Love is....That morning cuppa Joe!

 I hope you stop by and visit and drink your coffee or tea with me! This sweet Love is...looks like me getting a cuppa joe for my Sweets! I hope you visit Marydon and all the participates here. I have a cross country post and a Blue Monday post too. You might have missed my Pink Saturday post too! Please feel free to look back

My blogaversary is tomorrow! I am be behind but I will do a really nice giveaway! Come visit and spread the word! I just ask that you follow me and leave a comment that you want to be in the giveaway! Simple!

SPIRITUAL SUNDAY

Christian perspective on Halloween

An Episcopal (e.g. Protestant) Christian's view.

Since the eighth century Christians have celebrated All Saints' Day on November 1 to celebrate the known and unknown Christian Saints. Saints are not just those whom the Church has canonized, but all members of that "cloud of witnesses" who proclaim Jesus as Lord - including you and me!
Almost as old as the celebration of All Saints' Day is the tradition associated with All Hallow's Eve. ("Hallows" mean "saints," both mean "holy ones," as in "Hallowed be thy name." "Eve" means the evening before.) So, Halloween means "the evening before All Holy Ones' Day." Today we call that festival Halloween (Hallow's Eve) and we have many fun secular ways of recognizing it in addition to religious ways. However, it's important to remember that its celebration has a long, positive history in the Church.
What sort of history is that? Like many of the liturgical festivals (Christmas and Easter included), All Saints' Day and All Hallow's Eve have some connection to pagan festivals. People of many races and cultures have remembered their dead and have had superstitions about death itself. Christians remembered death itself on All Hallow's Eve and celebrated Christ's victory over death. During the Middle Ages, Christians would gather in Churches for worship and they would remember the saints' victories over evil. Likewise they would put on little displays showing Jesus' victory of Satan, often using unusual masks and costumes to act out the story.
Thus, the festivities on All Hallow's Eve were the Christian's way of laughing at death and evil, something we can do in certain hope of Christ's victory over the powers of darkness. The Church for centuries, however, has seen All Hallow's Eve not as a glorification of evil, but as a chance to affirm eternal life in the face of the death of our mortal bodies. Just as Easter is a celebration of Jesus' victory over death and evil, so is Halloween!
1995 (with minor corrections and changes over the years)
in response to email castigating Halloween.com for glorifying evil when it was doing anything but that! :-)
For some other perspectives on a Christian Halloween, please see:
• ChristianAnswers.net

I was raised in the Catholic church and we celebrated All Saints Day rather than Halloween at school. Most of our parents did allow us to trick or treat  on Halloween. I think it can be a fun and safe holiday if you keep in mind that kids are kids and they like to follow their peers. It is most difficult in school for children to be set aside because of a religious belief  about Halloween. I have always had a good balance on the subject and my children know the truth! So we do not have a problem with Halloween because we basically handout candy to the neighborhood kids and add a few decorative items throughout our home.
I wanted to share this verse with you today in honor of Charlotte and all the hard work she does to prepare our weekly Spiritual Sunday.
"You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." John 8:322
I have seen this verse being misconstrued in movies and people using it in silly talk! The truth of the matter is Christ is the truth and knowing Him will idea set you free!
Enjoy your day and enjoy your friendships here as well.

Here is a tasty autumn soup to share today. The recipe comes from Bethany M Giles who is also the photographer of this delightful soup:

1 acorn squash
2 sweet potatoes
1 medium pumpkin
2 14 oz. cans of coconut milk
14.5 ozs. chicken broth
salt,ground pepper and ginger to taste
1 lime juiced

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
2. Puncture the acorn squash and pumpkin with a knife and wrap the sweet potatoes in foil. Place them on a baking sheet lined with foil.
3. Bake approximately 2 hours until the skin the pumpkin begins to brown and caves in.
4. Remove the sweet potatoes skins and chop. Skin,seed and mash the acorn squash and pumpkin. Stir in the coconut milk, reserving 1/2 cup for garnish. Add chicken broth. Season with salt, pepper and ginger and the lime juice.
5.Cook over medium heat until heated through. Serve with a lime wedge and a drizzle of coconut milk.

