October 7th, 2010 There are several different ways we’ve handled pumpkin carving in our house. We used to let them each have a pumpkin until we kept having children. Then there was that one year we bought one pumpkin and carved 3 different faces, one on each side of the same pumpkin. I think we painted separate ones one year. Then it seems like we may have let the kids vote to see whose design would win for the carving one year. This year our pumpkin patch trip was a homeschool field trip that was a package deal including a small pumpkin for each child. They were so excited. I had the 3 older kiddos draw out ideas on paper of what they wanted on their pumpkins and then narrow it down to their favorite. Then I drew the face they chose onto their pumpkin, the kids helped scoop “the guts” out, and Matt carved it. So, it’s their own design, drawn with no kid accidents, yet a pumpkin they can call all their own.
I love “punkin” carving! The smell, the mess, the excitement! We get even the youngest involved. This year I sat Baby on the table in front of me with my arms around him while I finished scooping pumpkins – he loved feeling the gooey stuff!
Here’s this year’s jack o’ lanterns!
 Daddy’s on the far left smiling, mine next with the “yelling” face!, The Oldest’s “cutesy” face, The Middlest’s “sideways teeth”, The Girl’s princess (see the crown at the top?), then BigMan’s little glowing “punkin”, and then one I drew on for Baby.
And here are the four olders with their masterpieces. Baby was having no part of being set down in the dark.
So how do y’all carve pumpkins? Do you? Do you have one family pumpkin or each child gets their own? Is it a family event all together? I wanna know, y’all!
October 6th, 2010  We went to the pumpkin patch yesterday and had a blast! I don’t really feel like editing and uploading all 186 pics I took (nor do you want to see them, I’m sure, except for Granna and Nana and rest assured I’ll post plenty for your printing pleasure!). But I wanted to see something pretty and new on my blog. So, consider this your sneak peek at our fun day.
September 30th, 2010 
My BigMan is growing up. I want to capture the moments that are right now. The ones I know that are so fleeting. And that no matter how hard I try to remember I will forget.
He’s riding a bike. With vigor. And all around my kitchen. He can zoom oh so fast. (A side note: Do you remember when I got these shirts? Amazingly, I’m less exhausted now than when I had four of them. And I don’t let him wear it out of the house into town anymore. Because I get so many negative comments about the amount of my kiddos that I don’t add to the fodder by putting them in negative shirts. I think I’ve changed that way in the last 2 years. I feel gentler towards them and I want them and the rest of the world to know it.) He’s going through a phase of refusing to eat. Anything. He’s always been a picky eater, but it’s hitting a peak again. Yesterday Matt reminded me that My Middlest was the same way at this age. He refuses real food over and over and then has an “I’m hungry!” screaming meltdown. It makes me crazy. Matt encouraged me yesterday, “He’ll eat when he gets hungry. It just may not be this hour. Or next. But he’ll eat.”
Though he’s too young to officially play soccer this year, we found an old uniform for him to dress out in on game days. He loves playing soccer with them. He loves to be outside and with his siblings more than anything else. He loves school work, play dough, Candy Land, puzzles, and dancing. He sleeps most nights mostly in his own bed now. He comes to mine some time in the wee hours usually. Though he falls asleep on his own in his bed. I’m thankful, but secretly miss how he used to fall gently to sleep next to me on the couch.
 He starts my morning, and his, with words like “I lub you bery bery much, Mama” and “today’s going to be a good day” and in the midst of park days, balloon nights, and River Market mornings, camp outs, and even just around the house times “this is the best day eber!” He’s been known to say those words in the midst of my crying breakdowns when everything’s going wrong before we load up to go grocery shopping. Stops me in my tracks every time.
BigMan every day with you is the best day eber. And I lub you, little buddy, bery, bery much.
September 29th, 2010  We found some pictures from when he got his name – TheMiddlest. How does the time fly like that? Hop over to his blog to see what he has to say about himself from those days. I also wanted to show you the poem he put together for me the other day. And of course he set it where he knew I would find it.
