Bishop's Pumpkin Farm

Saturday my Mom and I took the kids to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm in Wheatland. It was soooooo fun! At this farm they make fresh pumpkin pie, pumpkin butter, apple cider, apple pies etc... The best part is that all of the goodies they make come from things they grow on the farm.

Caroline was so excited!

"Uh. I don't see any pumpkins"Caroline holding her ticket for the pony ride. Some little feet for AndreaBig Sister & Lil' Mister posing on the pumpkinsHangin on to Grammy on the hayride The hunt for the "perfect pumpkin" beganCaroline found hers!
So did Jack!
The ride back after a victorious hunt.

There were so many other things to do. I can't post all of the pictures because I took sooo many. We rode the train around the farm, watched the pig races, watched Taeko drummers, played on the playground and ate really yummy food.

Independence Trail

This morning was a particularly brisk morning. Rick was not working and we had decided to go to Independence Trail for a family hike. That's right, it was 51 degrees when we left the house for the trail head (about 10 minutes away).

Caroline was kind enough to point out where the trail began.

So we packed up GilAnd Jack, and off we went!This was such a great way to talk about God as Creator.

We made up a game like "I Spy" and instead said,

"I see something that God made and it's green!" Caroline found all kinds of things that God made including the acorns (that weighed my pockets down the longer we hiked).

She also found this pine cone that was soft from the rain.

She decided it should go into our refrigerator to keep it cold.There are several of these awesome bridges along the way.

Daddy stole a kiss

Hang on Jack!

Jack loves to go for hikes.

Jack, Daddy & Gil

Caroline had a chance to lead Gil while we were on our hike.

Rick found this fallen tree and decided to CONQUER!!

This was a great family outing. We really needed some connect time with each other. It was another opportunity for us to cultivate a love for God as Creator in our children.

Fall Is Here!

Well, the leaves are starting to turn and we have begun to light fires in our wood stove: FALL IS HERE!!!! This is one of my very favorite seasons so with my camera in hand I set out to see how God is changing the world around me.

Caroline came home with her first "fall" project from school

I was amazed how this leaf landed. It was barely hanging on to the banister.
Nice cozy fire this morning...thank you Rick
Part of our tree in the front yard.
My mums are in full bloom
The red ones are my favorite.
This tree is right up the street from me.
I just HAD to pull the car over.

With each season's change I am reminded how our great God continues to change us and work in our lives to bring in a new season. I am so thankful for this visual demonstration of his love for us.

I Love My Mom!

My Mother is one of the most giving people I know. She also has a variety of gifts and talents. One of them is laying cultured rock. She has been showing me the ropes at my grandmothers house. The other day when I showed up at my Grandma's house to work there was my Mom all dressed up in her work clothes. I thought she was soooo cute. She is about to pull out a huge saw to cut the rock with.

I LOVE YOU MOM!!

9 Month Check Up at 11 Months

Today was Jack's 9 month check up. Yes, he is now over 11 months old. Yikes! And for all of you out there, this is my first official blog with my new awesome camera. Yipeee! The process of buying a new camera is such a miracle in itself and worthy of it's own blog.

Jack tipped the scaled at 26 lbs 2 oz. Believe it or not he has lost about a pound since his last check up! With all of the crawling he has been doing, it's no wonder! That actually means that he has dropped down to the 90% for weight and he is 30" long putting him in the 75% for height. The Dr. also noting a small amount of fluid hangin' out in his ears. Bleh.

Today he had to get 3 shots plus a toe poke (or a "Poe Toke" if you ask Caroline). They had to check his blood level for lead. Our house was originally built in the 1870's; it's just a precaution. Also there have been many recalls on toys containing lead paint and our pediatrician is testing almost all of his patients.

An unsuspecting subject.

Still clueless and tipping the scales.
" I got a poke."
(Don't faint Annie)

After such a traumatic day at the Dr. I allowed Jack to have a chocolate chip cookie with his sister in the grocery store.

"At least I got a cookie."

Big sister was there to encourage him the whole time.

This is just a bonus pic. Jack pulled himself all the way up in the bath tub the other night and there I was. Faced with a really cute tooshie. It was too cute not to shoot! The "hiney" is the most important area on a baby if you ask me. It's one of the first parts I check when they are born...forget fingers & toes.

Christian Musician Summit

This past Friday and Saturday I was fortunate enough to join my fellow "Celebration Artians" at the Christian Musicians Summit at Bayside Church in Roseville, CA (about 1 hour away). It was such an inspirational weekend. There were so many seminars to encourage every person in your worship team...band and vocal members. Bayside is an amazing church that is on the cutting edge of church leadership and technology. They also have the added bonus of having Lincoln Brewster and Jason Scott as their full time worship pastors...AWESOME!!Me & LyndzDAAARRRFFFF!!!

Our fearless leader Dave doing what he loves...

Thinking really, really hard.

Kelli & Mel

A fun little shot from Lyndz.
Twins!

Not really. It's Kim & Michelle!

We went to a yummy place called Daphne's Greek Cafe for dinner. It was sooooo yummy.
Sivje's lovely finger showing us all of her Greek food.

Janette & Lyndz snuggle for a pic.
"Sivje- the- Pirate Parish"
"Lover Lumps"

Sivje's un-recovered rocker husband Don.

He looks nice in his boots.

This conference was amazing. I attended seminars on vocal artistry, leadership and song writing. It was amazing to sit under people like Paul Baloche and Brenton Brown who have written the familiar songs we sing in Sunday morning worship like "Lord Reign in Me" and "All Who Are Thirsty" and to listen to how their songs came into being. Not to mention the worship was ROCKIN'!!!!

Officially Ours!!

We got the official word the other night that Gil is now ours forever! It has been a long wait but it was well worth it. Caroline is in LOVE!!
Putting on Gil's new name tag with our phone #.
A very happy Gil.

Ok. He doesn't look too happy because he has to wear this harness around the kids. When he is harness free he really loves to play tug of war, and fetch. He also loves to cover us with smooches. He is so cute!

Thank you Rachel for doing such a great job with Gil. He misses you so much and can't wait for this long 6 months to be over with. You raised a beautiful dog and we love his soooo much.