This delightful soup was found at www.allrecipes.com and you may subsitute canned pumpkin for this soup. It is festive for this season!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, A CROSS COUNTRY BITTERSWEET END,MORE BLUE

Nick at his painful finish of the CHSA Cross Country State Championship 2011. His running shoes are blue and orange!

As a life long Denver Bronco fan here is a fan fave Champ Bailey. I thought it was a nice break from QB sensation Tim Tebow and his now famous "T bow"!

The Denver Bronco mascot. Did you know that Bucky, the beautiful white horse that graces our stadium was designed from "Trigger" the famous horse that Roy Rogers rode in all his western movies and T.V. show?

Some Bronco hair for the ultimate Bronco fan!

A blue fairy image for you! Hope it is not snowing where she is trick or treating!

A haunting image in blue!

A patch of pretty blue pumpkins!
Enjoy your blue day and if you are heading out for some tricks and treats please be safe!
Q. What do goblins and ghosts drink when they are hot and thirsty on Halloween?
A. Ghoul Aid!

Q. Why did the ghost go into the bar?
A. For the boos!

Q. WHy did the game warden arrest the ghost?
A. He didn't have a haunting license!

Q. why didn't the skeleton dance at the party?
A. He didn't have any body to dance with!

Q. Where does Count Dracula usually eat his lunch?
A. At the casketeria!

If I don't stop now I never will! Ha Ha Ha! Go visit Sally and show her your blue today!

PAIN AND PERSEVERANCE

The dictionary says this about perseverance: continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure or opposition. Steadfastness.
2011 CHSA Cross Country Championship was a difficult course for many. Nick did not have the best race of his year. He had a poor time as far as his time goes. He has not run an 18 minute 5k since he was a freshman. But his day was off, his team mates on! That is life. It does not always go according to our plan. The course was soft and there was some mud, lots of mud! The young man that everyone thought would be the winner, running in the 15's all season, never losing a race came in 40th. I am sure he was devastated. Yet he was running on a possible stress fracture. We saw a report on his Face Book page that he was taken to the hospital, then released. A few really classy guys, gentleman, full of integrity and good character did not fair as well as they had hoped either. It was just a tough day. But there is another race, another day, a different season. All the runners are winners in my book! They ran like champions. I hope they stop and catch their breathe and rest. The winter is coming and they need their rest. Track and field will be here before we know it. Nick can pick up where he left off.  He had a miserable season with bursitis and shingles. Shingles that attacked his body and left him in so much pain . Yet he persevered and took 11th place out of 15 spots last week to secure a place at the state meet.   Because of his hard work and his team mates hard work they secured a place in the state competition. The thrill of it is just a good place to be.
Our older son and two of his friends came along and joined us in supporting Nick and Fabian, Sean, Juan, Jorge, Eddie and Mario. Cameron shot some cool photos with the nifty D3000 Nikon camera he recently purchased! I will share them here.

Some photos from the race. Nick was in pain at the three mile mark. As he approaches the finish it broke my heart to see the pain in his face.

"If you have a mom, there is nowhere you are likely to go where a prayer has not already been. " Robert  Brault

"A mother knows what a child doesn't say"

"Blessed is the man who remains steadfast  under trial , for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life,  which God has promised for those who love Him." James 1:12

A Halloween Treat! Pretty in pink and then some

Now are these two cute? My nephew Sean and his sister Sarah! Doesn't she make an adorable Strawberry Shortcake?

 Her brother is so intense! Do you know who he is in costume?
Then there is Ari. My little niece with her bumble bee costume. Isn't she cute as a bug?

I thought you might like some pink Halloween treats too along with some Breast Cancer Awareness reminders:

Watch this video too. Then stop by Beverly's.
Enjoy the weekend filled with pinkness. Please pray for Nick and his team mates as they compete in the State Cross Country meet tomorrow. It is bittersweet for me because this is the end of cross country season and Nick has participated in cross country since he was a 7th grader and he has attended the state championship meet as a sophomore,junior and senior in high school. I pray that he and his team mates will have a strong finish and they will run with integrity and heart like they always do. I pray that all participates will use good character tomorrow and run with confidence and kind hearts. Amen
 "The distance is nothing; it is only the first step that is difficult."--Cicero

HAPPY AUTUMN, HAPPY HALLOWEEN AND SNOW PLEASE GO AWAY!

