Growing Up at the Pumpkin Farm ~ 2014 edition

I update this post year by year as a chronicle of our family's growth and God's grace.   This was our 17th annual visit to the pumpkin farm.  These pics serve as a flip book of sorts.  Thumbed rapidly, our boys grow up before our very eyes.

More and more I've come to believe it and know it:
Changing times, changeless God.

***

Autumn bliss is steeped in memories and traditions. This is the pumpkin farm where our boys grew up. This is the pumpkin farm we'll visit this weekend and remember the little guys who once excitedly fed the goats; the guys who eagerly pulled around little red wagons filled with a few mini pumpkins and gourds. Now these guys are not so little. Our visit isn't so much about the animals. Or the pumpkins. Or even the corn maze. It's about nostalgia. Security. Creating new memories. It's about looking back and seeing how God has been faithful through these years. And it's about giving thanks for all that He's doing in the here and now.

1998 ~ This was the day we announced that we were expecting again!

1999 ~ Our first visit as a family of five!

2000

2001 ~ This was only one month after 9/11. I welcomed the feelings of "normalcy" created by this visit.

2002

2003

2004 ~ Notice the cowboy theme that endured all these years?  :)

2005 ~ This was only days before my husband and I left for Papua New Guinea. I was filled with a lot of conflicting emotions.

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011 ~ This is my idea of autumn bliss :)

2012 ~ While our son couldn't be there, we had the joy of being able to introduce our exchange student to the pumpkin farm.  [freezing cold, changing times, still safely in God's grip]

2013 ~ Things are different, God is still good. [slipped and laughed our way through the mud in the corn maze]

2014 ~ Ryan's last year of high school. Seeking to embrace and invest each moment, ordinary and extraordinary alike.  All is grace.

"I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge. With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come; I will remind them of Your righteousness, Yours alone. O God, from my youth You have taught me,and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs,O God, do not forsake me,until I proclaim your might to another generation, Your power to all those who come. Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens. You who have done great things,O God, who is like You?"  Psalm 71:14-19

traditions: old & new

While I'll be the first to remind you not to mess with my traditions, I've learned in recent years---somewhat reluctantly, I might add---that traditions are not the be-all and end-all.  They're simply a tool for teaching, for investing, and for passing God's Truth on to the next generation.  While some traditions we've outgrown (or have simply put on the shelf till grandchildren *grin*), others remain firmly and strongly in place.  I'm regularly looking for ways to engage our teenage sons, to change and flex with where we're at, rather than stubbornly clinging to the way we've always done things.  In some cases, I'm looking to launch new, fun, and meaningful traditions that will take us through the next 40 years.

My youngest son and I are two peas in a traditional pod.  He gets me.  Last year he wrote this little essay for school:

"I am a person who LOVES tradition. If my family breaks a tradition, I get mad. We have many Christmas traditions like: Christmas Eve gift opening, visiting nursing homes to give cards to the elderly, reading Luke 2, eating Chicken Cordon Bleu for supper Christmas Eve (which we are not doing this year, but we’re eating steak, so I don’t mind), drinking sparkling grape juice,  and decorating the tree while Mom tells the story of each ornament.  It would be hard to choose which one is my favorite, they’re all so fun: the carbonated juice, the smell of nursing homes, the sound of my Grandpa reading Luke 2, the feeling of wrapping paper.  All of these things just scream Christmas to me.

As I mentioned earlier,  my family is considering breaking a couple traditions in the next few years, like eating steak and getting a real tree. That’s okay, because as a family gets older, it changes:  people leave or grow older, tastes of food and style change, we want different things, and we realize that some traditions we have or had are kind of silly.  So next year as I brush the pine needles out of my socks and pick steak out of my teeth, I can remember the old traditions and look forward to the new ones.

Until then I can enjoy this year with the old traditions, resting in the fact that while some things change and some people leave, there are a few things that won’t. There will always be Luke 2, there will always be sparkling grape juice, there will always be ornaments,  and most importantly,  there will always be family."

A few photos from a new tradition...our Elf party:  

Growing Up At the Pumpkin Farm ~ 2013 Edition

I update this post year by year as a chronicle of our family's growth and God's grace.   This was our 16th year to make our annual pumpkin farm trek, and once again, it was different from all years before.  The absence of one of us---our firstborn son away at college---was sorely and painfully obvious, yet remembering so many previous visits brought much joy to my heart as I considered God's indescribable blessings.  

