What a clown!

Happy belated Halloween blog readers! On the morning of Halloween Scott took Noah to the Nevada Day Parade in Carson City while I prepared for Scott's birthday party. Noah wanted to wear his costume to the parade and apparently charmed everyone. Side note: Putting makeup on an excited, squirming, jabbering 2 year old is close to impossible!

Later that afternoon we celebrated Scott's 43rd birthday with family. I made my first successful batch of BBQ ribs, YUMMY! After cake Mom, Becki, Christopher, Scott, Grandma and myself took Noah trick-or-treating. Yes, count them, that's 6 adults with one child.

A Porky Pumpkin

Finally got around to carving our pumpkin today. We had two, but one of them rotted before I made the time to carve it.

We decided to be a bit more creative this year than the typical Jack-O-Lantern pumpkin. I saw a couple ideas on the much too overpriced magazines in the check out line at the supermarket. So, I sped read before my groceries were rung up and headed home with a bit more creativity than I have naturally.

Noah wasn't too thrilled about getting his hands "icky" so I did most of the gutting while he helped with the quills. He loves his "porky-pine pumpkin."

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Scott and Daddy...happy birthday to you.

And I said YES!

Four years ago today Scott Boutcher asked me to marry him and I said YES! At the time I knew that he was a wonderful and Godly man who would make a great husband. But now, being married to him for close to 4 years, I know that he is much more than that. He is a man who loves the Lord with such a passion and conviction that he would do anything for his God. He is a man who waited to make sure he was ready to be the husband God would have him to be. He is a man who adores his wife even when she acts unadorable. He is a man who is devoted to raising his son to be even a better man than he is (if that's even possible). He is the man who I would say YES to again and again. He is the man that I am proud to call my husband, lover, protector, and best friend. Looking forward to spending MANY more wonderful years together.

A Right of Passage

Growing up, like most of you I'm sure, I thought my Mom just hung the moon. She seemed to do everything perfectly. She kept the family on schedule, cooked incredible meals, helped people in need, made our house a home and loved God with a passion I have rarely seen in others. I have such fond memories of sitting on a stool at her kitchen counter and watching her cook up some of the most scrumptous creations I've had to date. Well, one of my favorite things to watch her do was can things. It just astounding seeing the time and precision it took to can some of her most delicious creations.

Now that I've become a wife and mother I decided to try my hand at it. In my attempt to make this Christmas more economical I'm making gift baskets for some of our closest friends and family. My Dad's cousins in Yerington gave me this HUGE box of apples and I decided to make apple butter and can it, with the help of Mom of course.

After a morning of pampering (pedicures and lunch with Mom and Grandma) I headed out to the folks house to attempt this right of passage. The cooking seemed to go well but the apple butter just never seemed to get thick enough. "Don't worry," my mom assured me "it will set up more after the canning." So, I proudly hauled my box of apple butter creations home assured that the syrup like texture would set. It's been a couple weeks now.....and I have proudly made...apple syrup! Guess even the most seasoned and experienced mothers can't do EVERYTHING right. Maybe next time!

Being His Clay

Two weeks ago I was fortunate enough to be asked to teach part of our yearly Ladies Seminar at our church. The theme this year was "The Seasons of our Lives: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter." Patty Neely graciously shared her class time with me and I spoke about the Bible character Lydia and how she had prepared herself for the fall of her life. The key question I posed to the ladies in our sessions was how are we planting goodness in our lives and what are we able to harvest due to our careful planting.

Since then, as with most teachers, I continue to think about how this applies to my life. Am I planting the things which God would want me to during this time in my life so that my harvest will be what God wants from me? Am I developing and using the talents that I have been blessed with to the glory of our heavenly Father?

I suppose the conclusion I've come to is that I am trying. Aren't we all? Some days I do better than others but I pray that I will continue to allow God to mold me into a better person today than I was yesterday. Molding isn't easy and it isn't always comfortable, but I have faith in my God. He is ever present, awesomely powerful, wiser that I will ever be, and all knowing enough to point me to my most productive and challenging path. I pray He will do the same for you.

Squeezing in Summer

So, I was informed again today that I've been neglecting our blog. I assure you that it was for good cause...we're squeezing in summer these last few weeks of pleasant and travel friendly weather. With moving and all that it entails our summer just seemed to slip away faster than one would have thought. So, blogging has taken a back seat to spending time with family and friends in the wonderful creation that God has so richly blessed us with. I found this poem online a couple weeks ago and thought it would be fitting to explain my blogging absence.

I Took His Hand and Followed

By: Mrs. Roy L. Peifer

My dishes went unwashed today,

I didn't make the bed,

I took his hand and followed

Where his eager footsteps led.

Oh yes, we went adventuring,

My little son and I...

Exploring all the great outdoors

Beneath the summer sky.

We waded in a crystal stream,

We wandered through a wood...

My kitchen wasn't swept today

But life was gay and good.

We found a cool, sun-dappled glade

And now my small son knows

How Mother Bunny hides her nest,

Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.

We watched a robin feed her young,

We climbed a sunlit hill...

Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,

We plucked a daffodil.

That my house (and blogging) was neglected,

That I didn't brush the stairs,

In twenty years, no one on earth

Will know, or even care.

But that I've helped my little boy

To noble (and Godly) manhood grow,

In twenty years, the whole wide world

May look and see and know.

Please enjoy some of the pictures of spending time with my blessing from God this summer.

Riding with Papa at their house

Notice the look of joy (terror?)

Sitting on the fence while watching Mommy work cattle at Winnemucca Ranch

Hot August Night's with Daddy

Hosting his first sleepover with his favorite person in the world, Vada McClelland.

Dinner at our new home with LaLa and Papa.

We traveled to Crater Lake, Oregon with my Dad, Mom and Grandmother. My uncle and aunt from Portland met us there. Unfortunately, Scott had to stay home and work, so we ruffed it and had fun without him. :-)

First trip to the ocean while visiting the Trokey's in California. Noah wasn't scared a bit of the ocean, don't know why that surprises me though!

Scott and Noah practicing their elk calls in preparation for hunting season. The testosterone was DRIPPING off the walls.

Hunting last weekend at my Dad's cousin's ranch in Yerington. They run a cattle feed lot, grow seed garlic and consumption onions. Noah had a blast with all the cows. Also, our cousin gave us a complete tour of the onion processing portion of the business. Noah was able to see the whole process in person from the time a onion was picked in the field all the way to boxing for shipment. It was a wonderful and educational experience. On Monday he was so excited that the onions made it to the supermarket when we went grocery shopping. :-)

Picking and consuming apples in Yerington.