Hi everyone! We got a lot of snow and it was wet and heavy. We are blessed. We have power! But many were not as lucky. So I am sharing some photos I took. Except for Maxine. She is making me laugh! My son-in-law has a cool motorcycle. (I will have to post my pic of me sitting on it! Ha Ha). But it is sitting outside in the snow! Brrr....it is cold and wet. Poor motorcycle. So Maxine is her usual snarky self making wise cracks! Ha Ha! Hee Hee! I really like Maxine.
My broken branches photo is a great one too! When my SIL got up today (his day off) this enormous branch was laying on top of his Passport. The good news is there was no major damage. The bad news is the tree branch is so large it will be a while before we can cut it and bind it for our trash service! Grateful no one was hurt!
The red tree is beautiful. It is such a nice autumn reminder. It looks pink in the sunlight. I shot this over the weekend, It was before the cold and snow set in.
Then there is the Halloween pumpkin Amy from our vendor across the hall decorated for us!  She works for a sleep study clinic and brought this cute pumpkin in its Halloween finest to us.
Another vendor  brought us the "Headless Horseman" pumpkin. Did you read "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving? Written in 1917 it is a classic and features Rip van Winkle:
A pleasing land of drowsy head it was.
Of dreams that wave before the half-shut eye.
And of gay castles in the clouds that pass.
For ever flushing round a summer sky.
Now hop over to  Jenny and say hi! Visit all the participates of this weekly fun at Alphabe Thursday!

Blue Monday Phamily

This is my nephew Charles in blue and his niece Shelby. Shelby is the daughter of my nephew Tony. She is fifteen. I have not seen a photo of her since she was a baby! Since my sis passed away I don't get the photo ops I like. Charles has a lovely wife Cheryl and she took this picture. Thank you Cheryl!

All summer long we walked and ran at this beautiful place. Now it is closed for an 8 million dollar facelift! We understand that a beautiful carousel will be out in place as well as a skate park. I have nothing against kids and skate parks but the noise will drive away all the beautiful wildlife, primarily birds and bull frogs! I think change is good but sometime not so much! This was a favorite blue photo I took  there this summer. Now the snow is in the forecast...

o

 A little Maxine to make you smile this morning. Now hurry over and visit Sally

Love is....

I am sharing a favorite Love is...for my  Spiritual Sunday and my Love is....today. I was visiting Linda and she is always so gracious to share her verses and her photos with all of us. I thought it came together so nicely and lately the Lord and I have been connecting all the dots!

I was telling Linda that I am crazy at my job, because of the horrible circumstances there and I pray so hard that the Lord and I have started to connect the dots and He is putting my home work first in my heart. I love doing laundry. I do not mind scrubbing the bathroom. I like changing the comforter and curtains in our bedroom. I don't have much but I have my heart into my phamily so I am learning to see the Lord's bigger picture for me.
Today I will ask for some prayer. Pray that Nick and his team will remain strong and healthy and fly through their run with angels lifting their feet next Saturday at the state meet! Please pray that somehow I can manage to get to Arizona with my Sweets so that we may see Nick run at the Nike Meet November 17th. The money is not there and any suggestions about earning extra cash to finance our trip would be greatly appreciated. Our garage is bursting at the seams with Princess House product. It would be wonderful to sell it off and earn this trip.
Finally I ask prayer for my work place. I think all the people there could use God's hand in their lives. It is very sad to see such a decline in lifestyle and angryness in others hearts.
I hope you will visit Charlotte, Linda and Marydon and thank these ladies for their wonderful encouraging hearts and blogs. Charlotte and Marydon do such a nice job keeping us in the groove with SPiritual Sunday and Love is... Linda has a beautiful heart for the Lord. Pray for all these ladies as they are special in blog world. Thank you for your time today and please visit me any time.
* the blogger will not let me open Spiritual Sunday form here. Please google it if you normally do not participate. It is www.bloggerspirit.com/

PINK SATURDAY IS A POTLUCK OF FUN!

