumpkin Harvest

Here is this year’s pumpkin harvest from our garden! It’s not very large (and neither are the pumpkins!), but it’s more than the 2 we got last year, so we’re excited about it!

Okay, that third picture was just a freebie – thrown in because I couldn’t resist!

These pumpkins are now sitting around the house (inside and out) providing fall decoration. Some are sitting in front of the picket fence gate, some are on the front porch and there are 3 jack-be-littles on my kitchen windowsill.

I will probably start cutting them open this week. We will roast the seeds to snack on and this year I am going to cook the rest of the pumpkins and puree them to make pumpkin goodies in the kitchen. It will be a first for me, as I usually just toss the pumpkins after we get out the seeds. I am, I’ll admit, a little intimidated by the whole thing, having never done it before! (Some of you are really shaking your head at me!) Cooking from scratch is something I am really wanting to learn to do, as I am normally just a mix girl by default, but would like to be able to cook with just what I have around the house.

I’ll let you know how it turns out and post a few recipes as well!

Blessings,
Nancy

Thankful Thought #4 – Seasons

I love the changing of seasons! I am always amazed at how excited I get when a new season rolls around. It seems that as soon as I start to weary of one season, it is time for a new one! And the one I am weary of now will be the one I’m excited about next year! The Lord has worked that out well, don’t you think?

God’s promise to us is that:
“While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
And cold and heat,
And summer and winter,
And day and night
Shall not cease.”
Genesis 8:22

I love these words – they tell of a God Who is in control, Who cares for us and knows what is best for us. One of the ways He has shown His love is by creating a world that appeals to our senses ( our senses being a gift also!), so that we can see beautiful colored fall leaves, hear the birds singing, taste a sweet apple, smell a fragrant flower and touch a soft rabbit.

I am thankful that God loves me so much that He planned all of these things for me to enjoy – and you, too!

Blessings,
Nancy

Thankful Thought #3 – Teenagers

I am thankful for teenagers!

Yes, there are times when they can be quite a challenge, but all in all, I really am enjoying my teenagers. We hang out together after all of the littles and middles are in bed – around here known as “the late night crew”. We usually watch a movie or sometimes play board games. A while back, we had a nightly game of Monopoly going (dh just shook his head & went to bed – he’s not a game player).

Tonight is a rather typical night:

Our nightly movie is over and right now, Matthew is chasing one of our kitties around the living room and having a grand time. He has been stalking her with a blanket to throw on top of her. She is a “teenage” kitty, so still quite playful. I don’t know which one of them is having more fun!

Laura is wearing a top hat and telling me that every zebra in the world has a different stripe pattern – she then says: “How do they know that? Did they go around checking them all?” I remarked that it was a good question! I wouldn’t have thought of that!

Some moments in these years can be quite painful – it’s not easy for any of us to grow and change, and growing into adulthood has it’s own share of challenges. We need to keep pointing them to Christ as their example and show them that we love them any way we can. This is one thing I need to do better – I’m really good at showering my babies with kisses and telling them that I love them, but it’s harder to do with older children (especially when they’re taller than you – not snuggly babies anymore!)

I’m thankful that my teenagers are many times used by the Lord to teach ME lessons! They have gently reminded me to respond properly in different situations, and I love discussing things with them, and hearing their thoughts.

Having flown 2 from the nest now, I am learning to embrace this time that I have with my teenagers still at home. It won’t be long before they are leaving, too. I am thankful for the time I have to spend with them now!

Blessings,
Nancy

Reality check…

I had dinner tonight with a sweet friend. Over authentic Mexican cuisine (yum!), we managed to come around to the subject of blogs. We both agreed that some of the most encouraging words come from those who “tell it like it is”! – who aren’t afraid to share their failures as well as their triumphs! It always does my heart good to see that others are experiencing the same “realities” as I am.

So, in the hopes of encouraging you, my dear readers, I have decided to post a few of the “realities” in my home right now (now being about 1:00 a.m):

At this moment:

1. There is a huge pile of laundry in my bathroom that is growing exponentially, and threatening to take over the entire floor space. I would move it to the laundry room, except for the fact that there’s no place in there to put it, due to the laundry piled up on my sorter. I have declared to dh that I will be attempting to climb the laundry mountain tomorrow – pray that I don’t pass out from the thin air at the top.

