Pumpkining!

Last Saturday, we went out with a great group of friends to celebrate fall and pumpkins. Here we are on our way to "the Farm" north of Seattle.

We managed to cram into just two cars...'cram' being the operative word!

It was great! There were pig races, and itsy-bitsy kittens to pet, and lots of food. We all stood in line forever to get caramel corn, and then bought enough to make 10 adults sick! (three large bags) Here we are showing off our largess on the hay ride. Jonathan is very proud he managed to get all of us in this picture!

Here are three silly pumpkins...guess who took the picture?

Jonathan ran away with the camera in the corn maze, and then we thought we had lost him for good. Thank goodness we re-united in the pumpkin field on the other side!

It was decided that pumpkins would make good bowling balls...

Which led to a very diverting afternoon of shot-put bowling! Here's Ryan going for gold!

Margo was our token suffragette...

I'm afraid the rest of us females just watched, but we looked very pretty doing it of course!

Jonathan goes for distance...

And Justin wins!

Here's the bowling line-up.

Afterwards, we stuffed our faces with Moe's Barbecue, and headed over to Amy and Ryan's for homemade apple and pumpkin pie. Mmmmm! What a fun day!

the Shower vs the Rumpus

Recently, a few of my friends and I decided to throw a shower for our girlfriend who is expecting her first baby in January. Then, her husband and several of his friends expressed a desire to attend. So we decided to throw a couples shower. When I told Jonathan he was going to have the priveledge of joining me at a baby shower he adamantly refused to consider attending. Whose to blame, really? Well me, of course! After years of hearing me lament about being wrapped in toilet paper and loosing all my clothes pins at past bridal and baby showers I could hardly expect that he would be excited at the prospect of being there in person. I think he had relegated showers to the list of those "woman" things that made it a mercy he was a man.

This put us on the track of trying to figure out how to make the traditional baby shower into something men could enjoy too. The result? A WILD RUMPUS!

I can't say much more because I don't want to give our secrets away ahead of time. Yet this much can be said: Although there may be betting and gambling, there will not be any parlor games, pink punch, nor pastels of any kind.

Abby and I worked on the invitations this weekend. We think they turned out pretty cute...um I mean "inviting" in a very manly way!

The Cliffs Of Insanity: Duvet, Duvet, Still More Duvet!

I have decided to celebrate benchmarks for my quilted comforter cover, since it is progressing at a snail's pace.

Someone insane (now who could that be?) decided that all of these squares ought to be sewn on by hand. That's right--all those squares, all around the outside and inside edge of the cover! By hand.

Worse, she decided that they ought to be sewn on in a decorative way, so that she could practice her embroidery stitches.


I am sure it will look very nice when it is done, but in the meantime I am living with that crazy person's poor decision.

Last night I finished one side. I was really excited. Then I realized I started this project over a year ago, and I still have three more sides to go! That's why I've given this project a 50 year deadline. You never know what might come up between now and then, but if I'm not done in 50 years, please take the comforter cover away or shoot me! There's only so much embroidery a girl can take!

Still, it is really fun to be done with one side-- maybe I could get the second one done sooner ... Hooray for Insanity!

If I Were A Book...

You're The Poisonwood Bible!
by Barbara Kingsolver

Deeply rooted in a religious background, you have since become both isolated and schizophrenic. You were naively sure that your actions would help people, but of course they were resistant to your message and ultimately disaster ensued. Since you can see so many sides of the same issue, you are both wise beyond your years and tied to worthless perspectives. If you were a type of waffle, it would be Belgian.

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Should a online quiz have the power to make such rash decisions about me? I feel like I have been the victim of a terrible first impression. I read this book and though it was well-written, but I was so depressed by it's view on Christianity and missionaries that I vowed never to read it again.

Then again, if I had to be a waffle, I would definitely prefer being a Belgian.

Yellow Hope

" Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." Romans 8:24-25

I've been thinking a lot about the hope that God offers out to us recently. Jonathan and I went out for a hike last Saturday and we came down different. It was good to be out and in a different place, but something kind of mysterious happened too. Although neither of us really understood exactly how, we knew that God had been with us. We felt cleansed and refreshed.

As we hiked, I kept seeing little tiny pieces of bright yellow everywhere, not so big that you would notice them unless you happened to look in exactly the right spot. I felt like God put this analogy in my mind. We were in a dark, wet and gloomy forest. Yet here were these tiny pieces of light. I felt they were visual representations of the hope God offered out to us. Not huge and overpowering hope, but little pieces here and there that were exactly enough for our need.

It started to pour on us as we came down the mountain, and I found myself running down a muddy trail through a symphony of rain; the rhythm and timbre resounding from different heights and variations of foliage around us. All at once there was joy in my heart for no reason at all. It was just like a tiny piece of yellow in my heart. Not a lot to know, but enough for my need.

This week it has really turned into Fall in Seattle.

The air around us is doing it's "here's a day of blustery rain, oops just kidding I really meant to have a blue sky" thing. There are viciously bright sunrises followed by big pluffs of wind-blown clouds. And I am seeing yellow everywhere. The whole world is screaming out what a faithful God we have.

I really have no choice but to sit back and
sip at my hot chocolate while I wait and agree.