Pumpkin Party Pictures

We hosted our "annual" pumpkin party a couple weeks ago. I put "annual" in quotations because we haven't done it for the past two years. But it's something we started at our old house and wanted to continue so we got around to planning it this year. It was fun as always! Everybody brings their own pumpkins to either carve or paint. Everybody brings food to share and my sister Heidi, and my sister-in-law Marie and I made chili. It was a fun night! Here are some pictures from the evening.

My nephew, Joe working on his pumpkin

Another nephew, Drew paining this pumpkin...he was all business

Here is the kids' painting station.

Darci at work among Cade, Cole and Caleb (someday, when she's older, this would either be an amazing evening or annoying...depending on if she thinks boys are cool or not)

More artists

The adults working on their pumpkins

We had some amazing carvings again this year

Another little nephew, Will working on his pumpkin

Clint was very serious about getting his pumpkin right.

Here the contestants put in their candles and make their last adjustments before the judging begins.

I think this was the hardest year to pick a winner. All of the pumpkins were just so great. Everybody votes for one as most creative and one for most beautiful/artistic. It was actually a very close race this year. The winners were:

Jay: most artistic Jarod: most creative

The prizes were apple pies made by me...I know, maybe not the most exciting prize but it works.

Here are the pumpkins

I wish you could see all of these with lights in them and the lights off...they just look even better.

"Boo!"

Thanks to everyone who came. Hope we can do it again next year.

Here are their Costumes

I'm not a big fan of Holloween but it is fun to see the kids dressed up. I am one of those very last minute moms when it comes to the outfits. I seriously didn't come up with an idea until the day of. So, basically we used what we had in our dress up box and regular clothes.

Aria was the chicken this year. All of my kids have been a chicken at this age because my sister, Heidi bought this for Josh when he was a toddler and it's the only costume I don't have to think twice about. She enjoyed it for awhile and then preferred just to wear the orange pants.

Darci was a 1940s lady waiting for her man to come home from WWII.

Here she is with her noble service man.

I guess he's just really excited to finally be on leave and with his girl!

A Grateful Day

I thought I'd share a story of when my kids were very good since I often share times when I am struggling because of bad behavior!

Today, our town was having an H1N1 vaccine clinic where we could get the shot for free. My OB strongly urged me to get it and my kids' pediatrician also wanted me to get my kids vaccinated. So, this morning at 9:15 I dicided to head over to the center to get it done quickly at the beginning of the day. I just assumed that they had started around 7:00 am.

I got there around 9:30 and was pleasantly surprised to see that there were not as many cars as I had expected and the line was reasonably short. There were only about 100 people in line. So, we got in line. the sun was out after days of rain and dreary weather so I was thankful.

By 10:15, however, the line had not moved an inch and the sun had been hidden by a thick layer of clouds. The wind had picked up and was beginning to blow against our backs. I finally asked the ladies in front of me, "What time are they going to open the doors?" Their answer made me cringe, "12:00". At this point, Aria was begining to fuss because she was ready for a nap. Josh was stressed about the prospect of getting a shot. Darci was not enjoying the wind.

I thought to myself, "Should I give up on this and do it another time? Should I come back later? Should I stick it out?" I finally decided on the third option. I quickly prayed, "Lord, help my kids to be unusually patient. Help my kids not to be too cold. Please help the nurse who administers the shots to be kind. Help us to get through this wait".

Praise the Lord because my kids did very well. I had thankfully packed pretzles and fruit snacks that helped Aria to wait as patiently as possible. Darci and Josh ended up playing in the grass by the line and it was one time I was thankful that they don't mind playing in their own imaginary world.

about 5 minutes before 12:00 and older gentleman came up to me from behind and said, "Your kids have been so patient and good and now they're all going to get shots!" I said, "I know! I feel so mean!"

Once the doors opened, the line moved quickly and we were all vaccinated in about 20 minutes.

As I walked out the doors and saw the line of hundreds of people still waiting outside, I was thankful that for once I was not organized and had checked the start time. I never would have showed up so early and gotten through the line before the rain began to fall. I was also so thankful for my kids who behaved so unusually well. I was thankful to a God who cares enough to hear a desperate mom's prayer.

I am feeling very sorry for anyone who was out there at 3:00 (the time I was originally going to go) in the cold rain.

So, that was our adventure today...sorry for the boring post.

Thank You Guys

I just wanted to acknowledge all the comments on my last post. It was so encouraging to read from mothers who have walked this road ahead of me and gave hope. I was grateful for words of challenge and encouragement to keep falling before the Lord. I was thankful that my thoughts were able to somehow communicate the feelings of some of you other moms out there. There is an encouragement to know we are not alone isn't there? I'm thankful for each one of you and wanted to say thank you for sharing in my life through this blog!

Have a great day!

