The kind of math I like

Sunshine + fall colors + happy kids + camera + weekend = non-traditional school pictures and a trip to the pumpkin patch!!!

Craving deep waters

Sometimes I feel like I am just living life on the surface. And that is not like me. I am a person who craves intimacy, meaningful moments with those that God has blessed my life with. But for some time now I have been feeling pulled in so many different directions. Life seems so rushed and busy all the time and I am spread thin. And I'm floating down this crazy river of life on a raft, when I'd rather be on a pontoon...really living in the moment and taking the time to pull up to shore and enjoy the beaches.

Time relaxing with my husband...just us. No distractions.

Coffee and conversation with a friend...

Alone time with each of our kids...where I can just focus on them. One at a time!

Time alone with God. Real time, where I'm not rushing off to work or to bed. Where I can just sit and read and pray for a while.

These are the things that I feel like I don't do enough of. It sounds really easy and logical to tell myself to just make the time. Let everything else go, and make the time. I know that is what I need to do, but something always seems to come up and steal the time away.

So now here I am, on the eve of another busy Saturday. We had fun and got alot accomplished...Kyle had a flag football game this morning, so we braved the cold morning in our winter coats and ear muffs to watch. Eight year olds playing flag football is so cute (don't tell him I called him cute). It's kind of like T-ball...the kids aren't really sure what to do, but if they happen to get the ball they run!


And here are some of those meaningful moments I've been craving, even if it was out on the football field...




Meaningful? I'm thinking so.

After that, Hope, Vince and I went shopping for halloween costumes and got some cool stuff for the boys - Nick and Vinny are going to be Mario & Luigi, and Trevor is going to do something gross with liquid latex on his face. Kyle already has his costume...a knight, but Hope has yet to find hers. She wants to be Pebbles but for the life of me I have no idea how to sew and we haven't found a Pebbles costume in the store, so we may have to find something else equally cute and fun. After lunch at a yummy local pizza joint, we made one last stop at the co-op for some nuts & seeds so I can make some more nutty butter, and my new love...home-made granola bars! I got the recipe from a friend from church (thanks Julie :) and when I made a pan of them last weekend they lasted exactly a day and a half at our house. I'll post the recipe and some mouthwatering pics tomorrow after I make them.

So after all those adventures, we came home and got some projects done...I finished re-organizing our kitchen cabinets (and have 3-4 grocery bags of stuff for Goodwill to prove it) while Vince was busy putting new brakes in the van. Then Hope and I spent a couple hours in her room - organizing and rearranging her furniture! It was fun, and more meaningful moments to treasure as she shared with me more stories about her memories and her important "stuff".




Meanwhile, Vince and Vinny are having some nerdy guy time watching Star Trek (oh, the memories...) Once that is done and the kids are safely tucked into their beds for the night, Vince and I will have some time to relax...no distractions, just us.

Hmmm....even amidst our busy life, I guess the waters really do run deep around here after all.

Things our kids have said recently

"I just can't stop touching my armpit." - Hope

"This is so weird. I'm not usually nice like this. It feels good!" - Kyle

"I don't know why, but my cough sounds like a walrus" - Hope

"Aaahhh....I love my life!" - Kyle

I love books!

Barnes and Noble is one of my favorite stores, not only because that is where I met Mr. Wonderful for the first time, but because being there is a whole sensory experience for me. Really. I actually get a rush when I cross the threshhold and enter the store...beginning with the smell of Starbucks Coffee, which I could easily become addicted to except I'm too cheap. I love the decor - warm and cozy - and the fact that they have couches. It just feels good to be there!

And then of course there's the books. I usually make my way to the "Christian Inspirational" section, but I check out the cookbooks and gift areas on my way there. I love perusing the shelves and finding one that has a really cool cover. Yes, I admit I judge books by their covers. If it has a warm design and a cool font, I'm hooked. I love how new books smell, and the sound of the binding cracking when I open them for the first time. I love the feel of holding a good book in my hands, and if I"m really in love with it I've been known to hold it up to my face next to my cheek. The book. In the store. I know, weird. And after I'm done making out with my book, if they haven't kicked me out of the store yet, I'll make my purchase and go get a cup of caramel mocha, curl up on one of their comfy couches and begin reading it.

