Happy Halloween

I was in the mood to illustrate my feelings about this season....somehow it's easier to work on this sort of thing than, it is to...say...make a new Blogger template. :-)

Well, Halloween is over for most of the world, but we've still got two and a half hours here, darnit! :-) I completed my goal of making it all the way through "The Changeling" today. Also, our pumpkin turned out pretty well...it was nice to have the internet around for inspiration. I guess Megan can update you all with more detail later.

Enjoy autumn while it lasts! And sleep safely.



-Marc

You Are 4: The Individualist

You are sensitive and intuitive, with others and yourself. You are creative and dreamy... plus dramatic and unpredictable. You're emotionally honest, real, and easily hurt. Totally expressive, others always know exactly how you feel. At Your Best: You are inspired, artistic, and introspective. You know what you're thinking, and you can communicate it well. At Your Worst: You are melancholy, alienated, and withdrawn. Your Fixation: Envy Your Primary Fear: To have no identity Your Primary Desire: To find yourself Other Number 4's: Alanis Morisette, Johnny Depp, J.D. Salinger, Jim Morrison, and Anne Rice.

What Number Are You?

Let the rain come down

Today is Monday. M O N D A Y. What more is there to say? I thought about posting a music video of Manic Monday, but didn't find one that I liked. Instead, I figured it would be a good day to promote one of my favorite songs, Into the Ocean, by Blue October. It is October, after all, so it works. Not that I wouldn't be able to post a song by Blue October in May if I wanted to... but, I was really stretching to think of something to post for today and since "Monday" didn't result in finding anything good, I went with the next thing that came to mind - October.



So, I really love this song. I love its catchy music... but, I really love the lyrics. I might be interpreting the song wrong, but the message that jumps out at me is "bring it on!" (Of course, until the end of the song, when it starts to sound like the poor guy has given up. Oh well, don't listen to the end if you don't want to.)

Let the waves up take me down
Let the hurricane set in motion... yeah
Let the rain of what I feel right now...come down
Let the rain come down
Let the rain come down

I remember getting stuck in the rain on my bike once while I was on my mission. It was at the end of a really awful day. So many bad things had happened that we stopped counting. Then, we came out of our last appointment at about 9:00pm. It was dark, cold, and when we stepped outside it literally felt like buckets of water were being dumped on our heads. And, we were about a 20 minute bike ride from our apartment. What can you do? Really? So, we hopped on our bikes and started riding home... and the entire time I was thinking, "bring it on!" The worst had already happened... this was nothing after all we'd been through.

The photo isn't too flattering, but what do you expect after a 20 minute bike ride in the rain? Oh, and, don't you just love my bike?! It had a bell on the right side of the handle bars, it had saddle bags hanging over the back tire, and it had a light on the front of the bike that was powered by the movement of the front tire. So, when I would go "lightning" fast, the light would practically blind everyone in my way. ;)

So, anyway, if any of you out there are feeling like your Monday was rotten and the world around you is falling apart, look into the eye of the storm and with determination in your eye, say, "bring it on." (And, hopefully, that'll be enough to scare the storm away... but if not, then at least you'll be facing things head on instead of letting the storm get the best of you.)

Our Swamped Saturday

Our day was so full! It was nice to sleep in two hours and get up at 7:30am. Marc made his delicious whole wheat pancakes and then was off to his Judo class. I headed out the door a half hour later for our last soccer game. The girls on our team are such a joy! Tabitha and I had so much fun coaching them and interacting with them. They played hard and worked together... I am very proud of them!

As soon as the game was over, I rushed home to find Marc cleaned up nice in his slacks and a tie. I hurriedly changed into a dress and high heels, and within 15 minutes we were out the door again. A family fried was getting married over on the coast, about an hour and a half drive. We made it there with about fifteen minutes to spare.

The couple was married in the backyard of a house that was literally on the edge of the ocean. It was a very beautiful setting and fortunately the weather cooperated, adding to the beauty of the day. Here's the view we enjoyed during the ceremony:

Annmarie and Kevin are a darling couple and we wish them all the happiness and love as they begin this journey together!

It was wonderful to be able to witness their wedding. We stayed and mingled for a while, gave our best wishes to the happy couple, and then we made our way back home.

