Pumpkin Patch

I know, I know, seriously bad blogger lately.  I think Randy may have discovered the answer.  A new study that connects breastfeeding with co-sleeping and stress hormone levels says that my body is doing just what God made it to do.  My stress hormone level is high in the morning to prepare for the events of the day and low in the evening to prepare for sleep.  I think my body is ready for sleep before my work is done!  (Do any of the rest of you wonder why Randy was reading articles like this at work?)

 

Anyway, Pumpkin Patch was well, a while ago now, but here's some pictures.  And Nana, these are all the pictures we got in costume so you can tell me which of these less-than-stellar pictures you want for your collection.  Slim pickins, I know...

 

The decorations and the games were awesome.  Justin was more entranced with them than he was willing to pose for a picture.  I guess who can blame the boy when you walk underneath a cat bigger than your car.

 

And Justin continued his dominance playing games for candy.  Somehow Justin always manages to win games by sheer chance.  It infuriates Travis to no end since he tries so hard!  Travis would get the one little consolation piece of candy per game, and Justin would get three or sometimes four pieces of candy.  The irony is, Justin doesn't really even like candy!

 

Alaina just kind of hung out.  Daddy was the designated baby carrier.  He enjoyed it since he usually goes to Pumpkin Patch all by himself (since I am at work).  I got to be the candy carrier, boy chaser, and game consultant.

 

We spent most of the time at the bounce houses.  It's so funny because Travis had to take off most of his costume to be able to bounce.  At some point you wonder if you should have just bought a bag of candy and taken the kids to Pump it Up.  Justin just sits on the edge and lets himself be tossed up and down by the other bouncers.  Travis really catches some air though.

My tired knight and pirate at the end of the evening.  I love how Justin's pirate handkerchief turned and became an Aunt Jemima scar!

 

 

Heavy

 

What one boy does, the other wants to do too...

 

Good thing daddy is so strong!

 

Love the Veggies!

So Veggietales has added an interesting element to my kids' education.  Thanks to Silly Songs, they have learned all about various animals and other things that don't normally come up.  Like:

water buffalo

manatee

zebu

yodelling

the Alps

various chinese dishes

So Travis says, "I am as full as a water buffalo who ate too much yak cheese."

And Justin responds with, "Full Alps."  (Translation:  I am as full as the Alps."

Where do they come up with this stuff?

P.S.  Justin started saying his name and Travis' with 2 syllabes a couple of weeks ago.  Big deal!  It was just "tin" and "vis".  And now it's more like "Jstin" (he slurs the consonants) and "Tavis".  So much closer!

Be the Church: Day 3

The BIG Be the Church Day was Sunday when all the church was out working together.  The group that I worked with was plating the meatloaf and rice we made the day before, plus baking blueberry muffins.  And we asked other members to bring homemade cookies to add to the plates for dessert. 

 

It was a flurry of activity working to get everything done by noon, our deadline when people started coming to pick up the food to be delivered.  I had so much fun!  Everyone worked so well together and we enjoyed each other's company.

 

We had these great plastic plates with lids that are freezer/microwave/dishwasher safe that we loaded up with the food.  Meatloaf in the big compartment, rice in the medium one, veggies in the small one with a bit of water to help it cook when it gets microwaved.  The some press and seal wrap and a roll and bag of cookies on top.  The plastic lid goes on top with instructions for how to heat.  We made 29 plates (weird number, I know, but that's how it worked out).

 

 

 

 

Then we made 6 dozen blueberry muffins with yummy streusel topping.  I think streusel makes everything look fancier!

The kids (with one adult for guidance!) bagged all the cookies.  We put 2-3 in each bag, mixing them up so each one got a couple of different kinds of cookies.  Some of the cookies went of the plates and some went to nursing homes where our members went to visit and sing some songs.  I think a few went in little tummies as well!

I forgot to get a picture of all the bags ready to go, since things got really busy for a while, so here are just the last few.  We loaded the plates, soup, muffins, and a few extra cookies into bags to be delivered.  (Trader Joe's has the best bags!)

We met our deadline and all the bags were picked up by noon!  Everyone worked so hard.  And no muffins or other food was burned, dropped on the floor, or otherwise lost.  And no injuries!  I think that's the definition of a successful morning.  Travis said he had a great time and wants to do it again.  All the workers said they would be up for doing this more often.  We talked about doing more cooking for our homebound members so we may attempt to tackle that project in the coming months.  (Maybe after Christmas!)

All the other projects went well too:  Kids wrote invitations to our church's Pumpkin Patch celebration later this month.  Some of the men did oil changes and minor auto repairs.  A group cooked and served a meal for 200 people at an inner city church we support.  We took donations and stocked the shelves of our church's food pantry.  A group of women sorted and organized dresses, shoes, jewelry, and accessories for the Giving Gown program our church manages and houses.  Some members went  and sang and took communion to our homebound members.  And several groups did clean up and repairs at both our church building and at various member's homes.

That's the group that finished up Randy's parents' fence.  They SO appreciated having the posts set already so all they had to do was the finish work.  It went fabulous and they were done quickly.  Randy's parents loved having the group there and set out to show them some hospitality.  They enjoyed a pizza lunch and all the drinks they could consume!  God planned some beautiful weather for that day and it was in the 60's and sunny.  Great work-outside weather!

