Our little characters...

We ended up having a great evening. At Aaron's request, we did make one trick-or-treat stop.... Mrs. Seiffert invited all of the kiddos to stop by her house and included her address in their weekly newsletter (I told you she's the best!) She completely lit up when Aaron showed up at her door.... it was so sweet. She even went to get her camera to take pictures of him and one of his classmates who arrived at the same time. Next, we had a great time.... and a great dinner.... at Pizza Hut.

I gave Aaron his choice from the dress-up box, and OF COURSE, he chose to be "Dash." He ALWAYS chooses to be Dash! :) It was fun to see people smiling at him at Pizza Hut!
Our baby giraffe! Rest assured (grandmas, especially!), we did not take him out in the cold without pants. In fact, we were only able to get the costume on him long enough to capture these pictures!

Holy is the....

Yeah, just listen to this. Kinda feeling bad for this worship team.... but if their hearts were right, I'm sure that it still brought the Lord JOY! :)

ONE YEAR!

Today is my one year anniversary!!! I entered the blogging world on October 31, 2006! Thanks for joining me on the journey!

A day of festivities....

Okay, so I must admit.... Scott and I are not HUGE fans of Halloween. It's not that we oppose anyone else totally getting into it.... we've handed out candy at our house before.... we think that the kids are always cute.... we're just not huge fans and don't go all out. Neither one of us grew up in homes that made a big deal out of trick or treating, so that's a part of it, I'm sure. Anyway, for our "holiday plans", we are actually going to let Aaron dress up as Dash, and we're just headed out for a family night at Pizza Hut. We figured that we could spend the money that we would've spent on candy for a dinner out, and that way, Aaron (and Isaac?) won't be scared by some of the older characters that would have come to our door! (please, please don't egg my house after you read this post!!!) :)

One of the best things that happens at our house is dress-up time! We have a dress-up box, and every time Aaron has buddies over, the box usually comes out (so I guess that means that every day is Halloween at the Greene's!!!) Here are some pictures of Aaron and Jacob from awhile back.... aren't they cute?!!

Our First Jack-o-Lantern!

Tonight, we decided to take on the task of carving our very first pumpkin at our house!!! Scott ended up chasing Isaac the entire time, so it ended up being a little project for Aaron and his momma!

First things first, we had to wash some dirty spots off the pumpkin. Here.... Aaron is "blow drying" the pumpkin!Next came the important job of tracing the face.... which required much concentration!! The ever important task of scooping out the guts....Well, this picture actually shows Aaron's true feelings about this task!!! He cracked us up, continually saying that he was on "Dirty Jobs" (one of his favorite shows from The Discovery Channel/TLC/or one of the channels like that). At one point, he stated, "Mommy, will you just stop taking pictures and go ahead and help me out here!" HA!With our finished product!!! We ended the night by reading "The Pumpkin Patch Parable." It was fun, and our pumpkin didn't turn out too shabby either!

Our Thankful Pumpkin

This is such a great idea, and I thought I would share it, so you all can get in on the fun! Awhile back, our children's ministry director from the church shared at MOPS and said they have a "Thankful Pumpkin" at their house for the month of November. Every night at dinner, every child and the parents, too, use a Sharpie and each write one thing that they are thankful for on the pumpkin (no repeats, though!) Last week at MOPS, we added a little rafia to our pumpkins, and now we have a great new centerpiece at our house AND an activity that helps us to remember to have grateful hearts!!! We started a little early (before Nov. 1st!) and it's already been fun!

From the Mouths of Babes....

.... well, from MY babe!!!

We were driving to my mom and dad's house and passed a very large, beautiful tree that was an awesome shade of yellow in the sunshine. I pointed it out to Aaron, and we started talking about it.... and he said:

"It's HU-NOR-MOUS!!!" (and repeated himself three times!)

It was cute.... very cute! :)

(and no, this picture is not of that tree.... in fact, I regret to inform you that I did not even take this picture.... and I've never seen this tree....)

