Did Somebody Say Pumpkins ?

Pumpkin

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Ice Cream 

Pumpkin Spice

Pumpkin Cheese Cake

Pumpkin Carving

Pumpkin Bars

Pumpkin Butter 

Pumpkin Scent

Pumpkin Pudding

Pumpkin Cookies

Pumpkin Dip

Pumpkin Fudge

 

Pumpkin Hummus 

Pumpkin Head 

Pumpkin Log

and of course

there's

Pumpkin Patch !

Went with the kids to the Pumpkin farm ....hot


too many people


but some cute photos of 

KHLOE!

Khloe just gets more fun everyday ....
she's what echos from my heart today........
( well most days )

Change Invites you to the Dance~

Change, it happens and it leaves us different than we were before it occured.

My sweet friend Jane and I were speaking about change.

What really stuck with me?

At 55  I am so different than I was at 45...

boy howdy!!

It's really something to sit and think about where you were ten years ago.

What brought that change about and what actually changed?

For some it might be a move to a new location, a new circle of friends, a divorce, a marriage, a loss, a child born, the last child has moved out, a new hobby, a new career, a faith in something bigger than yourself?

Each of those mentioned bring about change rather you want it or not.

I stopped to think,  make a mental list of the last ten years....this is where consistent journaling would have come in handy :-)

I was one year in to my marriage at the start of the last ten years.

No, we weren't married in these outfits..just us a fun photo from that time :-)

We totally gutted our home, started from the drywall out  brand spanking new.

We experienced living with friends during a portion of this time

We experienced five months of living out of our garage, other than our bed that was inside the incomplete house. So much changed in me during this time...I began to see what really mattered....it wasn't the house, it was who I was with....that is my home...

Please note, contractors are NEVER done when they say it will be done.

  We experienced the loss of my Mother in law, who was diagnosed and died of cancer all in a months time.

I had the best 30 days staying with this incredible woman and I wouldn't have changed a moment of it.

Two years later we would lose my Father in law who no doubt is still dancing in heaven 

with the love of his life

The  birth of the first grand child, which equated to a overflowing heart and introduced me to the second half of my life. Only to be followed by 5 more kids through the years.

Dominic and Grampy

Grandson Calib with his Aunt Jackie

Grands ~ Julia and Gavin

 Grand daughter Aubrie

Our Army man, son Joseph

Family friend and son Brian.

The joy of my youngest son's marriage, the devastation of his unwanted divorce, and seeing him through it. His ability to take charge of his life depite this change.
The ability I found to pray for her to find future happiness.

The loss of my best friend, my one of a kind Dad whom I still miss everyday.

Dad and his grandchildren :-)

The loss of a job I loved, due to our economy. 

The birth of my Great niece Ruby Lu, born two weeks after the loss of my Dad.  She brought instant joy back into many lives that weren't sure they would ever feel it again the day she was born :-)
The lesson that though one moves on we are then given a new young life to be a part of.

Ruby Lu holding her new cousin Khloe

A broken relationship with a loved one that breaks my heart everyday that passes by, time always noted that is slipping away, time never again to be recaptured.
Faith it will be resolved in God's time....

Learning how to best help my Mom adjust to a life without my Dad, when I wasn't  sure about myself...

The passing of a special friend whom I had lost contact with over the years, which has led me to reuniting with his wife, my friend, through e-mail and soon...in person!!

A new and treasured relationship with my sister Deanna....how I love her!

Khloe, Auntie Deanna, and Khloe's dad :-)

Two years of brief retirement with my husband and lots of fun adventures, including many beach days!

The joy of my oldest son's marriage to his wonderful wife Katie, Mommy to the latest and greatest, Khloe.

Katie and Khloe... love this photo.

Three of the grand kids and great niece Ruby await the arrival of Khloe....the new cousin!

The experience of loss, births, relocation, joy, sadness, reconnecting 

and a much larger family all in ten years time.
Something learned from each, and with each, something changed in me.

Finding a Church just down the road from us where we have made some incredible friendships,

with others who like us, are far from perfect,  and who desire to be better.

 

The biggest change is the growth in our faith, a better knowledge of the infallible Word of God.

 The fact that when God comes first everything, is bearable.  

What I have experienced has changed me, 

it couldn't help but change me. 

Sometimes we just reach a point where we know we have to rely on someone much bigger than ourselves and trust that everything, everything happens for a reason.

Through it all I am more at peace with this life and that which is all around me.

What matters to me now didn't matter as much ten years ago.

Ten years ago I wasn't fully aware of all I was blessed with.

Ten years ago I wasn't  aware of the major losses that were to come.  I never would have guessed I could have survived them,  let alone come out of it a stronger, calmer, happier person than I've ever been. We don't always understand when things change, and its often very difficult.