Randy headed up and effort to clean up our neighbor's yard.  We did some work for the last year and they needed it again.  Randy was back on the roof and there was more leaf-raking going on.  They didn't collect quite as many bags this year and they were able to trim the bushes, which made the whole place look great.  And some of our other neighbors planted some bright fall flowers and set out some pots to give it some good color.  I think it might look better than our house!  (We could use to do some bush trimming and flower planting ourselves!)

All in all it, was an awesome day.  I get so pumped by this whole experience, seeing everyone work together and having such a good time.  I cannot help but see God's hand everyone working through his people to do amazing things.  I love knowing that God's name is being praised and lifted up.  I am blessed and humbled to be used by Him to serve.  He worked things out so well I can't even tell you how cool it was to see it all happen.  God is so good! 

Be the Church: Day 2

On Saturday we made all the food for the homebound and sick members of our congregation to whom they were to be delivered on Sunday.  The plan was to make a day of meals: muffins, soup and individual plated meals, all things that that could be frozen.  Then they could be thawed and eaten anytime!

Our menu included chicken tortellini soup (a family favorite!)  We made five batches and portioned it out into containers to freeze.  It was a lot of soup!

We also made meatloaves - 4 to be exact.  Meatloaf is such a good comfort food!

 

The only un-tried recipe was the rice pilaf we made in the crock pot.  We had three crock pots going.  It was wild rice with mushrooms and peppers (we used red and green) and it looked so pretty!  We had to sample it when it was done and it turned out great!  I was so pleased.  I love when food looks pretty AND tastes good!

Then we got the muffin pans ready for Sunday and got a little silly too!

 

I took Alaina's pack and play up to church and put her in the room next to the kitchen.  She slept so well so we got all our work almost done before she woke up.  She was a very good helper in that way!

Be the Church: Day 1

It was Be the Church Day again and we enjoyed a fabulous weekend of activities.  Randy and I both headed up different projects so we did a lot of organizing!  Be the Church is a day that our entire church goes out and works to show God to others through our actions.  I LOVE how the power of community makes things happen!

I helped with making meals for our sick and homebound members.  We made the food on Saturday and assembled and delivered on Sunday.  So we made several trips to drop off food and supplies.  This is Justin hanging out waiting for the building to be opened.  Don't you wish you were that flexible?

Then we were off to take down part of Randy's parents' fence and replace the posts so the crossbeams and pickets could be added on Sunday.  The boys LOVED helping with this project!  They both got their gloves on and used whatever tools we would share with them.  Too much fun!

Alaina had to stay inside with the grandmothers.  She really wished she could be outside in the action...

The guys narrowly averted tragedy by missing a sprinkler pipe.  There was quite a discussion about whether it was hit or not.  Then there was sprinkling of various parts of the yard to verify all was well.  Also a bit of sprinkling of the help.  It felt good.

My job in fence destruction is disposal.  I got to pound over all the nails and haul this pile to the curb.  As I was working I realized that last Be the Church Day was before I was pregnant and this was is after Alaina was born, so I did not get out of physical labor at all.  Not good planning on my part...

Here was Justin's favorite job:  Moving this pile of dirt...

...over there. 

 

Do all boys have a fascination with dirt?

So one time when I made my trip out to the curb with the pickets I found a man picking through the rubble and examining each board.  He needed to repair his fence and he chose our discard to use.  He hauled it away in his wagon.  Too funny!

And here is my pile relocated to the curb.  So pretty!  And now it's gone!

Then it was time to dig the holes.  Randy was a taskmaster and he made us go down a full 24 inches.  I was responsible for ensuring that Pop followed orders.

Justin did more "helping"...

Alaina resigned herself to playing with the girls.  I think she was dreaming of tools while she slept.

 

 

My mom took a picture of me digging a hole to have proof that I helped.  Actually, Pop and I did some good bonding over hole digging.  The dirt was so much softer than at our house and I would be happy to dig more holes there and not at our house!

 

 

Look at those pretty holes!  And the 80 pound bags to concrete ready to go into each hole.  (We let Randy haul them!)

 

Almost done for the day.  Once we got the posts set we were done and the next crew came in on Sunday to finish up. 

 

I wrote the boys' initials in the cement to show they helped.

 

 

All in all, it was a fun family day.  And a great start to Be the Church Day weekend!

A Week of Doctors

We have been going to doctors all week and we have one more to go next Monday before we get a little break.

Monday:  We went to the chiropractor.  Justin has been getting adjustments to help with his constipation.  He seems to get out of alignment in a part of his spine that affects intestines and digestion.  We are hoping these adjustments hold so he can keep doing his thing.

Tuesday:  Back to the orthotist.  Justin's orthotics got trimmed and new straps and we're good for another 3,000 miles.  Or three months at least.

Wednesday:  On to the podiatrist for another check of my foot.  It appears that it is not healing and surgery is back on the table.  I am not quite sure what to think of that so I am calling another doctor for a second opinion.

Thursday:  Alaina's four month well check.  She is topping out at 25 inches and 12 pounds.  Nice round numbers!  She is doing well and good for another 2 months.

Whew!  We made it through and finished with the week with another round of Black Light Golf with some friends.  Four kids with golf clubs and glow in the dark golf balls can be quite crazy!  It was good there was no one else there!