Our pumpkin farm trip was in jeopardy this year, as the late morning and early afternoon hours brought heavy rain.  As the grey clouds lingered, I was pretty much resolved that our longstanding tradition would be shattered.  I know, I know...that's a bit dramatic.  At the very least, I feared our trek would be delayed.  Even as we gathered at my parents' later in the afternoon, I bravely acknowledged that it just wasn't gonna happen this year.  But as we continued to visit, I was blissfully aware of the sun that began shining in the window.  Though the visiting continued, my heart continued to hope until finally I jumped up in excitement and directed my family's attention to the radiance outside.  The sun was shining, and we simply couldn't miss our opportunity!  We were pumpkin farm bound!

So for the first time ever, we experienced the corn maze following a heavy rain.  Its paths were solid mud, and as we took our first few steps, I knew I'd made a big mistake in urging us all to go out there.  We slipped and slopped our way through the maze, willing ourselves to remain upright.  I just knew one of us was going to go down.  But the good attitudes of my family prevailed, and rather than bemoaning the situation *I* had gotten us into, everyone laughed and reminded one another we were making crazy awesome memories.  They didn't even hold it against me that their shoes were all but destroyed (ok, again a little dramatic).  

God keeps reminding me of new delights and new mercies throughout these changing days.  While life looks so much different from the first picture below (15 years ago), I'm basking in the joy of watching sons learning to follow Christ on their own and choosing to follow Him because they know He's everything.  And that is the greatest joy of this new season.  

***

Autumn bliss is steeped in memories and traditions. This is the pumpkin farm where our boys grew up. This is the pumpkin farm we'll visit this weekend and remember the little guys who once excitedly fed the goats; the guys who eagerly pulled around little red wagons filled with a few mini pumpkins and gourds. Now these guys are not so little. Our visit isn't so much about the animals. Or the pumpkins. Or even the corn maze. It's about nostalgia. Security. Creating new memories. It's about looking back and seeing how God has been faithful through these years. And it's about giving thanks for all that He's doing in the here and now.

1998 ~ This was the day we announced that we were expecting again!

1999 ~ Our first visit as a family of five!

2000

2001 ~ This was only one month after 9/11. I welcomed the feelings of "normalcy" created by this visit.

2002

2003

2004 ~ Notice the cowboy theme that endured all these years?  :)

2005 ~ This was only days before my husband and I left for Papua New Guinea. I was filled with a lot of conflicting emotions.

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011 ~ This is my idea of autumn bliss :)

2012 ~ While our son couldn't be there, we had the joy of being able to introduce our exchange student to the pumpkin farm.  [freezing cold, changing times, still safely in God's grip]

2013 ~ Things are different, God is still good. [slipped and laughed our way through the mud in the corn maze]

"I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge. With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come; I will remind them of Your righteousness, Yours alone. O God, from my youth You have taught me,and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs,O God, do not forsake me,until I proclaim your might to another generation, Your power to all those who come. Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens. You who have done great things,O God, who is like You?"  Psalm 71:14-19

Life Is Beautiful

It's a night I'll treasure always:
one of those magical nights that you can't plan,
can't orchestrate,
can't will into being.

It didn't really start out as such.
After leaving the children's Christmas program at church,
we decided to drive around for our annual viewing of Christmas lights.
And honestly, I was bummed,
as our two older boys had D-(iscipleship) group that night,
so it was just gonna be my husband, youngest son, and me.

These moments seem to come more and more frequently.
My expectations being high,
my inordinate love of tradition preceding all,
my resistance to change bucking like a bronco.
"This isn't the way it was supposed to be," my heart cries.

Our youngest son delights in being the DJ as we drive around.
Luke's preference in music is just like him---
it's fun and energetic with techno vibes.  :)
While I like a lot of it,
I often found myself admonishing him during the Christmas season to play more traditional sounds.
This was especially true as we viewed the Christmas displays that cold December night.

Soon, a familiar sound filled the van.
I turned to stare out the window as the tears filled my eyes and sobs racked my body.
For my Luke, our "feeler,"
prepared a playlist just for his mom.
It was as if he knew exactly what was on my heart and mind.
Ringing through the van were the lyrics to one of my most favorite songs ever---
one that moves me to tears
every. single. time.

And God used our son to remind me that
the sweet, the bitter,
the hellos, the goodbyes,
the gains, the losses,
the routine, the change,
the ordinary, the extraordinary---
all of it is a gift---a tool---in the
hands of a loving Father.
And life is beautiful
because the Author of life is beautiful.

