A Wonderful Weekend

Whew! I'm getting crazy with all of this blogging! This is quite an improvement for me from the last few months!!

Well, I don't know about all of you, but this family sure needed the beautiful sunshine this weekend brought! We spent as much time outdoors as we could, and it lifted my spirits so much. Amazing how sunshine can do that!

Actually, when I woke up Saturday morning, realizing we had nothing on the agenda, I fought against the urge to turn over in my bed and just stay home. But, with it being so pretty, and with us already being home alot right now, we decided to get out. I knew that even though I didn't feel like it, it would be good for us all. I didn't want to plan anything, so, I literally prayed for God to direct our day and to fill it with JOY. And, it was a perfect unplanned day.

We decided to spend some time looking for a water fountain/bird bath for Chase's Corner in the backyard, and to let the girls pick some pumpkins for the porch. We decided as we drove down the freeway that we would go to the Farmers Market downtown. The girls love getting to pick fresh produce from the vendors there, and we knew we could find pumpkins AND birdbaths all in one location.

On our way there, we took a detour to avoid the Cotton Bowl traffic...and ended up on a downtown street, where we stopped for lunch. Here are my little pumpkins lined up to eat "on high stools" at the sandwich shop, which was the second perk of their day, right after getting to put money in a parking meter for the first time in their lives. They're rather easy to please. :)

By the way, do you notice what is right behind their heads?

In case you can't see it, here it is closer...

A "Chase" Bank. And, here is another one just down the road from the first one.

Do you know how many of these are in our metroplex?? We decided it would be funny to count and document how many we see in one day. We haven't done it yet, but we will. In a typical day, I probably pass at least a dozen or more! There is one on the corner by our neighborhood...one across the freeway from our neighborhood...one on the corner next to the girls' school...and seemingly on every other corner and exit I use throughout my day.

Now, on some days that is really hard. But, most of the time, I just smile and think that in some strange way it is a gentle reminder that our Chase is always with us. Yes, I know...It's just a bank sign. But, it makes me stop and smile (while sometimes crying too). Either way, I've come to enjoy seeing it. And, if you see one of those signs on your route, smile at it just for me. :)

Back to the weekend....

After lunch, we arrived at Farmers Market to discover that it was "Pumpkin Party" weekend! Little did we know that our unplanned excursion appeared to our girls to be a planned outing devised by their so-cool parents! There were pumpkin crafts, ponies, a petting zoo, face painting, balloon artists, food of every kind...oh, the fun!

The girls enjoyed picking their pumpkins (and look at the concentration on Mark's face as he worked hard to find the perfect ones!)

And, they posed for their mommy in the pumpkins.

Another sidenote: Please notice that my oldest daughter is sporting a side ponytail. Not sure how I feel about this. First, it makes her look older. Second, it is from the '80's, which I don't exactly embrace readily like other generations seem to. Third, it does not please my need for balance, so every time I looked at it, I felt the need to "straighten" it. But, hey...she's still cute, regardless. And she felt very cool.

One of our favorite parts of the Farmers Market is getting to sample all the yummy fruits and vegetables. And, I think we all had a full meal's worth by the end of the afternoon! And, we now have a fridge full of everything from white corn to pomegranates.

Look at these beautiful colors!! It's hard to resist!

And, these might have been the cutest veggies there!

The rest of the weekend has been full of picnics outside for every meal, playing at the park, climbing trees, riding scooters, and looking for birds for Kendyll's project for school.

Sunday, was "home church" for us, which we have done the last couple of weeks. Our plan is to return to church next Sunday, which will be good for all of us, although probably very emotional. But, for now, we are enjoying our simple service together, sharing scripture, songs, and prayers with each other. Today, Kendyll planned the service complete with a song list, a reading of Psalm 5, and sharing thoughts from her book about heaven.

She planned this after coming downstairs and seeing me crying on the couch. She gave me a sweet, sweet Kendyll hug. I told her I was sorry and that I still get sad sometimes. She said "I know, Mom. That's okay." Today was Baby Blessing Sunday at our church, and I was just a little bit sad about that.

And, even though there have been pockets of sadness for me this weekend, it has been such a wonderful time enjoying the fall weather, the sunshine, and my family.

So, I know I'm going crazy with this blogging thing...it's definitely my therapy right now. Tomorrow, be looking for a very important blog about this:

It might even have a "guest blog" section from my amazing hubby....if I can convince him. :)