Welcome Great Pumpkin!

Barros Blog

I hope everyone had a great Halloween! We kept busy with our church's trunk-or-treat, my parents coming in for a quick visit, and taking the boys trick-or-treating for the first time (I think we stopped at three houses, haha)!

Barros Blog

Barros Blog

Barros Blog

Charlie Brown and Snoopy with the grands!

I'm not sure exactly why, but I was dead set on the boys being Charlie Brown and Snoopy for Halloween this year. The Charlie Brown costume was simple. B already had the brown shoes and black shorts. I just bought yellow socks and a yellow polo that was on clearance. Then I bought some black fabric paint and just painted on the zig-zags. Even though Charlie Brown isn't really his favorite character (although we did watch the Great Pumpkin show), he was really excited to dress up and wear his costume. He kept asking me, "Is is Halloween day? I want to be Charlie Brown!"

Snoopy front

The Snoopy costume was next to impossible to find for a 9-month-old. I was surprised! I found one decent infant Snoopy costume on the Internet but I just didn't like how it looked and it cost $40 (plus shipping)! At first I was just going to buy a white snow bunting-type suit for him and sew on the nose, ears, eyes, and patches, but, luckily, Grandma Pat stepped in and made most of his costume! She just found a pattern for a puppy costume and made it white with black ears. Then I sewed on the black spots on the back and a red collar. It was perfect!

Snoopy back

I realized afterwards that I never got a picture of the back of Snoopy, so here's the costume by itself. The only thing I'd recommend different than what you see here is elastic in the hood (we just left it like a sweater hood and pinned it tighter for trick-or-treating) and a zipper instead of a velcro front. The velcro worked great, but it could get scratchy sometimes. Didn't Pat do fantastic job on it though?! With her machine sewing powers and my hand sewing skills combined, we made an adorable costume! If I do say so myself... :)








W just liked riding around in the wagon and B loved handing out candy to trick-or-treaters more than the actual trick-or-treating we did. He loved seeing everyone dressed up!

So if you are looking for a cute matching outfit idea for the kiddos next Halloween, Charlie Brown and Snoopy are pretty darn cute! ;)

Happy Halloween from the Barros Family!

Bison Pumpkin Chili

Pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pies, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin... It's that time of year! I like pumpkin as much as the next person during the fall, but I'm just a year-round squash person. I love summer squash, zucchini, butternut, acorn, and, of course, pumpkin. I love eating and cooking it, but I'm going to use the typical "It's Fall!" excuse to share with you my favorite chili recipe: Bison Pumpkin Chili.

Like I told everyone when I took this to a Chili Cook-Off our church had a few years back: Don't knock it before you try it! I won "Most Unusual" AND "Best Tasting" Chili that day. It's yummy!

And since I hate scrolling through tons of pictures and random commentary just to get to a dang recipe I found on a blog through Pinterest, let's get right to it. You don't want to see my crappy cookware and photography anyway (though I will add some random comments and variation suggestions after)...

Bison Pumpkin Chili

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground bison

1 medium onion, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups beef broth

2 cans (15 oz each) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (15 oz) pureed pumpkin

1 can (141/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

2 tbsp hot sauce (like Tobasco or Frank's)

2 tsp dried parsley

2 tsp chili powder

2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Grated cheddar cheese

Crackers or corn chips

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, brown bison meat. Throw in chopped onion, chopped bell pepper, and minced garlic and sauté until tender.
2. Transfer to slow cooker and stir in the remaining ingredients.
3. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours.
4. Serve with cheese and crackers.

Voila! Simple and delicious. I originally adapted this from a "Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili" from a some magazine I found and have tweaked it over the years. That recipe originally called for cubed, cooked turkey and chicken broth, so I'm thinking that would taste good as well if you aren't one for tasty, lean meat like bison. Or buffalo. Whichever you prefer to call it. It doesn't mean different animals until you go outside of North America where there are actually buffaloes.