A Visit to the Pumpkin Patch

As I said in my "Thankful Thursday" post, we had an awesome time at the pumpkin patch with Angie, Jacob, and Liza yesterday. It was CHILLY, but the kids LOVED the straw mazes, the corn maze, and the painted pumpkins (and the farm's friendly kitty, too!) A sweet story.... I waited with the stroller and Isaac while the rest of the crew hit the corn maze. Ang and her kiddos emerged, but Aaron had turned around at some point as he was winding around. So.... I went looking. The sweet little guy.... he popped out of a large clump o' corn, gave me a huge hug, and calmly said, "Wow mom, I got lost for just a minute...." It was neat to see how happy he was to see me!!! Made me feel needed by my very independent little man!

Thankful Thursday....

Today, I am thankful....

1) That our little buddy, Austin's scans at Riley came back clear today!!! YEA, GOD!!! Austin (age 8) has been cancer-free for about 2 1/2 years now!!!! He is such a little miracle!!!
2) For my parents' willingness to let us borrow their camera. We've gotten some really fun shots in the past couple of weeks, and I would've hated to miss them since our camera is out of commission!
3) For an awesome trip to the pumpkin patch with my friend Angie and her precious kiddos (more pictures later!) Happy Birthday, Jacob!!!
4) For the fact that my hubby is a handy-man! He finished our basement by himself right before Isaac was born, and it is awesome!!! In fact, that is where I am typing this post!!!
5) For sunny, windy days! I love the weather today!!! :)

Have an awesome day, everybody! Much love!

Beth Moore's Comedy....

If you love Beth, you have to read her latest blog entry here. I love that she is SO human!!!

"Advent Conspiracy"

I must say, I am stirred to the point of unrest at this moment, not knowing what to do with a piece of truth that was handed to me. Scott was reading in his Catalyst magazine last night and passed the article onto me today. Due to copyright stuff, I can't, verbatim, pass it along.... but I'll attempt to begin to process this out with you, my dear blog reader, today.

So, here's the thought: Advent Conspiracy. From their website:

Advent Conspiracy is an international movement restoring the scandal of Christmas by substituting compassion for consumption.

Wow, I realized as I read this article and browsed through the website how stuck I am in a consumer mindset, in a culture of materialism. I have a pit in my stomach right now.... asking God, "What do I DO with this TODAY? What do I do with this when I already have Christmas presents hidden in my closet for people? God, where are you calling me? How do you want me to live?!!!"

Another bit from the site:

Part of saying “yes” to Jesus means that we say “no” to over-spending. We say “no” to overconsumption. We say “no” to these things so we can create space to say “yes” to Jesus and His reign in our lives. The National Retail Federation was forecasting that Americans would spend approximately $457.4 billion at Christmas in 2006. The American Research group estimated an average of $907.00 per family to be spent at Christmas in 2006. After the Holiday we work for months to get out of debt, only to find that the presents we bought in the name of Christ furthered a consumerist mentality in us and our children and took our focus off of the greatness of Jesus. As Christ-followers, the Advent Conspiracy starts with us resisting a culture that tells us what to buy, wear and spend with no regard to bringing glory to Jesus.

And, a bit of truth from the article that made me wince.... and grieve....

The statistics can't be ignored. Ten billion dollars gets clean water to everyone in the world. Fifteen billion dollars feeds everyone. In America, we spend $450 billion at Christmas. Get the picture? The world is watching for the star to rise again and for the people of God to gather around the Baby. Will you join us?

Whew, God is certainly up to something. God is calling us to be counter-cultural in our modern-day Babylon. He is calling us to 'keep our noses clean' and make a difference. I love what God is doing in my heart.... I love that He isn't finished with me yet.....

I've been spoiled....

