For Every Season

It is officially fall, Autumn, a beautiful time of year.  But this is it hits me differently.  Today, I attended a graveside service of a dear friend of mine.  She was my Pastor, friend, confidant; she taught me so much.  In particular, she taught me about "seasons".    This was probably one of the first lessons I heard her teach. It was at a women's event and I was fairly new to the church - but it struck a chord with me.  She shared how each season has its own beauty - but often we overlook it as we wait in anticipation for the next season.  When we are single, we can't wait for the season of dating.  When dating, awaiting the season of marriage.  When newlywed, awaiting the season of children.  When exhausted with caring for a family, the season of empty nest is appealing.  But when you focus on what you don't have or the season you are yet to see, you miss out on the season you are in.  God has something for you today, in this season.  Don't miss what God has for you today as you look toward the future.  Enjoy this season!

God tells us in the Book of Ecclesiastes:

To everything there is a season,  A time for every purpose under heaven, A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones;   A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain,  And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; A time to tear,  And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.


I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever.  Nothing can be added to it,
      And nothing taken from it. 

This is a new season.  For her family.  For her church.  For her friends.  For me.  I will truely miss her but I have the peace of know that for those who know Jesus Christ as Savior, to be absence from the body is to be present with the Lord.   In that knowledge, I can rejoice in this season.

With Love, 

Tammy

In loving memory of Linda S. Graves

Auntie Joyce Had a Farm, E-I-E-I-O!

Auntie Joyce Had a Farm, E-I-E-I-O!

Aunt Joyce is one of our favorites.  And her home is amazing.  Not amazing in the sense that it is a "mansion overlooking the city with an amazing view", but amazing in the sense that it is the place of family.  And while its not really a "farm", there is a garden and a beautiful old barn with a lovely clematis growing on the side that just speaks of a photo opportunity.

This last labor day weekend, it was a weekend of parties.  A wedding and a family reunion.   But in the center of all that activity, it was about family.  The wedding deserves a blog all on its own...that will come.  So today its about family.

At the farm, Cora and Jarrett busied themselves with picking berries.  They were so proud of their harvest sharing berries with anyone who would have a bite.

And on that farm, she had some boys....... 

Family doesn't get together without some sort of sport going on.  Today, it was soccer.   The Reidt boys led the pack with some full-contact soccer.  This is really how things should be done.

And on that farm she had some men...

While the boys played, the men talked...

 ...and talked...

 ...and talked...

...and talked.

After all, this is what family is about too.  Sharing our lives with one another... The wisdom from founding fathers (Uncle Dennis, Dad, Tom, Chuck, Rick) sharing with the up and coming amazing leaders God has given our family (Jeff, Vincent, Mark, Alan, Todd, Jared, Mike, etc)

oh ya, and food!  

And on that farm she had some food...

The Stones can definitely cook a good meal.  Today, it was thanks to all of the aunts, cousins, wives, and anyone willing to cook...and Mike (Thanks Templemans!)

I loved Jen's Rosemary Limeade (I want that recipe).

Food was definitely a topic of discussion this time.  It seems like everyone is on some type of "lifestyle change" (its not a diet!).  Vegan, plant-based, non-dairy, vegetarian, whatever is convenient at the moment, type of eating plan.  Made for an interesting selection of foods.  

But no matter what you wanted to eat - you could find it.  And, it tasted amazing.  Especially, the Rosemary Limeade (have I told you Jen I want the recipe?!?).

And on this farm she has some LOVE!

Our family loves each other.  And it definitely shows.  We really shouldn't wait until the next wedding to all get together, but we should love each other and talk to each other and break bread with each other continually.   After all, that is what God's example is to us.  Life is busy and daily commitments and distance can easily keep us apart.  But no matter what, we are family.  We can rely on each other, encourage each other, love each other.  We are united by blood and by the love we have of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Having the security of our eternal purposes in Jesus give us peace that surpasses all, that keeps us focused on the important things and not the insignificant things.

 Every time I think of you, I thank my God. And whenever I mention you in my prayers, it makes me happy. This is because you have taken part with me in spreading the good news from the first day you heard about it. God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain that he won't stop before it is complete on the day that Christ Jesus returns.

Phil 1:3-6 

Thank you Aunt Joyce for opening up your home again and again for our family to love each other again and again!

With love,
-t.

Urban Farming = Life Lesson

It started as a little project one Saturday afternoon.  Daddy's trip to Home Depot for lawn supplies ends up bringing back a little kid's greenhouse.  Just a few tomato and pepper seeds in a little plastic greenhouse - it was fun "planting" the seeds in the tiny dirt discs and watering the plants with an eye dropper.  Neither Jeff nor I really thought it would grow, let alone turn into a garden - but it did.

So the little plants grew and grew and outgrew their tiny pots - so we replanted them into a window pot and put in on the back deck.

I made little garden markers to identify which plants were which.  And Jarrett, daddy and mommy faithfully watered the "garden" every day.

This weekend, we discovered the fruit of our labor. - TOMATOES!

They are small and they are still green, but we never thought that planting little seeds in June would amount to real tomatoes.

The peppers starting blooming white tiny flowers too....so its possible that we might actually get a little harvest.  

It just goes to show you that no matter how small you may be or how late you start, God's laws of sowing and reaping are true.  Sometimes as a mom you think that you aren't making any progress or little impact in the lives of your kids.  That's not true.  Every "seed" produces fruit.  Just have patience and trust in God to bring the increase.

