Now that Halloween is over and we’re getting ready for (hooray!) Christmas decorating, we decided it was time to get rid of the pumpkins that we had used to decorate our porch. Before tossing them, I decided to use them for one last fall treat- pumpkin seeds. They were easy to make, tasted great, and were much less expensive than store-bought. Here’s what I did:

Got Zach to cut off the tops of the pumpkins. Because he’s big and strong.

Scooped out all of the guts. Luckily, our pumpkins had very little goop and mostly seeds, making my job much easier.

Rinsed and degunked the seeds, then patted them dry.

Poured the seeds onto a cookie sheet, doused them in oil and salt, and tossed them in the oven.

Baked at 350 for 30 minutes (even though I don’t think there’s a magic number to this- I recommend a taste test)

PS- If you try this, I suggest that you don’t forget to put your two year-old puppy in her room for the night while leaving the bowl of seeds on the coffee table. Just a thought.

On Saturday, Zach and I had the privilege of attending the wedding of two sweet friends. Megan (the cutest, sweetest little Italian you will ever meet) and I met in 5th grade and she was one of my best friends growing up. She and Paul (also Italian) started dating when we were in high school, and it was obvious to everyone around them that they were a perfect match. It was so much fun to see this special person that I grew up with moving on to this exciting stage of life.

The ceremony was at a beautiful old church in downtown Raleigh, and the ceremony was at the Renaissance hotel at North Hills. Like any good Italian wedding, there was a lot of food, hugging, and fun. We had such a great time!

Earlier this week, Zach’s mom and sister came to visit for his younger brother’s 21st birthday. It was fun to have them come see our house for the first time, and we were glad to get to spend time with them! While they were here, Zach’s mom took a few pictures:

This is one that Zach took, but I couldn’t resist putting it up. How could you not love this face?

I LOVE Christmastime. So much, in fact, that I want to skip right to it as soon as October is over (I did actually play Christmas music in the car on the way to church yesterday). Recently, however, I’ve been trying to slow down and enjoy each season as it comes- like the season specifically devoted to giving thanks. I’m thankful for the big things like salvation, family, and friends, but also for the little things, like cuddling on the porch swing with my husband, fun yard sale finds ($7 quilt- perfect for fall decorating), and hot chocolate.

Along this line of thinking, I recently came across this passage from C.S. Lewis (aka one of my two favorite authors of all time), and thought I’d share it:

The sense in which something “deserves” or “demands” admiration is . . . this; that
admiration is the correct, adequate or appropriate response to it:
that if paid, admiration will not be “thrown away”, and that if we do
not admire we shall be stupid, insensible and great losers, we shall
have missed something. In that way many objects both in Nature and in
Art may be said to deserve, or merit, or demand admiration. It was
from this end, which will seem to some irreverent, that I found it
best to approach the idea that God “demands” praise. He is that Object
to admire which . . . is simply to be awake, to have entered the real
world; not to appreciate which is to have lost the greatest
experience, and in the end to have lost all. The incomplete and
crippled lives of those who are tone deaf, have never been in love,
never cared for a good book, never enjoyed the feel of the morning air
on their cheeks, never (I am one of these) enjoyed football, are faint
images of it. . . .

The most obvious fact about praise – whether of God or anything -
strangely escaped me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval
or the giving of honour. I had never noticed that all enjoyment
spontaneously overflows into praise. . . . The world rings with praise
- loverse praising their mistresses, readrs their favorite poet,
walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite game
- praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, motors, horses, colleges,
countries, historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rare
stamps, rare beetles, even sometimes politicians or scholars. I had
not noticed how the humblest, and at the same time most balanced and
capacious, minds, praised most, while the cranks, misfits and
malcontents praised least. . . . I had not noticed either that just as
men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously
urge us to join them in praising it: “Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it
glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?” The Psalmists in telling
everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of
what they care about.

Happy Thanksgiving season.

