Fall Fun

The kids and I carved some pumpkins and then roasted the seeds. It was a really beautiful day and we had a good time carving these designs. The pumpkin above is our 13 year old sons. He wanted just the traditional pumpkin. He asked his sister to draw the face on it and then he did all of the carving.



Our 15 year old daughter decided to carve the Rebel Alliance Insignia. When you see how they both dressed up you'll understand.

Here is the pumpkin I carved on behalf of the three youngest boys ages 6, 4 and 2. You can see why Mommy did the carving...knives and little ones don't mix. I think I found the picture in the magazine, Real Simple. I just drew the face on there and started cutting. Pretty basic I know, but I am not very artistic.

We aren't the most creative pumpkin carvers that's for sure but we have a good time doing it. Next year we want to try doing pumpkin scraping. The results you can achieve are amazing. Here is one done by my dear friend's daughter. She walked across the United States this summer with Crossroads and is a delightful young lady who loves sharing her stance on life.

Here is our youngest pirate riding to the Fall Festival we went to in lieu of trick or treating door to door.

The Sun is Really Bright

Now I'm Watching the Movie

It was called Trunk or Treat. A local church had cars lined up that people had decorated their trunks with any theme they wanted. The kids walked from trunk to trunk collecting treats and even playing games and shooting hockey pucks into a hockey net. They even had a rock climbing wall and a fire engine and police cars that the kids could get inside of and so much more. It was a nice night for the kids.

Here they all are all dressed up. We had three pirates, Han Solo and Princess Leia.

I actually sewed Leia's costume. I am not a seamstress, so this was a huge undertaking. My daughter found pictures of a costume that a young woman had designed herself and we took notes, studied the picture and then just went for it. We both were blown away at how great it turned out. My daughter made the belt herself!! It was awesome.

Now lets talk about a sweet raw treat. How about a carob chia pudding?

Carob and Nut Butter Chia Pudding
I threw this together and it was really yummy. You also could make a vanilla version by omitting the nut butter and the carob. I went for the carob nut butter version.

Carob and Nut Butter Chia Pudding
2 bananas
1/2 C chia gel (or you could use Irish Moss)
1/3 C  cashews, soaked 1 hour
3 Medjool dates, pitted and soaked
pinch sea salt
1 T lecithin
2 T raw nut butter of choice
2-4 T carob powder
Process all in the food processor and enjoy!
~JMJ~ Today I am grateful that our children are not your typical kids. I have been around some interesting kids lately due to our daughter's volunteering. She is on a Teen Court which is responsible for deciding the sanctions for juvenile criminals. I sit in shock as I watch these teens, the ones volunteering on Teen Court, interact and see how they dress and talk. It is a real shocker for me since I am in my own little world here as I plug away at educating my kids at home, trying to instill morals, purity and just basic decency and manners. I am happy inside my little bubble, I must say. The world is frightening and I thank God everyday that my kids don't have to be a part of all the foolishness out there quite yet.Time will come soon enough for them when they head off to college, but at least for now they aren't forced to be a part of it five days of the week.They can observe from afar and steer clear of all that junk. I can't tell you how many of these juvenile criminals say that it was pressure from their peers that led them to commit these crimes!!  Keep any sharp objects away from my bubble please!
Peace and Raw Health--E.