Paul says it here, "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase" (1 Cor 3:6)

God's Word can't return void, so keep speaking it over your family, keep speaking it over your own life.  The demands of just living can sometimes overwhelm - but stay focused on the Word of God and His promises for your life.  This will produce the greatest "harvest" for you and your family.

Walking for a Cause

This last weekend, our church sponsored a benefit walk/run for an orphanage we are building and supporting in Indonesia.  It was one of the funnest fundraisers we've done in a long time.

This race wasn't competitive - just a fun event for lots of friends and family to come out and participate. And come out we did....over 100 walkers/joggers.  It was a blast! 

Jarrett buckled up on the jogging stroller for his "run".  He was excited to be part of it!

Even a clown on a unicycle joined it!  How fun!

Miles for Mercy Benefit Walk/Run - 2011

Our family completed the race with great success (a whopping 24 min - yes, a "leisurely walk").  And we raised over $8000 for the orphanage - an even bigger success!

Inflatables - The Joys of a 3 Yr. Old

Our HOA had a neighborhood party, but it seems like the only thing we saw was the bouncy houses. They really weren't houses, more like something you would see on "Wipeout!"

Needless to say, Jarrett was in inflatable heaven. The climb started out looking ok, but it turned out to be pretty steep.

Yet, he was determined to make it. And he did. I was proud.

The slide was fun, and a few tumbles were taken along the way. But the little daredevil discovered that more fun could be had with his many "superhero" moves that he has perfected.

A Huge Leap to start off the Slide

Landing half-way down the slide was too much fun!

We didn't meet many people from our part of the neighborhood, but it was fun just the same.
Sometimes, the most fun  you can have as a mom is seeing the smiles on your child's face.  When that happens, time stops and the moments of joy and laughter are savored.  

All of this because of some hot air.    If you think about it for a minute, it can really challenge you.  When you are in that moment of frustration and "hot air", you can choose one of two ways to influence those around you:  (1)  anger and hurt from your frustration, or (2)  joy and laughter from you taking the hot air and turning it into something fun and exciting.

Which will you choose?

"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive."

Gen 50:20

A Typical Thursday Night!

Thursday Nights: Farmer's Market

I love Thursday nights. It almost always entails a stop at our local Farmer's Market.

There is something about it - shopping in the open air market - that just can clear my head. Seeing the fresh produce, knowing where it was grown and discovering which farm you like the best. For me, I always start at my favorite booth, Schriebber and Sons Farms. There I found the sweetest kale, herbs, swiss chard and artichoke hearts. I just about had to wrestle a lady's gay-husband for the last kale, but it was worth it. Then on to get peppers, purple potatoes and fresh cherry tomatos - reds, yellows and purples! I cant wait to make a caprese salad and saute some over fresh whole wheat pasta. The possiblities are endless. Necterines & golden raspberries round it out for a dessert to be created, maybe a smoothie.

Can't you just taste it?

Let's get cooking!

Becoming Good Friends with Cousins

We just had the most amazing 2 jam-packed weeks with our family from Huntington Beach.  We had a fair, days at the water park, Nascar, family reunion, not to mention the reason why everyone came in the first place - a wedding!  And while all the hustle and bustle was fun, the most important thing for us was the friendships that were made among the cousins.  Here are some highlights of the hundreds of pictures that were taken over the last 2 weeks:

FAIR DAYS

JARRETT & LIZZY

LIZZY

NANNY & JARRETT

UNCLE MARK & ABBY

JARRETT & PIGS

CORA, LIZZY & JARRETT & PIGS

ITS A TURKEY

IS THAT A CHICKEN MOM?

SCOTT & LIZZY @ KIDS SCIENCE EXHIBIT

JARRETT 

JARRETT'S FEET MUST HAVE BEEN GLUED TO THE GRASS BECAUSE WE COULDN'T GET HIM TO LEAVE THIS STATION.

WAITING FOR MUTTON BUSTIN'

HANGING ON THE FENCE

CAN YOU SEE THE RESEMBLANCE? I THINK THEY ARE RELATED!

TESSA JOINS THE GROUP @ OLD MACDONALD'S FARM

SCOTT, CORA & LIZZY

FACE PAINTING

JARRETT'S SPIDERMAN

CORA'S PANDA

LIZZY'S FAIRY EYES

BACK ROW:  CORA, SCOTT
FRONT ROW: JARRETT, TESSA, LIZZY

PLAY TIME:

SCOTT, CORA, JARRETT, LIZZY, TESSA, ABBY

LET'S SWING

BABY ABBY GETS IN ON THE FUN

SWIMMING TIME:

TESSA & CORA

BABY ABBY

BABY ABBY

UNCLE KURT & TESSA

GARDENING:

CORA & JARRETT PICKING BERRIES

SHARING WITH FAV. AUNTIE JOYCE

LOOK AT ALL THE BERRIES!

BED TIME:

CORA READING, "EVERYONE POOPS" (INSERT LAUGH HERE)

SCOTT READING, "DINOSAURS LOVE UNDERPANTS"

ALL TUCKERED OUT

It was sad to see them leave.  Jarrett has asked everyday for his cousins to come back and play again.  Its hard to explain to a 3 year old distance and how its not the same coming to Washington from California as it is just going across town.  But we will figure it out and look forward to another visit with our cousins and good friends.  After all, we are family and we stick close together.  Maybe next time it will be on the beach in a tent.....