Archives for October 2010

Family time is sort of like a present, except that you never really reach the bottom of the gift bag. The more time you spend with the gift the sweeter it gets. As the fall /winter holidays are approaching, I am realizing the blessing of my little family and intentional times spent together.

The Fair has been special to me since I was about eight years old. It always came around my birthday and seemed to be a field of sensory goodness set up just for me! I have enjoyed it year after year. Our family bought advanced wristbands on discount. Being able to ride over and over and not have to bother with tickets was awesome!

We lasted a while, the bright afternoon through to the late night.

I think the boys are so cute on this dragon ride right at dusk. Their expressions were priceless.

Taking turns with the boys on the carousel!

The best thing about the fair is the cotton candy of course! I have heard many people mention the nastiness of the fair and how dirty it is, maybe so but it’s the best funnel cake you will ever taste! The fair is ever magical for me!

It is no secret that October is one of my favorite months. The changing leaves and fall scents are enough to evoke major motivation to craft and decorate!

The fall inspiration definitely benefited my kiddos. We made lots of fall trees. One of my favorite memories was collecting fall leaves with the boys. They were in awe as they picked the leaves up and observed the different colors and shapes unique to each leaf. The boys loved comparing and matching the leaves to the ones in one of our Autumn story books. We also discovered dot paint which is loads of fun!

I discovered sculpey- a clay that you bake. After one pair of these fun earrings my creative juices got rolling and I cranked out about two dozen pair. I gave some of them away and sold the rest!

I started a new tradition this past summer.  I realized how quickly the summer would fly by and I wanted to make a list of all the fun things to do in the summer. The list was titled ” Summer Fun”.  The boys really enjoyed checking off the list each time we completed a beach or pool trip. We made another one for September and another for October.  It is so cute how Kenimer will tell me specific things he wants in his lists. For instance we made the November list together. Kenimer said that since we didn’t drink apple cider while carving pumpkins ( I forgot to buy some at the store) in October, he wanted to make fall leaf cookies ( like the ones in the books) and dirnk hot apple cider in November. He also told me he wanted a playdate with Bramm at the park. I loved how specific he is about it! All the stores are out of fall cookie cutters so I made a fun purchase from wilton.com last night!

I love the traditions we are incorporating into our family. For now the boys love these family fun lists.  I am open to traditions changing over the years.  It’s just really nice to have regular things that you do together as a family! and things that are fun! You can’t forget the fun!

GO! by Hope Farm Kids by SaintLewis

Here is the October Virtue song Initiative.

If you didn’t listen to the September Virtue Respect you can hear it here.

I hope this song is motivating to you on this Monday morning! If you take a listen – stay with it until the bridge- it is a sort of rap it really gets you moving!

“See it do it don’t wait for it – get to it do it don’t wait for it – gotta take the initiative!”

GO AND DO THE THINGS THAT HE’S CALLED YOU TO.

DON’T WAIT TO BE TOLD. GO AND SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO!

This is a great song to sing and teach the kiddos about taking initiative in our daily life. On a practical note  my boys sing the ‘see it do it’ part and look around for items that are out of place in the house. We are having a blast learning about taking initiative. Shannon and I  are also looking for ways to incorporate an enterprising spirit into our family.

The biggest thing I have learned is that sometimes God has put things in your heart and YOU and I have to take initiative to get those things rolling.

Where do you need to take initiative today? What is he calling you to do?

DON’T WAIT FOR IT!

Oct 4, 2010 8:00 AM

I love to grow things. This past summer I decided to grow the things i love the most about summer produce tomatoes and basil. I did just that! The tomatoes grew well and gave us a good supply!

The basil however is a different story. It gave me more leaves than I could shake a stick at. It was incredible for a month solid. I picked a full plate  daily. The boys learned to love a fresh basil leaf. It was normal for them to pick a leaf as we were loading into the van- actually their mommy did it too!

I made pesto put it in almost everything made fun snacks with triscuits cream cheese and all kinds of other dishes. But one day….

I went to harvest some more basil as the leaves were abounding. I pinched a leaf off and popped it in my mouth. I spit it right back out. It was THE MOST BITTER taste I  ever remember. What happened to my summer sweet basil? I followed all the rules. I did’nt let it flower. I quickly scoured the internet hoping to uncover my fault… no such luck. In an effort to not waste a load of basil I put it in mason jars filled with water and lemon rings. At least it frangranced my home nicely!

I continued to ponder the bitter basil. I recall that I poured some compost from the kitchen and maybe I threw something acidic on it. Yesterday I was clearing out the summer garden. The tomato plants produced their last tomato. But the basil It continued to grow just as nice as ever. I chuckled as I realized how deceiving it was. Looked great but on the inside it was really useless complete bitterness. It was all because of the soil it was growing in.

My thoghts turned to our hearts. At times everything can look great on the outside but we are filled with bitterness on the inside. We hear a lot of talk about growth in our Christian life.

I realized that we can actually be growing in things that hinder us….

I stopped completely drenched in sweat and dropped the basil pot. I was having a moment with my God. He began to speak to me. He took my hand and showed me some places in my heart that were growing in bitterness blame accusation and self- righteousness.

He whispered to me that he wanted to restore those areas of my heart with sweet aromas and grow in me kindness humility long- suffering compassion courage and forgiveness.

The soil that the basil grew in was toxic to the plant I thought about my heart and what I am exposing it to daily. I made an inventory of things that might taint the aroma of the fruits of the spirit.

Let us embrace this Autumn season and smell the beautiful smells.

What aroma is coming from your heart at this moment?

-Is it bitterness rage unbelief negativity? -If so invite the Holy Spirit to come in and wash you.

What are you growing in?

{ Love Cyle Augusta}