Family Secret!

 It was another beautiful fall day in the valley.

Silas had shared with me the  'family secret....'

They were all excited about revealing a secret they had with their Dad.

The two little boys were schemingly involved in a rubik cube puzzle.

The final clue said, "Will you marry my Dad?"

 Jeremy and Tara announced their engagement with plans of a wedding scheduled for May.

Last summer Tara was introduced to our family 

and it was important that the grandparents approved of Jeremy's girlfriend.

A few weeks ago, Jeremy brought Tara for 'the blessing' on their future marriage.

And Oma Helen read...from Oswald Chambers, "Still Human"

"Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."  1 Cor. 10: 31 (November 16th.)

 We share your joy and will continue to pray for both of you.

Welcome Tara to our family.

We look forward to getting to know you.

Families are like branches on a tree.

We all grow in different directions,

yet our roots remain as one.

Thank You God!

 It poured and poured all weekend.

I prayed,  "God can you give me one window of 30 minutes of sunshine?"

I did not think that was too much to ask.

The clock ticked 3:00 pm.

The rain stopped.

The sun shone!

 Everyone marched off to the 'alien garden'

Again, our alien garden is a pile of dirt in the back 40!

It's a pile that gets secretly planted each spring and it's always a surprise for the family.

They all knew one thing for sure....the  alien garden yielded pumpkins.

 Everyone had to help pick up the pumpkins.

 And this was Ivy's first year attending and she knew which pumpkin she wanted.

And they rolled the pumpkins into the trailer.

And off they rolled home to be carved.

A smile that tells you everything is fine.

And the carving competitions began as they used their motorized tools.

This truly is a family affair.

One draws, one holds, and one cuts.

Levi is showing us his new skills as his dad looks on.

Silas with the help of Tara scooped out the pumpkin seeds.

 While they carved Ivy and I cooked up supper and enjoyed the swing.

It's fun sharing the family traditions with our newest members.

There was a place set for everyone.

 And Opa made his pumpkin delivery.

 These are the smiles that keep our family times special.

 Cooler nights are the clue that Fall is in the air and the nights are shorter.

Thank you God for 30 minutes of sunshine.