Fall, I Have Missed You

September 1st, I am officially craving apple pies, and pumpkin chocolate chip bread, and sweaters, and scarves,  pumpkin spice lattes, and walks through fall colored leaves.
I have of course been unofficially craving these things for weeks now!! I am so happy this time of year is approaching. It is my favorite, and I think I could live in it at least 8 months out of the year! I am anxiously awaiting all the things I love about fall, and now I am becoming more impatient as it draws near. 
I just bought my daughters winter wardrobe, and can't wait to see her in it! To cuddle on the couch with hot cocoa, and books. Doesn't my life just sound divine? :D Ah....fall....*sigh*

Creating & Beauty & Lots of Pictures

These last four or five days have been crazy busy. I have created, shopped, seen about everyone I know :), driven all over the place, learned a lot, got stressed out, peopled out, and had some fun along the way.
I want to share some beauty I have captured lately, and also some of the creations I have made.

 

 

 

 These beautiful sunflowers have been growing outside my home. I love to see them. Don't they just make you smile?

 This truck was just to fun not to capture. My dear friend LOVES yellow smiley faces, and we just had to stop and take a picture for her. :)

 A beautiful gift I won at a baby shower last week. So serene.

 

Knitting at my brother's football games. Creating with yarn~I love it!~

Preserving day with my dear friend. God blessed me through another family with green beans, then my friend added to it for a total of 8 frozen quarts. The middle picture: My tomatoes ready to be cut up and made into the yummiest sauce. 3 bags of it!

 This is my friends salsa. This is the third time this year she has canned it. With all the tomatoes and peppers coming from her beautiful garden.






  Now....you have the pleasure of looking at the beautiful things created for my little sister Serene's birthday!
A 6 layer 9x13 rainbow cake! 

 That is vanilla pudding between the layers to cut the sweet. Once it had been in the fridge a while it was so moist because the pudding soaked in! It took 3 cake mixes, 2 boxes of pudding, and 2 1/2 cans of frosting for this cake! But it was so yummy!

Whimsical writing gave it a fun feel. Don't you just love the vibrant colors? I do!

Handmade sketch pad. 24 colors of card stock make a beautiful pad. I drew the daisy on then painted it in. Stamped her name to personalize it. This resembles the gratitude journals I am making for Etsy, and a benefit coming up~It was a lot of fun.

    
In addition to the rainbow cake:
Knitted rainbow scarf, hand painted ladybug, and hand mande sketch book.

So there you have it.

I Pursue

Last night my husband and I shared at our small group. We rotate teaching, and it was our week! We spoke about how what you pursue in your life/marriage can either hurt your marriage or attract you to each other. For example if I am pursuing my selfishness, I will only hurt my husband, and our relationship. If on the other hand I am spending time pursuing God, and the holiness He calls us to, well, it will be something attractive that will improve our marriage. We also talked a little bit about how marriage is God's context for challenging us to be holy. Quite a few of out thoughts came out of this book. Before diving into it though I read a poem that had been given to me. I have been asked to post it here. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

 I pursue. I run. I chase. I long
 I pursue what is in my heart.
 Money, things, music, black boxes, and keyboards,
 cars, and games, instruments, and perfection.
 I run after it.
 Fear of failure is hot on my heals.
 I can't see anyone.
 I don't see anything important.
 Only my own wants.
 My selfishness surrounds me
 as my idols take over my body, mind, and soul from with in.

 My spouse goes unnoticed.
 Needs of others go with out.
 Around me there is pain while I live in a world of my own.
 While I purse the things in my world,
 Hurt ensues around me.

 Then I hear it.
 Quietly calling to me.
 God's voice draws me.
 My focus shifts.
 I see Him.
 His glory.
 I see who He is,
 and who He made me to be.
 I turn and run fully into His arms.
 I race to the one who gives life.
 I realize the life He gives
 is different than the one I wanted.
 I embrace it, full of love.
 I pursue God fully,
 letting Him change me body, and mind, and soul from with in.
 The hurt I once caused is now being replaced
 with love and servant hood.

