Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin bread is one of my favorite things to bake in the fall. It makes the house smell so good and everyone around here loves it. This is a recipe I found in a magazine years ago, it's the best one I've ever tried. I doctor mine up a little to make it a little healthier, so I've added those changes in case you want to try it that way. It makes a good breakfast.
Pumpkin Bread
1/3 cup shortening (I use butter or coconut oil instead)
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/3 cup water
1 2/3 cups flour (I use 1 cup all purpose and 2/3 whole wheat flour, I also add 2 TBS of milled flax seed)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Cream butter and add sugar and vanilla.
Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
Gently mix in water.
Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in another bowl.
Add gradually to the butter mixture and beat until smooth.
Add pumpkin and mix gently.
Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.

Today's Five

I'm thankful for...

1. Cool weather.

2. Celestial Seasons Mandarin Orange (decaf) Green Tea.

3. Two good fall festivals this weekend- one at school and one at church. They were both lots of fun.

4. Being able to put library books on hold from any library in our system from my den. I have been able to get the best books to go with my classroom themes without any running around. They deliver them, I get an automated call, and they are ready when I get there. How great!

5. My washer and dryer. I so don't love doing laundry, so I'm trying to look at the bright side.

The Pumpkin Patch

It's a yearly tradition to get all the kids together for a trip to the pumpkin patch. It's a little harder to organize now that there are so many, but it's always worth the effort. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day.


It all begins with the hayride out to the pumpkin patch. We ended up on two different tractors on the way there, but here are some of us.


Then the search begins...




Here are a few of the keepers...



Lexi and her speckled pumpkin.






We always have to try to get at least one picture of all the kids together. That is no small task. It was worth it this year if only for the second shot of Grant and Elijah.





Then, perhaps my favorite picture of the day, Grant running through the hay maze. Todd snapped this picture as Grant rounded the corner. It captured the pure joy of the moment. I love it!

The Georgia Aquarium

Since I first heard that the Georgia Aquarium would house whale sharks, I've wanted to go. I wanted to see one in person. During Grant's fall break we took the trip. It was perfect timing. My sister in law Melissa and her two little people were able to join us. There were no crowds. We were able to take our time, in fact, we stayed until closing. The kids did super. It was a great day.


The Georgia Aquarium is the largest aquarium in the world and is home to over 100,000 fish.
The whale sharks were incredible. I was not disappointed. We were able to talk to one of the divers that gets to swim in the big football field sized tank. That is my dream job, by the way. He told us that even though the whale sharks are enormous, their esophagus is only the size of a quarter. All of the other fish in the tank are safe. :) They "spoon feed" the whale sharks by shoveling pounds of krill over their mouths each day.
The beluga whales were also fantastic. They were so graceful. It looked like they were doing ballet in the tank.

These pictures don't do it justice. If you can get there, it's worth the trip.

Today's Five

1. Clean sheets.

2. Samaritan's Purse and the Shoebox ministry. What a great way to share Jesus.

3. The Dollar Tree.

4. Getting to spend time Saturday night with good friends we just don't get to see enough.

5. Grant's fantastic report card.

Today's Five

1. Lunch with a great bunch of college kids that just really are a joy to be around. There is a side benefit- I feel about 10 years younger when I'm with them.

2. Watching a dear friend's daughter have the desire to make her devotion to Jesus public today through baptism. It was such a beautiful moment of witnessing an answered prayer. Way to go, Laney!

3. A new monster mug!!!!!!! Many months ago I blogged about the sad day I broke my monster mug. Today at church, Amy (and Jennifer) handed me a package with a brand new monster mug inside! I know how hard it was to find, but they found one and surprised me with it. How sweet was that?

4. Todd scrubbed the shower in our bathroom yesterday.

5. The guest room is clean!

Today's five

I haven't blogged much lately. By the time I get things wrapped up for the day, I'm too tired to do much else. So once Grant is tucked into bed, I lay down on the couch, start watching a re-run of something and usually fall asleep within 15 minutes.

But this morning, during my quiet time, I was just thinking about life and several things that made me smile popped into my mind and it just felt like the time to blog.

I am thankful for...

1. Our community group friends.

2. Granny Smith apples.

3. Fall break starts tomorrow and Grant and I are finally going to get to go to the Georgia Aquarium! We have both been waiting for a while to see those whale sharks.

4. What God has taught me through the seemingly secondary characters in the Bible over the last few weeks. Jonathan, Hezekiah, and Saul's armor bearer. Everyone has a story and every story is important. There are no secondary characters to God- not then, not now.

5. Grant's class is having a "Willie Wonka" party today since his teacher just finished reading them the book. They are going to watch the original movie and eat chocolate. So each child needed to bring something chocolate. He chose Swiss Cake Rolls for his snack and since he only needs to take one, there will be some left at home.:) There is just something about those cheap little chocolate treats. :)