dewberry farm

this past weekend, our family went to dewberry farm, which is in brookshire, tx.
in case you didn't know, the above video is what a donkey sounds like. when asked if i was going to post this, i said to my beloved better half, "you bet your sweet bootie i'm postin' it."



it was so much fun, except for the hay-fever it induced. i have been sneezing and wheezing ever since. gabe loved the go-carts, and monkey loved eating snacks while watching his big bro on the go-carts. it was a win-win situation.

this is uncle james with gabe. at dewberry farm, there is a huge fort, slides, a jumpy-pillow-bouncey-house-thingy, a petting zoo, a black hole (i know...no need to go into the outer galaxy to find one. just come here.)

my personal favorite is the big pile of hay that children jump off of, swinging from ropes. we don't have a pic, but use your imagination. picture some hay...and kids. there you go.





there's also a pumpkin patch and a corn maze.



we had an awesome time. it's hard with kids of different ages to let each one feel like they got to do everything they wanted, but monkey was pretty easy, so it was mainly just letting gabe run wild.



if you're ever in this part of texas, stop by! it's huge and there's plenty to do.





here's my little rooster. he's pretty adorable. even though he looks like he might eat someone. grrr.

have a happy halloween peeps. ;)
get it? peeps...like the chicken? and my kid is a rooster? ha. don't ignore the wittiness.

pumpkin patch extravaganza

bring on the fall, bring on the funk.
it's time for the pumpkin patch extravaganza edition of this blog.

i like to use the word "extravaganza" and when i say it, yell it. it makes everything sound very important. in high school we had an exemption extravaganza. i always yelled it with gusto, and it changed lives. well, maybe not. but it made it fun.

we went out to medina, tx this weekend, and our kiddos had a great time. these are the pumpkins everyone buys and paints. aren't they beautiful works of art?



this is gabe, our eldest. he's very excited to be here. can't you tell? it really was one of those beautiful days where the weather is just right. it felt like fall, and that's a big achievement in
south texas.

we spent the whole morning out there, petting animals and riding on a tractor. what could be better?

i have more pics, but they all include our little foster son, monkey, and he's not allowed to be shared over the world-wide-web. sad day, because he IS a cutie.

for halloween we're doing something special this year. i'll tell you about it afterwards. but gabe is expected to be a racecar driver and monkey will actually be a monkey. funny, eh? they are both equally excited...they told me so.

on a sadder note, we got some news about monkey today and again, it's a waiting game. there's a family member who's interested, and we'll just have to wait and see if they can "work the plan"to get him. up until this point, it's looked promising that we would get to keep him. this is the first sad news we've received in awhile. so we'll wait and pray and see what happens. hopefully we'll get to be his forever family. please keep our family in your prayers. thanks guys!

25 things

a blog i follow did this and i enjoyed it. here are 25 things you don't know about me:

1. when i was little, my brother would hang me from the clothesline and tickle me, and because i was so scared to fall, i just hung on to the pole, terrified and tortured
2. i always wear flip flops. i don't like shoes, they make my feet hot
3. i think chapstick and lotion fix a lot of problems
4. i hate it when people ask "when are you going to have your own kids?"
5. i am a procrastinator of the worst kind
6. my husband collects stuff like paperclips and rubberbands and it drives me crazy. i try to throw them away any chance i get
7. i love scented candles, especially during the fall. i burn them all the time
8. my least favorite chore in the WORLD is yardwork
9. i am a little obsessed with bravo's reality tv and watch it all the time
10. my favorite movies are under the tuscan sun, you've got mail, and 13 going on 30. i like action movies too.
11. i hit the snooze button several times each morning
12. i am grumpy when my kids wake me up
13. i think televised evangelists are corny and fake
14. i love laughing with friends over coffee. if you can make me laugh, you're here to stay
15. if i watch a scary movie, i think about it for weeks and still get scared, even if it's lame
16. i am thinking about writing a book
17. i like the words "moist," "jonah," and "dubious"--they sound good in your mouth
18. i am always afraid i will undercook chicken, and therefore i overcook it. sad day
19. i sleep with a bat by my bed in case a burglar comes
20. i love to sing harmony, not the melody
21. after i watch a movie about people growing or changing, i always want to get a haircut or start listening to new music or buy new clothes
22. my personality is punk/hippie but i always dress in clothes from old navy. what a disappointment
23. i have a small obsession with journals and purses. if i see one, i want to buy it
24. my husband and i write love letters to each other. aaah, sweet, huh?
25. some of my favorite lyrics are "you may be right, i may be crazy, but it just might be a lunatic you're looking for."

