As crafty as I'll get

THIS is our pumpkin carving. Thank you, Target, for plastic stick-ins. It's all my boys will ever know.

Alllllll my pumpkins.

They have had haircuts since then. Poor Walker was starting to get 1970's bangs.

In all seriousness, which item is rounder?

More of my peeps.

Don't be fooled by their long sleeves. It's still 80+ here but they had fall pics made this morning and I just didn't want them in shorts and t shirts. Sorry guys. At least you weren't in plaid pants and sweatervests because we all know I'm not above that.

This has just been a random picture dump because things have been the best kind of ordinary lately. I've just had time to hang out with my little ones and marvel at how they're growing.

Doesn't he look 14 here?? A few mintues after I took this picture he walked in the living room and told me, "It's a mess in here." Hahhahahahaha, you know things are bad when your 3 year old is concerned about toy clutter. Notice, there is no picture of that. There was probably one book on the just-vacuumed floor, nothing to see, really.

This one is growing faster than I can handle. I shouldn't be surprised though, look at what it takes to fill him up.

Yes, there are THREE baby food containers there. That's why he's beaming. This sweet thing also learned how to sign for a bottle. It appears that food is a priority for him.

Harris has stayed busy building elaborate creations with these spinning gears. I'm not clear on how they work, actually, but he has it figured out.

These are our days right now and it's been so nice. No rush, no agenda, just hanging out and enjoying each other's company. Of course, there comes a point when we we've had our fill of each other's company and then we sit on the driveway and wait for Tom to come home. Don't pretend like you all haven't been there too.

The Bible study I do (Community Bible Study, thurs mornings, if anyone wants to come!!) has been studying Genesis and it's been so interesting. I saw this quite awhile ago but was really struck again by what all Noah had to go through. It was so interesting to me that God gave him very specific instructions on how to build the ark but then didn't give him explicit information about the rest of the ordeal.

This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. (Gen 6:15)

Then Noah had to wait around and send out random birds to figure out when it was time to leave the ark. Seriously?? God told him what sort of wood to use and dimensions of everything, but not how long he would have to be there? Surely Noah's family was getting antsy and wanted to know when they could get out. I would be OVER the bird thing, sending it out, waiting around for it to come back, on and on. But it's a promise that God will be a lamp to our feet, not a spotlight, and to supply our needs, not our wants.

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus
Phil 4:19

Noah NEEDED to know how to build the ark and only God was able to tell him. While he also needed to know when they could get out, he didn't need to get information directly from God about it. He could wait and it would become obvious. For me, the takeway was that I don't need all the information that I want. Furthermore, I'm not going to get all the information that I want anyways, so I better learn to settle down and wait. Hmph. Noah was probably praising God for sparing his life because the first thing he did when he got out of the ark was build an altar. That is how he used his wait. So am even better takeaway would be to focus on God in the wait, rather than circumstances, and remember what he's done. This is why I love this bible study, because answering pointed questions about scripture is so helpful in noticing these things. I love that the story of Noah has real world application today. This is also why I like blogging because I didn't catch what Noah must have been doing while he was waiting until I started writing about it.

If anyone wants to come with me, it is definitely worth your time!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith
Hebrews 12:1-2