Happy Halloween!

Jeff created this whole contraption to help me make "Cinderella's Carriage" for a pumpkin carving contest at work. I loved how it turned out.

Grandma Rack and Great Gram are here visiting and tonight the kids trick-or-treated at the bedroom doors and got lots of treats from their grandmas.
Emma's pumpkin named "Olivia" sits on the left, and Clay's "Mouse House" with bars on the windows is on the right. Clay surprised us all by carving his pumpkin all by himself.

Happy Halloween!

Beauty

"If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere."
-Vincent Van Gogh

Jeff picked up these little pinecones when he was at a park with Emma recently. I thought they were so pretty and almost "rose" like. I added them to the display on our dining room table.

Yesterday we went for a hike at Mt. Baldy. The leaves were so pretty shimmering in the sunshine.

May you find beauty all around you today. Happy Monday!

Fall Fest

Last night we took the kids to the Harvest Party at Fuller. Dalmation Doggie Emma liked the bounce house the best, and Dinosaur Clay liked winning prizes at the games. Here he goes headfirst down the bouncy slide.
Clay's horse was named Storm, but Clay wanted to call him "Thunder" instead.

Autumn is here

I love to decorate for fall using natural items like leaves, pumpkins, gourds, seeds, and candles on a silver platter on the dining room table.
Candy corn, always a favorite, sits in a little silver pitcher on the cupboard.
I like walking past my neighbor's pumpkins in the courtyard we share. How do you decorate for fall?

A surprise visitor

Jeff's dad and I just pulled off a huge surprise. We arranged for him to fly out and me to pick him up at the airport...and for Jeff to not know about any of it. It was so hard for me to keep this secret, but the look on his face was priceless when his dad walked in the door! Clay and Em had thought I was at work, so when I returned home with Grandpa, they asked, "Was he at Houstons?" They couldn't figure out how I got him!

This morning we went to Huntington Gardens, one of our favorite places in Pasadena.
Then, in the afternoon, the guys scalped tickets at the Rose Bowl to watch the UCLA/Stanford game.

Tonight we took a hike up Echo Mountain and saw the sun set over the LA skyline.

And, Dad Rack was even here to help celebrate my birthday... What a fun weekend!

Leila

Leila is the talented photographer who took our family pictures. We loved getting to know her during our time out and about in Pasadena for our photoshoot. She made us feel so comfortable and just let us play, laugh, run, swing around, etc. Meanwhile, we would hear "click, click, click...." I don't think our kids even knew we were "taking pictures" because they were just excited to get to run around!

I told Leila that God has uniquely gifted her in this area...noticing the little things, being artistic, and making the emotion "ooze" from the photos. It reminded me of the quote from Eric Little (the 1924 Olympian). He said, "God created me to run, and when I run fast, I feel His pleasure." If I can paraphrase, "God created Leila to capture moments, and when she takes pictures, she feels His pleasure." Thank you, Leila. May God bless you and keep you, and make His face shine upon you.

To see more of her work, check out her blog here.

Photoshoot with Leila

Our sweet friend, Leila offered to take some family pictures for us, so we took her up on that and enjoyed a beautiful afternoon outside yesterday. The only time we've ever had "professional" family pictures was JC Penney portraits where they make you turn your head crooked and smile til you just look cheesy. This was so natural, because we were playing and just being ourselves. These are a few of our favorites that we've seen, but she took over 2,000, so I'm sure I'll have a few more favorites later... Thank you Leila, for capturing these moments for us. You are a STAR!

Stand straight and look up

These past few weeks, with all the turbulance in the economy, I'm thankful to know that God is still on the throne. One of my favorite songs we sing at church says these words:

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out, Lord, my soul cries out

It's humbling to think how all of our lights will eventually fade. But His light goes on forever.

May these verses from Luke 21:25-28 encourage you:

"And there will be strange events in the skies--signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And down here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides. The courage of many people will falter because of the fearful fate they see coming upon the earth, because the stability of the very heavens will be broken up. Then everyone will see the Son of Man arrive on the clouds with power and great glory. So when all these things begin to happen, stand straight and look up, for your salvation is near!"

The Thrill of the Hunt

This morning I woke up early so I could be out the door by 6:45. I wanted to be among the first to arrive at one of the largest annual garage sales around! It is held at a preschool by the families that attend there. I came home with a big bag of fall clothes and shoes for the kids. At $1 per item, the price was right! I like to think of it like a HUGE "Dollar Store." :)

Style

I just came across these photos from our visit to a souvenir shop in San Francisco a few weeks back. The kids loved trying on these zany hats. This is Clay with his friend, Josh.

Siblings

Our kids get along fairly well...some of the time. But there are moments where they fight and know how to really make eachother mad. Recently I came upon this sign that Clayton had put on his desk and he told me it meant: "No Emma allowed." The same day he also drew the "No smoking sign" and posted several all over our apartment. Not sure where he comes up with these ideas...
Then there are the moments where they are so sweet and loving to eachother. This was the night that Clayton broke his finger. I think Emma wanted to show him how much she cared and so she fell asleep hugging him.

My favorite sandwich

Yummy Italian bread, heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil from my neighbor's plant, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. So good...

Highs and Lows

Clayton has had some high highs lately. Learning to ride a bike, read short words, and now swim (or doggie paddle) were big accomplishments for him.
His sad story from last week was that his pinkie got slammed in a door and he ended up with a broken finger! We're trying to take good care of him and are praying that it heals soon.