 “warm the laugh It and around The baby”
Sweet then, sweet now.
If you’re not a member of his blog and want to be, let me know and I’ll add you.
September 26th, 2010 A couple of months ago my oldest child got baptized. Today we celebrated our 7 year old’s baptism. And what a celebration! He made a decision a year and a half ago that led to this decision.
We believe that baptism follows a decision. A divine decision to follow Jesus Christ for the rest of your life. With a desire to want to spend forever and ever in heaven worshiping God. And a knowledge of your sins, all those things you do wrong, that they’ve been forgiven in the only way they can be – through the death and the rising and the living again of Jesus. Yes, that crazy act so long ago.
We believe there’s nothing magic about being dunked under water, and we do it that way because that’s the description in Mark 1:10 of Jesus “coming up out of the water”.
We believe baptism follows a decision because it’s just getting to show the world what was decided and prayed about prior to this public display. We believe it’s a symbol, a picture of Jesus’ death and resurrection. We also believe it’s a picture of our “putting away of the old life of sin”, that life being buried, and then the new us raised up to walk with Him. As my 7 year old recently said to me, “When will I be baptized, Mama, because almost no one knows I’m a Christian.” And that’s it. By being baptized he’s saying to the world what he’s decided in his heart. Infinitely better explanations can be found in Colossians 2:12 12having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. And in 1 Peter 3:21 21and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We do not believe that baptism is the saving grace. We believe that moment you realize you are in desperate need of Jesus and ask Him to forgive your sins, and thereby make a decision to seek His ways and not your own for the rest of your life you are forgiven. The forgiveness flows immediately. The baptism itself is not what will save you. That would make it from us, by us, attainable by human works, a religion, a legalistic marking off of a checklist. And amazingly He doesn’t work that way.
We believe that even children can make this decision and serve Him. Even though the “old life” is not that long for them. It’s not saying they won’t ever sin again (good grief, how many times a day can I, myself, sin?) but it’s saying that when they do they are forgiven. Each and every time.
16But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ~Luke 18:16
We believe this is a big deal. It’s a once in a lifetime decision. As Ephesians 4:4-6 says, “4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
We believe once you grasp these things and know that you want to chase hard after Jesus for the rest of your life, knowing that without Him you can’t chase hard after Him, then the very next step is to be baptized. That immediacy is found in Matthew 3:6, Mark 1:5, Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, Acts 2:41, Acts 8:12-13, Acts 8:35-39, Acts 9:17-19, Acts 10:46-48, Acts 16:33, Acts 18:8, Acts 19:5, Acts 22:16.
All of this I know. And believe. I also know that it all sounds completely crazy to those who don’t believe the same as we do. Because I was once someone who didn’t believe what I do now. And I thought it was nuts. Here’s my secret: it still sounds crazy to me. I don’t understand it. I can’t explain it well. But I believe. And the same with my children. Do they have to be able to explain the intricacies of our faith to the point that those arguing it with them would be convinced? Is it at that point they can be considered a part of the “faith”? No, I believe if Jesus were to ask a group of us who would want to be His disciple and my 7 year old jumped up and said,”Me, Jesus, me, me, me!” (and I’m convinced he would) that Jesus would not give him all the reasons that wouldn’t be prudent for a child to do that. I don’t believe that. I believe that He might would tell my son that life will not be easy now (but really, is it ever anyway?), but I don’t think He would turn him away. Or tell him to wait a while. I believe Jesus Christ would smile, call him to Himself and tell him how much He loves him and how he’s been waiting for him.
And I believe the same for you. I know what it is to be broken. And ashamed. And sadly, I’m sure I can’t keep my son from being ashamed some day, but I know he has a comfort and assurance that will carry him through the hard times. And I know it’s there for you too.
Do you believe? Have you been baptized? Tell me about it. I love a good unbelievable story!
(If you would like a good place to read, right now, some of these verses or any others from the Bible – a good resource I use online is BibleGateway.com and please feel free to ask me any questions you may have.)
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