Autumn at home

We're smack dab in the middle of our favorite season, and boy, are B and I loving it! Fall is special to us for a number of reasons, probably the most important being: our first date was October 15, FIVE years ago! (If anyone is wondering what we did for the date, B planned a very season-appropriate activity - a corn maze/pumpkin patch!) Every time the season rolls around, we can't help but laugh and reminisce about those first few months of our relationship.

This has to be one of the most beautiful autumn seasons I can remember in quite a while. The colors literally take your breath away. I find myself driving a different route to the store, just so I can stay a little longer under the cover of neighborhood trees.

Isn't the Lord good to give us this exquisite beauty every year? He didn't have to. He could have ordained that we live in one season all year long. And if He had, we would have never known the difference. Yet He gives us a mosaic of beauty throughout each year. And I love how the seasons reflect our lives as Christians: there must always be periods of hardship/death (winter) but then He ALWAYS makes all things new (spring). He is so loving toward us.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of my attempts to bring the season inside our home!

We only have one tree in our front yard, but it's a big one. A storm blew in a couple of nights ago, and the tree decided to get busy (see below).

If you can believe it, this sea of leaves is only half of what our tree holds. The other half is still waiting to fall. Guess what Brian gets to do while I'm in Nashville this weekend?? As you can imagine, he's super excited.

My pumpkin collection minus our biggest one (stolen by pumpkin thieves) and two small ones (destroyed by squirrels). There is the cutest little fresh market stand down the street, and they sell every variety of pumpkin you can imagine at bargain prices! My favorite is the "fairy tale pumpkin," which is the medium-sized peach/green one. Just like Cinderella would have on her porch. :)

Our little white mums next to our new porch furniture. I found these chairs and table on clearance about a month ago when our local Smith & Hawken store closed. They were practically giving them away - aren't they cute?

My favorite wreath of acorns on our front door. I wish I could leave this up year-round!

Brian put this little sign in a basket of fall items that he gave me when we celebrated our one-year dating anniversary.

The fireplace mantel.

Dining room table.

Staple food around our house this time of year. We believe that the correct eating ratio is 1 candy corn to 4 peanuts.

Food for fall

I really like to cook. And I REALLY like to bake. But something in the autumn air gives me the urge to play with food even more than usual!

So, here's a sampling of some of the seasonal goodies I've been trying out over the past few weeks. I love to share recipes, so if anyone wants them, please let me know!

I truly can't stand pumpkin pie. The thought of it almost makes me gag. However, I like pretty much everything else pumpkin, so I've been experimenting with it a lot lately. My first creation was Homemade Pumpkin Ravioli with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce. For our wedding, Brian and I received a pasta maker attachment that fits our stand mixer. And ridiculously, until a few weeks ago, we had never used it! We can't believe that we have been missing out on homemade pasta for four whole years. Making it was a lot easier than we were expecting - we'll definitely do it again!

Next up was Pumpkin Spice Waffles. Ok, I didn't take this picture (we devoured them before I thought to pull out the camera) but these are super yummy! I've been making them for several years now and they are amazing!

We had some friends over for dinner the other night and I pulled two pumpkin courses out on them. Southwestern Pumpkin Soup (garnished with white cheddar cheese and cilantro - and again, forgot to take my own picture), with grilled cheese sandwiches for dipping. OH MY. We washed that down with a Pumpkin Spice Cake (filled with Cream Cheese Toffee Pumpkin Filling and drizzled with a Citrus Glaze - and this picture's mine). I made the cake in my pumpkin bundt pan - it makes creating a super cute cake SO easy!

Anyone who knows me knows that I look for any excuse to make Sugar Cookies, so I happily volunteered to bring them to my Bible Study luncheon earlier this week. And, I get to make them again next week - I'm taking them with me when I head to Nashville for a weekend with three of my friends from the Focus on the Family Institute.

Does anyone have any favorite fall recipes they'd be willing to share with me before I start pulling out my Christmas cookbooks? :)

From Conrad to the Marine Corps

As Americans, we have so much to be thankful for. Sometimes we might hear that so often that it goes in one ear and out the other.

With every year that passes, I find myself more and more grateful for the country in which I was born. There is no other place like it on earth.

