to the pumpkin patch...

i love fall--pumpkin spice lattes, cool weather, turning leaves, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, cute costumes on even cute kiddies, and the excitement for the holidays.

today we went to pick out our pumpkins.  mylie was so excited to run between the pumpkins trying to decide which one(s) she wanted.  and charlie just wanted to eat the gourds.  we had a great time.  and, i was "in love" with the cool weather.  (well, who i'm really in love with is my all-time fav, my husband...)

an autumn sunday

doesn't fall weather just make you so happy?  

we were outside taking some pictures and as charlie started crying, mylie reached over and started a ticklefest...that makes him laugh more than anything else and makes me so happy.  they were so cute in their brown & blue i just had to capture the love...

wow...how time flies

i can't believe the summer is gone.  i've gone 5 months being postless.  i will try to post pictures in the coming days for our eventful summer: went to visit granddad and animal kingdom, hung out in tallahassee for a conference and visited our friend brian, went to alabama for my cousin's wedding, and mylie turned two!! 

but here are a couple of pictures of our visit to orlando: granddad & the animals.  AND, we got to meet up with some of our best friends--the fishers.  we had a great time lugging our kids through the rain to make sure they could see as many animals as possible.  including this baby giraffe--very up close and personal.   the guide of the safari said a giraffe had never gotten so close before.  mylie was THRILLED!

and, as you can see below, while mylie was terrified of jack, the dog, charlie loved him.  that's my boy!

our little man-cub

our little guy has such bright eyes and round cheeks...what a cutie!  mylie loves to kiss him.  lately she has been singing to him when he's crying in the car, rocking his seat when he's upset and sharing her milk out of her sippy when he's thirsty.  (of course, we QUICKLY intervene on the last one.)

it doesn't take much to make charlie smile, but time with dad makes his day.  he'll start with big smiles and moves on to laughing as daddy says "hi, boy-O!"  what sweet guys...does a mama proud.

oh a hunting we will go.

mom, i found a "bwoo egg!"  mylie was so excited, but still a little slow.  as she leaned down to grab an egg, an older friend would swoop in and snag it.  her sweet friend, sarah beth, would snag an egg that mylie was going for and say "here you go, mylie!" as she dropped it in mylie's basket.

here is sarah beth leading mylie into egg territory.  sarah beth would scope it out before the other 12 kids would steal 'their eggs'.

we all need a little love...

who can resist a little daddy love?!

we were at sarah beth's birthday party and mylie stopped long enough to give me a kiss!

"you look like you pulled an all-nighter, mom. how come?" :) a kiss to make up for his all-night shananigans!

outside of the butterfly house, we stopped to give our little man a little love.

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Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 john 4:7

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Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another, deeply from the heart. 1 peter 1:22

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Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 peter 4:8

a son

back in june, i had a car accident.  i was "alone" but 16 weeks pregnant and as my car spun around, my concern was for my baby.  

my car was totaled, but a car is a car.  i went immediately to my ob to have an ultrasound to check on our baby.

and that was the day, we found out that we were going to have our first son.  

as time wore on, i felt worried.  "what do i do with a boy?!" they are so different.  i know how to nurture a lip-gloss, tutu wearing twirler.  but what do i do with a little warrior?  with one whose first instinct is to create a sword rather than give a hug?

but now that he's here, i sure do love him.  he is quite a boy.  he has two modes: sleeping and full-throttle. and you don't want to cross him--take his paci and he gets mad.

but i'm so glad to have him. and my twirler loves to hug and kiss him.  we wouldn't trade him for the world.

know Him better

"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better." (eph 1:17)

Paul had a very specific prayer.  one that he said that he KEEPS ASKING.  it was so  important that he was not going to give up. what was the end result he was hoping for?  he wanted the people in the church at ephesus to know Him better.  what was there to know better?

1. the hope to which we were called (v.18)

2. the riches of his glorious inheritance (v. 18)

3. his incomparably great power for us who believe (v.19)

Paul wanted this church to really understand--we have hope, riches, and power that doesn't and can't compare to anything else.  Paul goes on to say that this power is the same power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him at the right hand of God.  

and, that power is available to us.  the only criteria is that we believe.  we can utilize that power.  if God used that power to raise Christ from the dead, think of all the things we can do.

so...let's keep asking for wisdom and revelation to know him better.  then we'll understand the hope, the riches, and the power that already belong to us.

to the praise of His glory-eph 1

listen to this language...

blessed us (v.3), chose us (v.4), predestined us to be adopted (v.5), in accordance with his pleasure (v.5), freely given us (v.6), he lavished on us (v.8), made known to us (v.9), in him we were chosen (v.11), you were marked in him (v.13)

God loves us.  he deeply cares about us.  when you sit and can meditate on these words, you can see the amazing love God has for each of us.

think about it...