Halloween

Tonight we took the kids to a local church for a Harvest party. There were booths, a bounce house, and lots of candy. As you can see, Hannah was Dorothy, and Riley was a Ninja. At first Riley didn't like his head band, but by the end of the night, he was lovin' it. He cried when we tried to take it off for bed. We had a really good time. Here are some pictures.

Dorothy and the Ninja

Pumpkin coloring

We let the kids color their pumpkins with washable markers. They really enjoyed it.

Riley's pumpkin, or as he calls it, "poongkin".

Hannah's pumpkin

Central Oregon Pumpkin Company

We took a trip to our local pumpkin farm this week which is right next to Smith Rock. It was a beautiful backdrop for our day. Here are some of our most special moments.

Emerick Family as of October 2008

Me and the kids with Smith Rock in the background

Watching the Pony

Riley helping daddy feed the goats

Daddy shows 'em how it's done!

Riley Feeding the Horse

The horse almost picked Hannah up with the bucket.

The hay bale pirate ship

Ahoy mateys!

Riding the zoo train.

More fun for the kids, more work for daddy!

Riding off into the sunset

This day is just one more reminder of how blessed we really are.

Just a little reminder...

With everything going on in our economy lately and people losing jobs left and right, I just wanted to take an opportunity to share something that I had read today on a forum quoting Scripture. Anyone who is feeling fearful during this turbulent economic times would do well to meditate on the words Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 6:19-33 --

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also….No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth. For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

I have heard this passage many times, but it is good to be reminded when feeling fearful that God has all things in our lives in His capable hands. I don't believe that God causes all things to happen, but I do firmly believe that He can turn all things around for His good as well as for ours. This verse helped me to recognize again that God sees us as precious in His sight and that His desire is to provide for our needs and for us to fully trust that He knows what we need better than we do. A hard reminder sometimes.

Snow in October?

Last week it snowed over night. We woke up to about a 1/2 inch of snow fall all over our yard. All the tops of the houses were white. You would've thought that it was January. Temperatures have been dipping down below 30 degrees over night for the last week or so. Temperatures have slowly started to climb but we're told there going to drop again in the coming weeks. So apparently winter is pretty much on our doorsteps here in Bend. The snow only lasted until around lunch time but it was fun to see the kids get so excited about it.

Random pictures of our chilly days lately.

More gymnastics stuff...

The Bat Hang.

Coach Rich helping Hannah do a forward flip over the bar

The Seal pose

The back flip over the bar

Hannah is doing so good in her gymnastics class and she loves it. She especially loves the bar routines. Her coaches are really good with her and I can see her growing every class. She is also getting a lot of experience in a classroom setting so she should be ready for school next year. I'ts been a lot of fun watching her.

7 and 1/2 months

Sorry it's taken me so long to post an updated picture of the ever-expanding belly. Better late than never I guess. Only 7 more weeks to go until we see our new little one and get to finally pick a name. I can't wait.