If I were to wish to change something in days gone by......I may have missed the dance I am now in.
(Thank you Garth Brooks)

Continually being refined  day to day...

Hoping to be far better of a person ten years from now than I am today.....

Blessed beyond measure and thankful for it all.

This is what echos from my heart today .....

Before My Very Eyes .......

Khloe on her birthday....

 

Suddenly she's in shoes!

 

Chubby little cheeks begin to form.....

Laughing, and talking up a storm....

Khloe and her Daddy ~ watch closely Daddy ~ before you know it, well...enjoy every mintute.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is what echo's from my heart today...........................

Fall ~

I confess, I was really looking forward to Fall's arrival this year.  So much so I had my Fall decorations out the week following Labor Day. To me it means the smell of the cinammon broom, long sleeved shirts, jackets, rain and the variety of leaf colors on the trees throughout town and yes...cold enough in the evening for the fireplace.
 

Soon the little tricker treaters will be knocking on my door excited to see what is dropped into their pumpkin pails.  Every year we look forward to the young couple across the street bringing over little Lacey and Keira to show us their costumes...oh, and Mommy and Daddy are dressed up too!

Fall means October Fest with my Dinner Group, people who have become family over the last almost seventeen years. Going on about six  years of the formation of our Dinner Group, all of us enjoying a meal together...

Such an increadible group of friends  :-)

October wouldn't be complete without our trip to Bate's Nut Farm in nearby Valley Center.  A little valley with acres of land covered in Pumpkins ....awesome to know they have grown right there and that we will be pushing our wheel barrel in search of the perfect one!



Funny,  if you thought a photo of Khloe wouldn't be in this post :-)



This will be Khloe's first trip to the pumpkin patch and though she may not be excited I know I am.  The photo's taken on this farm are the best with all the colors present. I may take a few :-)

  Khloe's Uncle Brian has bought her a cute litte outfit, hat and all for Fall.  Her Mom and I can't wait to finally see her in it on that day....trust me, you will all see it as well :-)

Yes, time to cozy up with a blanket and a book, watch football, while sipping on a nice cup of hot tea with. ....without the cookies.

(I'm still getting over it)

Fall when the old leaves die off and the trees are given the oppourtunity to start again with new growth.

Much as my life, letting the old ways die off and trying to grow into a better me daily....

Happy Fall my Friends!

This is what echos from my heart today.....

A Cookie and a Nice Cup of Tea ~

Slept till 8 yesterday.

 Too much sleep, maybe that was the cause of a day gone bad not so great. 

First stop the dry cleaners to put a new zipper in my favorite jeans. I can honestly say that I did not break it lying down on the bed attempting to zip.  No, remember I'm on Weight Watchers and still down in weight.  The jeans were fitting just right.  I may have acknowledge to my husband that the zipper was just over stressed from all the months of being forced to hold it all back.....

I left the cleaners to drop off a prescription for my 90 year old aching back. As I parked I noticed a crowd of five or so people around this elderly woman who had taken a pretty bad fall.  One applying pressure to her head as she made comfortable on the ground...only to see the good looking fireman and paramedics pull up ready to assist her.  It was heart breaking to see this poor woman so shaken up with a look of all aloneness (is that a word?) regardless of the crowd now formed around her.  Just left me feeling ....yucky....

Got in line to drop off my prescription and I hear a man's voice at the opposite end of the counter saying God Bless.  I turn to see one of my favorites from church.  He asks how my hubby is doing back to work.  Suddenly I'm a bit emotional....I have been worried about him looking so tired lately.  The hour and 15 min. commute wearing on him, learning a bunch of new things and of course the heat of Hemet, working in a brick building with an old, not always functioning air conditioner. My friend from church encourages me and promises to pray for the hubstir.....

I'm on the road for the 30 minute commute to pick up my retainer (sounds so teenage) that I took in yesterday. Turns out they don't bounce when dropped on ceramic tile. Fortunately I'm in and out of their in a jiff and on the road again, proudly passing up a taco from Del Taco......

I stop to fuel up prior to getting back on the freeway, this day didn't need me running out of gas!  I pulled in up to the pump, got my American Express card out and walked over to the machine to enter my pump number,  and insert my card .  Glasses on the passenger seat of the car, I attempt to wing it as though I can see. Why won't it take my card?  I'm almost forcing it with a fear it was going to get stuck....lame machine must not be working.  I am not walking all the way to the cashier.... :-( (hence the extra pounds).

  I get back in the car and drive to the machine on the other side....(why didn't I take my glasses)...I attempt the same, enter the pump number and attempt to again fit my card in the lame little slot. Now I am so annoyed that it is so not working!!  I'm still  not going to walk to that cashier.  Let me just get my glasses to make sure I haven't missed something. Hmmmm...that lame slot I was trying to get my card to go into was where the paper money goes in... I can now see the little, not so lame slot, off to the right and presto the card fits!!!!! It's asking for a pin?  American Express has no pin, they usually ask for my zip code.  What is going on here????  What is with this day....Oh, it does say, "cash or debit card only". Hmmm....