Yesterday, we had a great time going to our friends Charles and Amy’s house to hang out and enjoy some fun Halloween festivities. We started by carving pumpkins, which I hadn’t done in a while. Zach directed and I tried to interpret his artistic vision. We pretty much ended up with a standard jack-o-lantern, but we were happy with it. We saved the seeds, and after we were done carving the girls went inside to bake them while the boys watched football. They turned out really well, and I’m hoping to make some more with the rest of the pumpkins from our front steps. After dinner at Outback, we came back and the boys tried to light things on fire and blow the pumpkins up. Thankfully, we didn’t have to call any emergency vehicles. We ended the night with a game of poker (I watched), which my husband “tied” with Sarah (they didn’t play through to see who would really win). We were thankful to get to spend the evening with such a fun group of people!

Among the many things that make our school different from our more traditional counterparts is the way that we frame our quarterly units. Rather than mandated curriculum, we use a “big idea” matrix and look at current events to structure our lesson plans. This quarter, the 7th graders are looking at food and farming. They are considering what we eat, why we eat it, how we get it, and the future of our food. We’ve enjoyed looking at such a relevant issue with the kids. As part of this theme (unit), parent chaperones and I took the kids to the NC State Lake Wheeler Field Lab. It was a great week to be outside and enjoy the crisp fall weather, surrounded by miles of farmland. The kids ate peanuts from the ground (yuck), made observations about soil, saw a gigantic milk tank (on it’s way to become AMAZING cherry vanilla NC State ice cream…maybe), and saw adorable dairy calves. It was a profound experience for some of the kids to actually see food growing in the ground, and it was neat to watch them get so excited about it. It was also fun to laugh when the dairy farmer asked them, “How many of you are familiar with the idea of a woman nursing?” Maaayybe not the best approach for a group of 12 year-olds.

*The pictures were taken on my phone, so they’re not the greatest, but at least it’s something.

Perfect time to cuddle up inside! Since I don’t have any major pictures to post of the house right now, I thought I’d share a few close-ups of the quilt I made this summer. I know it’s been in a few posts already, but I wanted to share the final product. The photos that inspired my quilt featured a quilt blanketed across a chair outside, and I thought that it looked so cute and cozy that I might as well give it a try. I really enjoyed this project and hope to make another one soon! (and by soon I mean after I get some of the house “to-dos” crossed off my list- we’re not really short on projects around here!)

There are some days when I’m not really sure what I’m doing being a teacher and who in the world put me in charge of a bunch of crazy middle schoolers. But then again, there are other days when the hand of the Lord is so evident that I can’t get over the amazing things that He’s doing  through my weakness.

Earlier this year, Zach and I were approached by some 8th grade girls and asked to lead a Bible study. We have been so blessed to meet with an incredible group of students every Thursday morning. Their hunger for truth amazes me. At 7:30am, they start the day with questions like, “Who is the Holy Spirit?”, “How is Jesus God’s Son?”, and “Is there such thing as hell?” I am so thankful that God has allowed us to be part of His incredible work!

This past weekend, I had the priviledge of hosting nine girls at our house for a retreat sponsored by some of the girls’ church. The events were at the church (across the street from our neighborhood), and the girls spent the night at host homes.

I had a great time hanging out with the girls! All of the essentials for a middle school sleepover were present: junk food, crafts, makeovers, and lots of conversation about boys. Amidst all of the craziness, I’m thankful that we were able to pause and talk about what really matters- our identity in Christ.

 One warning:

If you have a bunch of middle school girls spend the night at your house, you should be prepared to wake up and find this hanging over your bed. (And yes, that’s Robert Pattinson of Twilight fame. And no, I didn’t notice it was there until I woke up.)

Our niece, that is! Zach’s brother, Robby, and his wife, Emily recently started the adoption process for a baby girl from Kazakhstan! We are super excited for many reasons.

One: we get to be an aunt and uncle! Hooray! If you have ever seen my husband around little babies, you will know that they make him absolutely melt- and girls just send him over the top!

Two: Robby and Emily are going to be some of the greatest parents ever. Their love for the Lord and heart for the world is so encouraging.

Three: I’ve wanted to adopt a baby for so long I can’t remember, and it’s also something that Zach also has on his heart (thankfully!). It’s a big process, and we’re so thankful that we’ll be able to learn from our older and wiser siblings. (:

We can’t wait to meet this little girl! If you think about it, please pray for Robby, Emily, and Baby Angle. Their blog is listed at the side.