Anywho, I also make this recipe with chicken broth. Whichever I have on hand. It tastes great either way. I've also made it with ground beef when I can't find ground bison in this little town, but I much prefer the leaner bison meat. Also, I've used a can of diced tomatoes with herbs (basil, garlic, and oregano), and the chili tasted great. Normally I top regular chili with Fritos, tons of cheese, and a heaping spoonful of sweet relish (don't judge, it's delicious), but this chili is so yummy that it just needs a bit of cheese on top to taste amazing.

In the original recipe I started this from, the chili was incredibly bland, so one thing I had to add (and really liked) was the hot sauce. You can add more or less, or you can even add cayenne pepper instead. What I have listed here works well for our family; from my two-year-old to my spicy husband who thinks he need to give himself a nosebleed when he eats chili (he usually just adds more hot sauce to his own bowl).

If you are very particular about recipes, like my grandmother, you can stick to exactly what the recipe says and measure out every half teaspoon. That's fine. It's a yummy recipe, if you ask me. If you are like me and like variations, you can adjust it to your taste (and your family's taste) or just what you have in your pantry. So far, I haven't made a variety of this recipe that I didn't like.

Try it out! It's delicious!

Time Travel: Back to June

I've been a bit distracted by reading lately. Now that I have time to read something other than textbooks (and by "have time" I mean "ignoring my to-do list"), I'm finally getting into some books that have been sitting on my shelf waiting for me! I just started Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series, so... considering the fact that there are something like 17 books in this series, I may never fold laundry or do the dishes again... Ha!

Back to June, eh? The boys and I didn't have to travel anywhere, but it still wasn't exactly a quiet month. W turned 5 months old and started baby food! Yay for him! He was quite the fan! And just because it cracks me up every time I watch it, here is a video (from June) of Waylan's response when he hears his big brother crying:

The first week in June, Jeff was off to his first youth camp at OBU for a week: Super Summer. Apparently this is a big deal for Oklahoma youth groups. So is their BIG youth camp, Falls Creek. Jeff had that a couple weeks later, but their week was cut short due to heavy rainfall and flooding. They actually had to shut the whole camp down for more than a week! What was crazy is that the media was all over it and someone from our town newspaper even called Jeff while he was there to question him about it. It's a bit ridiculous how they tried to put a life or death spin on the whole situation when the place actually had to close down because there was no sewage or trash service for the camp with all the flooding. Every news station was showing footage of some church van floating in the water and how no one was hurt, yadda yadda. Jeff said some yahoo actually just forgot to put the thing in park and it rolled into some water. Haha!

Jeff was busy, as usual, and the rest of the month was summery-June stuff... we played outside, went on a picnic, went to the pool once, and even had our first ever garage sale! And mommy just survived on her own while daddy was gone to all his camps. Of course B got sick with some cold or something one of those weeks and W got his first two teeth!

First veggie: carrots!

Just like daddy.

Father's Day 2015

Old Geezer Night at youth.

Nose-pickin' good time with this smarty pants.

Picnic at the lake.

That about covers the highlights! Just two more months to catch up on!

Let's Get Naked

Jeff is really into ridiculous reality TV shows. Not the singing ones or the ones that follow celebrities, but those that follow average, everyday people. Truckers, alligator wranglers, pawnshop owners, tattoo artists, and especially survivalists. If my husband could describe his personality in reality TV show stars, he’d probably be a mix between Mike Rowe, Bear Grills, and Willie Robertson. Though he’s not exactly braving the wilderness when he uses his Amazon gift card to buy Poo-pourri and a zit-popping kit for his birthday. Can you tell he likes to rough it?

Not long ago, back when we had cable, Jeff found this show called “Naked and Afraid” and I would cringe every time he watched it. It wasn’t the blurred body parts that got to me, it was the absolute ridiculousness of the whole concept of the show that made me want to stick my head in a bucket of ice water and pray for the poor souls who came up with this. Seriously people. Can we not come up with some richer content? If you haven’t seen it, it’s basically just a random man and random woman stripped to their birthday suits and thrown out into the wild together with the goal of getting to some rendezvous point in order to be saved from mother nature. Creative, right?