.... by the fact that we've had two nights at home in a row, just celebrating being together!!! Tonight was particularly fun....After dinner, we enjoyed a brisk walk around the neighborhood, and because it was chilly, we warmed up by the neighbor's fire when we completed our walk!No "fun night" is complete at the Greene's without a dance party!Did I ever mention that our boys LOVE the song, "Walk Like An Egyptian"?!! This is Aaron's choreography! Very fun!

Aaron also decided to put on a puppet show with songs from "The Sound of Music" playing in the background! Including the 'goat herd' song, of course (my hubby still thinks I called it the 'goat turd' song! HA!)
Daddy and Isaac, enjoying the show!

Tornado Clean-Up

Nearly 3,000 volunteers showed up yesterday in Nappanee to help begin cleaning up after the storm. I love that! While our schedule didn't allow, I would've loved to have been there.... I love it when a community of people pull together to do the RIGHT thing!!! Read more here.

Let the fall clean-up begin!!!

It's been a busy couple of days around here... with the beautiful weather, we've been trying to get things done outside.... including raking leaves and pine needles (ahh, the joy of living in "The Pines" subdivision!), mowing, and power washing the house (okay.... I say 'we' but it's mostly been Scott!)

As you can see, Isaac was a bit uncertain when it came to the leaf blower! Poor guy!

A Little Flashback...

This picture is from this summer at my mom and dad's. Doesn't Aaron look THRILLED as he eats a piece of watermelon from one of the seeds that he picked out at the store.... and that my mom and dad willingly grew for him in their garden? So fun!

Hillsong Conference Opener

Oh, how I love my Jesus!!! I had goosebumps all over at one point during this video when Chris Tomlin stepped up to lead (I think even on my big toe! HA!) It's a little long.... but you won't regret it.... really! No joke, crank up your speakers.... I'm certain God has a little something for you as you praise!!! :)

Hillsong Conference 2007 Opening
Uploaded by ajchz

(yes, I'm a blog thief again... thanks to the Sheets family for allowing me to encounter the Lord through an amazing praise and worship experience.... at 12:19 in the morning in my basement! Our God is SO good!)

Perspective....

I ran across this blog with some heartbreaking pictures from Nappanee. It's hard to believe that all of this happened only 15 minutes away....

I must say though.... as I watched the news coverage this afternoon about the tornado, I was praising God the entire time.... the fact that no one was killed and that there were no major injuries is quite astounding.

If anyone is feeling led to help, Nappanee Missionary Church is organizing some efforts to help their community begin to move forward. More info here.

Thankful Thursday....

Yes, I'm a little late again and missed last week altogether, but here it goes.... Today, I am thankful....

1) For the health of my children. Yes, Aaron has been fighting a cough for about a month, but we just heard a staggering prayer request for one of his little buddies from school that puts everything in my life into perspective. I don't know what tomorrow may bring, but I am thankful for today with my precious children.
2) That my entire extended family remained safe in the storms last night. At 10:15 last night, we were watching the news and ended up calling my sister and her family to make sure that they were awake. They live just between Bremen and Nappanee.... my brother-in-law actually stepped outside and heard "the freight train" sound that everyone eerily talks about with tornadoes. The one that hit Nappanee missed them by just over a mile, I think. I am thankful that my family is safe and am praying for the people who were affected.
3) For a great celebration this week with Aaron. I am so thankful for 5 great years!
4) For fun little victories in being frugal and using up what we have! I was rooting through the cupboards and the freezer and was able to put together enough pasta/lasagna type dishes for four meals (Hoorah, for freezer meals!), and all I had to purchase was one thing of cottage cheese and one bag of mozzarella cheese. It felt good to throw away THREE empty boxes that had been half-full of pasta prior to my cooking expedition!!! :)
5) For fall weather!!! No, I don't love the rain, but I DO love the temperatures!!!

Have a great weekend, everybody!

A few new tricks...

I love this video because it displays a few of Isaac's latest tricks. Lately, he's loving peek-a-boo and notice the brief clip in the video where he demonstrates his latest waving skills. So sweet! I can't get enough of this kid.... he is so darn cute!

