Wrapping Up!

We made it through our second season at The Pumpkin Ranch. What a blessed season we had. To God be ALL the glory! When it's over, people always ask me if I'm relieved. I have such mixed feelings! We love hosting friends and family at our house and turning this place into The Pumpkin Ranch 10 days a year is just like a big party. It's so fun watching people enjoy our hard work and there is such a sense of teamwork among Dave, Layla, Cooper and I. It's a frantic pace. If you know Dave and I, you know we love that pace...for a season. And that's why The Ranch is a good fit for us! The frantic pace comes to a hard stop on November 1st and it takes a little bit to adjust to sudden slow down.

But, what was hard for me this season is Layla is in full time school. That means she's gone M-F, 7 hours a day and the Dave and I are out working at The Ranch Saturday and Sunday. I spent the entire month of October emotionally torn! That, I will NOT miss!

A Full Hand

Today, when Cooper held my hand, he held my whole hand. When he started walking, he held one finger. He then went through a stage where he held two fingers and they had to be my ring finger and pinkie...on my right hand. Through the years he's added one of my fingers to his grasp as his hands have grown. And now, he's apparently big enough to hold my whole hand. These are the ways I measure my children's growth...how many of my fingers they take when they hold my hand, the length of their legs against mine when they sit on my lap, when they start calling me mom instead of mommy. There has not been a single day of their lives that I haven't looked and them just for the sake of looking...just to take a mental picture of who they are in that moment and just how beautiful they are.

I loved them as babies, but I love them more for who they are now and that will only grow with each passing day. Even the days when I'm frustrated and overwhelmed!

That's My Girl!

Layla is at such a fun age. An interesting age, but fun. She is discovering her way in this world without us for the first time. She goes to school 7 hours a day, 5days a week, which means she sees her teachers and her friends more during the day than us. She has to make decisions about how to behave and how she will treat others when Dave and I aren't looking. I'm proud of her. She always tries to do the right thing, she looks for children at school who don't have friends and befriends them, she goes to people who are hurt and comforts them. But with this diligence, she also carries the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Not only is this a time of growth for her, but also for me, as her mom. Letting her figure this world out is hard at times, but I know that when I let her experience the ups and downs and let her navigate them, her confidence grows. I know that she needs to depend on God more than me. He will never fail her. He will never leave her. I will always fall short. Instead of rushing in to make sure she's always comfortable, I have to let her go a little. Instead of fixing things for her, I have to point her to God and let the two of them work some things out. And what joy it brings me when she comes to me and says, "Mom, I was scared, but I just kept telling myself 'I have faith in God. I have faith in God.' Pretty soon, I wasn't scared anymore."

That's my girl. That's my God!

Melt My Heart

There are days that Cooper can wear me down. He's such a good boy. He's a good listener, he desires to obey, he's always happy, he's very sweet, and he's, well, as I've said before, very busy. Tonight, I was thankful when bedtime rolled around. I tucked Cooper into bed and he said, "Mom, if a bad lion try to get you I will save you." He puts his hands on my cheek and said, "You are my best girl."

OK, I've been recharged for another day.

The Milk of Jesus

Layla prays the blood of Jesus over her loved ones. Cooper has picked up on this. When we pray together as a family Cooper closes his eyes and also prays that the blood of Jesus cover us.....and with great passion and energy he also prays that the water of Jesus....the rocks....and the milk cover us as well. It's just so funny, we haven't had the heart to correct him yet because every night he adds something new.

My Busy Boy

Cooper is...........busy. In the last 24 hours I have found myself saying things like...

"We don't microwave our drawings."
"The lamp shade is not a basketball hoop."
"You can't stand on the edge of a shopping cart and jump off."
"No, the toilet is not a diving board into the bathtub (especially when it's on the opposite side of the bathroom!)
"Yes, I'm sure that you cannot jump down the entire flight of stairs."
"Nope, the ceiling fan in your room will not hold you. You're too big."
"I know you're too big for the ceiling fan to hold you, but you are still NOT big enough to drive the bobcat."

***sigh*** We do best when I direct his busyness into work. Yesterday he picked pumpkins with me for a special order. He loved it. He picked, dug with his shovel, raked dirt and got filthy dirty. I love that boy!

The Law of Gravity

I dropped Layla off in her room at school today and left to walk Cooper to his room. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a child running behind me...closer...closer. I turned to look, thinking I was going to get hit if I didn't get out of the way. When I turned, I saw the most beautiful girl, sobbing, running right towards me. It was Layla Faye and today was the day she cracked. She's been brave for weeks, no tears, but today the flood gates opened.

I held her for a few minutes, I prayed over her, then I walked her to her classroom, still crying, handed her to her teacher, and walked away. So hard, but I knew I had to do it.

When I picked her up, she was happy, but obviously tired. As we drove home she told me that Mrs. Carlson hugged her and hugged her today, Mrs. Stiefel gave her a treat of licorice to take home in her bag, and all of her class stopped and prayed for her this morning.

"Mom, it's just been hard being brave for my friends. Today, I just had to cry. When everyone prayed for me, I felt warm inside, but I still missed you," Layla told me.

Several quiet minutes passed.

"Mom? There are some questions I have about the law of gravity."

Uhm...OK

"What exactly is the law of gravity?"

Uhm....my brain is scrambling now...F=G something...and something with a gravitational constant..uhm...I think there were some m's in there...(sad I know, but please don't judge me. Not only don't I remember the scientific explanation, I'm completely perplexed as to why my 6 year old is asking me such things!)

"What goes up must come down," I stated, completely unsure of my ability to explain this to her.

More silence...I can tell Layla is processing.

"Kind of like me," she answered. "I've been up, but today I'm down."

And with that, tears came to my eyes for the second time today.