Here is my teapot short and stout! I purchased this precious little treasure at a thrift store for $1.50. The pastel colors are blue,yellow and PINK!

Here is my sweet giveaway win from Diann. It was a win that the company Carmex sponsored and included three different lip balms. I am using the clear lip gloss (non-sticky) and am going to have a good winter with my lip balm collection.

This is the sweet little picnic blanket that unfolds into a nice ground cover at the park or anywhere you want to sit and enjoy the final days of autumn and the warmth in the air! Thanks Diann and Carmex!

Now I am in a Secret Pal Swap with Parsley and my "Secret Pal" sent me the cute Kung Fu singing card! It plays ,of course, the song "Kung Fu  Fighting"! I love it and she knows that my hubby was a first rate fan of the late Bruce Lee.Although Bruce was not a kung fu fighter but practiced the art of Jeet Kune Do I thought my Secret Pal was super nice to send this card!
The cute little ghost photo is a giveaway I won over at the Christmas in July PAFA. I won this ghost made by Barb . Ijust love him! He is a special Halloween addition here!
The card on your left was sent by my Secret Pal. She thought perhaps I did not get my first card! Isn't she thoughtful? This card is handmade with some pretty colorful designs including PINK! Thank you secret pal! I hope I hear my Secret Pal received my latest letter and special card soon.
The card on the right is a handmade autumn hug sent via the US mail by my sweet desert friend Jenny. Thanks my teaching pal at Alphabe Thursday and great all round friend!

I know! I know! It's not pink but I had to share my pride and joy, our youngest Nick (413) who along with his team will attend State next weekend! That is Fabian (414) and Sean (410). Congrats to all the runners and these guys and their team ran really well. It is our final season of high school cross country and I was having a really hard time with it. This is what the Lord put on my heart, and it calmed me down and made the race much more enjoyable: Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Do you see the coincidence here with my verse and anything else? Or is it?
Happy Pink Saturday! Now hurry over to Beverly's.

PARSLEY THIS IS FOR YOU!

Parsley asked us to post a photo of ourselves on our blog. So Parsley, friend, this is for you! It is a chance for me to show off this precious baby boy we have in our phamily. Our grandson Andrew and Tarrah came over Saturday evening and we all had a wonderful time entertaining Jayden Alexander. He turned five weeks old on Monday the 17th. He is such a sweet boy. I have a photo of him with his eyes wide opened.I just need to get it posted here too.
So this is just a hello to everyone here and a shout out to Parsley for her friendship and kind heart. Visit her soon.

"Train  up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6
This verse hangs  on Nick's wall and has since he was a small tyke. Please remember Nick and his cross country team mates in your prayers. They will run in the regional race tomorrow.
Goodnight to all!
"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams." Paula Coehlo

If the miles behind me could be put into words before you…
you would feel my efforts, my struggles, my desires,
most of all you would see my joy…
Watch me from afar run the trails and hills
and miles upon miles and you will see…
           - a runner

ALPHABE THURSDAY: IS IT AUTUMN YET?

Welcome to my Alphabe Thursday post. I am posting some shots we have taken during the autumn. It is one of my favorite times of the year. But it never lasts very long. We go from 80 plus degrees to 50 to 60 to 70! Rain and wind and cool nights to sleep tight! But the leaves have changed and the beauty they produce is amazing. I love the reds and golds, such beautiful rich and royal colors. I love seeing the pumpkins stacked up in the stores and the remnant's of them in the fields. The end of the flowers that filled the air with sweet fragrances and bold, brilliant color all summer long are now quiet and subdued. Mums are everywhere. Their glorious tones of purple,yellow and orange are warm and wonderful. My favorite things about autumn are all the wonderful drinks like hot apple cider, pumpkin flavored coffee drinks and the taste of stew or homemade noodles and soup.