Aaron MEGA-post!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO AARON!!! It's hard to believe that our firstborn is five years old already! How can that be?!! Thankfully, my Mom and Dad let us borrow their camera to catch some priceless moments (no, we haven't gotten a different one yet).... and I make no apologies, I'm sharing a lot of them!!!!!

Aaron has been excited for WEEKS about his party.... after much debate, he finally decided on a Spiderman party. We had a great day with our families yesterday!
Aaron was so excited about his first Colts jersey.... posing with his cousin, Zach.Grandpa with all the boys.... Aaron, Isaac, and Zach. Notice Aaron's HUGE piece of cake.... he wanted his entire name! :)
Some things in this world just crack me up. Check out our kid.... his uniform was complete with the new jersey, helmet, ball, bicycle KNEE PADS, and FLIP FLOPS!!! What a kid!

A terrific morning....

I love going to preschool with Aaron! He was so excited to be the "birthday leader " today... full of fun times with new friends, leading the line, opening a present, handing out treats, and showing off goodies during show and tell. I know I've mentioned it before.... but I am continually SO impressed with his teachers! They are so sweet! AND.... they even "let" me play Alphabet Bingo with all 15 kids. Actually, it was really fun!

I had another "You Know You're a Mom When...." moment last night as I made cupcakes for his class, thinking, "Is my baby REALLY old enough for me to be a treat-makin' mom?!!!" WOA! Time flies!


Showing off Spiderman during Show and Tell with Mrs. Seiffert.

Lunch with Buddies!

Aaron was absolutely thrilled when he heard that some of his favorite buddies were joining us for lunch at McDonalds, complete with cupcakes!

Jacob, Aaron, Liza, Selah, and LaurenSelah is exactly 2 weeks older than Aaron. Her mommy, Katie, and I survived our last trimester of pregnancy together, and we have loved watching our kiddos grow up together! They moved to Fort Wayne in the spring but still come back to Warsaw once a week! YEA!

Our party at home tonight....

We enjoyed a relaxing evening at home tonight to celebrate Aaron's big day (as relaxed as it gets with two preschoolers in the house!) First, we pulled out the "It's My Special Day" plate for Aaron at dinner.... I made it a few years ago at Pottery Bayou, and Aaron always gets so thrilled when he sees it coming out of the cupboard, on obvious, special days like birthdays, but also on the "just because we love you...." days, too! I ordered "Doc and Sally" online to complete his little Cars set. A little pop-up tent!
Aaron finished off his big day by playing in the piles of pine needles with the neighbor kids (and by playing 12+ games of Uno with mom and dad. He just got Uno for his birthday and already loves it! Thanks, Aunt Debby!)

More Anita Renfroe

Way back in July, I shared a clip of a mom being hilarious. Her name is Anita Renfroe, and I'm sure that any mom who access to the internet and email has seen her hilarious overture by now. I receive her e-newsletters, and she attached a clip of her appearance on Good Morning America. Check it out here. Oh, and she was on CBS News, too! I love it when Christ-followers take the stage, doing great, fun, God-honoring things! YEA, Anita!

Hmm....

What is happening in the schools of northern Indiana?!! I read an interesting story here. Can you say: LAWSUIT?!!! I'm sure this isn't the full story as the media typically tends to skew things, but nevertheless, I'm not sure I want to know the full story!!! So sad.... and sickening.

One of my favorite things!

Thought I'd share a little video of one of my favorite things to do.... we LOVE having dance parties at our house!!! It's so fun to watch Aaron showing off "his moves," and it's just as funny to see Isaac beginning to attempt to make up his own, too (he crouches down and shakes his rear and shoulders! So cute!) We have to hide the camera to try to catch them, because they'll both quit dancing if they know they are on film!

Digital camera reviews?

