The Pumpkin Patch

My sister-in-law had asked if we could get together and do something while her kids were on Fall Break. I wanted to take Josie to a pumpkin patch, and found a great website for one in Lebanon (where they live, about 40 minutes from us). So, we all went to the pumpkin patch together and had a great time! It was really warm today (I think the high was 85), so it wasn't exactly a "crisp, fall day", but we all had a lot of fun. The place we went to was called Lannom Farms. They had all kinds of activities for the kids. We started with our picnic lunch. Then we saw some animals (chickens, donkeys and a baby cow). There was a water pump station, a corn crib, a cow-milking station, corn maze, hay bale maze, trike track, hay hill, soybean maze, hayride, and other games. Josie had to be talked into the hayride, but admitted at the end that it wasn't so bad. She really liked the cow-milking station and playing on the slides. She helped me pick out two BIG pumpkins for us to carve, a pretty veined pumpkin, and her very own little pumpkin.

This is a lot of work!

Milking the cow

Corn!

Playin' in the corn crib (we actually found some of this in her clothes when we got home!)

Hay Bale Maze

That black tunnel is a slide that goes down the other side.

Swooshing out the bottom of the slide! It was really fast!!!

Their faces certainly portray their excitement. We did this "smaller" maze, while Mary Anne and Faith did the 3.5 acre corn maze that was supposed to take 45 minutes.

Grow little pumpkin, grow!

Slam dunk!

"Look Mommy, I'm walking on the hay!" (repeat 50 times)

First Day of Preschool

My little girl is growing up! Yesterday was Josie's first day of preschool. She's going to a Mother's Day Out program at Crieve Hall Church of Christ on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 - 2:30. She's also going to our MDO program at Granny White on Wednesday mornings.
It's going to be good for her to be in a classroom with some other kids her own age. Her classes are small (only 5-7 kids), so she'll still get lots of attention. She was so excited when I dropped her off yesterday. She loved carrying her backpack and her own lunch box. In the classroom, I had to MAKE her stop playing and come tell me goodbye. Then, I went to the car and cried.
I went to the grocery store all by myself. Then, when I sat down to eat lunch, I realized that I was alone in the house for the first time in 3 1/2 years. Wow, it was quiet. But I got the rest of the kitchen unpacked without interruption. It was the fastest 5 hours I've experienced in a long time! Before I realized it, it was time to go pick her up again!
When I picked her up, Ms. Katy said she did great all day, and that she never cried or even really asked about me. A little girl in her class brought in cupcakes for her birthday. They talked about colors, the letter C, and finger-painted apples on a tree. Josie said they had Goldfish for snack, and I'm sure she was happy about that. She did NOT take a nap. (Nap time has been HORRIBLE since we moved, so I wasn't surprised.) She said her mat wasn't comfortable and Ms. Katy let her sit at the table and do puzzles. So, we'll work on that. ;-)

Greater Things

For those of you who don't know, over the last couple of years I've settled into a very consistent exercise routine. I exercise rather intensely for 45 minutes to an hour, six days a week. It's not about losing weight, it's about being healthy and doing something for "me". I get up early in the morning before anyone else is awake. This keeps my "me time" consistent and uninterrupted. I've done several different programs including P90X (twice!), TurboFire, Chalene Extreme, and Physique 57. But my all-time favorite way to break a good sweat is to go for an old-fashioned run.
I remember a time when I used to HATE to run, but now I love it! I think my love for running is tied into the spiritual connection I feel with God when I do it. When I can get away from the house on a long run, it's one of the few times that it's just me and God. For a while now, I've had my exercise schedule strategically set up so that my run day is on Sunday. It's the perfect way to start a Sunday....I think of it as my Sabbath morning "sacrifice". I've really come to treasure that special time to think and pray (God, please, just help me make it to the next stop sign!). I always have Christian music going on my I-pod, and there's always something He has to say to me through one of the songs. Today, that song was "God of this City" by Chris Tomlin.

Shortly after we moved to Houston, I began working as a nanny for the Lackey family. I'll never forget the first Wednesday night that I drove all of the kids into "town" for church. It was my first real experience of Houston commuter traffic. We were headed north into the city, so our side of the freeway was fine. However, the south side of the freeway headed out of town was just PACKED with cars. Thousands upon thousands of people in all those cars crawling their way back out to the suburbs. As I was noticing all the traffic, "God of this City" came on the radio and as I listened to the words of the song, I broke into tears. I felt so overwhelmed at the daunting task of bringing God's love to a city of so many people. It was like God was revealing to me the enormity and the importance of our role here. So many people who need the love of Christ. So many people who need to know that life can be and is SUPPOSED to be so much more than working, spending an hour and a half in traffic, and barely getting to see their families every day ... only to get up and do it all over again the next day. Since then, every time I hear that song I think of that moment.
So once again, this morning when it unexpectedly came on my I-pod during my run, I thought about that same moment. But this time, God used that same song to give me a different message. You see, I've been feeling really guilty about our move to Nashville. Don't get me wrong....I'm really excited about getting to Granny White and seeing what God has in store for us there. But I feel guilty for leaving West U because I still see so much work that needs to be done here. Honestly, this time it was a message about humility. The truth is, I had a lot of plans for what I was going to do at West U. I was taking over the preschool program. I was revamping the children's worship. I was starting Bible Memory Challenge. Now that we are moving, some of those things are not going to happen. The realization that MY plans for West U are different from GOD'S plans has been a tough pill to swallow. Or even more humbling---was I even seeking out God's will in making those plans in the first place, or was I just moving forward with what I thought was best?
Regardless, this morning I felt God telling me to let the guilt go. God is the God of Houston. He is the King of these people. There is no other God like Him. And He will do whatever He wants to do in Houston....with or without me. I guess the big lesson is this: God is God. I am not. I'm just Kristen. I don't have the magic answers to solve all the problems. I just need to listen and do what God says when and where He says to do it.

