Fall Fun

I keep hoping that one of these days I'll be caught up on everything and have time to sit down and blog about life again...but it's just not happening.  So - here's another photo recap of the last several weeks...pumpkin patch and petting zoo, carving jack-o-lanterns, and our family Halloween party.  We decided to try a new tradition on Halloween.  Rather than going out for trick-or-treating, we bought the girls plenty of their favorite candy, rented some movies and set up a grand slumber party in the living room.  Valerie has been terrified of anything related to witches, goblins, skeletons, monsters, etc. lately so this was the way to go.  Pumpkins and spiders!  The girls dressed in simple costumes and enjoyed handing out candy to people who came to our door.

Just some pictures.... (for the Grandmas!)

It has been WAY TOO LONG since I have been here on the blog to post anything.  My apologies to the "far away" grandmas who rely on this means of keeping up with our family.  Here are some snapshots of the last couple of months.  I fully intend to get back into a more regular posting schedule ... one of these {crazy} days!

We thoroughly enjoyed our season passes to the local water park again this summer.  All three girls are little fish!

We were able to watch this cute little guy for a few days in August.  The girls liked the idea of having a little brother ... but I liked sleeping through the night after he went back to his own mama. :)

We watched the hot air balloons lift off from Ann Morrison Park again this year - it NEVER gets old!

Eating corn on the cob has proved very difficult this summer.  I think that between Sierr and Ally there have been about 10 teeth lost in the last 3 months or so.  No joke.

Oh, yeah!  We started school again a couple of weeks ago.  I am just now starting to get back into the swing of things with lesson plans, photocopies, grading, etc.  Piano lessons and AWANA have also started back up.  Our weeks are getting full!

** Uhg!  These are so out of sequence - but I'm too lazy to fix all that right now. **

We had a very fun visit from the Cooks and Clarks as they drove their way accross the USA visiting their supporting churches and friends.

The girls got to wear their western duds for the Owyhee County Rodeo again this year.

AND - here's Valerie challenging Grandpa to a game of box hockey up at the cabin.  Isn't "The Snuggery" in the background a cute little place to get away?  Dad converted his old tool shed into a great little bunk house.

That's it for now!  Ta-da.

Marc's Second Sermon

Marc was asked to preach again while Dad was away this month for his doctoral program classes in California.  This time it was a morning service with a much larger audience.  If you know Marc, you know that this is WAY out of his comfort zone.  He worked like crazy to understand and apply the passage of Scripture that he had chosen from Ephesians chapter one.  He did an amazing job!  It is so neat to see God use him to speak truth to other people.  If you are interested in listening to the full message, you can find it here:  http://mfbcsermons.weebly.com/morning-sermons.html

The Vault of Spiritual Blessings

Ephesians 1:3-14

1.  In Christ, we are blessed with every spiritual blessing...

2.  In Christ, we are chosen...

3.  In Christ, we will be made holy and blameless...

4.  In Christ, we are predestined in love...

5.  In Christ, we are adopted as sons...

6.  In Christ, we are redeemed...

7.  In Christ, we are forgiven...

8.  In Christ, the mystery of God's will is given to us...

9.  In Christ, all things are unified...

10.  In Christ, we have obtained an inheritance..

11.  In Christ, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit...

12.  In Christ, we are given a pledge...

...ALL TO THE PRAISE OF HIS GLORY!

      "We may have as much of God as we will.  Christ puts the key of the treasure chamber into our hand, and bids us take all that we want.  If a man is admitted into the vault of a bank and told to help himself, and comes out with one cent, whose fault is it that he is poor.”  

                                                                                                   ~ Alexander MacLaren

2+2=12

10 years ago there were just two couples who enjoyed spending time together.  Now there are TWELVE people who enjoy spending time together!  (Actually, 13 if you want to be completely accurate.**)

The Stimac family drove up from California to spend a week with us in Idaho again this summer.  We spent a couple of days at the cabin doing this:

And then we came back down to the valley to do this:

(I got a kick out of this sign up at the snack bar at Barber Park.)

Besides playing in the rivers we also visited Bounce, the Discovery Center, Powell's Sweet Shoppe, Settler's Park, watched Despicable Me 2, played games, etc.  It was a fantastic way to spend a week with friends.  Thanks for making the long trip guys!  We'll see you next summer.

(** NO!  I am not pregnant!  It's Janella that's expecting baby #6 in December.  Gotcha.)

Sierra's p-ART-y!

Yesterday was Sierra's 9th birthday and we threw her a pARTy that she will never forget - it was just her style: arts and crafts with several of her closest friends.  I was telling one of the other moms that the rowdiest part of the whole afternoon was when we served up the food (crumbled brownies and vanilla ice-cream topped with sliced strawberries - Sierra's favorite!).  The rest of the time was spent listening to classical music while the girls painted, beaded and embroidered.  Lovely!

I borrowed several easels from friends at church and purchased a 16X20 canvas and a paint pallet for each of the girls.  They had a table full of various brushes and a whole rainbow of colorful acrylics to choose from.  The rain was gently falling outside and we kept the garage door up as they began to paint.  Here are the masterpieces that they created:

 

.

 (Sophie wins the "originality award" - she painted The Flying Cookie Angel.)

Then, we came inside for the embroidery and beading.  Each girl had a cross-stitch bookmark to decorate with colorful thread.  I was surprised at how popular this activity was and at how nimble their fingers were.  Since both Marc and I (and my wonderful Mother, who came over just in time!) were all busy rinsing brushes, threading needles and tying off bracelets, I was not able to get a lot of pictures of this part of the afternoon...but you get the idea.

The whole afternoon reflected Sierra's personality very well.  It was a wonderful way to celebrate her birthday.  We love her for her quiet, tenderhearted spirit.  Happy Birthday, Sweet Sierra!