Ode to the Great Pumpkin

The atumnal equinox brings great anticipation around the Medrano household as we eagerly await The Great Pumpkin! I mean it, he's real...I don't care what you say about your Santa Clause.

I believe every year I write something about fall. I'm sorry but you will just have to put up with this. I can't help it. I love this time of year. Our family loves just about everything pumpkin. Even though fall did not officially start until today we had a sneak preview with some pumpkin bread a week ago. Everyday Kaylie asks if it is pumpkin day yet. In a little over a week our pumpkin patch will open and we will carry on a tradition of taking the kids out for some so cheesy it makes you sick fun.

No one can be in a bad mood when the weather is crisp, fall decorations abound, and the smell of freshly baked fall treats fill the home.

I really cherish every tradition we have started in our own family. From the State fair, Oktoberfest, pumpkin farms, Charlie Brown, and our yearly Thanksgiving eve cook-a-thon, each one holds so much fun and many precious memories for years to come. Micah is just now getting to an age where he can sort of participate. He does most of his participating by eating those freshly baked fall treats, but at least he's having fun. Kaylie on the other hand loves any reason to celebrate so she is in her element when the holidays roll around.

The most exciting event for us this fall is a trip we have planned next month to visit Seattle. If you live in the North Texas you know that our leaves have a tendency to go from green, brown, and then the ground. I am looking forward to an array of beautiful fall colors of course mixed in with the evergreens against the backdrop of the magnificent cascades. It will be great to get away, visit family, eat yummy fish and chips, and site see.

You have probably not heard the last of me singing the praises of autumn. Just think we have three glorious months together!

So grab your cider and favorite pumpkin dessert and join with me in this ode to the Great Pumpkin!

Roots

Yesterday I was laying in bed trying to take a nap. Drifting in and out of conciousness a random thought popped into my mind. It was of a television show I remember watching on Saturday mornings as a kid called Circle Square. It was a Canadian show that mixed puppets and kids. It was a little creepy to be honest. I went back today to watch some old clips on Youtube and wondered what the appeal was asa child. It was not my favorite it just happened to come on between some of my other favorites like Davey and Goliath,Gospel Bill, and Joy Junction on TBN. I know I am already hearing the groans. As I look back it brings to mind my upbringing. I cannot even begin to count the number of Sunday school lessons, sermons, and vacation Bible schools I sat through. Let me hear it for flannel baords!

In my current mindset living in a polished society it is easy to look back at these crude, humble beginnings with disdain. Were a lot of these things cheesy and simplistic? Absolutely, and yet I still draw on many of these basics for my own value system today. Like it or not they are my roots. I look back at church growing up. It could be rigid and planned. Today my choice would not necessarily be to return to that style, but I can't help but look back in some appreciation for the foundation that was laid in my life. I may not agree with the how or the style or even some interpretaions of the Word, but it was basic essentials that were instilled in my lie from a young age. Most young adults get fiery in their pasion for change. I can attest to this, but without the foundation imparted to me I would never have had the maturity needed to grow and expand in different areas on my life.

Anyway this was just a thought passing through mind that I decided to share. Happy Friday to all!

Validation

Psalm 37 (The Message Trans.)

5-6 Open up before God, keep nothing back;
he'll do whatever needs to be done:
He'll validate your life in the clear light of day
and stamp you with approval at high noon.

This has been one of the verses of my life, but I had never quite read it like this until recently.
What an incredible reminder not only myself, but in reality to every reader of this blog.
Every person on this planet has searched at one time or another for meaning or significance.
The key: Open up before God. Of course He knows it all, but there is a sacredness that is achieved in relationship when we willingly open ourselves and choose to reveal all.

It is a rainy Thursday here in Texas. The mind would chooses to allow the dreariness to settle into the soul, but wherever you are let today be the day. Open yourself before God. Let your spirit be awakened by His passion for you. There is hope. He alone can be the validation of our lives.

Cabin Fever

I'm sitting in Micah's room watching the rain fall and the river rise just outside our house. I could be doing something productive like cleaning, laundry, or one of those special projects I always put off for a rainy day. Instead I'm just feeling a little blah knowing I am stuck here for the rest of the weekend.