Father God, thank you so much for this lesson in humility. I know that Your plans are higher and greater than my plans. Your thoughts are so much greater than my thoughts. Even when I demand my own way, You will always accomplish Your purpose. I know that greater things are still to come in Houston. Jesus, I pray that every soul in this city would come to know you as their Lord and Savior! I believe in YOU, God, that YOU will shine light into the darkness. And wherever You choose to send me, God---whether it's Houston or Nashville or Antarctica, I pray that my service will glorify Your name.

Build-a-Bear

Josie has been such a trooper throughout all the changes our family is experiencing lately. Before we put our house on the market, we hired a professional stager to help get the house ready. She took out a LOT of Josie's toys, which are already boxed up in the garage. Almost every day Josie asks me where something is and I have to remind her that it's already packed and she can have it back after we move. Our schedule has been crazy with the house showings and packing. She just hasn't gotten a lot of attention or even much "normal" lately. So, tonight Lane and I decided to treat her with a special trip to Build-a-Bear. This was her first Build-a-Bear experience and I think she was the perfect age for it. She loved it! She picked a puppy and named him Tex (so we'll always remember our time and special friends in Texas!).

Filling him up with fluff!

Picking a heart and giving it a kiss!

He feels jusssst right!

Bath time!

Registering and picking a name

Checking to make sure he's okay in his box!

He's all mine and I'm taking him home!

The Little People are now living in the Build-a-Bear box.

Tex, Josie and Baby make a happy family!

A Haircut for Josie

The "Before" Picture

Today I took Josie to get her haircut at a place called "Cool Cuts" (we've also been to Snip-Its...same concept). Whoever thought of this place is brilliant! Josie got to pick out what movie she wanted to watch (she picked The Wonder Pets), and then sit in a red Radio Flyer fire engine as her "chair". She sat absolutely perfectly still the ENTIRE time the girl was cutting her hair. There was no whining or crying. She was totally happy and cooperative. I'm amazed because the worse part of my day, every day, is when I have to fix Josie's hair. She usually reacts like I am purposely torturing her out of spite. So.....I guess the answer is to install a fire engine barber chair in the corner of her room with a TV in front of it. It works!!
Now if there was only a place like this for adults.....

The "After" picture. She was not cooperative in looking at the camera.

Oyster Creek

There's a park here in Sugar Land called Oyster Creek Park. It has a fantastic running trail that weaves in and out of wooded areas along the creek for about 4 1/2 miles. I used to run over there all the time, but now I've gotten lazy and just run in our neighborhood. It had been a while since we'd been over to the park, so this morning Josie and I loaded up on the bicycle and rode over there to play on the playground and see the turtles. We played on the playground for a while and ate a snack, then got back on the bicycle to go a little further down the trail to the bridge where the turtles swim. I was shocked as we got close enough to see that the creek was COMPLETELY dried up. We haven't had significantly measurable rain in the Houston area in over 250 days, so I don't know why I didn't expect this. It was really sad. There used to be hundreds of turtles swimming around in the water. We did see one turtle out in the middle of the trail, obviously looking for water. If I'd known somewhere to take him, I would have. The whole place smelled like death and there was a big group of vultures in the middle of the dried-up creek bed.
But at least it presented a "teaching moment" for Josie. I told her we needed to pray and ask God to send some rain so the turtles can swim again. She said "Okay, tonight when I go to bed and we say our prayer, I'll ask God to send rain for the turtles." So, then I got to teach her that we don't have to pray just at mealtimes or at night before we go to bed. I told her that God can hear our prayers anywhere at anytime. So, we said a prayer right there while riding on a bicycle together. Then she asked me "Where is God?" and I was relieved when she accepted the answer, "God is everywhere! He's all around us!". Not sure if I'm ready for deep, theological questions yet!

Majority of the state of Texas is in a severe drought. The city of Houston is starting to regulate water usage. People can only water their lawns on certain days and at certain times. We're encouraged to take 5 minute (or less) showers, which I'd be happy to do if they could increase the water pressure so I can rinse the soap off faster! Unfortunately, meteorologists don't see an end in sight unless we get a tropical storm this direction. So, please pray that God will send some rain (even in the form of a tropical storm!) to Texas!

The Life of a Stay-at-Home-Mom: Day 1

Friday was my last day keeping the twins. So, today was my first official day as a "stay-at-home" mom! Josie and I celebrated with a mommy/daughter date to see the"Winnie the Pooh" movie. This was Josie's first trip to the movie theater. She ended up sitting in my lap for most of it, and I'm not sure she really followed the storyline of the movie. But she told me she had a good time. When the movie went off, she said, "I want to watch it again!" She said her favorites were "Piglet" and "Tiger" (not Tigger). I thought the movie was super-cute! We both had a great time! Now that it's just the two of us we won't do special stuff like this every day. But it's nice to know that we can!