Debit card in, pin # entered, gas pumped and on the road again.  I drive away thinking I should have packed a lunch...

Here is where I let it all fall apart.... I was scheduled to go to a book signing of Pam Farrell's last night with a bunch of gals from Bible study group.  We were all bringing cookies to help provide for a big crowd of attendees so I decide to go ahead to the market and get some chili fixins for the rain expected this weekend and I might as well pick up the cookies too.  I pick up a bag of fresh baked peanut butter cookies thinking to myself, " bad idea you know you will eat some, you love peanut butter cookies". "Lets think smarter, buy those for the event and grab those Ginger soft cookies which are less calories and  have one of those with a nice cup of tea."

I'm home now, groceries put away. Now where are those cookies? I think I will have one prior to hopping in the shower to get ready. I'll keep this short.  I ate six...one after the other, no time to make a cup of tea.  REALLY? Lectured myself, questioned myself and eventually started to feel, not so good. Not so good to the point that I knew I wasn't going to make it to the book signing. What I knew for sure was I needed to get these cookies (whats left of them) out of the house.  I end up taking them over to my daughter in law, I knew I could count on her to take them off my hands.  I arrive, gave a quick confession of what I have done and hand her what's left of the ginger cookies and new bag of .....fresh peanut butter cookies .  Almost as if she knew what I needed she told me to not be so hard on myself and " do you want to hold Khloe? "  So about 45 minutes later I head home with an upset stomach...still...but a full heart  :-)

So, with full heart and stomach I'm really not hungry again till about 6:45 P.M.  I preheat my oven and toss in a frozen enchilada, set timer for 25 minutes and wait.  Twenty five minutes pass, I pull out my dinner....still frozen in the middle.  Thought to self, " is God telling me I could very well do without dinner after all those cookies?"  Nah!  I give it another 10 minutes..........still cold to the touch in the center???? 

Microwave 2 minutes, eating dinner at almost.....7:30 P.M.

The hubstir softly says, " and you don't like to eat after 6 P.M. "  

He looks so tired.

A day of blessings really.

Magic pills on the way, I can wear my old jeans by Wednesday, Fireman just a block away from a fall, no charge for the retainer that doesn't bounce, full tank of gas and a car to put it in, a cookie free house, a happy daughter in law, a healthy grand child, a husband that comes home to me everyday, a good friend bringing me my signed book.

Look for the blessing !

This is what echos in my heart today.......

What in the World is Blog Sugar?

This last Sunday I attended a conference for Christian Bloggers with my niece Amanda and her Mom, my sister Deanna!  It was put on by Blog Sugar and it's history is this... it started over a conversation in a Starbucks I believe, women talking about blogging.  Out of the conversation came, why don't we get together as women and discuss our blog's?  The first meeting was in Rachel's living room.  The following year as word spread, there were approximately 100 bloggers in her back yard.  Sunday was the third event and there were I would guess close to 200 in attendance at the Westminster Rose Center. Women came from all over the U.S. to attend this 7 hour event and I was so thrilled to be a part of it.

My Niece Amanda and her Mom my sister Deanna :-)

From my time spent I learned so much about the opportunity and responsibility I have to reach so many through my blog, hopefully in a way that glorifies God and not SELF!  There are currently over a million blogs and to think out of all those to choose from...some of you are following mine!  What an honor to be read at all, I hope that you have seen God in my blogs.  He is in me and I want so very much for what I write to reflect that.

I learned that by being real, sharing what I am really about, flaws, fears, difficulties,victories, my sadness and my joy I am quite possibly connecting with someone experiencing a like experience.  We are helping each other, often not being aware we are doing so.  I was so surprised how many women had lost children yesterday and how blogging was initially started by them as a form of therapy, led them to other women who had lost children and they have therefore helped each other through a pain completely unimaginable by me. Those that shared this spoke of how much it has helped to blog through this pain as well as reading the blogs of those that could relate to a loss so great as their own while in their healing place.

Many share their crafts, recipes even DIY ideas which have led to incomes, fund raising etc.... It's amazing to think of all the connections we are making all over the globe!  One speaker brought to our attention the thought of .....what would our Great Grandmothers have thought of the freedom we now have to say all we now want to say as women?  Compared to their time when women really weren't to have much to say at all?  They would likely  tell us what a great opportunity we have and to use it wisely!  Help each other out!