 I chose four photos from our phamily collection to share with you. The first one is Ari at the Pumpkin Patch. She is my niece Kate's daughter. Isn't she just sweet? The second photo is a quilted sky. I took the shot a few weeks ago at a Cross Country meet. Hannah took the sideways photo of aspen trees near Gunnison. I took this red tree photo last weekend.
Stop by Ms. Jenny's and join the fun for Alphabe Thursday

Blue Monday

Moonlite sky and meteors at a castle.

Twinkle Stars
 Just a little astronomy for Blue Monday. Come visit Sally and have a little blue this Monday!
"He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters at the boundary of light and darkness." Job 26:10
My note: blogger will not auto post my posts for me. This was suppose to come up Monday morning and here it was sitting. I wondered why I had no Blue Monday post! Duh!

Love is... A Humble Meal

My house is overflowing! There are people everywhere so we are having some very humble meals! Tonight my middle bought roast beef and we made a huge batch of mashed potatoes and they bought Texas toast so we could have open faced sandwiches. The hubby, my Sweets, makes good gravy and we had a nice phamily meal! I thought this cute little Love is would fit perfectly into my phamily tonight!

Now stop by Marydon's and see who is participating in this fun weekly meme Love is....
What is Love for you?

OCTOBER IS DOWN SYNDROME AWARENESS MONTH!

I have missed a few Spiritual Sunday's. So I didn't want to miss it this week. I hope you visit Charlotte because she does a wonderful job keeping the meme up each week and filling our hearts with encouragement.
Today I want to talk about Down Syndrome. It is something lots of folks feel uncomfortable with. Unless it touches your life personally I guess a lot of folks don't think about it. I have not been touched by this personally but when I was a single, soon to be unwed mother in 1975 I worked as a volunteer for the local chapter of the Right to Life. I was shocked at the people who cruelly said awful things to us about the unborn and the children born imperfect, in their, shallow opinion. Years later I see our president of the US sitting smugly in the white house with no regard for these beautiful children. I have always been shocked by the Kennedy family  because their daughter  founded the Special Olympics and yet they are politically correct rich people. I never cared for Sylvester Stallone as I read that he and his first wife put their first born son into a mental institution because he was born imperfect and suffered from autism.
I tell you this story because of two woman who I believe had more courage then most of us. My good friend Ann Kihn was in her seventies when I worked with her at the county courthouse in Pueblo. She had three children and her youngest daughter Sharon was born with Down Syndrome. Ann had always felt that her baby was switched at birth and back then unless you had a lot of money nothing would be done about it. Nevertheless she took Sharon home and raised her. People told her to institutionalize Sharon but Ann worked with our boss Mary Shomer who raised her son John during a time when people thought he too, should be put away. Mary encouraged Ann to keep Sharon with her at home and until the day she died Annie took care of that girl. Sharon was a real pistol. She once hide a whole loaf of Wonder bread and consumed the whole thing while left alone while being attended by Ann's husband who hadn't worked in ages! He was, still holding out for that one dream job! Ann and Mary both had many trials with their children but their ultimate love and total sacrifice made them heroes in my book! I know when they met our Lord at Heaven's gate He told them both "Job well done".
When God allows a new life to enter this world He is ultimately in charge of that life. A woman I know who worked in a nursing home said her own grandmother always said children with Downs have pure souls. You can see God's light in them. I personally think they are here masquerading as angels for Our Lord.
"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:2
Psalm 139:13-16  For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you,when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
I have a video to share today. I hope you will participate in the Down Syndrome Awareness projects this month in your area and never forget these wonderful children who have enriched the lives of many.

Pink Mexican Pastries and Assorted Breads

Hello and welcome to  Pink Saturday! Please visit Beverly and thank her for her year long support of each one of us and the Pink Saturday meme.

I was walking around a small Mexican Market near my home and I realized they were sharing lots of pretty pinks for Breast Cancer Awareness month! Here are a few of those photos. I hope you enjoy them!

These are beautiful donuts and I really like the pink frosted ones! Do you?

Smile! You have a pretty pink cake for your eating enjoyment!

Some pretty pink pan surtido which translates in English to mean "assorted breads". This looks like it is covered in coconut!

I will share more treasures from the Mexican market next time. Enjoy all the pretty pinks by visiting your favorites and making new friends with those you have not met today!