The Ladybug Tower

Little boys dubbed it the Ladybug Tower many years ago.

We usually wait to climb it until the leaves burst out in all their autumn glory.  

But this girl is learning, albeit slowly,

that sometimes you (I) need to flex

and take advantage of whatever opportunity presents itself.

All five of us home and available on Labor Day?

Let's do it!

And so, while it was different than times past,

we were blissfully together.

As we've done so many years before,

we climbed the tower

and took in the sights.

We were even unexpectedly blessed by a bagpiper atop the tower.

And we hiked the purple trail,

the one that---once upon a time---produced little boys with tired legs

and cries to be carried.

Now, strong and able, they blazed the trail before us.

It was a soul-stirring visual for this mama's heart.

Everything is looking a little different these days,

but it's nonetheless glorious and beautiful.  

Around Our Table - Part 2

***This is Part 2 of a two-part post.  Click here to read Part 1.

It hasn't been with us that long.  Only 9 years.  Yet that's over half of our young sons' lives.  And as I laid in bed last night with the digital numbers on our clock seemingly brighter than usual, I saw with vivid clarity the moments and memories; ordinary and extraordinary; everyday and especially.

Our dining room table.  It wasn't too long after we bought it that our oldest son was hard at work on an art project.  He was so diligent, so proud of the picture of the mad scientist he had drawn with colored pencils.  Unfortunately, I was unaware that his stick-to-it-iveness was going right through his paper and making impressions on the table beneath.  To this day, at one end of our table is the impression of a bygone day: our son's mad scientist drawing.  And while I didn't love it at the time, today finds me grateful for the memory of that long-ago afternoon, the character it adds, and the little hands that painstakingly put it there.

And then there were all those other moments that found boys poured over their schoolwork:  diagramming sentences, working on spelling, creating crafts  Line upon line, baby step after baby step, they grew up and flourished.

I see little boys in their jammies, encircling the table with light in their eyes.  A rack of sugar cookies was just waiting to be brought to life with decorations, and they eagerly set to work with frosting and a liberal dose of sprinkles.

There was Christmas Eve Chicken Cordon Bleu and Christmas morning tea; "Celebrate Daddy" nights and a host of other themed nights.  The moments were becoming memories and making an impression on little boys' hearts...kind of like the mad scientist on our table.

Family game nights found little boys hanging off of chairs and me wondering where their unending energy came from---energy that made getting through a simple game sometimes long and difficult.  Our games evolved from Lego Creator to Clue to Life to Phase 10.  Amidst the seemingly non-stop laughter, a competitive spirit was flamed and sportsmanship was taught.

My heart warms at the thought of meetings held, visions cast, and heads bowed.  With a heartfelt longing to make much of Christ, various committees came 'round our table seeking wisdom and guidance from Him.

I plainly see my husband seated with tax papers spread out across the table each year.  My own anxious heart was in knots, but his smile was steady and sure.  Without fail, he reminded me that God was good and had always taken care of us.  Everything was gonna be ok.

I smile at the thought of our table stretched to full capacity, seating grandparents at birthday parties, friends at Christmas parties, and our high school kids for Friday morning coffee cake.  I think of the squeeze to fit around the table when filled with so many people we love.  And my heart rejoices that God's not called us to do life alone; that we get to love and serve with so many remarkable people.

I bask in the sweet memories of tea parties with my girlfriends and tea with my high school girls.  I think of our table filled with women from all walks and stages of life. Some old, some not-so-old.  The small talk gave way to deep talk.   Over hot tea and sweets, their stories came spilling forth.  And we discovered that we're much more alike than we may have thought.  We celebrated God's beautiful plan to place olden women in the lives of younger women:  teaching, training, and setting the pace.

I remember our little family of five joining hands 'round that table, pouring out prayers of thanks before meals; teaching what is and isn't appropriate at the table; opening up the Bread of Life.  I think of the days rehearsed, the celebrations had, the memories made.

And that is why I look at our table and smile.  It's the hub.  It's where our little family grew up.  And it loudly echoes reminders of God's extravagant grace.  From the little boy days to the current big boy days, our God has carried, sustained, and provided for us.  He's met every need with Himself.  And because of that, I know that even when change is looming on the horizon and everything looks different than before, this same God is over all.  As our chairs empty when sons leave our nest or as leaves are eventually added to accommodate our growing family---my trust, my hope, and my confidence is in this same God.  May the everyday occasions around our table reflect, honor, and thank Him.