Okay.... it's a bummer.... but we're in the market for a new digital camera. So.... I'm asking my blog readers.... if you have a digital camera, do you like it? What brand/model/etc. is it? Does it do well in low-light as well as outside? Does it have a long delay when you snap a photo? Is it good at capturing kids' action shots? How 'bout close-ups? Are the pictures vivid and bright? I already have asked a couple of people about what they have, and I thought I'd ask you, too!!! :)

Aaron Greene is a star!!!

First, thanks to everyone for the encouragement after my discouraged post yesterday.... I appreciated it more than you know!!! God is so sweet to me as a mom.... after a hard day with Aaron yesterday, I ended up tucking him last night, had the most precious time, AND fell asleep with him for a couple of hours before I made my way upstairs. I love snuggle time with little ones; so precious.... and I love watching my kids sleep. I AM crazy about BOTH my kids!!! :)

Wanted to share something sweet from Aaron.... our church is doing a family movie night this Friday (if you live close by, COME!) and they did a little promo video. Aaron is a star! :) In case you don't see Aaron regularly, he is the first kiddo in the video (growling!) and then, shows up a few other times, too! Enjoy!

New recipes?!

Okay.... I've had a few mommy friends mention the Oprah episode to me, so I finally investigated for myself. Jerry Seinfeld's wife was on.... basically, talking about HIDING veggies inside other foods when her kids (and hubby?!) don't know it. Supposedly, taste-testers don't know the difference? More info here. Okay.... so here is my fear: I don't want to ruin an entire meal by trying it. Goodness, I don't even like cauliflower, broccoli, or spinach so what if the entire thing flops? SOOOOO.... YOU try it and let me know how the mac-n-cheese WITH cauliflower OR the quesadillas WITH butternut squash goes over!!! I am curious.... but I don't know if I am THAT curious!!! :)

The Pumpkin Patch!

Had fun this morning with Aaron's class on their field trip today. I never thought that I'd be at a pumpkin patch in nearly 90 degree weather though! Wow! How 'bout this weather?!!

Thankfully, we had a nice breeze, enjoyed our hayride, and Aaron had fun picking out a pumpkin and a gourd. They also played a little game of duck-duck-goose (instead, saying "Pumpkin, pumpkin, patch") and all was well until my precious little angel HURT another child by swinging his arms too hard.

Dear.... I feel like the saga continues.... and really, has just begun. I love Aaron.... I actually adore Aaron. But I don't know how to keep him UNDER CONTROL!!! I know that a lot of the journey for me is swallowing my own pride. I want him to act perfectly.... to always be perfectly quiet and compliant. However, he just flat-out doesn't have that temperament. He is always curious, always questioning the process, always active (at times, TOO active), always talking, always needing reminders.... and that leaves me feeling frustrated. Sometimes, I do smile because I am CONFIDENT that Scott was just like Aaron as a little guy.... I know that God WILL use him in big ways.... and yes, I continually remind myself, "If we can just get him to adulthood, he's going to be amazing!!!" I know, I know.... he IS amazing now.... he just isn't the easiest kid to parent. Anyone who has met him would probably agree with that. However, I'm sure that God doesn't think that I am the easiest kid to parent either!!! :) So.... the parenting journey continues.... with many apologies to other children (and other parents....)

Thanks for letting me dump the contents of my mind on the page today. Hopefully, I'll be able to post pictures sometime soon. My camera is in a funk today though, so we'll see if our friends at Blosser's can help me get the pictures off of the card to a CD!

I'm so excited!

Actually, WE ARE ALL so excited that Scott (AKA Daddy!) is home after his week away! The boys had a great time tackling and wrestling with Scott this weekend! Oh, if only tomorrow weren't Monday and a work day! :(

The Many Faces of Isaac....

Wow! This kid is cute!

This is one of my favorite new looks! He loves to stick his bottom lip out... mostly when he is imitating noises like the "vroom" sound of a truck! Very cute!