And that is largely due to the men and women who DAILY make enormous sacrifices for my freedom, and for the good of the country I call home. They leave their families, their homes, their comforts. To risk their lives as they train and fight for freedom.

I received this video today, featuring Matt Kutilek, a guy friend from high school. He always had a great sense of humor and while extremely driven, was also a really fun friend (he even played the swoony Conrad Birdie in our production of Bye Bye Birdie!). We kept in touch for a couple years after high school, but the last time I really talked to him was when I visited him at the Citadel during a trip to Charleston my sophomore year of college.

I haven't heard much about him during the past few years... I was so happy, and humbled, as I watched the following video that offers a glimpse into his life. Thank you, Matt, for your service to our country.

Perspective

My dear friend, Christine, shared the following letter with me a couple of months ago. I've re-read it several times since then and it continues to leave me speechless. It was written by a Puritan woman, Mary Love, to her husband, Christopher, the night before his execution (he was martyred for his faith). When she penned these words, she was one week from giving birth to their fifth child. The Loves had already walked through the deaths of two of their daughters.

Not meaning to be heavy here, but examples like the Loves deserve to be shared! What a challenge and inspiration this couple is to me! Talk about ETERNAL perspective. Unwavering faith.

Before I write a word further, I beseech thee think not that it is thy wife but a friend now that writes to thee. I hope thou hast freely given up thy wife and children to God, who had said in Jeremiah 49:11, "Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive, and let thy widow trust in Me." Thy Maker will be my husband, and a Father to they children. O that the Lord would keep thee from having one troubled thought for thy relations. I desire freely to give thee up into thy Father's hands, and not only look upon it as a crown of glory for thee to die for Christ, but as an honor to me that I should have a husband to leave for Christ.

I dare not speak to thee, nor have a thought within my own heart of my unspeakable loss, but wholly keep my eye fixed upon thy inexpressible and inconceivable gain. Thou leavest but a sinful, mortal wife to be everlastingly married to the Lord of glory. Thou leavest but children, brothers and sisters to go to the Lord Jesus, thy eldest Brother. Thou leavest friends on earth to go to the enjoyment of saints and angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect in glory. Thou dost but leave earth for heaven and changest a prison for a palace. And if natural affections should begin to arise, I hope that spirit of grace that is within thee will quiet them, knowing that all things here below are but dung and dross in comparison to those things that are above. I know thou keepest thine eye fixed on the hope of glory, which makes thy feet trample on the loss of earth.

My dear, I know God hath not only prepared glory for thee, and thee for it, but I am persuaded that He will sweeten the way for thee to come to the enjoyment of it. When thou art putting on thy clothes that morning, O think, "I am now putting on my wedding garments to go to be everlastingly married to my Redeemer."

When the messenger of death comes to thee, let him not seem dreadful to thee, but look on him as a messenger that brings thee tidings of eternal life. When thou goest up the scaffold, think (as thou saidst to me) that it is but thy fiery chariot to carry thee up to thy Father's house.

And when thou layest down thy precious head to receive thy Father's stroke, remember that thou saidst to me: "Though thy head was severed from the body, yet in a moment thy soul should be united to thy Head, the Lord Jesus, in heaven. And though it may seem something bitter, that by the hands of men we are parted a little sooner than otherwise we might have been, yet let us consider that it is the decree and will of our Father, and it will not be long ere we shall enjoy one another in heaven again."

Let us comfort one another with these sayings. Be comforted, my dear heart. It is but a little stroke and thou shalt be there where the weary shall be at rest and where the wicked shall cease from troubling. Remember that thou mayest eat thy dinner with bitter herbs, yet thou shalt have a sweet supper with Christ that night. My dear, by what I write unto thee, I do not hereby undertake to teach thee; for these comforts I have received from the Lord by thee. I will write no more, nor trouble thee any further, but commit thee into the arms of God with whom ere long thee and I shall be.

Farewell, my dear. I shall never see thy face more till we both behold the face of the Lord Jesus at that great day.

A few favorite things

I'm sitting here waiting on the edge of my seat for the Office to start. Along with the rest of the nation, I've waited four long years for the wedding of Jim and Pam. And after tonight's episode, I will wait no more. :)

So, in hopes of making this next hour go more quickly, I'm going to blog. And since nothing particular is coming to mind, I'm just going to write about some of my favorite things right now.

