Today has been the best Halloween of my life. This morning at the end of the church service, our son Samuel accepted Christ as his personal Savior this morning. What an answer to prayer! What joy to know that he is one more soul the devil cannot have. God is so good.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
3 John 1:4

Next weekend’s craft fair has kept me really busy lately. Every spare moment I’ve had seems to have been spent working on getting jewelry made.

It has been so fun coming up with new designs for the show. Many of my current designs are customized to some extent, so I’ve been making new designs to have with me there. I’ve also made up some samples of the custom designs. The Cherish pendant I blogged about a while ago was one of the custom design samples. Of course I don’t mind making myself a mother’s necklace though. :O)

This morning I worked on some rings while Samuel did his schoolwork next to me. Before I knew it, he had grabbed the camera and was taking pictures of me. In the picture above I’m holding up a ring I’d just finished – a silver garnet ring. Rings are so much fun to make.

There’s only about a week left until the show. I’m so excited to be able to do this. Lord willing, it will go well and I’ll be able to get my business name out there a bit more.

Sunday: chicken and dumplings, broccoli

Monday: salmon patties and fries (last-minute change)

Tuesday: tossed salads, chicken breast, and maybe breadsticks

Wednesday: baked fish, brown rice, cauliflower

Thursday: sesame chicken

Friday: pizza night

Saturday: sloppy joes

The meals without veggies listed we’ll just decide then which veggie to eat from the freezer.

Breakfasts are eggs, scones, oatmeal, biscuits, grits, smoothies, and pancakes.

Lunches are sandwiches, wraps, macaroni and cheese, tuna salad, leftovers, etc. for the kids and lots of salads for Stephen and I. We are really enjoying our fall garden.

Snacks are cheese, baby carrots, nuts, fresh fruit, smoothies, etc.

You can read more menu plans over at Orgjunkie.com.

Wednesday’s sermon was such an encouragement. It was from 1 Peter 5:6-9. I’ve never really looked at that passage in context before. All I’ve ever seen is:

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Here’s what was brought out (verses 7-8, emphasis mine):

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

He used an illustration of someone carrying a heavy pack. It’s hard to walk, much less for a long distance, when you’re carrying something heavy. It’s easier to stumble, and would be harder to defend yourself if you were attacked.

Cast my burden on the Lord, so I can walk easier. Or continue to carry my burden myself, and allow myself to be singled out by the devil.

One thing he said really hit me. In a close-knit church like ours, the devil isn’t going to be as obvious. If he were to do that, we’d see him coming and be prepared. What he does instead is come quietly, like he did with Eve. He’ll try to find someone who is already down – someone who is weighed down with a heavy burden. The burden isn’t necessarily sin in their life – just something that weighs heavy on them, and slows them down and making them ineffective.

Our church is small, but VERY close-knit. I love our people, the camaraderie, the sense of family that we have. In my mind, I was picturing myself being singled out, and it was an awful feeling.

It really made me think. Am I trying to carry my burdens myself, or am I spending time with the Lord and giving my burdens to Him? It is definitely motivation to spend more time in His Word.

The beginnings of a salad from our fall/winter garden – buttercrunch and romaine lettuces, spinach, sweet 100 and yellow pear tomatoes, and a red pepper

Sunday: chicken barley soup

Monday: potato soup

Tuesday: sesame chicken, broccoli

Wednesday: tacos

Thursday: baked tilapia, cauliflower

Friday: pizza night

Saturday: chicken artichoke casserole

The meals without veggies listed we’ll just decide then which veggie to eat from the freezer.

Breakfasts are eggs, scones, oatmeal, biscuits, grits, smoothies, and pancakes.

Lunches are sandwiches, wraps, macaroni and cheese, tuna salad, leftovers, etc. for the kids and lots of salads for Stephen and I.

Snacks are cheese, baby carrots, nuts, fresh fruit, smoothies, etc.

You can read more menu plans over at Orgjunkie.com.

Stephen has wanted to get a chicken tractor for years. We talked about making one but just never got the chance to do it.

This week, we bought several chickens from some friends. Today, they brought us their chicken tractor since they’re no longer using it.

The whole idea of a chicken tractor is that it’s a bottomless pen that is moveable. We’ll be putting ours in the garden over the winter because the chickens do such a good job breaking up the soil.

For now though, they’re in the back yard. We’re really enjoying watching them, and the extra eggs are nice too.

Cherish Sterling Silver Necklace

This is my newest design. It’s been a lot of fun dreaming of new designs to stamp. I’ve actually been working on quite a few new stamped pieces for the craft show, but haven’t finished them.

This pendant is sterling silver and has the word Cherish stamped on it. There is room for four birthstones to hang from it. The chain is also sterling silver and is 18 inches long.

It looks like there might be room for a couple more birthstones, but I have a different idea for how to handle more than four if that’s what someone needed. I just haven’t had a chance to actually try it out yet.

Lately I’ve been doing some research trying to find a local craft show to get a booth in. Our county mommies group is putting a craft fair together this year, and I was able to get in it. I’m excited.

Shortly after I found out about the show, someone on Freecycle gave me a large box of velvet jewelry displays. What a blessing!

That same day, another person posted a huge lot of beads on Freecycle. It turns out their house was just a few minutes from mine, and it was several thousand beads – that I already use. It was so amazing to just sit back and see how God was providing already.

Now I have the fun job of making enough jewelry to fill the displays. I have no idea what to expect, since it’s the first year of this craft fair and it’s my first time selling jewelry face-to-face. But you have to start somewhere, right?

I’m excited. If you’re local to me and would like more details about the fair, feel free to send me an email. I’d love to see you there.

Smoothies are GREAT!!

Sunday: leftovers

Monday: meatballs and mashed potatoes

Tuesday: chicken velvet soup

Wednesday: baked chicken breast, whole wheat pasta

Thursday: mini meatloaves, brown rice, green beans

Friday: pizza night

Saturday: sloppy joes

The meals without veggies listed we’ll just decide then which veggie to eat from the freezer.

Breakfasts are eggs, scones, oatmeal, biscuits, grits, smoothies, and pancakes.

Lunches are sandwiches, wraps, macaroni and cheese, tuna salad, leftovers, etc. for the kids and lots of salads for Stephen and I.

Snacks are cheese, baby carrots, nuts, fresh fruit, smoothies, etc.

You can read more menu plans over at Orgjunkie.com.

The kids and I went pumpkin picking last week for a field trip. It was so much fun.

When we got there, we discovered this scarecrow was wearing a bee suit.

They had an observation hive there and we all really enjoyed looking at it.

Here you can see the queen. She has a green mark on her back. I enjoyed getting to see her since I’ve never seen the queen our own hive.

We also bought a little container of raspberries. They were huge. The boys’ expressions here just crack me up!

I wish I had taken more pictures, but we were too busy actually picking the pumpkins. Maybe next time. Our babysitter came along with us, and she took more pictures than I did. The only thing is, I haven’t seen them all yet. :O)