October Busyness

Our Octobers are always busy busy. The craziness started this year, Oct. 8 when MelZ turned 3.

Happy Birthday lil man.

Oct. 11- First day of school......
Upon turning 3, Melchizedek can now attend the same preschool as Mariana. It is a special education preschool with extra teachers and a speech therapist to help him with his speech delay.

weekends.you  never know what adventure these two will be up to.....

October 15, it was "Birthday Party Day". Mariana turned 5 on the 18th of October, so we have a combined birthday party for the kiddos.

October 20, we went to a pumpkin patch for a school field trip. It was the first one I have been able to attend since I stopped working (March) and Matt had the day off too, so we got to go as a whole family!

I love goats

There was a large pit of dried corn kernels to play in. MelZ loved it... and the tractors.

Mariana wanted to carve pumpkins this year, so I got two big ones..... and MelZ doesn't like them at all..... he is purposefully not in the picture.

Mariana wanted to eat the pumpkin seeds, so we cleaned them up, dried them off and roasted two batches. This flavor was garlic salt. Very tasty.

and these are cinnamon sugar... even more tasty.

Here are our pumpkins, carved and with candles.... MelZ won't go near them....

So, I had all these raspberries, I decided to make some jam, and then can it. My very first time doing both. I now call it "Jamming"

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Big pot o' jam.

Boiling it up.

Finished product. The jam did not "solidify" but the taste is amazing.... but what would you expect from raspberries and sugar? nothing but deliciousness

Yesterday, Oct. 24, the kiddos were home from school sick again.... so to feel better they put on their Halloween costumes and watched a movie. Costumes make my colds feel better too :)

These are a few of my favorite things.......

 For my house, it seems the dining room is the center of all things, it also functions as a passageway from one end of the house to the other, so if I am there getting stuff done, I can keep tabs on everybody in the house. Usually the table is full of my daily project, whether it is clipping coupons, the daily harvest, researching online (like how to butcher a chicken, or fix a broken appliance) art projects with the kids, bills, meals or Bible study. To get a clean and cleared table feels so good and it brings rest to my heart.

 Pumpkins make me smile, especially the little ones.

Lately I have been decorating a lot with dried beans. I love the colors and simplicity. 

My all time favorite coffee cup.

Fall Harvest

 I love fall, and now that I have started to garden, I get to harvest my efforts in my favorite season, making Autumn even better.

This year I actually got full sized green bell peppers, along with pepperoncinis and so many cherry tomatoes.

I was so excited about the blue pumpkin seeds I found in the spring, I totally forgot to buy regular orange pumpkin seeds.... oh well, next year. Until then, I get to enjoy these four beauties :)

I added a picture of this cause I butchered my first hen this month. It was really gruesome, but such a good experience. Unfortunately, she was a "light weight" obviously not a meat bird.... but she was mean, and was not laying eggs, so she will hit the stew pot.  At some point I will do a whole blog post on the butchering process, complete with video.... for those who have a strong stomach.

This year, I made an effort to get the green tomatoes inside before the frost. Matt really loves my spaghetti sauce, so if these turn red, I am hoping to can some spaghetti sauce for the winter.   Also in the pictures are "part of a peck of peppers to be pickled" this will be another new adventure.

I managed to clear out these two drawers, perfect for the green toms.   

After butchering my hen with Nicole, we picked raspberries, or rather I ate raspberries while she picked a load of them. I am hoping to make raspberry jam, another new experience..... I am so grateful for Google and having information at my fingertips.

In the spring I planted a lot of Luffa plants, in effort to make Luffa scrubbies for Christmas gifts. It did not turn out as planned.... I only got one pod, and I didn't know it was there until I mowed the plant (I didn't think anything grew, so I gave up on the plant.... and  then found the pod after the plant was a goner)

This is what mine turned out like.  At least the seeds I purchased were heirloom, so I can save these until next spring.

Hanging here are Sage and Rosemary, the herb garden I started two years ago is really fruitful. Lavender, Mint, Thyme, Rosemary, Oregano, Chives & Sage.   Things I planted this year that were total duds: garlic and hops.... but Spring will come again with new opportunities.

Added Oct. 22:

 

I picked these lil' guys. wish they were more orange.... this is what they could/should have looked like:

They are called "pumpkin on a stick" if you are insterested in growing some yourself.

Amsterdam

If people know one thing about me, it is how much I love the city of Amsterdam. I wanted to give a brief history as to why..... 10 years ago, I was in Guatemala. I was seeking the LORD when he revealed to me his heart for Urban Missions. It was a concept I had never thought of before (I was imagining myself, called in to missions at age 16, in the bush somewhere like Africa or South America surrounded by needy children) and Amsterdam specifically was the city he opened my heart to. Less than 12 months after my revelation I stepped on Dutch soil for the first time, and I was ecstatic, though where I was staying staying was in a village, hardly Amsterdam..... but through that time I also fell in love with the Dutch culture, and language. Spring of 2003 I went into Amsterdam and spent a long weekend there, exploring the city. It was a dream come true, and the start of a love affair that has not waned over the years. God put the city in my heart, and has kept the passion burning for it... though the fact the Amsterdam is a genuinely awesome city certainly helps :) So, for my 30th Birthday present, Matt graciously let me go to Europe for two weeks, 8 days were spent in the city of my heart.

Above and below, are some artwork I scored- beautiful watercolors.

 This was view from the room I stayed in, not too shabby. The building on the right is "Het Scheepvaartmuseum" the Maritime Museum.  Oct 1st they had a re-opening celebration after 4 years of renovating. If you want to see how this celebration went down, check this link.

 This view, I am on the roof of the green building in the left of the previous picture, the "slanted" looking one. The church is so beautiful, St. Nicholas Church, it is just as beautiful inside too.  The Chinese building..... I think it is a floating restaurant....

This short video is just a panoramic view of the city, if you look closely, you can see the building in the picture below, named De Poort, it is one of the four YWAM buildings in Amsterdam, and where I stayed during my visit, and also where I roomed during the courses I took in Amsterdam... aka home.

 De Poort has a Prayer Tower, not visible in this picture. It is located on the back left corner, from this view.  It has 4 windowed walls, so a 360* view of the city is available, you can see it below.

Below is another YWAM building located across from Central Station. The words read "God Roept U" (God is calling you) and "Jesus Loves You". The signs were put up long before YWAM purchased the building when it was a Salvation Army. On the ground floor a fun Art Cafe' "Dwaze Zaken" (Foolish Things) serves amazing food.

 Two of the four YWAM buildings stand next to each other in the Red Light District. The building in the center of the photo is the Tabernacle of the Nations, modeling the IHOP (International House of Prayer, Kansas City) They aspire to run a 24/7 house of prayer and worship, although it is currently not run 24/7 because of limited staff.  To the left of the Tabernacle (hidden behind a tree) is the Lighthouse, a new ministry focusing on the sex industry, injustice, and anti-traffic issues.

 Every canal has a pretty view.

 Houseboats are everywhere.

My time in the city was very fruitful. I was able to go shopping at H&M :)  pick up a few Dutch treats for the children, and I met with a lot of the YWAM staff to get a better picture of life with a family in the city while doing ministry there.