Orange You Glad It's Fall

A few weeks ago the twins and I went to a local pumpkin patch for a picnic and some fun. The best part...it's free!
They have some things for sale, like snow cones and pumpkins. But, those of us who are cheap can enjoy all the fun for free.
They have a horse you can pet and tons of cut-outs all over the place. Jenna found her favorites and posed for me.(she LOVES Strawberry Shortcake!)
Asa even found some he liked. (who are these characters? I have no clue.)
They have a hay maze, hay ride, and bounce houses. They absolutely loved the bounce houses. There was an obstacle course, a slide, a 2-sided climbing wall, and 2 regular bouncers.
They also have a little pumpkin house. It was cute.
Then, last week I went with Rylee's class on a field trip to the arboretum. I have been hearing about the Dallas Arboretum for the past two years, but have never before been.
They had the place decked out in pumpkins. I have decided I really, really like pumpkins! What other things do we decorate with that are orange? And, doesn't orange get the shaft when it comes to colors? I mean, really, not many people say orange is their favorite color. But, it's so vibrant and fun. It can be so rich when paired with browns and golds. I like orange.

I was assigned to watch Rylee and another little girl and two boys. They were all very good and had lots of fun.
They really enjoyed this cute village of little houses called "Texas Town", but we went there just after lunch and I was too tired to take pictures. I just let them run.
They let me snap individual shots when we stopped atop a little hill to sit in a gazebo. They were cute as they posed.
The kids began their day with a class on plants. They learned about the different parts of seeds and each got to plant some for future growth at home.
There are fun fountains - 4 frogs - that shoot water. I let the kids take off their socks and shoes and roll up their pants and splash around. I imagine they would have enjoyed getting completely soaked, but it wasn't all that warm out and they were in school clothes. I also imagine I would have heard lots of complaints about being soaked as we walked the rest of the day.
Fall field trips are the best - with your family or your classmates!

*I didn't include pictures of the other kids here since I don't know their parents. So, you just get an overdose on Rylee with a few shots with friends.

From Riches to Rags

One Woman's Journey to Grace

It was midnight when the sound of crashing glass woke Namisha's relatives. In the darkness, Namisha had bumped into a wall and dropped a bottle of poison she was carrying—and with it, shattered the only way she knew to escape the cancer and despair that were consuming her. But she was about to learn how her quest for grace would transform her future—and how she, a member of India's revered high caste, would spend her life among people she would have formerly shunned.

As a child, Namisha Chettri had a dangerous interest. Her well-educated and curious mind latched onto the ideas she had discovered in some Christian literature she had read. She knew the white smear of ash on her family members' foreheads meant they were set apart—more holy and powerful than others in her village. And her father continually reminded her that their superior social position wouldn't allow her to consider the Christian writings.

"This is foreign," her father warned. "You should not read it."

Still, her interest deepened.

Her family's status was based entirely on tradition, devotion and ritual purity. Every year, Namisha watched her family sacrifice the heads of 100 goats. And she couldn't bring her lower-caste school friends to her house because she knew her family would reject them as unclean. Her place as a member of the Brahmin caste affected every aspect of her life, down to which side of the road she would walk on.

Christianity seemed so different.

(an excerpt from GFA's website. continue reading by clicking here)

Namisha's life and story encourage me. This story, and many more like it, are the reason I'm spending my time developing a way to share with women here in the West. I will be going to a women's conference in Ft. Worth next week to share about the plight of women in Asia and how GFA-supported women missionaries are reaching out to them. Things are moving along. This conference will be a good 'testing ground' for us. I would appreciate your prayers.

Now...go read more about Namisha and other women like her!

What's in a Name?

During our recent gender reveal party, we asked guests to give us name suggestions for the little one. We had pink slips of paper for baby girl name suggestions and blue ones for boys. While we now know the baby is a boy, I thought I'd include both lists for fun.

Girl Suggestions: Anna Carson, Anneliese, Brielle, Buella Mae, Cari Jr., Charity, Chloe (2), Eleanor, Elicia, Flowy, Melody, Micah, Selah, Sophie.

Boy Suggestions: Asher, Aston, Bob, Braxton, Caleb (3), Case, Casey, Casey Luke, Casey Luke Short, Casey Short, Darian, Davy, Davy Crockett, Enoch, Eric (2), Fitz William Darcy, Gabriel, Gideon, Isaac, John (3), Joseph, Luke, Luke Short, Matthew, Micah (2), Phineas, Ricky, Samuel, Short, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, Zach, Zane.

What do you think? Suggest away! Obviously, girl suggestions don't really matter to us at this point.