Pumpkins! Pumpkins!

Having faith is like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch and washes all the dirt off of you.



He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate and greed.


He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine ...for all the world to see.

I hope you are taking time to enjoy the simple moments!

To Blog or Not to Blog

Well that is what has been weighing on mind and heart. It seems that my time away from my blog has slowly been increasing. I hadn't been feeling the joy and contentment that I had in the past with blogging.

I took time to step back and to evaluate the reason I was feeling this way. One thing that stuck out to me was that some of my reading choices may not have been the best. Now I am not saying that there was anything wrong with the content. It was just content that didn't leave me feeling good about myself.

I am sure we have made a stop at a blog that leaves you feeling like you are not good enough. This person makes everything from scratch, this person can take a piece of string and have her living room looking like it should be in a magazine, this person shops at 10 stores with 10 kids spends $5, home schools and still has a spotless home with dinner on the table each night. Then there are the blogs that have tons of followers and make me feel like my little bit of space doesn't matter much. I know that you get the picture.

Matthew 6:19-21 is a scripture that I keep coming to while thinking about this. Why was really blogging? In all honestly it isn't for comments, followers or fame. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21

What things do I really treasure? The answer was here all along, right up in the header of my blog.... Faith; an on going, ever growing relationship with my Lord and Savior. Family; the people that I love and cherish. Home; a place that I hope is cozy, warm and a refuse from the crazy world around us.

So, the questions is will I keep blogging? After reading this post and the comments today I knew the answer was Yes. I will blog for the reason I first began. A place to share what is on my mind, heart, what is happening in my life and a scrapbook of sorts for the ones I treasure.

This is the day...

I have to be honest and admit that yesterday did not start out to be my best day. I was short will the kids, had a headache, and just wasn't feeling it. I am sure you can relate to the kind of morning I am talking about.

I prayed for patients, temper control (my fuse was short), and kindness. By lunch time I knew that things were going to change. We enjoyed a nice peaceful lunch and then I laid down the law that everyone was taking a nap. Not just rest, but a nap.

When I went to check in on Megan I had to smile. It looks like she took the "everyone" part literally and put all of her friends to bed!

After a nice rest things were back to normal. Thank goodness!!

When dinner was complete I realized that I didn't empty the dishwasher. I was in a time crunch to be somewhere and thought that it would be more time efficient to just hand wash the dishes.


There is something simple and soothing about hand washing dishes.

Some time was spent outside.


Sweeping up leaves for the fun part.


It seems that jumping in a pile of leaves is timeless.


My parents are out of town and while over checking mail and setting out trash we picked tomatoes. There is the possibility of frost and we wanted to make sure they didn't go to waste.

This day was a great reminder that for life to be good it doesn't have to be perfect.

This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

I hope you are taking time to enjoy the simple moments!

Field Trip: Pumpkin Patch

Megan went on her very first field trip to the pumpkin patch.


Megan searched and searched for the perfect pumpkin.


Enjoying a hayride with a good friend.


The corn maze was a great place to run off energy.


Only a handful of kids made it through the straw bale tunnel. Megan said it was dark and scary.


The best part of the trip was climbing and running on the stack of straw bales.

I hope you are taking time to enjoy the simple moments!

Glass Storage Love

I've had an idea of adding some glass storage containers to my baking/spice cabinet for a while. The hold back was the price of the containers. I was at Meijer yesterday and ended up with a $20.00 gift card for a new prescription and I had a coupon for $2.50 off an order of $17.00. A perfect time to pick up the containers!


They were priced at $5.99 each. I picked up four, gallon containers and after the coupon and gift card I spent a grand total $1.56. Yes!


I attached a tag with a piece of twine.


I have room for two more containers on this shelf. My favorite jar is the one that holds sprinkles and miscellaneous baking items. This is the top shelf of the cabinet and I was forever knocking the sprinkles over as I searched for the one I wanted. I am so happy with the way this turned out. I just love glass storage jars!

I hope you are taking time to enjoy the simple moments!

I Scream

You scream.


