Let the Halloween Fun Begin!

Last night, we headed up the Westminster Village North off of Sunnyside Road.  It is a continuing care retirement community.  My mother-in-law works as a CNA in one of the units there.  They were hosting a Fall Festival and she invited us to come.  Ryker was excited to see Nonno and Nonna and go trick or treating.  It is a big complex with lots of different buildings.  They had a haunted house, games, face painting, balloon animals, and all kinds of fun.  The residents were all handing out candy.  The kids had a great time, but you could tell the residents were really enjoying it too.  It was a really nice event and we had a blast!  I think it will be a new yearly tradition for us.

My little soldier all ready to go

A better view of the entire ensemble

Nonno was able to hang out for a bit before going to work...Ryker was excited to see him and show him his outfit.  (Nonno and Nonna gave it to Ryker last year for Christmas)

Trick or treating in the Witches Hut.  We went to Haunted House after this, but I didn't take any pictures.  Robert held Ryker the whole time and he did really well.  He didn't cry or anything, he just had a look of shock on his face.  We asked him afterwards if he liked it and he said, "No!"  I'm not sure we'll do that again, it was a little freaky even for me!

Ryker and Daddy

Ryker loves to ride on Daddy's shoulders.  He was enjoying some yummy popcorn at this point too.  He would not put that bag down until it was all gone!

Nonna was excited to introduce Ryker to her residents and her coworkers.  He was too busy eating a KitKat to smile here...haha

Showing off all his loot!  This is the first year he's really had candy...he's really liking it!  :-)

Amazing Race- Week 6

Wow!  What a week!  As I tried to narrow down this post's topics, it was nearly impossible!  This week we read through Esther, Job, and a big part of Psalms.  I'm going to try to keep it as brief as possible.

First, in Esther 4:14, Esther's cousin, Mordecai asks her, "And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"  I did Beth Moore's Esther study a while back.  During that study, I underlined "who knows" and wrote in the margin, GOD KNOWS!  Let's face it, there is not much in this life that is in our control.  We don't know what our future holds or even why we go through the things we do.  This is a good way to remember that although we may not now, God does!  He is in control and he has a plan for us! (Jeremiah 29:11)

Second, in the first chapter of Job after God has allowed Satan to test Job's faithfulness to Him by destroying Job's family and wealth.  After all this is taken from him, Job says, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;  and may the name of the LORD be praised." (vs. 20)  All that we have belongs to God and to praise him through the storm is true faith.  It reminds of the song, "Blessed Be Your Name."  The lyrics say, "When the darkness closes in Lord, still I will say, blessed be the name of the Lord"  The song is all about choosing to praise God through both the good times and the bad...it's one of my favorites.  To listen, click here.

Third, Job 5:17 says, "Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty."  I thought this was a very powerful verse.  When bad things happen and God teaches us a lesson the hard way, we tend to blame Him before anything else and grumble and moan at our suffering.  However, I think it's important to remember that God may have been trying to teach us this same lesson in an easier way and we were just too stubborn to really learn it.  God is our Father, and He must teach us and mold us into the people He wants us to be.  We all do it with our own children.  He is only doing the same.  We should count it a blessing that God cares for us and is willing to try to teach us how to be more like Him.  I found this verse very humbling.

Since there were so many wonderful verses this week, I'd thought I'd include some of my favorites.

~"But if it were I, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him.  He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.  He bestows rain on the earth; he sends water upon the countryside.  The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety." -Job 5:17

~"I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth."-Job19:25 (To hear the amazing song, "My Redeemer Lives", click here.)

~"Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." -Psalm 27:14

~"...weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." -Psalm 29:5b

~"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart...Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him." -Psalm 37:4,7a

~"Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall." -Psalm 54:22

~"I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.  Your ways, O God, are holy.  What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples." -Psalm 77:12-14

Pumpkin Patch

Saturday we all slept in.  Ryker and I had a big day on Friday and we were out kind of late Friday night, so he didn't get up until 10:00!  After we got all ready, we headed down the street to Waterman's Farm.  They have SO much fun stuff to do!  We all had a great time and enjoyed fall fun together as a family. 

Ryker and Daddy playing in the giant tractor tires

Ryker playing in the sand

Working the bulldozer

For those of you not familiar with Waterman's, they have a giant mechanical T-Rex that eats pumpkins.  This is Ryker and Daddy checking it out

Mommy getting some love

Making dinosaur noises...hehe

Ryker getting ready to take off in the spinning pumpkin

Mommy as a scarecrow (as you can see Ryker wanted in on the action)...