1. College Park Church

Before we moved to Indianapolis, Brian and I asked the Lord to direct us to the church body where He wanted us. And direct us He did. I'm not sure if a prayer of ours has ever been answered so quickly!

While we were preparing to move, a friend from Wichita introduced us to one of his college buddies who now lives in Indy. This guy teaches Sunday School at College Park, so he invited us to come check it out. After visiting once, we were blown away. We didn't even bother visiting any other churches.

We're now involved in a small group, and I'm doing a weekly women's Bible study on Hebrews. If you are craving some solid, practical teaching, straight from Scripture, I'd encourage you to check out Pastor Mark's podcasts. He's currently preaching through Matthew. Every Sunday when we leave church, our ears literally ring with truth and conviction. And his messages stick with us. FOR THE ENTIRE WEEK, and usually even longer. :) How rare is that?

This church, and the people in it, have been SUCH a blessing to us. Thank you, Lord, for hearing us and for providing.

2. MacGourmet

My thoughtful sister, Lesley, gave this program to me for Christmas last year. It's basically a digital recipe box that allows me to store, organize and categorize all of my recipes. And it makes my life so much easier!

I REALLY dislike wasting food. MacGourmet has an easy solution. For instance: I had to buy buttermilk to make red velvet cupcakes for my friend's birthday last week. I have 1/4 gallon of buttermilk left. So... I search MacGourmet for any of my recipes containing buttermilk, and I find that if I want to use the remainder up, I can either make Spiced Pumpkin Waffles, Classic Biscuits or Raspberry Spoon Bread. Mmmhmmmm....

This program also quickly imports recipes from my favorite foodie sites. All at the click of a button. I don't have to type a word. (I do have to manually enter anything that is in a cookbook, but that's ok with me.)

And for any iphone users out there, it even syncs my recipes to my phone so I have them with me when I go to the store!

I've really just scratched the surface - the capabilities of this program are truly amazing, and a must for anyone who loves to cook! If you're at all interested, you can download a free demo from the site (you do have to have a mac computer to use it).

3. Knock Knock notepads

When Lesley visited me a few months ago, we took a trip to the mall. Our first stop was Anthropologie. Sigh. While she was in the dressing room trying on ridiculously adorable clothes, I was perusing the sales tables (I don't even bother trying on what I know I can't afford!) I came across the cutest little pad made by a company called Knock Knock. It's a weekly menu planner called "What To Eat."

I had always attempted to plan our menus for the week, but I kept the plan in my head. So sometimes, often times, I would forget what the plan was. And that would usually result in a Lean Cuisine for my sweet husband. :)

This ingenious little pad allows me to put in writing my meal schedule for seven whole days. Then I don't have to think about it again. And the best part is, now I only have to go to the grocery store once a week!

I just ordered Knock Knock's "All Out Of" to use for my grocery list, and I'm already seriously loving it.

*You can find these products online for a cheaper price. I found mine on Amazon for $2.50 less than they were at Anthropologie!

4. what difference do it make?

This book is the sequel, sort of, to "same kind of different of me." Many of you have probably read "same kind" and if you did and liked it, I would highly recommend Ron and Denver's latest publication. It's a collection of stories from people whose lives were changed by reading "same kind."

I first heard about this book from Emily Alexander a couple of weeks ago. Their family's beautiful story of adoption is featured in it, along with many other poignant messages of hope and healing. I'm about halfway through and can hardly put it down.

5. Pumpkin Spice Coffee-mate Creamer

No better way to wake up on a crisp fall morning than to a pumpkin-spice flavored cup of joe! This seasonal creamer is only available October through December, and it is oh so delicious.

Ok, looks like the time has finally come! Off to watch Jim and Pam get hitched!!!

Diana

I just happened to catch the show So You Think You Can Dance last night.

When I watched the audition in the video below, the dancer looked incredibly familiar to me. A few hours later, I finally figured out who it was!

It's Diana Lee (now Drexler)! She was in the class of 03 at Baylor and a Chi-O! Do any of my Baylor friends remember her? She does an amazing job in her audition and I will definitely be tuning into the show to see how she continues to dance throughout the season.

New trick

Stryder is pretty excited about the valuable skill he has recently added to his repertoire.

His mom and dad are awfully proud.... and thankful that someone else will be fetching the paper during the cold winter months that are headed our way!