Checking In

I know I've been pretty quiet these past couple weeks - there's just been a lot happening. So hold on tight as I plow through the random bits!

• This past Saturday was our annual Fall Fest. Hubby and I coordinate this event with one other couple, and it requires quite a bit of time. I'm happy to say that all went well, though. The guys cooked 212 pounds of pork over an open fire, and it was scrumptious. We came home with some leftovers, too, so we've been enjoying those this week.


• I've been spending more time in the kitchen. I'd slipped into the habit of using prepackaged foods a bit too often, and it's better for us AND our budget for me to do get back to mostly "from scratch" meals. I made a yummy pancit with some leftover pork (didn't fry the noodles, though, and added even more veggies), and last night I made a big pot of black bean soup after dinner specifically so I could freeze individual portions to grab for a quick lunch. I've also discovered that mixed greens with a bit of red onion, half a mango, and light Italian dressing is really, really good (add a slab of multigrain crispbread, and I'm a happy camper!). Enough talk about food - I'm getting hungry! :)


• Our church is doing a photo directory, so we headed up there for family pictures. I had carefully coordinated our outfits and had high hopes, but was really disappointed with the results (odd poses, crazy smiles from the kidlets, etc). After talking with some friends, though, I'm rather thankful that we didn't want to purchase any of the photos, as the prices were pretty steep.


• Hubby flew out this morning for a business trip to Texas/Mexico. He'll only be gone 4 days this time, but that doesn't make me miss him any less!


• Less than two weeks until the election... I'll be relieved that the campaigning portion is over, but regardless of who wins, I think our nation is going to be going through some really difficult things. I pray that those in leadership will be willing to make the difficult decisions - ones that may be unpopular, but will re-establish a firm foundation.


• I'm teaching the 2/3 YO class this month, so have a few more preparations for the lesson. We're currently using the Faithweaver* curriculum, and I'm really liking it. I'm enjoying the adult classes (it's been neat to go back through the Old Testament stories that I haven't necessarily thought about in awhile and really dig in) and the children's curriculum is done well, too.


• Fall has definitely arrived here in Pennsylvania! We had our first frost earlier this week, the leaves are covering the ground (really need to rake soon), and I've been drinking hot tea pretty much every evening. Oh, how I love this season!

Well, I think that about covers it all - for now, anyway :)

*The main Faithweaver site is down right now, but I thought this website explained the program really well