Today our poor Mazda was hit for the third time while in our ownership. We were hit from the side by a driver making a sharp turn in the lane next to us. Of course we were on our way to a birthday party and it was raining so all of those factors made an always unpleasant experience even more frustrating. We were able to make it home, but the alignment is completely out of whack, and we can't go far without creeping along at slow pace. Right turns are extremely difficult and finding a route with strictly left turns is quite complicated. Since this all happened on a Saturday our insurance company has informed us we cannot get a rental till Monday morning. We contemplated getting our own rental from the airport for a day, but that just seemed like a silly extra expense considering we really have no obligations. We have resigned ourselves to the house for the rest of the weekend barring any emergencies.

I suppose it is just knowing that I can't go anywhere that gets me so stir crazy. I should probably treasure the time to just relax at home and do things around the house. Right now I just feel a bit sulky. Accidents are no fun no matter whose fault it is. All I can pray for is a quick resolution from their insurance company, and that enterprise will not stick me with another PT Cruiser!

Random Acts of Kindness

Yesterday a driver who is frequently in our office, brought me some tamales. There was no reason, he said he just happened to be picking up breakfast at Fiesta and decided to bring me some.

No matter how hardened you are it is hard to not let a small gesuture of kindess seep into the heart and brighten your day.

It also made me think about how often I am on the giving end of these small acts. I am ashamed it is far too few. Too often I am to preoccupied with my own problems and life, or I think that any small act would not truly matter to the recipient.

I believe the point is not really how big or how small the act or even if it is genuinly appreciated by the recipient. Rather it is taking a moment to stop and think outside of our box.

Reset

Sometimes life is chugging along at a predictable pace, and then you look around at the scenery and realize something is just not right. Of course you meant to travel in the correct direction. You busily prepared and studied maps carefully. You were sure you had this thing figured out, and then you looked around and know that maybe in all the planning and careful scrutinizing you just got lost in it all.

This past week was one of those revelations of sort. I pride myself in having a pretty low maintenace lifestyle, but it also becomes pretty easy to hide my controlling tendencies behind that outward facade. I have probably blogged along these lines before, but sometimes the journey has a few similar pit stops when we don't learn our lesson the first time. I have goals and ideas for where I would like to see myself, my children, our family, and I can agonize over the smallest details trying to plan our way there. Of course I get overwhelmed, frustrated, and sad because after all I am only human. When I finally broke down to my most fragile state I see how in all this planning I can so easily miss all the small pleasures, and all the good God has placed along the way to help cheer me to the finish line. Instead I rely on my own knowledge and strength to get me there. This is so typical of our species which is perhaps why our world is running at such a maddening pace.

In my nature I cannot easily accept simply answers. In order to achieve stability I rationalize there must be some long sequence or equation to get me to that place, but I realized this was all completely in vain. Through many tears and a strugglle of the will I have come to the understanding that sometimes we must hit reset, and simply just tell God we will finally let go.

Happy Birthday Princess!

Psalm 127:3

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD,

The fruit of the womb is a reward.

I cannot adequately express what a gift my children are. Today one of those blessings turns four years old. As I write this I realize at this time four years ago Kaylie was about a hour old. I was still recovering from a flood of emotions that overtakes the feeble human mind at the birth of one's first child. I look back on that first year of her life with such fondness. There were some tough moments learning and struggling as all parents do, but through those moments we created a special bond.

Today I have a loud and boisterous little girl. She likes to be called a princess,loves girly things, is opinionated, and talks non-stop at a really high volume. I love everything about her. She usually stops me in the middle of conversations by saying she needs to tell me something. Almost 90% of the time it is to say that she loves me very much. I would say when I am with her she tells me that at least twice an hour. She loves to cuddle and be close. She can be a bit demanding, but she knowS when she has been wrong and will not hesitate to apologize. She loves family more than any child I have ever known. Her favorite thing is for everyone to have dinner together. She loves to pray and sing. Her love of learning is a gift I hope she never loses.

It has been a wonderful four years. I look forward to years I have left raising her, and the many many more she will have as an adult following God's journey for her life.
I love you princess, happy birthday!