Pumpkin Patch, Avery & Answered prayer

Bodie turned 7 months last week. Here's our little cutie. I am having lots of fun putting him in cute boy shoes now that it is cooler outside.

Peace out: Avery and her BFF Rylin on 60's day at school

The Bode-ster at the pumpkin patch last weekend

The girls with cousin Tara...
it was such a beautiful day and this pumpkin patch was just right for our group.

The boys... Brian & Bodie, along with Uncle Brent and Grandad

Future model... Tatum is always up for a challenge and she very determinedly tried until she got her little pumpkin to balance on her head

My sweet hubby knows my love language... it's chocolate chip M&M cookie cake. I had a great 33rd birthday. Eight little munchkins sung Happy Birthday (it was tuesday so we had our friends there) and we had three desserts... I had made a rainbow cake for myself since I knew we were staying in that night, then my sweet friend Bethany made us a pumpkin pie, along with a yummy dinner to feed all the kids that night so I didn't have to cook on my birthday, then Brian brought home this yummy cookie cake. So we all went back for seconds (and thirds) on dessert.

We went to see Team Impact at our church last week. After all the feats of strength, one of the men gave his testimony then asked anyone who wanted to, to say the sinner's prayer with him. Afterwards, when he asked for people to raise their hand if they prayed the prayer, Avery's little hand shot up in the air. So Brian stayed in our seats with the three little ones and I went with her up to the front with everyone else who had prayed the prayer and went to a room with counselors. One of our friends ended up coming over to counsel Avery. He talked her through her decision. I tried to keep my mouth closed to let this play out however God wanted it to play out without me interrupting. It was a moment I don't think I'll ever forget... hearing her answer the questions in her sweet little voice. Hearing the truth coming from her mouth. Knowing that this child God entrusted to us believes in Jesus and is choosing for herself to give her heart to Him.

So even though Avery prayed the prayer with me about a year ago, I don't think she really understood it until Wednesday. She was excited and beaming and so convinced of her answers to the questions. So we believe Avery gave her heart to Jesus and was saved on Oct. 26, 2011. When we got in the car to go to church that Wednesday night, we were just going because we thought our kids would enjoy watching some big strong guys break baseball bats and chop cinder blocks in half. We had no idea God had arranged to draw His child, our child Avery, into His family, once and for all in that place.

She was very excited when our children's pastor called the next day to ask if she wants to be baptized. We were planning for her to be baptized in church today, but found out a few days ago that after Brian is ordained as a deacon on Wednesday, he will be allowed to baptize her himself! So we are planning for Brian to baptize Avery in church in two weeks! I can honestly say I would never have dreamed that would happen, but I am so thankful for God's faithfulness to our family.

Just today, God answered three very specific prayers I've been praying. It's so exciting serving a God that listens and comes to the rescue.

First, I am supposed to give a talk at our women's retreat in a couple weeks, just a 30 minute breakout session. God already showed me what He wants me to talk about, but I haven't been able to actually write the talk and every time I sit down to get my thoughts together, I feel like my mind turns to mush. Literally, I feel like my brain is mashed potatoes. Finally I realized that that is the enemy and God is not a God of confusion or mush. So I stayed home from church this morning with Bodie, who has been sick, so it was a good morning to stay home from church. And I prayed specifically that God would let Bodie take a long morning nap and that He would give my brain clarity and focus so I could write my talk. He totally did. When Brian & the girls got home around lunchtime, Bodie was still asleep and I had just finished writing my closing thoughts. Answered prayer.

My brother and his girlfriend came by to visit us today. I love my brother and was so glad he would finally get to meet Bodie. He has been living in Washington DC and hasn't made it here since Bo was born. So I was very excited to have Matthew & Tracie come visit. We had such a great time catching up. Answered prayer.

Uncle Matt & Bo

We are paying out of pocket for Avery's learning center fees... long story short, it's expensive and we're tight as it is, so I wasn't exactly sure how we were going to pay for November. I've been praying for God to provide and give us wisdom with our money. So tonight I received a check from someone who told me that I had taught her something. That instead of using the money to buy a "fishers of men" themed gift, she wanted to use that money to put "fishers of men" into action. So she gave us the price of the gift she was going to buy, which was the exact amount we need to pay for November. Answered prayer.

This has been an encouraging day. God has reminded me over and over that life is not about the mountain top experiences. It's about living out the daily task, the mundane, the everyday stuff with a Christlike attitude. Doing the next thing, however small, makes me feel His presence with me, sometimes with even more authenticity than those "high" times.

Hodge Podge

We had Bodie's parent-child commitment at church on Sunday. I think there were about 21 of us there with babies ... when we first starting coming to church here I think the nursery caregiver had less than 5 babies regularly coming each Sunday. She was pretty sad there were so few babies coming to church. Well in the past year, there has been a baby boom at our church ... such a blessing to have the nursery packed with babies and needing to expand.

Bodie means "shelter" and Luke means "bringer of light." Brian heard the name Bodie while I was pregnant and it quickly became his favorite. I really liked it too, but it took me a while to be sure that was the one. We have both always liked the name Luke, so it was pretty easy to decide what his middle name would be. And yes, we know "Bo" and "Luke" are the names of the Dukes of Hazard, and that's okay with us. He is a gift from God and we are enjoying our gift so much!

Three little girls having fun trying out all the ATV's and boats at Bass Pro.

A neighbor down the street put this wagon out in their front yard with a sign that said "I'm free to a good home." The girls were so excited to get out of the car and pull the wagon all the way back to our house. Avery got dish towels and cleaned it up, then they played with it all afternoon. The people who live in that house have no idea how much their old wagon is loved now!

Little man in the princess coupe

I am starting BSF this week. I've been hungry to be in a Bible study again, but hadn't heard of any that would work for our schedule, or they were already full when I looked into them. Anyway, a friend invited me to try BSF last week and it turns out they have a spot for me and for Bodie! I've always heard great things about it, but never had a chance to try it myself. So I am eager to jump in and start digging into Acts this year!

I made my first batch of homemade baby food yesterday. I don't know why I never tried it before, but it turned out to be really easy. I made three separate batches of sweet potatoes, squash and carrots... I steamed it, pureed it in the magic bullet, then froze it in ice cube trays. For a very small price, I now have three freezer bags filled with ice cube shaped baby food. It was so gratifying to feed Bo his first bowl of homemade carrot baby food, and he loved it! I'm excited to try some more foods next week.

Brian was invited to be a deacon starting in January. He had his first meeting on Sunday and found out several other guys that we are friends with are going through the process with him. He will be ordained in November then serve three years on and one year off. It's so neat that God opened this door for him to have a specific place in our church to serve.

That's about it for now. Happy Fall, Y'all!