more decorating

i got such good response (a whopping 3 comments) from my last blog entry about fall, that i decided to post another. here's our house. i spent about $25 to buy fake leaves, a bag of pinecones and leaves, a witch hat, some hand towels, and several other finds and now my house is in its full-fall wardrobe.








this is king humphrey. he didn't want me to take his picture. he said he was much too dignified to be caught wearing a costume, but i had to disagree. we bought him in lake tahoe when we went on our honeymoon. talk about awkward, a 6'5" man carrying king humphrey onto the plane with us after our trip. we got some stares to say the least. :) they even checked him to make sure we didn't hollow him out and stash drugs in him. yes, because that's the FIRST place i'd hide drugs, in a big, heavy wooden bear. geesh.


i like to put a witch hat on him for halloween, a santa clause cap for christmas, and you get the idea. he acts like he doesn't like it, but secretly he does.





i have had this charger since we first moved to san antonio and have not used it in years. i put some pinecones on it and now it's festive. it looks really warm and inviting in the evening with the candle lit. i love me some candles.




what have you done for fall? the cold front is coming tonight, and i'm ready for cocoa or a pumpkin spice latte. yum.

revelation

ok, so i've been doing a study on revelation by kay arthur and can we just say conviction? i recently read crazy love, which really focuses on loving everyone and evangelizing the truth, and this study reinforces that. i feel like everything i read, everything i pray, everything i hear...it's all about speaking the truth in love whether to non-believers or believers.

we were reading about the church in pergamum, and to each church Jesus introduces Himself in a way that points to that church. for pergamum, He's referred to as "the One who has the sharp two-edged sword." kay had us look up all sorts of different references to the sharp two-edged sword in scripture, and of course it points out that it's the Word of God. did you know that in ephesians when it talks about the armor of God that the only offensive weapon that we are to put on is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God? kinda crazy when you think about it that God calls us to put on the full armor and the only thing that is used to attack (not in a vicious way) is the Word? so i am convicted, because as previously mentioned, i stink at studying my Bible. i stink at pursuing God as my one pure and holy passion. and therefore: i am not equipped with my sword.

"for the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." -hebrews 4:12

the thing that Jesus had against the church at pergamum was that they allowed false teachers into their midst. they allowed people who believed in teachings of balaam and balak (see numbers 22:1-25:9 for more info) and the nicolaitans into their lives. they did not utilize the sword to divide out those who were of the faith and those who weren't. the thoughts and intentions of their hearts were not godly.

so my epiphany this week (which is lame, because i already know this, but still...) is that i need to be equipped with God's Word, my sword. God promises to those who overcome (in rev 2:17) "some hidden manna, a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it."

let's hold fast His name and not deny the faith (rev 2:13). let Him make us "bold and stout-hearted" --psalm 138:3

meet petey

so it's time for you all to meet petey. petey pumpkin. he and gabe dressed to match for this picture.

he's rather large. -and he's a bit self-conscious about his weight, so please don't mention it around him.
my family got petey back when i was a little girl. my mom has the pic to prove it. ---me, around 3 years old in a witch outfit standing next to petey, all grins and giggles. my parents endowed petey to us last year for halloween so our family could enjoy the season with him. our sons sure love him.

we won petey pumpkin when i was little. there was a raffle at a local hallmark store and my parents knew the owners. i think the drawing was rigged, and that's how we ended up with him.


i have decorated a bit more this year for fall. i bought some cute plastic acorns that are displayed in a crystal dish on this table. you can't tell very well from the pic, but they are cute. i also bought a bag of pinecones, acorns, cinnamon sticks, and leaves and placed them all in a big vase to display them as our centerpiece. i am not exactly a crafty gal, so this is a big step for me. -be impressed. be very impressed.

my favorite thing we've done so far to decorate for fall is that i had the boys do some of the decorations. we took down frames that we use year round for family pics and replaced the pics with some drawings and collages they made. they make me happy.
are you guys decorating yet?

happy fall y'all!