Halloween pictures

What's better than an amazing photographer?

...The fact that he's our friend too!  

Last Sunday we spent the afternoon with our amazingly talented friend/photographer Ken-Shing Law and his sweet wife Sara.  They're the kind of couple that just make you smile because of their warmth and genuine caring.  It's always an uplifting time to be around them.  And if Ken brings his camera, then you end up with this at the end of a beautiful afternoon in the park together.

 Thanks, Ken!

Apples!

Catching all four of my beauties in one photo is not always easy, and sometimes the best shots come when everyone's being a little silly.  

Harvest time

This is the time of year many think of as harvest time.  We joined a CSA (Turtle Ridge Cooperative) for the first time this year and we're enjoying doing a little digging for our dinner.  When we first started, it was summertime and the kids were less than enthused about pulling weeds in the potato beds, or harvesting onions in the scorching sun with swarming mosquitoes all around.  But now that the weather is cooling down and we are able to do some serious digging in the dirt, we're all having a great time.  I don't think they even like yams, but you wouldn't know it by the squeals of delight they let out every time they unearthed one.  Every week on a Monday, we go to the pick-up site and come home with a bag or two of fresh, local, organic produce.  Of course, a bagful is usually chopped up and wolfed down by the time Monday's dinner is over, but oh, is it good!  We also feel good knowing we're part of a local community who makes this little farm run.  

We're learning that parenting is a process that, like gardening, takes time and patience.  Nature tends toward chaos, right?  Kids too.  And parents.  Seeds are planted and watered... and then what happens?  Weeds.  Where do they come from?  Who knows... but they must be removed to protect the little growing plants.  And when you pull them out, what happens?  They grow back and must be taken care of again.  And all the while the little plants grow steadily larger.  That can be tiring work.  And tiring work can wear a farmer (er... parent) out.  But we must keep in mind the harvest.  The exciting and bountiful day when we see the fruits of our labor.  Hold it in our hands and admire its beauty, recognizing that only God could have made it grow.  Despite all our weeding and watering and tending, it is 100% miraculous the way things grow.  

Our little ones are growing so fast.  We measured Brayan on our little wall chart this week and discovered that he's grown nearly 2 inches since May.  All Luana's pants are too short.  Maynara's becoming a little young lady.  And Lucas amazes us with the maturity of the questions he wonders about every day.  They are so beautiful.  Sometimes the weeds block our view of how miraculous they are.  But there's no denying that they are miracles.  We love them so much and we are so proud of them.  They are doing so well at school, their English is exploding, they're making friends and clinging to mom, dad and their siblings for all the stability they need.  We're too new at this to know when harvest day is, but we hope and pray that we are giving them all they need to be a blue-ribbon pick on that day.