So, we made a two-face scarecrow! :-)

Climbing on the hay mound

Jumping to Daddy

Hanging on for dear life

Mommy and her favorite boy

Throwing the hay

Leading the way through the corn maze

"Hey, look,  a stick!"

Daddy and Ryker on the hayride to the pumpkin patch

Sitting on the big pumpkin

Trying to find just the right one

Mr. All Boy found a stick and started playing in the dirt...imagine that?!?!

He covered himself with hay on the way back

Now time for a nap...haha

Cheesin' it up for some yummy ice cream!

Getting ready to go down the big slide

Of course he went down on his belly instead of his butt....crazy kid!

Petting a bunny rabbit...he was so soft!

Peek-a-boo!

Amazing Race- Week 5

It's hard to believe, but I am now through the 1st phase (or 30 days) of this challenge!  I'll be honest, not much was new this week.  Most of the stories were ones we read in the past two weeks with some added details (or less in some cases).  Therefore, this entry won't be nearly as long as previous ones.  However, I will forewarn you that this week's reading is REALLY good and I know I'll have a hard time narrowing down my topics for next week's entry.  There were some verses that stuck out to me though.

First, in 1 Chronicles 17:16, David says, "Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?"  It reminded me of the song, "Friend of God."  The intro says, "Who am I that you are mindful of me? That you hear me when I call?  Is it true that you are thinking of me?  How you love me?  It's amazing!"  How very true!  To hear the sing, click here. 

Second, in 2 Chronicles 14:11, Asa, King of Judah, is in battle with the Cushites and he calls out to God, "LORD, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty.  Helps us; O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army, O LORD, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you."  So often we feel powerless against the mighty forces of the world around us.  This verse helped remind me to always call on God to help me.  Because there is no one like him!

Third, just a bit further on in 2 Chronicles 16, Hanani, King Asa's seer comes to him and is talking about how Asa later on in his term as king relied on the help of a fellow ruler instead of depending on God like he did when in battle with the Cushites.  He says, "Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.  Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen?  Yet when you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your hand.  For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to stengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." (vs. 7-9a)  I felt this verse was a good reminder of what can happen when we fall "off course" with God.  When we take matters into our own hands or trust them into another human's hands, we will never get the result we're looking for.  It may not be disaster like Asa was experiencing, but it will never be as good as what God could have and would have done if we had trusted in Him alone. 

I'm into Psalms this week, which has been awesome.  Can't wait to share what God is showing me! 

Collin and Ashley's Wedding

My cousin, Collin got married yesterday.  It was a wonderful ceremony in Knightstown, IN.  The church was beautiful and so was the bride, Ashley.  Collin even played the guitar and sang at the beginning of the service.  He did a great job!  Ryker really liked the song.  He wanted to get out of the pew and dance in the aisle.  He wasn't as quiet as I would've liked, but we did make it through the ceremony without having to leave, so that was good.  We headed over to the Knightstown Hoosier Gym for the reception.  It was a wonderful place to have it and we all had a great time!  I finally got to meet Baby Bentley in person and fell totally in love with him.  He is so sweet and is such a good baby.  He was getting passed around like crazy, as to be expected, but you never heard a peep out of him.  Ryker was so excited to hold him.  He really liked holding him.  Here are some pictures from the evening.

Ryker looking oh so handsome with Mommy

Checking out the tree bark with Aunt Kate

Ryker with Grandma and Grandpa Sheepie

The bride and groom leaving the ceremony

Ryker with Aunt Kate

Everybody waving to the bride and groom

Ryker loved kicking up the leaves as we walked into the gym

All the Kennedy great grandkids (minus Bentley-he's not quite sitting up yet).  Youngest (Left) to Oldest (Right): Carter, Ryker, Gianna, Ashlyn, and Garyn

Ryker and Gigi hanging out on the bleachers...these two love playing together

My handsome little man

Ryker kept trying to feed Uncle David raisins...too bad he doesn't like them...haha

Kate holding Bentley

Our turn!  Ryker did such a good job!  He was perfectly still and held him.  He never squirmed or anything!

Seriously, how stinkin' cute is he!??!

This was right before Ryker started informing Bentley that I was his mommy.  He kept saying, "That my mommy.  This my mommy."  He was patting my chest and saying, "That mine."  It was too funny and he was serious!  He liked him just fine but wanted to make sure he knew I belonged to him only...oh dear!

Kisses for Bentley

Ryker was "tickling" Bentley's head.  He kept saying, "Tickle, tickle."  Goofball!

They had a mother son dance and Uncle Dan asked Grandma to dance...so sweet!

Of course Ashley had to dance with Bentley too! :-)