up close

Look at those big blue eyes- just like his dad's.

stillness

Our "Indian Summer" in Denver has officially come to an end- there is snow in the forecast, the piles of leaves in my yard point toward bare tree branches and my drink cravings have made the shift from diet vanilla coke at Sonic to chai tea with a pump of mocha at Starbucks. Usually, I meet the change of seasons with a sense of mourning to leave behind my beloved summer and head into the colder, harsher, stiller months of winter. But more than any year before it, this fall has been a symbolic one for me.

I wrote a little while back about how it has been a sort of tumultuous time for us... and that continues, actually. There seems to be less time (darn dental school) and more tough stuff than usual right now. Yet instead of my usual anxiousness for activity and warmth, I feel the Lord calling us to make room for stillness and quietness and resting in Him. I don't know exactly what that looks like in a life abuzz with constant motion... perhaps we pare down our commitments? Maybe we get up earlier? Or maybe it is an issue of intentionality- putting up a guard against the flood of busyness and conflict that currently seems to encompass my thoughts and conversations. Whatever the answer, just the thought of rest is a welcome respite from the storm that life has been lately...

I can't say that I am giddy at the thought of winter the way my heart is delighted with the first warm-enough-to-go-to-the-pool days in May (not sure that emotion will ever accompany this season). But the serenity and quiet that accompany the fall and coming winter resonante with me right now and I am looking forward to the stillness to come.

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. PSALM 46:10-11

g-o to the z-o-o

Considering my tumultuous relationship with the Denver Zoo (there was a point in time where I genuinely just didn't like that place... I think it was Jord's fault for choosing to celebrate her birthday there just to spite me- haha!), it's kind of funny that I now have a zoo membership and spend a decent amount of my free time wandering around looking at animals. And when the remke's come to town, I spend even more time there! During Jord's last three visits, we've visited the zoo four times (yep, that's twice during one trip). Keadryn LOVES the animals and it's a great way to enjoy the glorious Denver weather. Since I take pics every time we go, but haven't posted any of them, here's a chronicle of our last four zoo visits. :)

bake off

When we drove by a pumpkin patch on the way to my parents house last Saturday morning and saw a huge "FREE PUMPKINS" sign, I knew that we'd be back. You see, my entire family love love LOVES pumpkin seeds... and free stuff... and with both Jord and Kiji in town, I knew an evening of separating pumpkin seeds from pumpkin junk was in our immediate future.

A couple hours later, Keje and I hauled eight (yes eight) pumpkins toward the open trunk of Jord's car (mom already had four pumpkins on her porch ready to be commandeered for seeds). I think the original plan was to actually carve these pumpkins, but carving twelve pumpkins when there are only five of you is too overwhelming. So instead of creating jack o' lantern faces and spooky scenes, at 9:30 at night (after we'd emptied the first twelve pumpkins), Kedron and I drove back to the now-dark pumpkin field to collect seven more pumpkins. Yep, if you're keeping track, we're up to nineteen pumpkins now. A mere hour later, the seeds of all aforementioned pumpkins were rinsed and spread out onto cookie sheets to air out over night.

The real fun began Sunday afternoon when we decided to use the 20+ cups of pumpkin seeds in a bake off... not sister vs. sister (we all make pumpkin seeds the same way, learned from mom, of course), but recipe vs. recipe. We scoured recipezaar for three worthy recipes and began mixing and spicing and baking.

The results? The recipe for pumpkin pie pumpkin seeds was the far and away winner. We halved the sugar (not on purpose, we didn't quadruple correctly) and it turned out great- the perfect salty/sweet treat. The spicy garlic seeds also were amazing... And the worchestershire seeds were pretty good (they're probably great, just in comparison to the other two recipes not as fabulous). We also made some the good ol' fashioned way with salt. What fun! I think this should become our day-after-Halloween family tradition!

aunt kiji!

Keje doesn't get to visit as often as Jordi and her girls, but boy is she fun! Burke is going through attention withdrawl after all of her doting... I'm sure Keadryn and Sayla are too! Adam and I were already campaigning for her and Patrick to move here, but after having her in town for a long weekend, I'm convinced that it is absolutely necessary to have them here long term... If you have any selling points to help me convince them to move to Denver, please let me know asap. :)

littlest wolverine

All decked out in his GCC gear! :)

tricks, treats and a glorious surprise

Love-hate relationship with Halloween fully accounted for, we decided to have a non-scary, non-gory Halloween party this year. The highlights? Burke as a tooth... Keadryn as a dancing, growling lion... Jack as a hot dog... Joanie as the most precious little skunk you've ever met... Evette as an 80s skier (she knew those bright pink jumpsuits would one day come in handy)... lots of "group costumes" (lions, tigers and bears, two peas in a pod, our toothfest getup)... yummy fall treats.

Far and away, the best part of the party was that my sisters were both in town for it! Even better, Jord and my nieces drove up from Lubbock to surprise Kiji (who tragically hadn't met Sayla until last night!). What a perfect party!