There is certainly something vulnerable about being naked – letting people see the “real” you. This is most especially true with women. When I was younger I would cringe when I heard tales of boys towel-popping in their “community showers” in locker rooms. Girls tend to hate even the thought of this. We may feel comfortable changing into our nighties around our BFFs at a sleepover, but one big shower? And in a public place like school? But she looks better, and she’s skinnier, and she doesn’t have an ugly birthmark like me, we would think. We compare, we fear rejection, we get depressed about ourselves… all the while trying to hide those emotions with the latest make-up and fashions in order to close the gap between ourselves and our peers. What’s even sillier is that we compare ourselves to the naked bodies that we see plastered all over today’s advertisements and those are altered and doctored in order to mirror what our culture only thinks is beauty.

Specifically in the Church today, men and women alike tend towards putting a mask on, altering their looks and emotions, when they come in on Sunday morning. As they shake hands and greet others with the typical, “How are you?” it’s like we get those “I’m good” or “I’m fine” responses out before the question even gets to us. We may not know that the person whose hand we shook is struggling with addiction or depression, or dealing with a difficult boss at work, or that they just had an argument with their spouse on the way to church. They want to appear fine and we don’t want to bother with the task of digging deeper.

Ladies and gentlemen, your church family should be there to help you and it can’t be done in the two seconds it takes to grab a hand, and ask, “How are you?” before the preacher begins his sermon. Let’s take the time to get real with each other. You don’t have to shake everyone’s hand and tell them all your problems right there, but take the time to build up some deep and meaningful relationships with those in your church family - in and outside of that church building. If you are as introverted as me, you might show up to church activities, have a lot of fun with the people there, then go back home and feel friendless until Wednesday night comes around. Y’all this is something I’m truly working on. We need people to get real with. We need fellowship. Not just monthly potlucks (though we hungry Baptists need that too).

Our world needs real, not perfect, relationships with each other and with God. And the Church should be setting the example for this.

Let’s think about the first naked people in the Bible: Adam and Eve. They had free and open fellowship with each other and with God. They were roaming through nature and they weren’t “naked and afraid.” It wasn’t until they sinned that they became ashamed and even realized that they weren’t clothed. When God comes nonchalantly walking through the garden to greet them that day playing like he doesn’t know what’s up (kind of like when I act surprised to find my son devouring his toothpaste when he sneaks off to the bathroom for the tenth time that day), Adam and Eve know that they have harmed that transparent relationship they once had with God – they say, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Gen. 3:10). Nakedness reveals scars, blemishes, and imperfections.

When we think about our relationships, with God and with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to have that perfect model in mind. Unfortunately we will not get to know such free fellowship with God until we stand face-to-face with Him, but we can get a glimpse at it through our relationship with Jesus Christ. He came and died for you for that very purpose! So that we might once again run naked in the garden. And it is basically impossible to not be real with God, so why even try? Each time you come before Him to pray, worship, or just talk, get naked. (Of course, I am talking metaphorically. Please don’t show up for worship on Sunday in your birthday suit. You might get kicked out.)

[Just as a side note: check out the naked (or partially clothed) worshipping people do in the Bible. Let’s not use this to promote corporate worship in our undies (Ha! Lord, please no!), but these peeps knew what it meant to get real with God. See Job 1:20-21 and 2 Samuel 6:12-21 for a couple examples.]

