Fall Festivities

I just love fall!! It is finally feeling cooler outside so I am officially in fall mode- filling up the house with the scent of pumpkin spice, making chilis and soups, carving pumpkins, watching the kids run around in their costumes, etc. Love it! The end of October really begins the holiday season for me. It starts those sentimental feelings that lead into Thanksgiving and then on to Christmas, such a meaningful season for Christians. It's a time that reminds me that the little things in life are what matter. I am loving this season of life with my family and hopefully making memories every day. God has blessed Randy and me so richly in our marriage. We have grown so much together especially over the past couple of years- spiritually and emotionally. And we've been blessed with two absolutely amazing boys who bring us and indescribably amount of joy and teach us about true, unconditional, sacrificial love which helps us to understand how much God must love us.

Speaking of thankful, I am so thankful for a church that loves on its children. Jesus said that to receive a child in His name is to receive Him and also the Father. (Mark 9:34-37) I love that our church provides such loving care and fun activities just for children. The fall festival this year is one example of that. I have to admit (as much as I love children) that I was sort of dreading this event. It is always so crowded and there is an element of chaos and lots of waiting in line (not Graham's strong point...) But, I really thought about it and reminded myself that this is part of being in a community of believers. It is a blessing that we have so many people in our church and so many children. This perspective made the whole evening so much more fun and meaningful. We got to spend time with so many friends and watch the kids shriek with delight about things like scoring a soccer goal, knocking over the "wall of Jericho," receiving a treat for their efforts even when they didn't win, and riding on a makeshift train. It was such a blast! Not to mention, our boys looked so cute and loved every minute of it!














Here are a couple more pictures, from Grahams fall party at MDO and Jack carving pumpkins: