It's the most wonderful time of the year...

How fun to shop for our Samaritan's Purse OCC shoebox gifts this year!  We love to go to the Dollar Tree since we can get lots of bang for our bucks.  While the girls did each fill a box for a girl their age, the rest of us made them for boys, age 10-14.  Apparently that is the category that lacks the most boxes and they often have to give the older boys a girl's box.  We bought lots of extras for that age group as our church is also having a packing party on November 10th.  The best part was watching one of my blessings pull out an extra $10 of their own hard earned money to buy more gifts.

If you've never had the pleasure of packing a box for a child in need, this is the year to give it a try.  You will be blessed as you share the Good News about Christmas.

Necessary projects

In September we had to take some preventative measures to insure our basement stays dry next year.  Our driveway has a tendency of draining all the water into this little basement window (above).  Here you can see it after they removed the sidewalk (forgot a before photo) and below is the retaining wall we had removed.  It was made of old railroad ties, which had rotted out and was beginning to crumble from all the erosion.

When the Amish & Mennonite workers were done, we had this beautiful sidewalk, window well and cement retaining wall.  I can't imagine how the water can get in there now.

I also had an opportunity for patience as before the workers even left, someone's little footprints were accidentally imbedded in the corner of the new sidewalk. :)  Not a major thing in the grand scheme of life.

A fruitful harvest

We had a great garden harvest this year and take a look at these heirloom tomatoes!  Beautiful!  I've been able to put up lots of pickled foods and sauces, not to mention what we got to eat fresh.  So tahnkful for God's bounty.

Here is a shot of our garden with the heavy mulch we laid down around it.  It was wonderful not having to weed it this year and very rarely did we have to water it.  It may just be worth all that work.

Family Reunion

At the end of July, we made the long drive to Maryland to have a Murphy family reunion.  It was a full week but since I'm so far behind, I'll just share our "big gang" photos.  It was great to catch up with everyone and make some new memories.

The original Murphy gang - in all their silly glory.

The kiddos enjoying their grandparents.

Oh yes, and Boo had such a great time painting this milk house door with her Uncle Randy.  Grandma loved the end results on her property and a new relationship has bloomed between these two.

Memory Lane

This is Jen and we go way back to Junior High School.  It's fun to look back and remember all the things we've experienced together, even when we eventually moved in together as roommates.  Life gets busy and living in different states keeps us pretty far apart.  What a gift to me when she opted to drive 7 hours to meet me in CO this summer!  Bless her!

We spent two relaxing and refreshing days in Breckenridge, CO, enjoying the beauty of nature and of each others company.  We stayed in this mountaintop resort (look at the top left of the photo and you can imagine the view from our room) and it was amazing.  Most importantly was the joy we had in sharing what God has been up to in our lives and families over the years.  Two days just wasn't enough but it was SUCH a gift!

Camp Como

July has been filled with adventure.  This photo shows you just who accompanied me on the journey to Colorado, a 14 hour drive in a 15 passenger van across the plains of Kansas.  I actually had volunteered to go for just that drive, as an assistant chauffeur, and had no idea what God would have in store for me while I was there.  He worked out all the details to make me available and I just had to trust the outcome to Him.

In addition to watching 3 of my kids "encounter the mountain wilderness", I got to know some fun teens, met some wonderful college students and connected with my kids youth pastor on a deeper level.  We climbed boulders, cliffs and mountains and the finale was a 12,500 ft peak named "Little Baldy".  It was a daunting climb but I kept up with all the youngsters.  I was rewarded with this beautiful view from the top and left a little monument on the rock (above) for another explorer to find. 

Granted, my adventure blessed me in many ways (including one I'll share on my next post) but it did come at a cost to my comfort zone.  Lack of showers, sleeping on the ground in an Indian teepee (that was a struggle), outhouses,  lack of regular showers and the smell of stinky, teenager feet next to my sleeping bag each night.  Despite the "hardships", I'm so thankful I stepped out of my comfort zone, saw the world through the eyes of a teenager again, enjoyed the overwhelming beauty of God's creation, connected with people whose experiences are worlds away from my own and worshiped God Who gave me this escape.  BUT, it is good to be back at home in my bed. :)

A June full of "camping"

Our first week was church Day Camp as we all helped with a 3 day VBS at church.  The older kids filled many roles including a skit (pictured below), Boo was a camper, my man taught kids archery and I was the potter.  Lots of work but lots of fun.

The next week was Boo's turn for a 3 day survival skills camp at the Conservation Department.  The skills they learned were based on the children's book, Hatchet, and were lots of fun I'm told.  Here she is at camp with a good buddy.

During the same week, Spiderman & Goose attended Camp ER where they had hands-on science all week long, especially related to the anatomy/medical world.  They had an incredible time.

The following week was the older 3's turn to experience the same survival camp that Boo had been through. 

Top all this off with a fun visit with Aunt Laura, who rode her little scooter all the way from Chicago.  June was a blur but one filled with lots of fun opportunities.  (I don't see our summer slowing down until August)  :)