a pumpkin with a new face

Since already purchasing this book at the thrift store a while back, we found a way to incorporate it with carving a pumpkin from the ABC Jesus Loves Me curriculum. Henry is a hard one to keep entertained with many activities I come up with...if it doesn't involve a super hero...he is not game. Luckily, he enjoyed The Pumpkin Patch Parable , by Liz Curtis Higgs, we read on Sunday, except for the "yucky" stuff.


We got our first pumpkin at the end of September, so by October 31st it was fully rotted out. On Halloween afternoon we ventured to Publix and then to Kroger to buy a new pumpkin. This was the best one they had left. I was a little disappointed until I thought, what a great pumpkin to express the state of our hearts before God gives us a new one. Henry was also taken back by the ugly pumpkin...I then told me that is what our heart looks like before God changes it....He was like "Eeww!"

"Some had lumps and bumps. ALL of them were pumpkins!" (book)

"My hand made all things. All things are here because I made them, says the Lord." Isaiah 66:2

This is one redeeming quality from our backyard...

"The Farmer had a special plan for His chosen pumpkin, so the seeds and the slime had to go."(book)

"Create in me a pure heart, Oh God." Psalm 51:10

I told Henry this was all the sin we have in our hearts. This is all the times he has hit his sister or disobeyed his daddy and mommy. But, God takes all the yucky stuff out of us....
Henry took one look at all that pulp and decided mommy better take over.


Notice he is staying as far away as possible.
I took all the "yucky" sin out and threw it away, never to be seen again.

"He has taken our sins away from us as far as the east is from the west." Psalm 103:12

This was our audiance...Milo...

...Bell...

"The Pumpkin got a new face!" (book)

^"And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:18

I tried to put a candle in it, but I was not prepared and the candle was too large. So we missed out on the last and best part of this parable...maybe next year. So here is a picture I found on the internet.

 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

And still more pictures to come from Halloween night!

**No news on the adoption front, but we were informed yesterday that our lawyer is putting us on top priority! She said, he said... "Getting the DeBardeleben's a court date is my top agenda." Hopefully this means good news for this month!! But, remember...TIA (This is Africa)!...oh and God's timing. One minor factor!

Leaving...Not Leaving...Leaving...Not Leaving...

Last night we got another email from our social worker telling us she talked to our lawyer on the phone and he was going to work really hard to get us a court date tomorrow (today) for next week, so she said,
"Keep packing because you will probably leave really soon." So we were once again on the "leaving mind set". Today, the news was...our paper work had not even been switched from the old judge to the new judge, so we will not have a court date next week. So, switch to, "not leaving mind set".....Easier said than done today. Yesterday I was O.K. with the, "no court date" news, but today it hit me a little differently and I was pretty frustrated with the whole situation. I called our social worker and kind of vented to her and left the phone conversation crying. So hard to now switch to living in "the hear and now" after this whole emotional roller coaster this week. Oh...and my poor kids...the last two days they have been watching way too much t.v. Of course, now that we are not going next week, I started to feel guilty about not paying attention to them, but what can you do in all this confusion? So after the phone call, I tried to switch gears and spent a little time with Henry finishing up his "super hero alphabet book" that we have been working on. We have been working on this for about a month and I wanted to finish before we go to Uganda, so he could have something educational to look at, besides him being obsessed with all things super heroes.

Then I proceeded to clean my whole house once Dee got home just to refocus my energy on "the here and now." But,who knows what will happen tomorrow? I will not be surprised by anything at this point!

So for the next several days I am going to be living in "the here and now" and blogging about "the here and now" so I won't go crazy! Besides, we are not in Uganda yet...we are here....so that is God's plan for today, who knows what tomorrow brings? Today I pray that the Lord will give me his strength to make it through today "living in the in between" of this situation, because I don't have much strength left...not that I had any in the first place.

Do you not know?
       Have you not heard?
       The LORD is the everlasting God,
       the Creator of the ends of the earth.
       He will not grow tired or weary,
       and his understanding no one can fathom.

 He gives strength to the weary
       and increases the power of the weak.

 Even youths grow tired and weary,
       and young men stumble and fall;

 but those who hope in the LORD
       will renew their strength.
       They will soar on wings like eagles;
       they will run and not grow weary,
       they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31

Charles Tucker! I promise we are coming!!! Eventually...God is faithful and he loves you!