So you may not believe you have much to say, but what you do say is reaching many people.  Your sharing with others can be a form of encouragement, sharing your experience may provide some clarity, wisdom,  uplifting, comfort, or bringing a smile or a laugh to one that needed it.  Reaching out to and connecting with another who is having or has had a same life experience.  So I  have a responsibility to say it well, to be my authentic self and most importantly keeping in mind the opportunity for others to see God in my writing and I hope you do.

I hope you will all check out Blog Sugar and maybe I'll see you next year at the conference!

This is what echos from my heart today......



.

From Aprons to E-mail and the like.....

I recently shared the story of the apron via e-mail;

Remember making an apron in Home Econimics?

The History of 'APRONS'

I don't think our kids know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few. It was also because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons used less material.  But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold Grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent 
over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After 
the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

REMEMBER:

Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool.   Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.

They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron!!!
I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron - but love...

 The story of the apron brought the response below from my bff since Kindergarten, Vickie.

Ahhh, yes.  The good old days!  The Internet and email are great, but these two technologies alone have sure changed our World, don't you think? 

In my office, there are about 50 people within earshot and most of the time, the only sound you hear is the clicking of their keyboards.  There is no longer a need to speak on the phone because most communications are through the email.  Even to the person who sits behind you!  On this alone, these young people coming into the work force sit at their desks and text throughout the day....every day.   It is amazing!  And corporate America better clue in that getting rid of the older worker is not necessarily saving money because they hire the youngsters at 1/3 of the rate but they get a 1/3 of the work out of them!  The young workers have no allegiance to the company and most corporations no longer have allegiance to the workers!  Sad time to work, I'm glad I'm coming to the end of my work days!

I have heard many stories from Vickie and others about some of the younger adults in the work place today.  Not only from her place of employment but from college classes she has taken as a ....50 something year old. Stories of the lack of knowledge on every day life issues that many young adults suffer from. Their so unclear about "life" stuff. My Doctor told me he was interviewing for and administrative position and the interviewee when told the job was 5 days a week replied,

"In a row?"  

WHAT?(this is me speaking)

Now, this insight to how technology has had an affect on the work ethic (the constant need to text, and being paid while doing so), the absence of fully listening  and therefore learning something to prepare them for life...an what about the experience of making a  connection while using actual verbal communication? 
It all got me thinking about the facts as I have witnessed them.

Verbal communication gives one so much more information than the words being typed if you will, not to mention  we are more likely to fully listen  if we aren't distracted by the incoming text...to what is being said to us. 
Facial expression, emphasis on particular words are lost in e-mail, texting, tweeting 

(whatever the heck that is). 

I don't know how young adults would do  in an environment suddenly void of all this  technology?  Something to think about.  How do they learn to talk to a future spouse, employer, interviewer, or, express themselves with actual feeling to another human being? 
Would they understand anothers body language, pick up on what the speaker is feeling by looking into their eyes?

I personally have a difficult time when I am having a conversation when with someone who is constantly checking their phone, even texting replies back and forth while pretending to listen to , as I sit and think; really what is so important?  
It certainly isn't the time you are spending with me right now..

The same can be said while in a gathering of friends that you are so looking forward to seeing and they have that phone in hand....checking it all the while.  I want to say, 
why did you gather with us?

Don't get me wrong I do text and email, generally for yes or no responses which is great in the midst of a rushed day. I too understand that there are emergencies that happen..... If I have a loved one in the hospital or sick I will check my phone.  Otherwise, my attention is on you out of respect, so that you know that, what you say and my time spent with you is valuable to me.

I receive many texts in the evenings, my time with my husband....Call me, lets say it all in one swoop and we can both than get back to our evenings :-) 

Really, it's not that I don't want to hear from you....

I recently received the most beautiful card from my friend Lori and a hand written card from my Aunt Wilma. They caused me to pause and be reminded of how seldom we even write letters anymore.  There is nothing like going to the mail box and receiving a hand written note from someone who cares about you amongst the bills and junk mail we all carry in.

Had to sneak Khloe in here with her bubble blowing skills :-)

I'm thankful my grandchildren aren't texting yet....there is nothing that could top hearing the sound of their little voices and the expression in their words.  Maybe we need to start wearing those aprons again, maybe that will get us to thinking of how things used to be and what's been lost along the way to now.  

I realize technology will always be "improving" and making life easier for us.  But what is it robbing us of if we allow it into every part of our personal lives?

If I can't be with you, I want to hear your voice on the phone, because I care about you that much.  I want to be able to better sense how I should best reply to what you have to say.  I want to be able to sense your happiness, sorrow, depression, joy etc.... I want to be as present in our conversation as possible.

I hope that  in writing this I wasn't generalizing, or trying to make anyone feel badly. My intent is for us to consider what's been lost with the apron...if it came across in a hurtful way, 
it was not my intent. 

If you could hear me you would know that :-)

This is what echos from my heart today.......