Pumpkins in School

Fall is my favorite.

I loved summer this year, but probably because it was cooler most of the time!

Fall is just my favorite.

My best friend in the wide world also loves fall which makes it even more special. Every year we make sure to get together at least once and our favorite pasttime is a trip to a pumpkin patch in October. This year we got to spend a long weekend at their new house with our babies and go to a great pumpkin patch!

(Unfortunately, my computer won't upload pictures from my camera so iphone shots are all you'll get for awhile).

We plan to get together every October until the end of time :) Next time she will have her own lil pumpkin! Love you, Jamie (and Eric)!

So on to the main point of this post... pumpkins in school! For Jack we are working on "P is for "Pumpkin" for the next two weeks and since he could get most of the Letter of the Week stuff done in just a day or two, I went in search of some pumpkin fun online and found great resources for both preschool and kinder! So I had to share.

1+1+1=1 has a pumpkin coloring pack for the coloring lovers in your life. She actually has all sorts of colorings packs that I am very excited about! My Goob could color all day long.

On the same website is a couple of great pumpkin preschool/kinder packs.

3Dinosaurs has huge pumpkin packs for your enjoyment.

Don't these mommas ROCK for creating and sharing all of this for FREE??? Made my night, fo sho.

I'm sure there's lots more but I've gotta start printing and preparing for the next couple weeks. We love homeschooling around here, by the way! God has been blessing the decision to homeschool on a regular basis. The kids are doing amazing. It's not all kicks and giggles, of course, but there is an underlying joy in knowing that we're doing exactly what God has asked of us.

Happy Fall!

Rainbow Pasta

At our last playdate, we read about Noah and talked about how God created rainbows to remind us that He promised to never flood the whole earth again, and that He always keeps His promises.

The craft was pasta rainbows!

To dye pasta:

1. Gather materials:

• Box of pasta
• Rubbing alcohol/white vinegar (I used vinegar bc I had some, but word on the web is the rubbing alcohol works best)
• Liquid food coloring
• Ziplock bags

2. Fill 6 bags with evenly distributed pasta.
3. Pour in alcohol/vinegar (I put in just enough to coat but some directions say to fully cover. I skimped because I'm cheap!)
4. Add drops of food coloring (I used the back of the food coloring box to figure out how to best make the orange and purple). Be fairly generous.
5. Rub the pasta around in the bag to coat, then place the bags on a cookie sheet covered in foil in case of leakage.
6. Let sit for a few hours, turn once or twice.

7. Once they have set for a few hours, empty the bags by color onto the cookie sheet/sheets (drain any excess liquid first!) to dry overnight.

I spread it out on 3 different cookie sheets, but had to take this pic first!

I just love all the color!

Grab some paper and glue and make some rainbows! (Remember "Roy G. Biv"?)

And thank God for the beautiful reminder that He always keeps His promises!

Linking up HERE and HERE.

My Heart Hurts

It's well after midnight. Tomorrow... well later today, we're packing up the huge truck and saying goodbye to friends, family, and Scranton. I need sleep. But my heart hurts too bad to sleep.

I've never been a fan of change. But that's not why my heart hurts. These are a few of the real reasons why my heart hurts...

Blessings of being a parent

There are many sacrifices a person has to make when becoming a parent. But as I look back on the past couple of years I realize that those sacrifices have been replaced with blessings that make the "sacrifices" seem trivial.

I'm not just talking about the amazing blessing of getting to hold and love on and teach and adore my sweet, beautiful, precious child. That alone would be more than worth the "sacrifices," but God is also a parent and He loves to lavish on extra blessings just because.

Today I was thinking about where I would be if I wasn't a parent right now. My closest PA friend and I would probably not be nearly as close if we hadn't been pregnant together two years ago.

Another great friend of mine and I probably never would have met if we didn't both have baby girls in July. Those, I consider huge blessings.

 

Then there's the silly little things you would never think of before becoming a parent. Like how exciting it is to go to the zoo or the park. How suddenly an Easter egg hunt goes from simply traditional, to (a dozen pictures later) something Derek and I walked away from saying, "That was so fun!" I've never been a very social person, but now I get excited to bring Marie to the library or on a playdate. The blessing of watching her learn and grow is impossible to understand unless you are a parent.

And then when Derek and I get to go out on a date or I get to go out with the girls, something away from my little Goob, those things are so much more precious and appreciated. But of course I miss my baby girl the whole time and LOVE the huge hug I get when I return. It's all so worth it.

While life does change dramatically once you become a parent, nearly two years into parenthood I can't imagine life better than this.