When we come to the Lord with the world stripped away from us, we are humbled. And that is where we will find safety and peace. This is going to sound funny, but I had this little realization about being naked and safe in the presence of God from my two-year-old. He is 100% a pants-optional little fella. He loves to raid his dresser drawers for pants to go outside or to copy daddy by riding on his trike and telling me, “I’m going to work” or “I have to go work legs” (Jeff likes to let me know what night it is at the gym as if I’m interested). But as soon as he’s ready to get comfy and play with his trucks or lay on the couch to watch a movie, those pants come off. I also noticed this week that when he is tired or upset, he starts stripping. Whenever he is feeling vulnerable or like he doesn’t have control of the situation, he starts kicking off his boots and shimmying down his blue jeans, all the while making a scene of exaggerated sobs. Now he only does this at home (thank the Lord), but this is where he feels safe and knows he can get vulnerable. Getting naked for him is freeing and makes him comfortable.

Do you notice that the older we get (and the more our mothers tell us its not polite to run around naked in public), the more we avoid our naked bodies in the mirror (ladies)? We might feel ashamed or frustrated or even disgusted... Let’s stop this – both physically and spiritually. We often try to tell kids in church that God loves them just the way they are and, you know what, I think that these littlest ones may have a pretty good idea of that already. We just let the world change and distort that truth over time.

Let’s get real. Let’s “get naked.” With each other and with God. Because He really does love you just the way you are. When the Lord looks at you, at your naked soul, your true self, He loves you. Unconditionally. Immeasurably. For all eternity. It’s time we started believing it.

What It Means to be Pro-Life

I’m going to touch on a controversial topic here today. I don’t usually mess with hot topics because “I’m a Virgo. I don’t like confrontations.” In other words, no matter what I say or what my opinion is, there is going to be someone who thinks differently than I do. And that’s okay! We can have grown-up conversations and treat each other like respectable human beings? Right? I hope so. I have stuff to get off my flat chest. So here goes…

I am Pro-Life/Pro-Woman. Or, as I like to put it Pro-Options. I’ll explain this a bit further. Abortion is a super hot topic these days so I’m going to put on my cushiony oven mitts while I handle this post. So disclaimer here: I get real. I get honest. Let’s put on our big girl panties.

If you know my personal story, I am Pro-Life for many more reasons than just the cross that hangs around my neck. Perhaps I will share that another day. Someone says they are Pro-Life and people say, “Well, you must be a Christian! But you are the ones who judge me!” Let me be the first to say that much of the Church dropped the ball on this one in the 20^th century. The brothers and sisters who have gone before us, God bless them, their love did not always shine through in their efforts to stand up for what they believe in. But we are getting there.

One of the big arguments that is used to promote abortions is that women will get an abortion out of desperation regardless of its legal status, leading to botched abortion jobs that could harm these ladies. These days, I beg to differ. What I want these unexpected mothers to know more than anything is that they are loved. Your life is just as precious as that baby you carry. There is support for you as you make decisions for the two of you. During and after pregnancy. My dear, you have so many options! We just do not live in the same culture that Roe vs. Wade took place in. Those fears of being judged, condemned, and disowned have lessened. Is there still that possibility? Unfortunately, yes, but humans are not perfect.

We live in a time when non-traditional families are everywhere! Families grow through births, adoptions, step-children, fostering… Like I said, options!

Mamas, there are churches and support groups and pregnancy centers and adoption agencies that are there for you! They bring with them love and joy, not judgment and condemnation. You have options! Please, please, take the time to talk to someone and weigh those options carefully. HERE are some resources you can call!

I know that some will say that you have a right to choose what you do with your body, and I 100% agree. But, you are making the choice for another body as well in this situation. It’s tough, gals. I’m not going to sugar coat it for you. You are an independent person with a dependent person growing inside of you.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

How freaking awesome are you?! You are growing a person! Please don’t be fooled by the lies that abortion has anything to do with women’s rights or feminism. Ladies, there is a new feminism in town and it doesn’t necessarily involve burning bras and wearing men’s suits. Be proud of who you are and what your body can do! Did I mention that you are growing a person?! You are a precious vessel incubating a member of our future generation and the future of mankind. Do not take this lightly. Do not let others look down on you for this. You may not have planned to be a life-holder, at least not at this point in your life, but here you are. And it is tough. And it is beautiful. No man can do what you do and not even all women are blessed with such a gift.

