Are you ready? 

Ok, here we go….

I can see it when you walk, tell it when you talk…. if you can continue with these lyrics, you need to click here for the right stuff.  Yes Alisha, this is exactly what I was avoiding!

Here’s one I’m pretty sure we could all use: getting the phone under control

I found my new favorite word this week.  Are you a fun-hater?  If I’m being honest my answer would have to be yes.

Here is an adorable picture, and someone else doing a pretty good job of explaining exactly how I feel.

I thought these quick fitness tips were a really great idea.

Though I’m not nearly as easy going as MckMama (if I ever had a little boy his hair would never be long enough to even consider a ponytail!….but God took care of that potential battle, didn’t He.)  But I love her point in this post about focusing on what really matters.

Have a fun weekend!

P.S. Pray for Miss A.  She fell and hurt her leg yesterday (and now refuses to bend it even a tiny bit) so we’re off to the doctor this morning to find out what’s going on….

****UPDATE***** well, she still won’t bend it all  the way, but she woke up this morning saying she was all better, so we’re blaming it on a pulled muscle

I’ve been reading here and there about seasonal tables.  I think it’s a Waldorf concept, but I’m not positive about that.

Anyway, I thought it sounded really fun.  It would give the girls a chance to display their treasures, and would make the house feel festive without spending a bunch of money.

SO, a couple of weeks ago we collected some things from Grandma’s yard.

Then we added in our awesome farmer’s market gourd.

Just for fun we added a little glass bottle from our fall breakfast with Grammy.

Finally each of the girls selected an item while we were at the pumpkin patch (in addition to our pumpkin).

I had to convince Miss A that it wasn’t a good idea to taste her indian corn.

Miss E marched right up to the table at the farm stand and said “I want that corn pumpkin!” I thought it was the perfect name for this little gourd.

I picked out this adorable little white pumpkin for Miss I, but apparently she would have been happier with her own “corn” pumpkin.

The result: we gathered everthing together and assembled our table.

I love it! And the girls are so proud of all their stuff.  It’s really fun that all of our “decorations” have a bit of a memory to go along with them too.

Do any of you do a seasonal table?  What’s you’re favorite thing for fall decor?  Be sure to leave a comment; I’d love to know!

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned before my fear of the dark.

It’s quite a big deal.  It took poor Hombre a couple of years to adjust to my absolute need of a night light.  I think for awhile he tried to convince me I was crazy, then he finally just decided to give up.

I’ve always been afraid of the dark.  My whole life.  I remember a little glass angel night light that my sister had.  I slept in her room a lot of nights when I was young just for that reason. 

I don’t remember a point when I started fearing the dark, or the night, it’s just always been there.  It’s changed as I’ve aged, but it definitely hasn’t diminished. 

I was thinking about it the other day, trying to figure out what it is that is so foreboding to me about it.

Sometimes I think that the darkness is just so overwhelming to me because it is night time, and I’m tired, and everything is more overwhelming and dramatic when you are tired.  Every worry or fear seems ten times bigger and more real.

Sometimes I think it’s just the quiet, the stillness, that makes me uneasy.  Not only does my exhaustion make my fears seem bigger, but the stillness gives my mind time to conjur up all sorts of new fears.  It’s pretty ridiculous.

I go through seasons of real struggle with the night.  Evenings where I feel the dread slowly creeping in and taking over as the daylight fades.  Times where I long for the peace that comes to my body and mind with the rising of the sun. 

What is it that I fear so much?  What is it  that causes me to become so wrapped up in this anxiety?

I don’t know.

But I think maybe, in a way, I’m learning.

I read this post the other day, all about the figurative darkness in our lives.  I know we’ve all had our share.

But it really made me contemplate my recent (recurrent) battles in the darkness.

And it became really clear.  What I’ve always known, but have never really embraced.

God made the darkness.

As sure as He created the light, He created the darkness. 

And His ways are perfect.  And He has a purpose in everything He does.

In the book Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis writes:

If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found
out that it has no meaning: just as,
if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes,
we should never know it was dark. 
Dark woud be without meaning.

I think the dark is so overwhelming to me because I know what “darkness” really is.  And I only really know that because I have known light.

The thing that the Lord has been impressing on my heart through all of this is my need to see the Light even when it is dark.

It is so much easier to “rest” in the light when that’s all there is.  But when it’s dark, you really have to search for light, and you really have to cling to it, because though darkness can never overcome light, it is really good at hiding it sometimes.

I don’t know if any of this is even making sense.

I just know that lately I have found God stretching me, calling me to grow, showing me how limited my faith can be, and showing me what my life will be if I never take that next step closer to Him.

In Him lies my only true peace.  My only real comfort.  My only perfect love.  He’s the only One that can always bring light to the darkness.  Why don’t I ever just ask Him too?  If I can’t draw towards His light in physical darkness, then how will I ever find Him when real darkness surrounds me?

I’m tired of being afraid of the dark.  And I don’t need to be.

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
~Psalm 27:1

I know the One who made the dark.  And He is always there shining His light for me.  I’m going to stop allowing the darkness to distract me, and instead choose to see the Light. 

When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You,
“Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
~Psalm 27:8

The girls have been really into the Berenstein Bears lately.  So we checked out several books from the library. And I realized we had one of my FAVORITE childhood books.

I LOVED this book as a child, and I had totally forgot that it even existed.

Do you want to see my favorite part?

These were my favorite pages when I was little.

Can you imagine why? 

*******************************************************************************

Speaking of library books, we checked out this book to read along with some of our history lessons.

You’re not gonna believe this.  We turned to this page, and Miss E said ”Look Mommy they’re saving that lady from the water!”

My response: “Oh yeah, you’re right!  Let’s go to the next page!”

A truthful response would have been (according to the text) “No honey, they are dunking that lady in the water to punish her for talking back to her husband.  That’s what they did in Colonial days!”

Somehow I just didn’t feel the need to share that bit of history with my girls yet.

I did share it with Hombre.

He laughed and said I would have been getting dunked a lot! (ha ha)