Apple Orchard Fun

Fall is by far my favorite season of the year (even though I am not too fond of what it leads up to...brrr!).  We have had such a beautiful fall here in Iowa and we love taking advantage of the great weather and scenery by going to apple orchards.  Our most favorite place to go is....Center Grove Orchard in Cambridge.  Oh my goodness, it is an orchard on steroids!  :)  I first discovered the place because a former co-worker of mine from Terrace Elementary (Trisha Romig) grew up there!  It is her family's place.  They have done an amazing job making it beautiful, fun, and festive.  They have animals for the kids to look at, a pool filled with corn kids can dive into, a humongous jumping pillow to flop around on, and a super duper huge slide to go down.  Oh and they have apples too!  haha!  We bought season passes this year and have already been there about 5 times and have plans to go many more times while we still can.  Below are some pictures of my kids (and my hubby and me) having a blast at Center Grove!

Alea loves making noises back ath the animals! Hilarious!

I love the corn pool, it is a good workout to wade around in!

I am just so happy she never even tried to eat the corn! Good girl!

I honestly think my hubs enjoys the jumping pillow more than my son!



Look of pure delight and terror on his face, priceless!



Evan's Dresser

Hey all, just wanted to share a pic of Evan's very cheap and fun dresser!  We bought the dresser at IKEA for $34.99 and a couple cans of spray paint at Walmart for $3.00 a can and now he has a dresser in his favorite color!  He loves it and it is a perfect size for underwear, socks, and pj's. 

Alea is 10 months!

My precious baby girl is now 10 months old as of September 12th (the same day her new best friend Vera Port was born!).  She is up to all sorts of new things, like saying momma (love this!), and dog (she will point at the dog or say dog when she hears a bark).  She loves waving and waves every time she hears someone say hi or bye.  She is also all about the clapping!  If others are clapping or if she hears music or if someone says Yeah!, she will start clapping.  I think she is going to be musically inclined too as she starts bopping her head every time a song comes on and she tries to sing along with me when I sing to her.
She is still pretty tiny; I am not sure how I have such a petite little girl!  She weighed in at 18 pounds, 11 ounces and was 27 1/2 inches long at her 9 months appt.  This was approximately the 40th percentile.   I think she is going to be an athletic little thing, she is very coordinated-not walking yet, but will be anyday.  She is also quite the daredevil, wanting to climb on anything she can get her feet up on! 
I love having a daughter and I thank God for her everyday! What a beautiful gift God has given me in Alea. 

   

The Music of My Life-"It's Good to Know"

Second installment of the lessons I am learning from a certain cd that my son still has to listen to everytime we are in the van and the same cd that my husband says I must destroy before he gets back from Africa.  (he likes the songs and the messages from the songs, but is a wee bit tired of listening to it over and over!)  The cd is Francesca Battistelli's "One Hundred More Years" cd. This particular song is titled "It's Good to Know". 

Verse 1:
Hello, old friend
I know it's been a while
I'm here again
And it won't be the last time
I fall apart
But You won't let me get too far
You're speaking to my heart

(Chorus)
It's good to know
It's good to feel the arms of grace
To know that my mistakes are covered by Your love
It's good to know
It's good to see that You won't change
When it's said and done
You'll always be enough
To know that I can always come back home
It's good to know
Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh
It's good to know
Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh

Verse 2:
Goodbye, old me
Yeah there's so much more that I
Know I could be
So take my worries with
You when you leave
There's hope that I am counting on
'Cause I'm never too far gone

It's good to know
It's good to know
I'm covered by Your love

Isn't it sooooo good to know?  That you are covered in love by His grace?  To know that you can always come back home to Him?  I have no clue what I would do without this reassurance.  I think about the times I have failed, that I have given in to sin, and the guilt that comes from that...But God in his infinite goodness reminds me that it doesn't matter what I do, he loves me no matter what!  There is not a sin so great He doesn't forgive.  Does this mean we can go do whatever we want in life and sin because we know God will forgive us?  ABSOLUTELY not, God calls His people to be holy, set apart, to love like Him.  We should daily be striving towards this, but we are not perfect and God knows this.  He knows we will make mistakes, but loves us anyway.  Everyday I set out with the best of intentions-I am going to be patient with my children, I am going to be selfless and put everyone's needs before my own, I am going to extend grace to my husband instead of nagging at him, I am going to stay pure in my thoughts and actions, I am going to spend quiet time with God, and EVERYDAY, at some point, I do not do these things! Not because I don't want to because I do, but because I am a sinner... This would be so depressing if it weren't for the fact that I know God loves me and that is not going to change. I get to feel His "arms of grace" around me all day long.  I hope you get that experience too and if you don't, there is a way, and it is so simple!  We can always "come home" to God with no fear and no guilt. 