Don’t let the world tell you that you are incapable; that you were not meant for this task of carrying and birthing a human life. Pregnancy is not some disease, for goodness sake! The world wants to label it as such, giving it side effects and pills to deal with it; some point at you and say “well, that’s just the worst thing that could have happened to her” and others offer you an “easy way out.” Either way, you feel judged for *gasp* becoming pregnant unexpectedly or outside of marriage, and you feel judged for choosing an abortion, choosing the “easy way out.” You feel condemned no matter which “side” you choose. We humans are confusing, judgmental people.

http://liveaction.org

To my Pro-Lifers, my Pro-Choicers, and my On-the-Fencers, this is more than just a political stance we are dealing with. This is LIFE. Not just the life of a child, but of a woman. There should be no fear of condemnation for rocking a baby bump in whatever life circumstances you find yourself. We need not judge her, but hold her hand and tell her she is beautiful! I consider it a crisis when millions of women each year, just here in America, feel that they are left with no other choice but an abortion. Where are the options for these women and the support that they need??

I’m not necessarily talking about the life-or-death situations here. But in more “normal” cases, you know, when the wine was just too good and the lights were just too low (*wink*wink*), abortion is not birth control. If we want to see abortion rates go down in America, let’s have those women’s clinics offer more free birth control, even free insertable ones! What are those called? My high school was passing out free condoms at one point, for Pete’s sake! And yet our pregnancy rates were out the roof.

http://www.fanpop.com

Let’s make adoption more affordable! (Please, oh please!) Shoot, let’s offer more affordable tubal ligations for the mamas who know without a doubt that they are done. For those working mamas and student mamas, let’s tap into those free childcare resources. And, for goodness sake, can we stop trying to turn our women into men and support them when they need to take time off to birth and care for these little humans? Surprise, Human Resources! Women need time to heal after pushing a human being out of their vaginas! What is up with the 12 weeks of UNPAID maternity leave? Politicians, corporate world, universities, fast-food chains – wake up and support our mothers!! Think retention, not unproductivity. Let’s follow the lead of every other developed country and take care of our new mothers with paid leave! Abortion rates in places like Canada, with a year’s worth of paid maternity leave, have actually gone down! 

When women feel safe, loved, and supported in less-than-desirable situations, it frees them up to make decisions not based on fear and rejection, or flat-out survival.

Here’s where I get brutally honest to future mamas (and daddies): If you aren’t ready to be a parent, either keep it in your pants or use birth control. That should always be the FIRST choice that is made when it comes to preventing unwanted pregnancies. Just like we need to be grown ups and have civil, adult conversations, let’s make some common sense, adult choices people. Life has this thing called consequences.

And if you mess up (or that birth control fails you), woman up and deal with it. Life just ain’t a bucket of rainbows and sunshine. I’m sorry, dear. People make mistakes. People fail. People let you down. You are talking to a multiple-offender here. It’s just in our nature. Cry about it. Scream in your pillow. Talk someone’s ear off until their ear is literally lying there on the floor and you have to take them to the ER to have their ear sewn back on. And then, once you’ve dealt with those emotions, look for those options. Look for that support. (My dear Church, BE that support!) It is there. I’ve seen it.

http://n0tofthisworld.tumblr.com

I get it. Pregnancy can be hard. Parenting is even harder. It is not for the faint of heart. Children can be life-sucking, little narcissists. We don’t exactly give birth to baby unicorns (um, ouch) who can change their own diapers and feed themselves straight out of the womb. I have had both an easy and a hard pregnancy. I’ve put my career on hold for these little boogers and I’ve gone to school in the midst of going from one minion to two rampaging through our household. Sometimes I wonder, “This is what I wanted more than anything in the world? This is what kept me up at night, two shades away from depression when I thought my womb barren?” YUP! They have been such blessings in disguise and, in caring for another human being (and making me one toddler tantrum away from my own crazy outburst), they teach you so much about yourself and they change you from the inside out. Ladies, do we want our children to believe that they are loved only when they are convenient to us? Church, do we want our mothers to believe the same? Let’s raise up our mothers and their children with the knowledge that they are wanted. That they are not to be loved based upon convenience and schedules.