 I leave my idols behind to pursue God
 and in that I find a great pursuit
 of all things good and Godly.
 I find my marriage changed
 because I am loving my spouse with a Godly love
 and my pursuit of God is healing my marriage.
 Healing the hurt my idols have cost us.

 The pursuit of idols hurt us
 Left us broken and separated.
 The pursuit of God
 attracts me to my love, my spouse.

Germ Free School???

Yesterday, Lily had an evaluation at the school. Upon hearing that I plan to home school her the woman then lectured me about the benefits of public school compared to the negatives of homeschooling. I had told her one of the reasons we wanted to keep Lily home was because her immune system does not seem to be as strong as most kiddos. She informed me in her way that it was an excuse. She told me about another lead kid that went to school there and how they isolated him from others so he could be there. So sad to think of a kid being isolated in a room of other kids. She also told me this child had not made any progress with his lead poisoning in the last few years, huuummmm. I tried to figure out how they would keep germs at a minimum with kids, toys, and learning materials. Lily had already managed to touch every single toy in that room, and every thing she could along the way. The first place my daughter wanted to check out in the school was the tiny sinks, and toilets in the bathroom. So I was highly skeptical as to how they thought they could keep my child healthy.

Today, Lily has strep.

 I don't blame the school. I know it could not have set in that quick, but I find it ironic that my point is my daughter picks up everything and I do all I can to keep her healthy. They think they can keep her healthy ....and yet a day later she is sick again.

 I am just laughing at the irony.

"Your Daughter Is OVERWEIGHT"

Deuteronomy 31:8
The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

I am discouraged, and I am a little afraid. Lily had a WIC appointment today. She was weighed and measured. In the past she has been on the kind of small side. I have noticed recently that she still seems to be small compared to others (I know we shouldn't compare our kids). Especially in the height department. I have also noticed her face has been filling out, and she seems to be adding on a bit of chunk. Only once have they mentioned her weight creeping up being a concern, and it was quickly dismissed because of her height. Today, that was not the case. She is short at 38 1/2 inches(15% on the charts)-the same at she was 6 months ago. Since then though she has put on more weight and is now 39 pounds(96% on the charts). Her height and weight are almost the same number. She was red flagged in their system for being overweight. I was distressed! They talked to us about the food we eat at home. About not keeping to many candies, and chips and cookies on hand. They talked about making sure that she is an active child, and maybe not too much tv.

 I know all of this. I try to put into practice all of this. Does she watch to much tv; yes. Does she eat junk food; occasionally. Is she active; yes, I think so. We try so hard in our home to watch what we are doing to our bodies. We try to eat healthy foods, and I would say we succeed at least 80% of the time. We try to make sure that we are staying active, even in a small space.

 My husband and I are both overweight. I'm not talking just a little, I'm talking morbidly obese. It is hard. It hurts. It is a constant struggle. I try everyday to make good choices for myself and my family. My husband has had a life long battle, starting at a young age with bad habits.  I didn't have any problems with my weight until my mid teens when I developed PCOS. Since then, I crawl in my skin everyday with the torture of being overweight. I have always had a fear that my daughter would have the same struggle, and now here it is starting me in the face.

 She is only 4 years old, and yet I am scared for the rest of her life. I know that we are not supposed to live in fear. I also don't know how to help her. I am already trying so hard. So here I am again. Looking over our menus trying to figure out what I am doing wrong. Trying to figure out what I can change, and wondering how I can get my baby healthy, and teach her to stay that way. She is at high risk for also developing PCOS and that scares me, but I know that if she starts out young, and overweight her chances go up. So here I go again. Back to the place I always go; to God for peace, and to my books for knowledge. I need to find a way to help her. I don't want her to have the lifelong struggle that I have had. I know that many people have told me not to worry about her weight because she is young, and it will work itself out. Now I am being faced with the actual label of "OVERWEIGHT" and I do feel like I should be doing something before that label results in other labels (pcos, diabetic, or the more horrible one: fat)

 So now that I have written a very small portion of my panic away.....I'm going to look at my menu again, reread some books, again....and to sit with the Father.