pictures of a perfect autumn day

a little blurry, but these two are good friends now...Kitty Kitten just purrs and rubs against Rosie, it reminds me of the book, "Are You My Mother?"
flowers from Paul
Evelyn built this nice fort in the woods with her sisters and Jonny...then today there were POSTED signs all over the property...I guess our Mudbog Planning Neighbor doesn't want the kids playing there anymore...wah.
snickerdoodles, hot from the oven
One of the things I hate about Mirielle...she makes yummy cookies.

Suzanne Eleanor
Emily was so nice to bring Jon and Sonja K. to the pumpkin place, they brought home 8 pumpkins and some apple cider. She also helped them carve out on the deck.
Evelyn Joy
Cute Mr. Kitty Kitten...he got in there all by himself


A good day...roast beef and gravy with mashed potatoes and broccoli for dinner (and some spinach for me, to substitute for those deadly potatoes)...

Pumpkin carving.

20 minutes of exercise, not counting the morning Rosie Walk.

Only had one of Mirielle's cookies...and not all at once, I broke off a little piece here and a little piece there...they were SO yummy. blah, I could have easily eaten four. I did have 55 calories worth of dark chocolate Ghiardelli's chocolate chips. I ate them slowly after dinner while the kids whittled away at the loaf of garlic bread we never ate yesterday. I did have a bite of that too, it is one of my favorites.

Emily and Abigail were here for dinner, so there were 17 of us. The littler kids get down when they are finished, and we just sit there and talk for a few hours. I just have to make sure there isn't any food within reach! Those little bites and nibbles add up, I know- I count them.

It is painful to see what we are like sometimes. Me, guilty of not dropping the conversation when it gets heated? me? argumentative? me? really? uh-huh. I do not want to be like that. I do not want to get offended at comments or statements, I do not want to revile back. I want to love my enemies, and pray for those who persecute me (my teenagers, of course). It is a good place to be in, to see oneself! God can do a work in the humble, in one who cries out for mercy and seeks forgiveness and wants victory over sin! When I see how much sin I have, it is hard to be critical of others, but rather I can be merciful.

That is my sermon for the day. I have much to work on. I am thankful that God has been so good to me, and so merciful.

So...I am tired today, ready for some sleep...tomorrow starts another busy week of saying goodbye to the kids every morning...