Celebrating the Harvest

Instead of celebrating Halloween, we have chosen to teach Judah about celebrating God's provision by recognizing and celebrating the Harvest. So on Halloween night, we threw a Harvest Party at Mom and Dad's house for Judah and his cousins. Dad shared a teaching from the Bible on how the Israelites came together for various festivals to praise God for His provision and how, in the New Testament, Jesus talked about the role that we, as Believers, have in the Harvest. The kids all sat very quietly and attentively for the teaching, which is amazing considering that the oldest is 6! After the lesson, we decorated pumpkins and had some pumpkin muffins with cream cheese frosting, carmel apples and hot apple cider. I think a fun time was had by all, including the adults.

PHOTOS: Here are the kids decorating their pumpkins, Judah getting creative with a pom-pom and showing off his masterpiece, Uncle Matt and Will getting creative with pipecleaners, the kids proudly displaying their decorated pumpkins and Steve apprently paying homage to Burning Man??? (Reno, NV may have Burning Man but Rock Island, IL has Pipecleaner Man!)

Playing Catch-up

Hello everyone! Sorry for the lack of new stuff on the blog lately. Where do I begin? Life has been busy but pretty low-key if that makes sense. Steve has been volunteering at our new church helping them get their Children's Ministry check-in "HUB" up and running. He's also lifeguarding at a local fitness center. We are still waiting to see what God has in store for us for full-time work for Steve. He is faithful and we know He will continue to provide. My Mom and Dad have and continue to be very gracious and generous hosts to us as we wait on God's plan to unfold. Thanks a million, Mom & Dad! Judah and I are doing well too. We go to the fitness center four days a week so mommy can workout and Judah plays with other kids in their childcare center. He loves going to the gym and always asks if we're going to the gym anytime we leave the house. Mommy loves getting to workout without having to feel rushed and guilty too. :) It's good for the body and soul! We also go to a women's Bible study once a week at church and Judah enjoys playing with the other kids there too. Well, I will try to give you some highlights of our last month via photos, videos and commentary...


GENERAL STUFF












Here are a couple pictures of Judah. One is with his cousin Will on a playground slide. The other is Judah driving a "fengine" at the local Family Museum. Thirdly, you'll get a chuckle out of the video of Steve pulling Judah around my parents' back yard in a little wagon. That's Cassidy's cable/leash that he has around his waist pulling the wagon.

PLAYING "DONALDS"
One of the things Judah and his cousins like to play is McDonald's drive-through. It can be played just about anywhere but the place it works best is out on the deck. The kids ride the bigwheels around the patio swing and stop on one side to place their order then drive around to the other side to pick up their order. This video shows Judah and his twin cousins Will and Maddie playing "Donalds" (as Judah calls it).

DISHING THE DIRT WITH GRAMMY
Judah loves helping his Grammy and Grandad with projects around the house and outside. If there's dirt involved, he's even more excited about helping! Here he's dishing the dirt with Grammy in her flower garden.