Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

My roommate found this recipe (allrecipes.com) and we have already baked these yummy cookies twice. They are amazing and disappear quite fast. I made some to give to my volleyball girls this week for their tournaments (and for my roommates to enjoy as well!). I thought I would share this yummy goodness with you as well!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies III

Ingredients:

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2. Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.
3. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

Yields 2 dozen.

The Perfect Fall Day

On Saturday, Micah called me asking if I wanted to join them at the pumpkin patch. Of course! :) We had a great time, it was really the perfect fall day. We went to Swanson's nursery which had a ton of free kids activities including a hay ride, a hay maze, face painting, potato car making and pumpkin decorating. Micah loved it and Levi especially liked the hay maze.

Heather taking the boys for a wagon ride while we waited for the hay ride.

I love the very different expressions on both boys faces. Micah is super excited and Levi really isn't so sure.

It took us a while to get Levi to cooperate for this picture!

Levi peeking at me through the hay.

I can't figure out how to flip this video, hopefully you can get the gist of it. Levi was so proud of his walking skills.

Levi's Birthday Weekend

The whole family was together for Levi's first birthday. It was a great weekend full of laughs and fun times. Here are some photos to document the weekend. Levi really enjoyed his cake once he figured out what it was. I think he loved all of the attention and laughs he was getting most of all.

Levi was trying to figure out what this big orange ball was.

The cousins ready for an infamous Bobst/Scott/VanArsdel family walk.

Cute baby Elias enjoying some snuggles with Gramma.

I love this video. This is proof that we have some music talent in our family.

Grammy

Today has been a bittersweet day as I remember one year ago when Grammy passed. It is hard to put into words the emotions/thoughts I have had over the last day. I am definitely thankful that Grammy is no longer in pain, for those that knew her...you know how much constant pain she was in. The last time I saw her, I had a feeling that it could be my last time I saw her so I soaked in all of the moments with her that I could. I let her squeeze me tight and rest her head against me as she hugged me. I listened to her stories of what happened in her day and I let her see more of a glimpse into my life. I treasured that time just for the simple reason that I could be with her and in the midst of severe pain, she still wanted to sit down and chat...not about herself but about me. She went on and on about how proud she was of me and how special I was. I will never forget those last few summer days that I spent with her.

A few months later, the night before I was to start my master's classes, I was talking to her and Grampy on the phone and sharing my apprehension about teaching, coaching and becoming a student again. She went on and on about how she believed in me and knew I could do all of this. She knew I was going to learn a lot and that I wouldn't give up. It was like she knew this might be the last time I chat with her. Looking back, I am so thankful for that conversation as there have been many stressful moments over the last year and when the tears start to come and just when I think I can't do it anymore, I am reminded of Grammy's words. Those were the last words that were shared between us and I will forever cherish that conversation.

I wish I had a picture of Grammy to share with you but I have none to offer at the moment. For now, I will share some things about Grammy that I so loved and/or admired:

1) her "teehee" giggle (which has been playing in my head all day today)
2) her sweet and caring spirit that had such a way of letting anyone in her presence know that they were valued, significant and loved
3) her hospitality and generosity (I don't think I ever in my life walked away from being with Grammy without a gift of some kind)
4) her quiet yet steadfast faith
5) her constant knowledge of what was going on in the world and never leaving out her opinion :)

I celebrated Grammy today. I tried to do some things throughout the day that would celebrate her: enjoyed a yummy chocolate crossant, took a few minutes to enjoy the beautiful fall colors, took some time to tell some people in my life how valuable they are, went to Ross with my sister (yes, Grammy LOVED that place), watched some Wheel of Fortune, took time to just be still and reflect on God and life. These are all things that Grammy enjoyed and things I hope to carry for the rest of my life (well maybe, MOST of these things) :).

Grammy, I love you and celebrate you today. Thank you for teaching me to value the small things, truly caring about others and giggling when it is needed the most. I miss you so but am thankful that you are in a place free of pain and able to walk around with Jesus, just waiting for us to join you. I cannot wait for that day. I treasure the 10+ years I was able to live only a few miles from your house, the many sleepovers at your house, the shopping trips, and your constant belief that I should be everyone's personal shopper! :) I miss you dearly but am determined to become a better person because of you and what you have taught me through living your faith out and truly caring about every single person that ever came in contact with you.

Awesome Article

Recently, I went to a showing of Invisible Children's newest film titled "Rescue and Recovery". This organization is incredible and I applaud those who are seeking after justice and to stop child soldiers from being abducted. This is a very sad situation and we are have no idea what is going on over there. I encourage you to check out Invisible Children's website to learn more about what is happening and what they are doing to help stop it. It is pretty incredible that these three college students had a heart for this and went all in. They are making huge differences because they followed their hearts and what God was leading them to do.

Anyways, one of my favorite musicians, Jon Foreman (lead singer of Switchfoot) wrote a fascinating article for the Invisible Children blog that has challenged and inspired me. I thought I would share it with you. Here is the link:

http://blog.invisiblechildren.com/?p=2167

He gets it and I love it. I hope you are as challenged, inspired and encouraged as I was after reading this article. We are called to something greater and should live in that truth.