We all scream for ice cream!

We are experiencing Indian Summer and soaking up all of it we can. We recently went out to enjoy the last ice cream cone of the season. I hope you are taking time to enjoy the simple moments!

A Slow, Soothing Day

Saturday morning I woke up about 7:30. I could hear Megan's excited little voice as she was talking with her Daddy. I laid in bed with a smile on my face as they peeked in and told me they had a surprise.

After a few minutes I started to smell bacon cooking. I walked into the kitchen and Megan told me to go back to bed because it was a surprise. I informed her that I knew what the surprise was because I could smell the bacon. Still she insisted that I leave. When I was called to breakfast this is what greeted me.


Chuck said that it was 100% Megan's idea for them to make breakfast. What a wonderful way to start the day!

Chuck headed out to finish painting the shed. You can see a before picture here.


While he did that I worked on clearing flowers and such away for the winter. I also worked on laundry and did a little cleaning.


I cleaned our bedroom from top to bottom. I cleaned out closets, drawers and even vacuumed under all of the furniture. I will be adding that to my list a little more often! The only bummer is that I ripped the bed skirt while removing it. Off to the mending pile it went. It feels so great to step into a spotless, uncluttered room.

The day was absolutely beautiful! All of the windows were open, the house was quiet and peaceful. I fluttered between puttering inside and out. I recently picked up a couple of things and did a little tweaking.

I don't think this is the permanent home for the blocks, but I couldn't resist putting them out.

Doing little things like this is not something that I always find the time for.


A home cooked meal for the ones I love.

It was the kind of day that sooths and refreshes. Ah! I hope you taking time to enjoy the simple moments!

The Waltons

Hello friends! I just stumbled upon something that I wanted to share. The remaining cast of The Waltons is going to do a reunion show. It sounds like it will be the cast discussing the show. You can find out more information here. Those of you that have been around for a while might remember that this is my all time favorite show. I am super excited to check this out!

Still Here

I am really terrible at blogging lately. My days have been busy and by the time night is here I am to tired to do a post.

I spent some time this week shopping. One day for groceries. That is another area where I am also slacking. I have been hitting a big box store and not really hunting the deals. I just don't feel like I have the time at the moment. I need to get back into the groove since I know that it does help the bottom line.

I also spent a day shopping for winter clothes for me. Never fun! I needed some long pants. If I could wear Capri pants year round I certainly would. I also looked for some dresses for Megan. The only dresses that I found acceptable where corduroy which Megan doesn't like. I just don't understand why the manufacturers think when a little girl moves from a size 4 to a 5 that you want her to dress like a teenager. To be honest I don't even want her in this kind of clothing when she is a teenager. Ugh!

The family that I have babysat for for years have returned. They are very part time. I only have them for five afternoons this month. The new baby is very fussy and that makes for a long afternoon. I was afraid that he just didn't like me, but mom said no he is just a fussy baby. I prayed yesterday morning for things to get better and yesterday afternoon was better. He was still fussy but I was able to calm his more.

I am also feeling the need to do some fall cleaning. I have started working in our bedroom and hope to have it finished this weekend. Then I will move on to Megan's room. It feels good to purge, clean and organize.

I hope to be better at blogging next week, but if I am not know that I am just living life. I hope you taking time to enjoy the simple moments!

Get Away Fun

My family reunion was this past Saturday and we like to make it into a little get away. We headed out Thursday night to spend the weekend at a state park. It is located not far from a small rural town and the park is surrounded by woods. There was time for long walks.


Taking in the sights and sounds of nature. We even spotted a Blue Heron.


There are plenty of Amish in the area. We saw several along the road selling things. Here two ladies were selling vegetables.


You know that you are in a farming community when this is what you see when you reach the end of Main Street!


We took a little drive into a neighboring town and I thought it was beautiful the way you crossed a one lane bridge and there was the courthouse.

I long for life in the country and I am always refreshed when I return from this area. Only God knows if I will someday a home in the country. I hope that you are taking time to enjoy the simple moments!