Happy Halloween and off to Hawaii!

Just a quick post because we are super busy around here today. We are leaving for Hawaii in the morning! It has taken a lot of prayer and effort, but we are all going. I am finally getting excited. I don't like to fly, so I have been anxious over the trip, but God has really been working on me. We are going to the national C12 conference with my mom and dad, and both of my sisters and their husbands. Please pray that this week will be a special time of fun and fellowship with our family. It is a huge blessing to be able to go.

This weekend we were able to celebrate Halloween a little early. We had our church Fall Festival on Saturday and Aubrey and Mallory had a great time. They both dressed up and were just precious. This year Aubrey is a knight and he is such a cute knight. If he needed to rescue a princess, she would just love it! Last night we went over to Amy and Keith's house for trick or treating and a birthday party for Hal. Their neighborhood trick or treats early, so that was a special treat for us. D. took the Gator over and we drove through the neighborhood. Since their neighborhood is hilly, it was extra nice. Here are our knight and our owl. Precious, don't ya think?

In honor of the upcoming weekend and national election here is what I have to say:

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GATORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Beat Those Dawgs Senseless!

(Isn't she the cutest UF cheerleader ever?)

And.............

I tried to take a picture of a business in town that says, "Save Our Country Vote McCain/Palin Nobama" but I couldn't do it while driving. I'm sure you and the other drivers are glad to hear that.

Have a great week! I'll post when we're back from Hawaii!

pumpkin patch perfection

Each year we go to a pumpkin farm near here. It is one of my favorite days of the year. The people who own it are sweet Christian people. It is just a fun time of being outside and enjoying the sights and smells of fall as they always have some type of pumpkin goodie baking while we are there. We have gone every year since Aubrey was born. This year we went with some friends from church. The weather was absolutely perfect. Here are a few pictures from our day. (I'm leaving out those of Aubrey throwing up in the car while Mallory screamed for 30 minutes straight on the way there. You can thank me later for sparing you!)

The best shot we could get of everyone. Too much for the kids to look at!

Mallory loved, loved, loved the pumpkins and the wood chips!

Here are the talking pumpkins who tell us we plant the seed, but God brings the sun and the rain to make the pumpkins grow. This is at a pumpkin house during the hay ride. Really sweet.

Mallory was anxious to try out her new pumpkin.

Aubrey's favorite part each year is the old tractor the kids can climb on and ride. My Deere boy!

We ended the day with a picnic lunch on the creek bank. Of course the boys had to get in the creek. It's just what they do.

Another blessing!

Just wanted to update everyone on Mallory's appointment today. We went to physical therapy and the therapist told us that Mallory is fine, just tiny. She said that she feels Mallory will be walking before too long. So, another prayer answered! Thanks for keeping us in your prayers! And this is what happens when Daddy does the hair brushing after baths. Baby mohawks!

Blessings

We are so blessed. All of us. Sometimes it's easier to see God's blessings than others. I am doing the Beth Moore Bible Study, Stepping Up right now. One of the things she talks about is how we need to look up and not down. When we look up we see God and receive the blessings He has for us. It has been a good reminder for me. I need to remember to look up at God and not at my circumstances. To illustrate, our leader threw pennies on the floor and taped dollars to the ceiling. It was interesting to see who noticed what. Great illustration that the little stuff is down and the big blessings are up. Anyway, this has been a week of looking at my blessings for me. I had a great time with my Bible Study group. I am leading a discussion group, and all of the ladies were so great about sharing and being open. They were such an encouragement to me. Then I had my MOPS meeting and we had a great time. I love all the MOPS moms. We have such a sweet group of moms. I am so blessed to be a part of the organization.

This weekend we just had fun family time. Friday night D. and I went to the local corn maze with our Sunday School class. It was just for adults and you have to use flashlights b/c it is dark out there in the corn. It was fun "grown-up" time. Saturday we just had a lazy day at home being together. My favorite kind of day, scrapping and watching football. Fortunately the Gators and the Jackets both won, so that made it even better. Today we had a great time. After church we all took a little nap then we headed over to the local farm where we went to the corn maze. Aubrey has been wanting to ride a pony for a long time. He wanted to at the Big Red Apple Festival and they didn't have any! So, we told him we would find somewhere to ride one. We got out there and the weather was perfect. Aubrey had a blast riding the pony. When the lady came over to check on him he said, "I can do this all by myself!" He didn't want anyone to walk with him. I was a little worried, but he did great. He smiled the whole time. It was so cute. Then he and D. played with the apple slingshots, and Aubrey went down the culvert pipe slide. We all went on the hay ride and picked apples before we left. Just a fun day being together. Days like this are so perfect.

Our children are growing up. Aubrey came out of pre-school on Friday and told me, "I have a new girlfriend!" (We never knew he had an old one.) Anyway, all weekend we have heard about this girlfriend. He even told the babysitter on Friday night that they "were going to be together forever". I mean really, I knew someday this would start, but at 4? It's just more than a mom's heart can handle sometimes! Mallory has started cruising this weekend, so that is one more blessing. We are going to physical therapy tomorrow because the dr. was concerned that she isn't walking yet, but I think she is going to be fine. I think she is just taking her time. Please pray that is the case. I'll update later this week on that.

Have a great week and remember to look up! I'm leaving you with a picture I took from our house the other night. Georgia sunsets are beautiful!