Church, keep stepping it up. I pray that you will be a sanctuary and a place of refuge for these hurting women. Adopt, foster, mentor mothers, and fight for their support from our government and their employers. But above all, love. We must love humbly and with grace because that is how He first loved us.

Mamas, You. Are. Loved. I can’t say this enough because my heart just swells with compassion and empathy and hope for you. A Pro-Life stance is not just about “saving” that baby inside you. It’s about options. It’s about being Pro-Options. It’s about embracing those in need. It’s about love.

A Pastor's Week

Did you know that October is Pastor Appreciation Month? Yes, it was a surprise to me as well. I had never heard of it until a few years ago. I even had to look it up to see which month it is because I often forget about it until someone reminds me (if, in fact, anyone else remembers to remind me!).

If you attend a church, even one day out of the year (Easter, perhaps?), then I highly recommend that you take the time to tell your pastor (minister, reverend, whatever you may call them) thank you. And you don't have to wait until October pops up on the calendar to do so! Please, please, take the time throughout the year to let them know that the time and dedication they put into the lives of others is greatly appreciated. I guarantee you that it will brighten their day and possibly give them that push to get through another week as they wonder whether or not they are making an impact for the Kingdom. This includes your music minister, youth pastor, children's director, etc!

Oftentimes there is the misconception that all pastors work just one day a week: when they preach their Sunday sermons. Granted, some pastors tend towards focusing on only the preaching aspect of their job, most pastors are out there getting their hands dirty the rest of the week. And, to be brutally honest, as a pastor's wife, it sometimes makes me jealous. There. I said it. I get jealous when my husband is spending time away from home, outside of "business hours," investing in the lives of others. Is this selfish of me? Of course. I'll admit it. Being a pastor is no 9-5, normal job. Jeff spends time away from his family in order to help other families and to support those who are apart of this family we call Church. And that's what makes it okay. That's what curbs my jealousy. If he were spending over 40 hours a week on some typical, cubicle, daily grind sort of job, things would be different.

So, I thought I would give you a glimpse into an "average" week for a pastor. Or, at least, for my pastor. I put quotes around "average" because that just doesn't really exist in this career field. Serious face on again: I did not know what I was getting myself into when I married a pastor. Now I know why I used to stay away from ministry majors in college. No joke! I refused to date any youth ministry major at my school because I thought they were all immature youth-wannabes who just wanted to play games the rest of their lives. Who needs to go to school to learn how to play games that involve chugging a Coke through a stinky sock, right? Jeff certainly proved me wrong there. He does still play silly games, but how else are you going to keep the attention of a bunch of 7th-12th graders on a Wednesday night when they could be at home binge-watching Netflix? Seriously. Don't even get me started...

Here it goes then! I kept track of all the hours Jeff put into work this week (unbeknownst to him)! I won't get too particular on the wheres, whens, and whos, but just hours per day that he is doing something for the church. This could be preparing lessons, teaching, counseling, hosting special events, running errands, community projects, playing chaffeur, or even supporting his youth by attending an event.

Sunday: 7.5 hours
Monday: 8 hours
Tuesday: 9 hours
Wednesday: 10.5 hours
Thursday: 11 hours
Friday: 8 hours
Saturday: A family day!

And this wasn't even a week that he also had to preach on Sunday, it wasn't his week to run the soup kitchen, he had no church business or budget meetings, and it wasn't a week he had any Air Force duty to complete as a reserve chaplain.

