Trick or Treat

We can't believe Emma's old enough to go Trick-or-Treating. It's crazy how fast she's growing up! She had a great time! She didn't really understand the whole concept of getting candy from each house and putting it in her bag. She wanted to hold every piece she got. Because of this, we had to give her Nerds after every house we went too. I think she thought we were stealing the candy from her when we put it in her bag. It's funny how they know these things ahead of time. =)

The only thing that got her through was giving her handful of Nerds after each house.

Very happy w/ her bag of candy...success!

Sharing her sucker with Daddy!

Visit to Chi-town

On the train ride down to Chicago, Emma did AMAZING! We were visiting some of Jess' cousins, Aunt Sue, Grandma, Grandma Gracie. It was such a great trip and great hang out time. I hope we can do it again soon! We now know Emma loves riding on the train and can handle Chicago with the best of them! The city was buzzing with pre-holiday busyness. There were lines of people in the theatre district catching off-broadway shows. The shopping was intense, even in October with the anticipation of the holiday rush. But amidst all of the interesting sights and sounds there sat Jim, wedged between a garbage can and Newspaper machine holding a sign which read, "Food, money, anything would help". We all stood there conveniently ignoring him waiting for the light to change. As we crossed I was immediately troubled by what I saw and needed to go back and talk to this guy. Jess and her family went ahead into a store and I ventured back down the block and cross the street. Much to this guys surprised I sat down right next to him and asked him his name, "Jim!" he replied and I shook his hand realizing that he could not have been more than a year or two older than me. I gave him a snack pack of cheese and crackers from my backpack along with two bucks and just asked him a bit about himself. He shared how he'd been a heroin addict in his early teen years which ended in the streets. A year ago he got help through a shelter and was placed in a rehab program which put him on methadone. Jim was no longer enslaved to heroin but the methadone treatment left him just short of comatose. He can't work because of the drug, his family won't have anything to do with him because of his past and I couldn't help but wonder about his future. As people gathered on the corner waiting to cross, you could see their pity and irritation at the sight of some bum. Ten minutes earlier I was one of them, but now I was sitting next to that bum, his name is Jim, and I felt their stares, and if only for a moment, I had a sense of Jim's daily struggle. I know my 15 minutes with Jim probably had little affect on him or his situation but it has had a continuous impact on me. Jesus loves Jim a lot! He loves Jim as much as He loves me! Do I love Jim as much as Jesus? Do you? What are we doing about it?

Finally found a place to park...now it's time to get to business and SHOP!

Grandma rushing off w/ Emma...(not an abnormal scene when Grandma's in town)

Waiting for the light to change

Daddy hung out w/ Emma...he didn't want to shop w/ the girls

Coloring at the awesome coloring table Old Navy set up for the little kids

Playing in the Rocket Ship at Old Navy

Waiting patiently for the later train after missing the first one

Eating Gerretts popcorn and waiting for the train

Quite the outfit....

Pumpkin Carving!

The finished product was a lion! Last year we carved a turtle for our "turtle". She loves it! Ben did an awesome job!

Ben getting rid of the pumpkin guts

She kept picking out the seeds and throwing them off the "cliff"

She first drew on the pumpkin, then...

Emma started drawing on daddy's leg

Mommy and Emma waiting for the pumpkin to be carved!

Fall Fun!

Amidst everything going on, we were able to get out and enjoy an AWESOME fall day! Here are some pictures from our time at Goebbert's! We hope you enjoy!

Decision Reversal....

Well, Ben and I thought we had finally made a decision about his current job situation, however last week didn't go so well. He made 3 appointments in his first day of phone calls, and we thought for sure this was going to be the turning point. He met with some of the people, but to no avail. Given our finances, we can't really wait too much longer for these people to make a decision about insurance, so we are going back to the 2nd shift position. Ben had an interview w/ them this morning and we're hoping to hear some thing back in the next couple days.
All the stuff God's been teaching us, still applies to this decision. It doesn't end because we made a different call then originally thought.

I am re-reading Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist and thought this totally describes me...
"When I pray, something freaked-out and dazed inside me finds a place to lay down and rest."
This is definitely how I feel most of the time. I'm not generally a person who rests in the Truth; I try to do everything I can to make things happen, but I just need to give this all over in prayer to God. Maybe if I rested more, I wouldn't feel so exhausted all the time.

Fall Bike Ride

Emma is getting so big! We went for a bike ride this weekend, and she wore her new vest. She looks like such a big girl...brings tears to my eyes to think how small she once was. Our camera ran out of batteries, so I couldn't take anymore. I'll post some more later. (The BIG picture above is from the bike ride too!)