Ok, I've never actually done that last part, but it sounds cool doesn't it? I totally would if I had the time.

If you haven't noticed before, I have a "Shelfari" on the bottom of my blog. Isn't it cute?! On it I have many of the books that I have on my real life book shelf at home. I actually have more books than that, but those are the ones that I really love. I am reading two books right now, "Get Out Of That Pit" and "The Smart Stepmom" , both of which are awesome. It takes me forever to read books - not only because I like to read more than one at a time, but because I like to underline the good parts, which when I'm reading a Beth Moore book I really have to hold back or I'll end up underlining the entire book! Not just underline...I also make stars, exclamation points, smiley faces and amens in the margins so that I can go back and find the good parts without re-reading the entire book.

But that's not the reason for this post. The real reason I'm writing about books is because I want to know what your favorite books are!! Because, you know it will give me a reason to go to Barnes and Noble this weekend :) Please leave me a comment and tell me your favorites (even if it's only one). Specifically books that have really made an impact on you spiritually - ones that you tell others about and say "you just have to read this book!"

Here are my top 8 (only because my favorite number is 8). You don't have to do the links, I just did because I can!

1. Captivating by John & Stasi Eldridge

2. Love and Respect by Emmerson Eggerichs

3. Hinds Feet On High Places by Hannah Hurnard

4. Traveling Light by Max Lucado

5. Get Out of That Pit by Beth Moore

6. Believing God by Beth Moore

7. The Prayer That Changes Everything by Stormie Omartian

8. Just Enough Light For The Step I'm On by Stormie Omartian

So....what are yours??? Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!

Quote of the day

"Our toughest battles will invariably concern matters of faith - times when we're tempted to think God's Word and His ways won't work for us, that He has abandoned us, let us down, or failed to come through for us." - Beth Moore

I found the end of the rainbow!!

I knew it!

Five Question Friday.........the Saturday Edition :]

Friday just came and went too fast for me! Saturday is proving to be the same, so I'll just answer my questions and hit the accelerator on today. Hopefully you can read this amid all the smoke and squeeling tires!

1. What is your favorite ABBA song?
Oh that is SO unfair!!! How can I possibly pick just one? ABBA rocks! Ok, if I have to then it's a tie between "Take A Chance on Me" and "Waterloo". Ok, and if you really twisted my arm, really hard so that it gave me a snake bite and it burned for like 2 hours, I guess I would pick Waterloo.

2. The thing you love most about fall is...
In a word...everything! The cool crisp air, sweatshirts and jeans and my favorite jacket, dew in the morning, but most of all it's the colors. I want to dig up someone's sugar maple and transplant it to my yard.


3. What store you would love to spend to your heart's desire (money is no object)?
You will totally think I'm lying, but my favorite store is actually called "Heart's Desire"! Way! If not there, then Barnes and Noble. Not only because that is where I met my husband for the very first time and every time we go there I make him stop and kiss me in the entryway...this wonderful man who, even as I type this, hands me the best omelet on the planet that he just made me. I love that store for the books and the Starbucks coffee...I do I do I do I do I do!

4. What is your favorite snack food?
It depends on what I'm in the mood for...salty or sweet. Prolly my favorite salty snack right now is Kettle "Multigrain" chips. The "Black Bean" chips are equally awesome, but for some reason they are always much saltier. Dip them in hummus and, mama mia! As far as sweet, then it has to be some form of ghiradelli chocolate. Their milk chocolate chips go very well together with the multi-grain chips for a salty/sweet explosion of epic proportions!!



5. What was your first car?
A 1971 blue Dodge Demon...complete with "Dodge Demon" hand painted across the bumper with a decorative swirly line. Sweet. It was amazing...I have so many memories of driving around at night listening to a talk show out of Chicago on the only station my AM radio would pull in, the muffler falling off, having to add a gallon of oil every week....special times!