2. I have two large boxes containing new, as yet unassembled, bookcases laying in the middle of my living room floor. I bought them this morning, with the intention of building them, as well as moving all of the books onto them off of the old broken shelves, by this afternoon!

3. Keeping the boxes company on the living room floor are: 3 DVD’s, several books, 2 toddler riding/push toys, 1 couch pillow, a Cinderella comforter, 1/2 of a broken crayon, 1 dog toy, a pink toy cell phone, an empty carton of goldfish crackers, 1 cat (real, not toy), and 1 Cinderella glass slipper. (Now, I almost didn’t post this because the room ISN’T as messy as usual – after all most of the house is asleep – check back for an update tomorrow afternoon, when things will be more…normal.) I won’t even talk about what’s lurking under the couches.

4. There are sweet angels sleeping all over the house – you know how beautiful they always are when they’re sleeping! There are 2 that should be sleeping, but are staying up keeping Mom company – of course, these same 2 will have a difficult time getting up for school tomorrow morning! (As would I, except that the littles will have me up in plenty of time.)

5. The kitchen is. . . well, let’s just not go there.

This has been a blessed day, filled with baby and toddler snuggles, math problems, 3 colds on the mend, not enough laundry doing, a van that didn’t act up, a daughter volunteering to wash baseboards (for the right price!), tea-stained antique map making (History!), and a husband who entertained all of the children, so that I could go out to dinner.

Maybe something in this post has been encouraging to you! If so, do leave me a comment and let me know. I would certainly hate for all this “reality” to go to waste!

And to my sweet friend (you know who you are), I’m looking forward to reading YOUR blog someday soon!

Blessings,
Nancy

Thankful Thought #2 – Homeschooling!

I am thankful for Homeschooling! 

We have been on the homeschooling journey for 13 years now, with 2 graduates, and 5 currently schooling.  I am more convinced now than I was in the beginning that this is the right path for us.  There are many days that are difficult, but many, also that are wonderful!  It is so great seeing a child’s excitement as he is learning something new, and it clicks, and we can celebrate together.  I love doing  projects together and learning right alongside them.  But, by far, the most exciting part of homeschooling for me is being with my children,  day in and day out,  teaching them about the Lord, and life, and experiencing life with them.  Things are NOT always rosy, by any means, but I’m thankful for those times, too, because the Lord uses the hard moments to grow me and mature me. 

I have been learning lately that I have had the wrong idea about trials and struggles.  I have thought of them as something to always be avoided – the enemy!  My main goal has been to fix things, and my focus has been on getting everything “back to normal” again (whatever MY idea of normal might be!).  But, I think that the Lord wants my focus on Him, during the hard times, looking for the lesson He has for me in it.  The Bible tells us that we WILL have trials, and that we are to be JOYFUL in them (now, if that’s not convicting, I don’t know what is!).  But it is because the trials bring about the growth & change that God wants in us. 

Now, how did I get so far off on the subject of trials in a post about homeschooling?!  Well, if you homeschool, you already know the answer to that one!  You just can’t put a houseful of sinners together (most certainly including myself!) and expect harmony all the time! (I’m preaching to myself here!)  But then, that’s the beauty of it!  We (the kids and myself) all have lots of great opportunities to allow the Lord to grow us in Christlikeness!

So, I’m thankful that the Lord has placed this wonderful opportunity called homeschooling in our life, and I’m thankful that my children’s education is centered on Christ, and His truth.  After all, that’s really the most important education of all!

Blessings,

Nancy

Back to school for me…

I REALLY want to replace those boring gray sidebars with a beautiful color or pattern! 

The funny thing is that on my laptop (which is where I do most of my blogging), the sidebars are a lovely shade of light blue gray; whereas on the family computer the bars are boring gray.  I don’t know why they are different, but everytime I see the site with those gray sidebars, I go UGH!

Sooo…it’s back to school again for me.  I spent last week learning how to post, link, add pictures, and …gasp..try to use the digital camera (which I really haven’t done yet,  instead choosing to rely on others to take the pics and then send them to my desktop!).  It may take me awhile to figure it out – although I do have some ideas about where to start.    Please let me know if you have any help to offer me. 

Hopefully, soon we will be out of grayland and sporting something lovely (more than likely something blue!).

