Mary's Moments

(**Click on pictures to see them larger) Today we ventured over to Marble Falls, TX to visit the pumpkin patch at Sweet Berry Farm. It's about a 50 minutes from our house, but well worth it! The drive there is just awesome and the scenery is breathtaking. There are steep hills, canyons, rivers, and wildlife preserves that make the drive seem like only 15 minutes. When we pulled in the parking lot, we noticed that everyone had the same idea that we did...to come today! Not only was the weather absolutely perfect, but it just seemed like a great day for a family outing, and I guess others thought so too. Regardless, we had a great time! At Sweet Berry Farm, they have a huge Texas-shaped maze there made out of corn fields. The object of the maze is to find 12 cities throughout the maze and if you do, you get a free drink when you come out. Daniel is great with maps and navigation and we managed to find all 12 cities in about 45 minutes. It was fun! Also at Sweet Berry Farm, they have

Recently I was doing some reading on the Halloween "holiday" (more like a cult to me) and came across this story. I think I had read it before, but really thought it had great symbolism and is something we could share with our friends/coworkers if asked! What a great example! A woman was asked by a co-worker, “What is it like to be a Christian?” The co-worker replied, “It is like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then he cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc., and then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see.” With God's help, all the yucky seeds can stay out and then they won't snuff out the light! Besides, if the seeds are still in the pumpkin, how are we supposed to roast them and make yummy pumpkin seeds (they need to be on the tray, seasoned, and in the oven, people!)? I though

I currently subscribe to a daily email devotional from Christian Women Today Devotionals and often times I don't even take the time to read it because of my busy schedule. Or maybe sometimes I just don't want to read what it says for fear of being convicted. Recently I've been down in the slumps a lot and it seems like it's been a roller coaster ride for me lately. I don't know if it's from having a baby or what, but I really need some motivation to get my act together! Some days I feel like a great parent, a great wife, a great cook, a great household organizer, and a good friend. I've got dinner in the oven by 5, dessert made, homework done by 4, the house cleaned, laundry done, and the plants watered. However, other days, I am lazy and don't take a shower until 3 p.m., right before Katherine gets home from school. I feed Matthew chocolate pudding for lunch because it's easy, and I stick Christopher in the swing so he'll fall asleep. I