So let's add that up shall we? Did you get out your calculator? I got 54 hours. That's quite a bit of hours for a guy that "only works on Sundays," am I right? There are plenty of awesome people out there putting in just as many hours into their jobs, but let me also remind you that pastors don't get paid overtime and, to be honest, many don't get paid much of a salary either (unless of course they are some hot shot in a megachurch, but that's certainly not the majority). These awesome men and women don't exactly get into the business for the money and no one pastor's job description looks the same. Some pastors wear hats from janitor, to electrician, to music minister, to Sunday morning preacher. The congregation and the community also look different from church to church and pastors have to take that into account as well.


Am I bragging on my husband? Sure, maybe a bit. My main point here, however, is to get some of our pastors out of those stereotypes created by both members and non-members of the Church (and even by some pastors who may think their job revolves only around Sunday)! Those in the ministry (I'm not just talking to pastors here) know what I am talking about. They know what it is like to pour themselves out and pour themselves out day after day in order to help others (and, too many times, please others) by meeting needs in their church and in their community. Those in the ministry should view themselves as those great helpers of the community that we also often under-appreciate: the police officers, firemen, paramedics, teachers, and nurses that work their butt off to help others. Every. Single. Day. They know.

Being a pastor is much more than reading the Bible and preaching sermons. It's this calling felt by men and women to walk with others through this thing called life. They are spiritual leaders, teachers, counselors, mentors, friends, and a shoulder to cry on. They are there to celebrate with you life's greatest events: graduation, marriage, baptism, new babies. And they are there to assist in life's most difficult moments, whether it be counseling a separated married couple or officiating a funeral. They wear so many hats, y'all. Especially those in the small to average-sized churches. Jeff has cleaned toilets, pulled weeds, painted walls, shoveled snow, and helped people move. Who knew pastoring involved so much hard work and heavy lifting!

People do not become pastors because they are perfect. Far from it, in fact. They are just on this ride, holding on for dear life, wondering all the while if they are doing the right thing; the same as the next person. Putting others first is exhausting, y'all. You know. You've done it. Perhaps it is your job as well. It's a hard job to do well in this imperfect world with our imperfect human bodies. So take the time to thank those who make a living doing it. Thank a pastor. And while you're at it, thank a nurse, or police officer, or teacher. Or even the lady volunteering her time at a pregnancy center. Their weary souls need it just as much as the souls they are helping.

And while I'm in this thanking mood, thank you, thank you, thank you to those who volunteer their time to help others and to help in the church. Our busy pastors (and their introvert wives) cannot do it all themselves. Each of you is a pastor, a minister, a leader in your own way. So pat yourself on the back. :)

Thirty, Flirty, and Thriving in the Fall

I've already checked my calendar three times this morning. Yup! It's October! How did that happen? All of a sudden it's 60 degrees in the morning and pumpkins are everywhere. I have to ration my Pinterest time so as not to get distracted with the great abyss of pumpkin everything... recipes, decorations, drinks, costumes... I went on there yesterday to find tonight's dinner recipe. 24 hours later... I still have no idea what I'm cooking for dinner. Some sort of meatball. Maybe shaped like a pumpkin?!

First football game of the season!

This October will be my 30th Halloween! That's right! I turned 30 last month. You know, 30 isn't as bad as I thought when I was 15. I should really dig back into my high school journals. They are a hoot. Maybe I'll share an entry or two. If they aren't too embarrassing...

Back to that whole turning 30 thing. September, my birthday month (because you have to celebrate the whole month), was a hot mess. Really though, the weather decided to trick us by cooling off for a couple days then came back with dry, hot scorchers. I really wanted it to be fall already. I started dreaming about pumpkin lattes and sweaters when B got step throat. Oh yeah, school starts and that means sickness spreads. Ugh. In fact, I'm currently battling a wicked sinus infection. Yuck! I may have mentioned it previously, about 100 times, but the allergy season here has been vicious and has lasted for infinity... yup. Infinity.

Gig 'em, Aggies!