The Good Old Iowa State Fair

Yes, we made it to the Fair, the only day it was raining I might add, but we made it.  It just worked out we couldn't go on any of the nice weather days, but we still had a blast!  The highlight was the Little Hands on the Farm, Evan could have done that all day!  He also loved going around and getting "tattooed" in the Varied Industries building.  This is where he got to see Clifford too!  He hammed it up with him and it was hilarious!  Alea didn't care for the fair too much since she was in the stroller most of the time, but I know she will have a great time next year. Mickey and I gained about 5 pounds a piece after eating giant tenderloins, fries, and chocalate chip cookies, (we could literally feel our stomachs expanding with each bite!) but it was sooo worth it! 

The Music of my Life-"This is the Stuff"

So, lately myself (and my son, much to the dismay of my hubby) have been obsessed with the Francesca Battistelli album "Hundred More Years".  Each and every song speaks to me.  I am going to do a series of blogs about each song on this album and what they are teaching me.  First up, "This is the Stuff"!  Lyrics and thoughts below:

V1: I lost my keys in the great unknown
And call me please 'Cuz I can't find my phone

Chorus:
This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that's getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use
V2: 45 in a 35
Sirens and fines while I'm running behind
Whoa

Hook:
So break me of impatience
Conquer my frustrations
I've got a new appreciation
It's not the end of the worldOh Oh Oh

Simple song, right?  But it packs a powerful punch for me...1st of all the first two lines are soooo me since I hit motherhood.  I used to know where everything was and where I was supposed to be!  And I really did lose my keys in IKEA of all places, never to be found again.  I have NO CLUE where I lost them or how, didn't even know it until I went to leave!  I can never find my phone or it is always on silent so it doesn't wake kids up, so I never know that people call...I have such a mommy brain!
Ok, on to more serious stuff, I love the chorus of this song, the part that is bolded.  Wow!  I am guilty of letting the little stuff get under my skin instead of focusing on how blessed I am.  For example, my kids have been ruthless this summer with waking up early.  At least one of my children gets up between 5 and 6 every morning!  I'm sorry, but that is too early to start the day!  At the same time though, I should not be upset about this.  At least I have two beautiful, healthy, growing, happy children to wake me up every day.  Getting up that early is definitley not what I would choose, but it is what God has for me right now.  I am definitely growing spiritually because of it too- I pray more (for patience mostly), I am learning to practice God's grace more, and I am committed to loving my children even when they are not being very lovable!
The other part of this song that hits the nail right on the head for me is the little hook about it not being the end of the world.  Seriously, kids getting up early is not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of life. And neither are the other little "messes" I have during the day. 
So, how can you apply this?  Think about your day and the stuff that drove you crazy.  What do you think God is teaching you in those moments?  
Below: an updated picture of my little darlings that wake me up so kindly every morning!

Smores and Cupcakes

As most of you know, my son Evan is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, and fish.  I know, it is not fun!  But we make do and we are finding some treats he can have and ways we can make treats so he can have some.  For the most part, I don't encourage sugary treats, but c'mon, I gotta let my kids have something fun to eat once in a while!  So, we made Smores on the grill the other night and Ev, of course, loved them!  Believe it or not, he can have the 3 main Smores ingredients!  Also, we have found you can replace the eggs in cake mix with a can of pop (light colored pops for light cakes, dark colored pop for chocolate cakes), so we made cupcakes tonight to honor of one of his favorite books: "If you Give a Cat a Cupcake..."  Pics are below!  (Daddy even snuck Alea a few bites of cupcake, her first taste of sugary goodness!)  Notice we ate outside and for the most part, without shirts on!  :)