I'm Not Good at This

Yes...I know it's been a month since I last posted on this blog. For some reason, blogging has fallen to a lower place on my list of things to do each day. We've been busy plugging away at homeschooling, going to speech therapy, church stuff, and just life in general has felt busy. The pregnancy is going pretty well. The baby is healthy, Praise God! But the dreaded heart burn has kicked in. Seriously, this baby must be as hairy as Esau because I've never had it this bad! But I'm looking forward to meeting this new little member of our family. We aren't going to find out what it is...I figure I may need a little more motivation in the labor and delivery room!

The title of this blog is in reference to something I've been learning about myself lately. My cousin, Shar got to hear an earful of it this past weekend (thanks for listening!).

You know what I've realized? I am NOT good at this thing called being a mom. I'm not joking. I am not trying to sound humble. I'm being painfully honest.

Before I had children, I would watch other moms and see ways they could be doing better or I'd see really great moms and think, "that's what I'm going to be like". I think I had heard that being a mom was hard but in my prideful heart, I thought it would come easy and naturally for me because I had a good role model in my Mom.

Since having my own little kids, I have become painfully aware of my deficiencies. I am not a patient person. I am easily irritated. I haven't figured out how to always discipline in a calm manor. I am selfish and would often rather do my thing than be a better mom. When my kids act out in public I am more concerned about what people think of me than what this attitude displayed in my kids means in their life. When I got pregnant this time, I was upset because it meant I was going to be getting even more overweight...a heart of selfishness.

And yet, I have told myself, I just need to read the right book, or try harder and I will do a better job at being a Mom.

In the last few months, God has been slowly opening my eyes to my utter and desperate need for Him. I feel like He has been gently but firmly prying my hands free of the reins. It's like He's saying, "Rebekah, admit it, you are not good at being a mom...you can't do this if you're the one holding the reins!"

Man, it hurts! I hate having to admit that I am not naturally good at mothering. I hate going to bed at night feeling like I may have wounded my kids' spirits that day in a way that will affect their lives. I hate feeling like I am a failure at the most important job I've been called to.

But you know...I think it's the only way God would have gotten me to a place where I say, "I NEED YOU!!! God! I NEED You! I cannot do this! My kids are too precious to not do this job well. But I can't do it well without You teaching me how to do it. Like the hymn says, 'I need You EVERY hour'. Help me!" This was the cry of my heart as I wept by my bed the other day...a day when I hollered at my kids more than I didn't.

It's humbling to have to admit my need...but I am so comforted knowing that my dear Father in heaven is the One who fills my need. His wisdom will be enough. His grace will sustain me. I just pray that God will continue to draw me each day to my knees and remind me that I need Him in all the moments of my days. I don't just need His help...I need Him to lead the way and guide my every move, my words, my thoughts, my every interaction.

Oh Father, thank You that You hear my cry!

Bread and Butters

On Saturday, I pickled some cucumbers. It's a recipe I got from Matt's Grandma and they are pretty delicious. I also think they are so easy to do, so I thought I'd put the instructions on here in case you'd like to try them too!

Bread and Butter Pickles

4 quarts thinly sliced cucumbers

6 medium white onions, sliced and halved

1/3 cup salt

crushed ice

5 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons tumeric

1 1/2 teaspoons celery seeds

2 tablespoons mustard seeds

3 cups white vinegar

slice the cucumbers

add the sliced onions
add the salt


cover the cucumber mixture with crushed ice. Let stand for 3 hours.

after the 3 hours is up, drain thoroughly.

combine the sugar, tumeric, celery seeds, mustard seeds and vinegar

pour the mixture over the cucumbers

Put the complete mixture in a large cooking pan. Heat until boiling and the cucumbers turn to a dark green.

Wash your jars in the dishwashwer. Put the canning lids in a a pan of water and heat until bliling, then keep them on warm. When your jars are still hot from the dishwashwer, fill the jars to withing 3/4 of an inch to the top of the jar. Wipe the top off with a clean damp rag. Immediately place the lid on and screw on the rest of the lid firmly with dry towel.

In a few minutes, the lids should click and seal. Leavefor 24 hours to cool before storing.

If none of this makes sense and you'd like to try these, just ask me to clarify!

enjoy, if you try them!

A Yummy Little Dish

The other night, I made a recipe that I thought was tastey and pretty (Thanks to Rachael Ray). Since cooking is one of my favorite things to do, I thought it might be fun to have a recipe on here once in awhile. So, hope you can enjoy this one sometime.

Wild Rice Pilaf with Mushrooms and Pecans

3 oz. wild rice (about 1//2 cup)

1/2 pound orzo pasta

2 TB butter

1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced

2 TB chopped fresh sage

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

Half of a 15.5 oz can chickpeas, drained

Salt

1. Cook the wildrice according to package directions; transfer to a large bowl. Meanwhile, in a pot of boiling, salted water, cook the orzo until al dente, drain. Add to the wild rice.

2. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add the pecans and sage and cook, stirring frequently, until the nuts are toasted and the mushrooms are tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in the peas and chickpeas. Add the vegetable mixture to the orzo misture; season with salt.

And because I think Matt's tomatos are so pretty, here's a picture of what we ate with the wildrice pilaf.
they are even better tasting than they look! YUM!