Ode to October and November

Some October/November highlights!  They all run together for me.  We spent a morning with some friends at a local pumpkin patch.  It was beautiful and the girls and I picked a bunch of pumpkins for a little welcome sign for our front door.  Throughout the month I was constantly putting them back in order as they LOVED to rearrange them with our neighbor friends! 

Pics from the Patch...

 We also were able to hit up the ToyLand first Friday on the square in Bentonville.  Amanda tried to warn us, but we were not prepared for the magnitude of this event!  It was a blast and B saw many favorite charaters there!  Of course the hundreds of people were an overload for little Mallory, she may not have ever opened her eyes!

We also went for a little nature walk and found our thankful tree.  We started a tradition last year of finding a branch and filling it with things that Brooklyn thought of to be thankful for.  It was really neat because she would randomly come up to me each day and say, Oh- I thought of another one!  We are so blessed!  And she is right, we have been.  I took some pictures of a few that made me smile.

 Last but not least, Brooklyn at her Thanksgiving party.  We are thankful for her school and the amazing teachers that she has had.  They sang us songs and made us cry.  Scott and I took turns on visiting the party and we enjoyed spending time with our favorite 4 year old and her precious friends.

As a parent I feel that one of my greatest blessings is understanding what "child of God" means.  We love our kids with such a deep love that to love anymore would be impossible, yet God's love is just that.  Recently we were at Wal Mart and the girls were putting money in the little Salvation Army bucket.  The lady there was so sweet and said "Girls,Jesus loves you and your mommy loves you".  She went on to say, and your mommy loves you more than Jesus."  I stood there a little stunned and Brooklyn very matter or fact says "No she doesn't".  I laughed and told the woman, "She's right, I don't- there is no way I could love her like Jesus does."  I got back to the car with the girls feeling a little sad and not knowing why I was sad.  I turned to Brooklyn wanting to make sure she understood what that conversation was about.  We talked about how much her daddy and I loved her but that the love of Jesus can't compare to any love there is.  She just stared at me for a while and said "It's because He made me". 

I don't believe you teach that to kids- Our Creator puts that love in their hearts.  We are here to guide them in their understanding of what that great love is all about.  It was such an amazing testimony to me and I love what Jesus is teaching me and my girls.