Fun at the Corn Maze

 Last week our friends from Lakeland invited us to join them at a local corn maze. 

"Inger" and her best bud, William had a great morning of playing together.

Sweet little Sopia.

 A few of the gang enjoying a hay ride together.

On the way home, "Inger" had some ants in her pants...

this is her with her big sister's wig on.

Autumn IS Real!

The little ones here on the Ponderosa have never experienced autumn before. I'm sure they even questioned if it existed as we studied seasons in school. For here in the sunny, tropical Florida, our leaves go from green to brown and fall around February. So part of the excitement of our last trip to see "Hoss" was the kiddos being able to play in the leaves.
"Play?" they asked. "Not rake?"

He is My Maker!

The earth is the Lord's and everything in it. Psalm 24:1

This is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

What great deeds are done by His hands. Mark 6:2

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Psalm 150:6

Shout joyfully to God...How awesome are your works. Psalm 66:1,3

Christ "is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him." (Colossians 1:15-16)

The Thanksgiving Tree

So, you may say it is a little early to start thinking about Thanksgiving. I say, "Having children in the house, every day is an opportunity to talk about thanksgiving." Contentment and selflessness are always subjects being discussed at the Ponderosa. These things do not come naturally. These character qualities take hard work to instill; many times I'm looking in the mirror as I exhort my children in these areas. Every year around this time, I imagine spending all my "spare" time doing beautiful fall crafts with my children, helping them to focus on the themes of harvest, plenty and thanksgiving. Every year, I fall short. So this year, we are starting a bit early. I encourage each of you moms out there to plan ahead and come up with a creative way to inspire your children to tackle the heart of Thanksgiving. We are making a Thanksgiving Tree that we will add leaves to each day with the many things we have to be thankful for. As my children add their individual leaves I will post them here. I would love for you to write or leave a comment about what you have chosen to do this season to celebrate the gift of gratefulness.

"Mrs. Cartwright"- my wonderful hubby

"Little Joe"- The Bible

"Marie"- my sister

"Inger"- God