Blessings,

Nancy 

Thankful Thought #1 – Life!

I thought I’d share some of the things that I’m thankful for as we make our way to Thanksgiving over the next two weeks.  I hope to post a new one each day – we’ll see how it goes!

 Thought #1 – I am thankful for life!  I am thankful that the Lord chose to create me, and that he continues to give me the next breath every moment of every day.  I don’t know about you, but I usually take that for granted – that every breath I take is a gift from God.

Along with that, I am thankful for the lives of my husband and children.  I’m thankful that He created them and placed them in my life.  They are a blessing to me and are my life’s work and joy. 

What are you thankful for today?

Blessings, 

Nancy

And the winner is…

This has been such a fun giveaway and I’ve loved reading all of your comments! I have picked a winner for the fall scrapbooking package using the random number generator at Random.org . And the winner is:

Veronica Mitchell!!!!!!!

I look forward to more fun giveaways in the future – I know that Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer has said she will be hosting another carnival in Jan/Feb.!!!!

Please come back and visit my site when you have a moment!! I am a new blogger and still working on building my site, but would love to visit with you and share our thoughts!

Blessings,
Nancy

“Put it Away” Day!!

Dh and I have declared today officially to be “PUT IT AWAY” DAY!! We have noticed quite a few spots in the house where stuff has been accumulating, because we haven’t had time to put it away. . .soooo we’re going to attempt to get it done today. This will have to be a group effort due to the amount of stuff (what a blah word …but somehow fitting). To make this more fun and less of a chore, here’s what we’re planning to do:

1. We will all work together in one spot…together. Did I mention together?

2. There will be a theme – such as a trip around the world, or across the U.S., or some other place. I really need to decide soon!

3. Each spot will be a “stop” on our journey. I may even read a little something about the location, sort of like a tour guide.

4. If I really get my act together in time, I might hide something amidst the stuff that relates to the location (maybe just a note of some kind), which when found will result in something special for the finder. (piece of candy, or trinket)

5. When an area is cleared or “put away”, each person (who helped and didn’t fight or complain!) will receive a piece of candy. (I just bought 3 bags at the 50% off clearance sale!)

6. After it’s all over, we are going to rent “Meet the Robinsons” and have a family movie night, complete with biscuit pizzas, roasted pumpkin seeds, apple cider and pumpkin cookies.

7. I will sit back and relax, drinking in the wonderful feeling of tidy surroundings and an orderly world. (Well, it’ll be great, even if it only lasts until tomorrow!)

I’ll let you know how it turns out – you know the one about the ant and his “high hopes”!

Blessings,
Nancy

I love November!

I don’t know about you, but I always get excited when November 1st rolls around. We come into the full force of the autumn season, with the leaves changing and falling off the trees. I live in the south, and we really don’t see much change in the leaves until November. Our yard is being covered with a blanket of leaves that make that wonderful rustling sound when the kids run through them heading to the swings or the trampoline. Soon, we’ll be attempting to rake all of them up, and letting the kids jump in them.

It’s time to clean up the garden and get it ready for winter. I also want to plant some more bulbs in the next few weeks, to bring forth their cheery faces come spring! All of these tasks will be enjoyable due to the nice weather, which draws me outside for hours at a time. This is porch time of year, when the days are so beautiful, I just can’t make myself go inside and deal with the tasks awaiting me there! But, I usually indulge myself in this, as there is only a brief time (in the fall and the spring) when we can spend much time outside, without it being too hot or cold!

This is the time when our thoughts focus on counting our blessings and thanking the Lord for all of them! HE is the giver of all good gifts and the source of everything we have! I am challenged to make thankfulness a part of my life every moment of every day all year long. I am way too inclined to focus on the negative, but He has commanded us to be thankful, and have an attitude of thanksgiving in all circumstances. Imagine what our lives and days would be like if we truly lived this way! Imagine the effect it would have on the people around us. Can we do this on our own? No…I certainly can’t. Only when I allow Christ to work through me and in me will this be apparent in my life. I have to release my worries and my cares to the Lord and trust Him to handle them. He has called me to rest in Him, and let Him be in charge. When I am focusing on Him – His goodness, His love, His sovereignty, His will, His Word – then I am not focusing on me, and that is when thankfulness can dwell in us – and that thankfulness can bless those around us.

Blessings,
Nancy