Football season started. Always fun in a small town. Unfortunately, we missed the Homecoming parade because we were on our way to Texas that day. Yes, my birthday celebration week began with a quick trip to Wayland Baptist University to get my thesis defense over with! My defense date had already fallen through a couple of times and I finally just said that I was coming down there to get it done. It added more to our drive, but Mama got a thumbs up from the entire committee! Woot! Woot! My thesis is getting bound and put into their library and I am DONE! At least until I start my PhD... eventually.

Right after my defense, we hit the road to Houston. West to Central Texas is a kind of dull drive. Sort of like Kansas and all its flat fields. Without slowing down, the next morning we got up and headed to a football game at College Station! I haven't had a chance to hang out with my sis on her campus in the four years she has lived there, so we made sure we got there in time to go to a game with her. It was so hot! But the boys did great. And that A&M band, wow! That was a nifty half-time show to watch. I was so close to going to that school. Autumn has loved it, but the amount of traditions at that place is sort of ridiculous. So much to keep up with! I told Autumn she needs to start some weird tradition and just make up a story to go with it. Haha!

That guy who bought us dinner :)

Birthday dinner was yummy Brazilian food with the whole fam! We celebrated both mine and Autumn's birthday because they are in the same month. My parents surprised me and Jeff with a little vacation to Galveston for my birthday! They watched the kiddos for us while we spent the night in Galveston and did some exploring for a couple of days. I REALLY wanted to check out the boardwalk thing they have with the rides and stuff, but it is only open on the weekends during the fall. Boo! It was super hot and still there were no rides to have fun on! I guess fall isn't all it's cracked up to be in the South.

The fam!

We just did some sight-seeing, saw some cool battleships, some beautiful old homes, and ate a TON of seafood. That's usually our requirement whenever we are on a coast - seafood for dinner EVERY night! We like to make ourselves sick of it so that when we go back into the heartland we won't miss the fresh stuff for a while. :(

Battleship Texas

Beautiful stained glass

Bishop's Palace in Galveston

The boys, of course, loved the spoiling from their Mammy and Papa. We are still trying to get back on a normal schedule... When we got back from our little getaway (my first night away from little W), we took a trip to the Aquarium. The boys loved looking at the fish. An aquarium really is a great place to take little ones. Even babies can stare at the fish and be entertained. And it's usually air-conditioned! B also loved petting stingrays. He thought he was a little expert.

We finished off the week by going to my little sister's big Ring Day at Texas A&M. So back to College Station it was! Apparently this is a big deal. There's another butt-load of traditions and histories that go along with this as well. I don't even pretend to know what they are. And there's no way even the students that go there can know every single tradition that exists at that place. Just saying.

There were a lot of hugs, some tears, and multiple thumbs-up. All this hullabaloo was followed by lunch at a super busy mediterranean joint. Very delicious. Then, after the drive back home, and a last-minute dinner decision to have a giant tray of Chick-fil-a nuggets and a pizza for dinner, Autumn had to dunk her ring in the traditional Ring Dunk initiation. This just HAD to be completed with an A&M pitcher while wearing an A&M poncho over her clothes. So that's the reason behind all the traditions! Sales! ;) She didn't drink a pitcher of beer like some do (gross), instead she downed a whole pitcher of sweet tea. No human needs to drink that much of anything in two minutes. She drank it all, she got her ring back (kind of silly, right?), then she promptly threw up at least half of what she had just consumed. And so went the Ring Dunk tradition. Autumn can now check that off her list and she is one step closer to graduation! Finally!

Tradition...

Cutest little Aggies there!

Happy Aggie :)

Bennett's version of
Gig 'em. Haha!

Seesters!!

We celebrated by visiting a piano bar (hilarious) and staying out too late for a couple of parents who had a 10-hour drive home with two little ones the next morning. Totally worth it. :)

Nothing extravagant. No fancy getaway to Europe (one of these days...). No shiny, new car sitting in the driveway (though we seriously need an update). Just a normal gal turning 30 and spending it with her favorite people. Perfection.