Wizards, and Elves, and Parrots, Oh My....

Halloween 2014 brought a fun mix of characters our way!

Gracie was Hermione Granger this year, inspired by her time reading through the Harry Potter book series for the first time.

Autumn was Turiel, a woodland elf in the new Hobbit movie.

We have celebrated the past several years with our friends in their neighborhood. It has become such a fun tradition. This year, however, they were in the middle of a move. Staying with us in fact until they close on the new house. So, we had to find a Plan B. We've never really lived in a place where we could walk from house to house, but we always find somewhere to go and this year was no different. The girls got dressed and we headed out to a local neighborhood to trick-or-treat. The weather was unusually COLD! We all pretty much ran from house to house and laughed the whole way. Although the invitation was for our entire congregation to meet in the Hickory Wild area, we must have missed most of them because we ended up doing the rounds by ourselves. We ran into a couple of friends along the way, but no one was particularly excited to stand around. It was FREEZING! So, after an hour or so we packed up and headed to see our little niece before calling it a night.

The Living Room Sessions & A Missionary...

When you have the pleasure of being part of a body of believers that value multiplication and sending out as much a we do, you get to watch God do amazing things. One of which is praying our dear friend through the process of taking the Light to Tanzania.

We've known Katherine for a couple of years and not once in that time have we ever wondered what the Lord might be calling her to. God has written Africa on her heart and planted it deep into her soul. She has taken many short-term mission opportunities there over the past several years all while patiently waiting for her one-way trip. Although the process has been going on for quite some time, she is now in the active phase of preparing to leave for a two year immersion mission opportunity in early 2015! Amazing!

There is much to be done. She has an enormous amount of planning and packing to do. Some travel. And, most of all, a lot of fundraising. You can check out what's going on in more detail here.

So, we pray. And we cheer. And we pray. And we do whatever we can to help. Mike has some pretty amazing gifts and talents, so he's doing what he can to contribute. A couple of things on the horizon include: a local worship night and an album. Several of the folks of Community Life Church have hopped on board to make it happen!

All (as in 100%) of proceeds will go toward funding the eternal work that God has called Katherine to in Tanzania. And this is how we are each called - in some way - to international missions. We go. We pray. We give. Sometimes it's all of those things, and sometimes it's not. But it's always SOMETHING! We are simply thankful to be a part of advancing the gospel...however it looks!

Apples...

It's apple time again in TN! We had several apples to harvest this year. They seemed to ripen a bit early, but maybe that's due in part to a warm, dry summer. I attempted my first batch of apple butter. It turned out beautifully and could not be more simple!

Yay for Johnny Appleseed and yay for brilliant people who come up with easy-peasy recipes that help me feel a little more like Ma Ingalls. Enjoy apple season!!

We Voted...

Politics can be a difficult and touchy subject for a lot of people. Mike & I have our own opinions and this blog isn't really the place we'll normally choose to share them. However, the election being held today is important for us on a lot of levels, many of which I won't write here. One reason though, is because our very dear friends will be personally touched by how the polls roll out this evening. And we aim to do our very best to support them...

And no matter where you stand politically, please vote. It's not only our duty, but our privilege. And to quote one Mr. Forrest Gump, "that's all I have to say about that"...

A Girl and Her Horse...

I can't actually remember if I've mentioned AJ taking horse riding lessons in previous posts. I guess I could go back through the posts, but I don't have the extra time at the moment, so I'll just tell you about it again!

She has always loved horses. I can't really remember a time when she didn't. She has pictures, books, and sheets all covered with her favorite animal. When we took a trip to MT a couple of years ago, she was decidedly in her element. There were horses at the ranch where we stayed and she rode with our friends there for hours one afternoon. She's a cowgirl, through and through. Her self-chosen role models are Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. She loyal and won't even watch a Roy movie if the starring female isn't Dale. Good girl. She has a homemade "Roy & Dale" kit she keeps at the ready. Just in case a scene in her head needs to be played out in the yard.

We enjoy our little home. We're blessed with a big yard and mature trees. What we don't have on our little acre of paradise though is a pasture. There's no place for a horse here. Only those in the pictures. The kind that don't need room to roam or food to eat. So, for a very long time, AJ has only had daydreams of horses. She would occasionally ask about riding lessons, but around here you have limited choices and honestly, we couldn't foot the bill for any of them. Then one day, I found a potential option on a local site much like Craig's List. I contacted the owner and we surprised AJ with a visit to the farm and a chance to meet her new buddy, Phillip. And her trainer, Ms. Stephanie. She was overjoyed and so were we...

She started lessons back in April and looks very forward to every other Saturday when she gets to saddle up and ride the range. She's been working on horse care and learning how to ride. She laps it up. Every morsel. Her eyes get big and deep and I see pure joy on her face. As a Mom, it's a beautiful thing to watch.

Horse care is the best first lesson!

Here she is riding bareback and working on some fun tricks! We have said from the beginning that all of her years practicing her balance on Grandpa's knees have paid off beautifully in her riding :)

Here are some other pictures during various lessons.

Adventures in Camping, Plus a Birthday...

Christmas 2013 left us with some pretty sweet camping gear. We had a few backyard campout experiences, but Mike surprised me with a real live, full-blown camping trip for my birthday! He set everything up for us to be gone all weekend, which is no small feat since he's the worship pastor and Sundays are kind of important to his job. But, with everything in place, we set out early Saturday morning to Paris Landing State Park to make camp.

I love cooking on the open fire, but instead of doing that this weekend, Mike treated us to a dinner at the Inn for my birthday! And actually, it was very nice to get to relax and not cook.

Our campsite was fantastic! We had to reserve the site online and since neither of us had ever camped at PL, we were kinda just taking a shot in the dark. We definitely lucked out. It was fairly secluded and had shade. Which was pretty much what kept us alive. It was HOT. Like 100 degrees with thick humidity HOT. The kind with no breeze and the moisture in the air is more like a heavy, wet wool blanket than a refreshing mist. So we spent most of the night in the tent wondering if the wind had removed its presence from the Earth altogether. And, we camped near the marina, so around 2AM we were wakened by a very large boat that felt the need to use its horn to alert the entire world of its arrival. And apparently, at 2AM that's one of the funniest things ever. So we laughed and listened to the captain say fun words as he tried to figure out why his boat wouldn't start! :) On Sunday we had a great time exploring the park and just being able to unplug for a while. I always love the opportunity to worship outside. Our family enjoys and holds on to those rare gifts.

Any amount of time away is never really enough, but we'll take every second we can get!

Here's to being easily amused!!

A nice cold shake to end a fun, HOT weekend right!! :)

So far 34 isn't too shabby...

This is the Stuff Life is Made of...

I've mentioned before that we have a beautiful park and marina just down the street from our house. We love to spend time there. We like to walk the trails, bike the paths and watch the boats, people and sunsets. So, here are a few pictures from a couple of our recent adventures...

  

We're always a pushover for a good sunset!