We had a half hour before our next "activity" for the day, so we took a short 15 minute cat nap on the couch. It was just what we needed. Then, we went to the church for the baptism of Alex, a young man in our ward. He is a sweet boy and it was wonderful to celebrate his beautiful day with him.

Are you getting tired yet?! Yeah, you might think this is where our day ended. No, no. We came home and changed into some more casual clothes and then rushed over to a pizza place for a party with the soccer girls. This soccer season was so much fun that I can't wait for next year! Tabitha and I will be signing up to do it again. How could you not after having such a great group of girls to work with?!

It was a great ending of a stupendous soccer season and the perfect ending for a wonderfully packed day!

Traditions

I can't believe this week has gone by so fast! We've been busy with work and school and... other stuff, I guess. I don't really know where the week went. But, it has been a good week. The weather has been unseasonably warm - in the 80s! Yeah, the week before Halloween we have been wearing flip flops and t-shirts, opening the doors and windows to let the warm sunshine in. It has been beautiful!

We're looking forward to a fun-filled weekend, with lots of activities going on. We'll also be getting geared up for the traditions that come with celebrating Halloween in less than a week. For us that will include:

carving pumpkins

roasting pumpkin seeds

making pumpkin bread and cookies

breaking out the hot chocolate

(if the weather doesn't cool down, maybe we'll go with chocolate milk instead)

.

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... and the best tradition of all....

.

.

.

.

making homemade doughnuts!

Growing up that was one of the most exciting traditions I looked forward to. We'd come home from trick-or-treating to find Mom and Dad busy in the kitchen together, making loads of doughnuts. Rather than eating candy, we'd enjoy a fresh, warm doughnut. Yeah, so maybe doughnuts aren't much better than candy... but, at least they're homemade and it's a once-a-year treat! Marc and I decided it was one of the traditions we wanted to carry on. It has been fun to play around and try new recipes and new glazes.

I asked Marc this morning what Halloween traditions his family had growing up, and he said I'd have to talk to his sisters. So, Calamity and Carrot, I'm counting on you to fill me in! Anybody else have any fun traditions for Halloween? We're always looking for new ideas of things to do. Please share!!

Addicted to Autumn

On Saturday afternoon Marc and I went on a little drive to take some pictures of the beautiful fall colors. We had only taken a couple when the batteries in our camera died. So, we came home to recharge the batteries, and went back out a few hours later. Once again, we had only snapped a few shots when the batteries died again... so we either didn't let them charge long enough or our rechargable batteries have seen their final days. In any case, we had a nice afternoon together, enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery!

It's getting to be that time of year when the leaves start falling really fast and before we know it the trees will be bare. So, we'll have to go out again sometime this week to get some better pictures of the trees and the vineyards. They are so beautiful right now!

Here are a couple of pictures we got of us standing in front of one of the many trees we found in full fall bloom. This time of year is so beautiful!




I've had so many moments over the last couple of weeks where the beauty of the earth has literally left me speechless... and all I can say over and over is, "Aaahhh, it's just so beautiful!"

"the dark threads were as needful"

I got a poem the other day from another seminary teacher I work with. I'm not sure of its title or of its author, but here's the poem:

My life is but a weaving
Between my God and me.
I let him choose the colors
He worketh steadily.

Ofttimes He worketh sorrow
And I, within my heart,
Forget He sees the pattern
While I see only part.

The dark threads were as needful
In the Weaver's skillful hand,
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He had planned.

Not till the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Shall God unroll the canvas
And explain the reasons why.

There was an oil painting I did a couple of years ago, where I intentionally worked with only a couple of different colors, to be able to focus on the contrast of light and dark values. In a very compelling way, the darks made the lights stand out and vice versa.

Every time I look at the painting, I am reminded that in life, as in art, there is beauty found in contrast and opposition. Dark times make the good times more beautiful. There is purpose in pain. It plays an important role. When coupled with moments of joy and peace, it makes the masterpiece of our lives rich and deep and more beautiful than it would be if we only experienced one or the other. How could I fully appreciate the joys of life if I felt no pain along the way? Pain deepens our joys, and perhaps joy also deepens our pains.

So, today I'm grateful for the role of trials and challenges, and the way they add to the beauty of life.

Happy, Happy Birthday...

Just wanted to say Happy Birthday to Carrot Jello...her posts always brighten our day and she has done a *lot* to help others find their way to our blog. We think she's awesome =)

-Marc