A Thankful Heart

Today my heart is full of thanks for a long list of people and circumstances.  I humbly recognize that there is a whole tribe of family and friends that surround and support Steve and I, without whom we would be utterly hopeless (especially when it comes to raising our boys while pursuing our dreams).  If you are in that tribe (and you most likely are if you are reading this) - thank you for being part of our journey.  We love you. 

Today my heart is also filled with deep love and gratitude for these youth and their presence in my life.  Just look at them - each one so beautiful, so loving, and so filled with gifts to offer the world!

Yesterday, this group of teens came to The GreenHouse to help assemble and deliver Thanksgiving Food Boxes to 48 families in their own community.  It was a joy to watch them hard at work, filling the boxes with food and getting them out to where they needed to go.  They could have spent their day off from school doing any number of other things.  They chose to come and serve (along with a whole army of other awesome volunteers).

This year, more than ever, the food baskets were a blessing to the community.  There are many, many people who are unemployed, struggling to pay rent, and in danger of being evicted.  A box of food delivered to their door was indeed a welcome gift. 

The teens who came yesterday saw and heard firsthand the impact of their service.  They walked away with smiles on their faces - that kind of afterglow that comes from knowing that you've been used to bless someone else.  For that, and for them, I am truly thankful.    

Apples + Pumpkins + Football = Fall Family Fun!

I realize Fall is not over for another month (so technically, there's plenty of fall-fun still to be had), but here's a look back on some of the adventures our family had during this delightful time of year.

Fall Family Highlight #1: Picking apples at Apple Hill.  Hard to believe that with all of the trips we've made to Apple Hill over the years, this was the first time we've actually picked apples before!  How have we never done that before?  It was so fun!  The boys loved picking the apples right off the tree and digging in - fresh, organic apples at our fingertips...YUM. 

Jonah loved using the apple picker.  He got one down right away...

and then sat in a tree and enjoyed his prize!

Even Riley tried (unsuccessfully) to get some apples down with the loooong picker.

Nicolas preferred to just collect them in his basket.

The fabulous u-pick farm that we went to was not crowded, not commercialized, and even had a pond with a row boat that they let us go on for free. 

We'll definitely be going back there next year.  It made for a beautiful fall day.

Fall Family Highlight #2:  Visiting as many pumpkin patches during the month of October as we possibly could.  There were too many to count, all chock full of kid-fun: hayrides, bounce houses, corn mazes, petting zoos, and of course picking the perfect pumpkins.   Below are some pictures that my mother-in-law took when she and my father-in-law took the boys to a patch that's just a hop, skip, and jump from our house.

(this picture epitomizes our twins - complete opposites in every facet of personality and temperment)

Riley chose a lopsided, pimply, bright orange pumpkin.

Jonah chose the biggest, most perfectly round pumpkin he could find. 

And, Nicolas helped push them all to the car!

Fall Family Highlight #3: The UC Davis Homecoming Football Game.   I can honestly say that I do NOT love football.  And, we're not exactly the most supportive UCD Alums either.  But, since Steve is once again an Aggie (free admission for him)...and we have three little boys who love sporting events...and we've been curious to see the fancy new stadium with the lawn area for families, we decided to give the Homecoming Game a try.  We're so glad we did!  It was a really fun night and a tradition that I hope we will continue every year.  (Come on former Ags...mark your calendars for next year!)

 

Steve and I were silly enough to think that we could take a picture of just the two of us (notice Jonah's hands calling "UP!")

He won. 

CCDA Conference

I'm looking forward to going to the Christian Community Development Association Institute this weekend in Oakland.  Anyone want to join me at the Saturday class?  Click here for more details.  Oakland peeps...anyone free?

Family Fun on Halloween

 James, Thomas, and Luke Skywalker

Ready to go fill up these bags with some friends

Trick-or-Treat!

So Fun!

Pumpkin Carving Party

This year I was ready to bring back the Halloween Party that I hope to do annually for the kids on our street. (We did the first one back in 2006, but then couldn’t muster up the energy to do it...or any social gathering of any kind for that matter in 2007 or 2008.  Anyone want to guess why? I’ll give you TWO guesses.) 

We held a Costume Parade/Pumpkin Carving Party the night before Halloween and we invited seven or so families that surround us on either side of our street. 

the costume parade:

After "parading" up and down the street, everyone headed over to our house for pumpkin carving and dessert.  It was really fun to see everyone's creativity come out with the pumpkins. For two of the families, no one in their family had ever carved a pumpkin before (Halloween is not celebrated in Mexico or India).  I think they enjoyed it the most – especially the moms!

some first-time carvers:

 

and a few seasoned carvers:

It was great to be together to share some traditions, enjoy each other’s company, and continue building community right here on our street.

And, of course, Jonah loved spending time with his buddy.  These two are ready to destroy all of the evil forces in the world!

It's fun to look back at the group photo from our first Halloween Party in 2006. Jonah, who was just a few months shy of his second birthday at the time, is screaming his head off in the picture because he is frightened of the boy on the left in the scary mask. The funny thing is that the same boy, now 3 years older, once again wore a scary mask to this year's party. But this time, Nicolas and Riley were the ones who were scared!

2006 (note: scary mask on the left)

2009 (note: scary mask on the right - same kid!)