Everything Under the Son

That is what we had for lunch here at the Jones'! Worms (hot dogs), spider legs (mac and cheese), and grass (green beans); my kids loved it. Natalie had her fill of the worms, but the funny part was that while I was cooking, she totally believed that I was cooking REAL worms! She bought the story hook-line-and-sinker! She was totally grossed out and kept saying, "Mommy, that is so disgusting! I can't believe you are going to feed us REAL WORMS!!" It was great! She didn't realize they were hot dogs until they were on her plate and she took a long sniff..."Mommy, these are hot dog worms!" Levi just kept saying, "Hot dogs. Hot dogs."

I'm off to take the loaf of fresh pumpkin bread out of the oven! It smells divine...don't you think?

Happy Halloween everyone!

In the car Tuesday morning on the way to school, this was the conversation:

Natalie: Mommy, did you know that Jesus turned Moses' staff into a serpent?

Me: Yes, Natalie. It was a miracle, and the cool part is that God can and still does miracles today. He didn't just work in people's lives a long time ago, but He is living and working in our lives today!

Natalie: So cool, Mommy! That means he could turn our van into a beetle bug! Or...a pumpkin!

...and the list went on and on about all of the miracles God can do if He chooses!

Then, after her day at school, the discussion on the way home went something like this:

Natalie: Mommy, did you know Jesus could come back any time? Even now!

Me: Yep. He could chose today, or he could wait a long long time. And it will be a great surprise for us, because we don't know when He will come back!

Natalie: But Mom, how will we know it's Him? When He comes back, how will we know it's Him? How will we recognize Him? You KNOW He is going to knock on our door!

Me: Well, when Jesus comes again, I think God will perform a miracle and we will all just know. God will make it so we know Jesus the moment we see Him!

Natalie: I think God will make our memories come back and we will know everything we need to know! And, Mom, I think we need to remind God that we know he can turn our van into a beetle bug if He wanted to!

So smart, so kind and loving, so curious, and always wanting to know more about God and Jesus and our hope of forever! I love that little cutie!

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In other news, we visited the pumpkin patch last week. I took the kids one afternoon and we just took some casual pictures and played in the pumpkins. Then we all went back, with Daddy along to take some great pictures, and the kids wore their Halloween costumes for fun!

Here are some of the pictures for your viewing!

Here is what's for dinner here at the Jones' house!

Ingredients:

2 large cans of diced tomatoes
2 cans Ranch Style Beans
1 can Rotel (I use Mild)
2 cans Yellow hominy
1 packet Ranch Dip Mix
1 packet taco seasoning (I use Mild)
1 lb ground beef
1 onion - chopped finely

In a skillet, brown the beef and the onions together. Then in a crockpot, dump in the browned ground beef and onions, and everything else on the list. You don't need to drain anything :)

Let it simmer in the crockpot all day. The scent is wonderful! I serve this with some warm cornbread, and my family LOVES it!

So, what's for dinner at your house?

I have been tagged to list 8 random things about myself. When I first thought about the list, I wondered how in the world I could find 8 things, but the more I thought about it, the more I knew that my list could in fact contain a whole lot more than 8 things! I guess I am more random that I thought :)

Here goes:

1 - I absolutely MUST have the seams on the toes of my socks straight. It drives me crazy when they are crooked inside my shoe!

2 - I like to dip my Cheetos in mustard! Give it a try sometime!

3 - I drink most everything through a straw! Even milk! The only thing I can think of that doesn't fit this criteria is coffee:)

4 - I touch the burners on the stove before I leave the house. I just like to make sure they are off and cool...maybe this qualifies as OCD?

5 - I do not sleep in my wedding ring (or any other rings, for that matter). I have been told by a jeweler that your bedsheets are like really fine sandpaper on your rings, and sleeping in them wears down the prongs.

6 - I am obsessed with making lists and calendars. Be watching because I have a post about our family calendar coming up soon!

7 - I LOVE to organize! Strange and random! If you looked at my home right now, you might not believe me, but I do love it. I just happen to have two adorable kiddos who can drag out the toys faster than I can get them picked up! :)

8 - I am sensitive! :) As in, I am allergic to everything under the sun. I have skin allergies to laundry soap, bath soap, lotions, perfumes, make-up...even chap-stick and mascara!

So, how is that for random?

What about you? Leave me a comment telling me something random about yourself!

There will be more pictures to come from our trip to the pumpkin patch, but I wanted to go ahead and share these. I love these two kids so much it hurts!

Enjoy!

The 15th Dittos for Kiddos was a huge success! Now I am left to recover from the craziness that is a 90+ hour workweek. Whew...I am exhausted, but glad to be hanging out with my kiddos today :)

While I work to get my life back in order...the laundry done, the house clean, the groceries bought, the kids happy...I decided I would pose a question for you all:




Let me hear from you, and I should be back soon!

I've been thinking a lot about Carson lately. Not a day, not a second goes by that I don't long for the time that I will hold that sweet boy again. But lately, it has been more. I have thought of the day the doctor told me that Carson had died. I remember so vividly everything about that moment. The look on Nathaniel's face, the pain that was in my heart, and more...so much more.

I have been thinking about the week of decisions we made; inducing labor and spending 4 long days as my body, not yet ready to deliver a baby, worked to ready itself for birth. I remember having to make lots of choices...really hard choices.

The person I am now, on the other side of those decisions, looks back and ponders what I could have done, maybe should have done differently. But as Nathaniel holds me and wipes my tears, he reminds me that I did the very best I could do, I gave the very best I had. I didn't do anything wrong, and I made the right choices. And that looking back and second-guessing that is unfair because I am no longer who I was then...I am forever changed. And he reminds me that my son knew how very much he was loved...how much we wanted him, even before we new him, and how much we can't wait to see him again, to hold him and be with him forever in Heaven.