Fall Festival

I will be honest with you~ picking costumes this year was very difficult ~ at least for Savanna. Micah's costume was a no brainer. Anything Star Wars, but his preference was Luke Skywalker. We found tons of variations of the Luke Skywalker gear - all of which were perfectly appropriate. Savanna on the other hand, was a bit more of a challenge. I don't know who in the world designs these costumes, but I would love to give them my input. Savanna is 10 years old, and the sweet window of wanting to be a princess or Raggedy Ann has definitely closed. Instead the choices are - hmmm, how do I put this - not so modest. Fortunately we were able to find this super cute poodle skirt so she could dance the night away as a 50's chick. She looked adorable and we all had a great night at our community Fall Festival.
We were so excited that it was actually COLD! You never know in Florida!
Savanna has Anna, another PK {preacher's kid}, on her back. The girls became fast friends this afternoon. As we were setting up I overheard Anna ask Savanna what her name was. Savanna of course replied "Savanna". Anna then said "No- wrong- your name is McKayla". It was ridiculous funny and she said it with such authority, if you didn't know better you might believe her!
Kenley sporting a hot pink hairdo to match her outfit

Inflatable slides and ball pits ~ where were these things when we were growning up?

Brandy and her little scarecrow, Hunter ~ the new big brother!

Two of my most special friends. Kitty on the left is the wife of our Music Minister. You know us minister wives all have a very special bond. She is a great encourager and support. I love her so much!

On my right is my precious Sonja! I tell Sonja all the time I just love having a "miracle friend"! She has been fighting cancer for many years. It has been a terrible, long, hard battle. You name an organ, it has probably had a tumor. But a few weeks ago, I burst into tears when I opened my phone and read a text that said

Guess whose cancer is now in remission?

PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSING FLOW!

She said she couldn't actually call me because she knew we wouldn't be able to even communicate what with us both being the charter members of the crybaby club and all. She is my heart friend - our hearts have just been knit together. I can't explain it except I know the Lord put us together.

Aunt Hannah with her neice, the newest Auburn Fan

Hayley was a great help to me at the Stuffed Animal Walk although Benjamin and AJ gave her a hard time for being The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. I couldn't have made it without her because apparently I must have a case of adult onset Attention Deficit Disorder that caused me to get terribly side tracked by people to talk to or super cute babies in costume.

I love me some Lathan girls!!! How adorable is Morgan with the face mask?

Zac and Zoe came dressed as the Twister game and Indiana Jones.
Two thumbs up for creativity!!

The Bradley gang! Can you say PERSONALITY PLUS+++

One of my ALL TIME favorite stories is about Samuel (aka ~ the dino in the middle)

Last year when his adoption was being finalized, he sat with his parents in the judges' chambers. As the judge talked about the legal end of the procedings, Samuel raised his hand and said "Excuse me, could we quit all this 'yap yap yapping' and just get me adopted already?"

The judge paused, smiled, and then replied

"Absolutely"

Papers were signed

Samuel was officially adopted

And we all rejoiced!

Mercy Me~Johnny Diaz~Fee

We took the kids to their first REAL concert last night~ Mercy Me, Johnny Diaz, and Fee. I still remember my first concert when I was in 7th grade ~ Amy Grant at the Pensacola Civic Center. We had a wonderful worship experience last night and I hope we made some lifetime memories as well.

Johnny Diaz opened the night basically by making fun of himself for being a no-name, unheard of artist, & opening act. He even wrote and sang a song about being the opening act. It was hilarious! But what actually made it even funnier is that somewhere between the time when they booked him to be the opening act and the actual concert, his song More Beautiful You, has risen on the CM charts as the #1 hit song!

Savanna loves Mercy Me, but she was way more excited to hear Johnny Diaz. She became ECSTATIC when she got to meet him, get a CD signed, and yep, buy the t-shirt! We can officially say, "been there, seen it, bought the t-shirt!"

Johnny Diaz explained his inspiration for the song was his wife and how, after just being married for a year, he has discovered that women have an innate desire to feel beautiful. He challenged all the men in the audience to make their wives and daughters feel cherished and beautiful. Ultimately, as women, we need to see our self worth and beauty through the eyes of the Lord. If you have a daughter you need to buy her this CD! I don't care if she is 6, 16, or even 36 for that matter (this song even ministered to my heart!)

Here are a few of the lyrics just in case you have never been blessed to hear it...

Little girl fourteen flipping through a magazine

says she wants to look that way

but her hair isn't straight her body isn't fake

and she's always felt overweight

Well little girl fourteen I wish that you could see

that beauty is within your heart

and you were made with such care

your skin your body and your hair

are perfect just the way they are

THERE COULD NEVER BE A MORE BEAUTIFUL YOU

don't buy the lies disguises and hoops

they make you jump through

you were made to fill a purpose

that only you could do

so there could never be a more beautiful you!

We also got to snag a quick pic with Fee ~ they were super personable and seemed genuinely excited to meet their fans. They did an awesome job bringing our hearts and souls to the Throne of Grace by singing Glory to God and All Because of Jesus.

then came......MERCY ME!!!!
Micah whispered to me during the concert...
"this is what I am going to do when I grow up."
He got really excited when he noticed that the lead singer was dressed in exactly the same outfit as him...black collared shirt with rolled up sleeves, blue jeans, and cool-guy necklace! Not only did he look the part, he also hollered out to the audience periodically as if HE was leading in worship. He would say things like "Come on everyone ~ I know you can sing! Sing with me! God gave you a voice for a reason!"
Look at Savanna's precious face captured in these two pictures. Don't you wish we all worshiped the Lord with this kind of enthusiasm and excitement?
I bet He does too!
Micah had a little action figure that he brought with him to the concert. At one point, he raised the hands of the action figure and said "Look Mom, He's praising the Lord too!"
PRICELESS!

Pumpkin Carving

Over the years we've gotten a little bit smarter with this project. This is no longer an indoor activity - we moved pumpkin carving onto the back porch so we could enjoy the beautiful fall weather and not worry about what kind of messy fun we ended up having. Remarkably, we also discovered that our two crazy dogs have some sort of weird craving for pumpkin pulp and pumpkin seeds. They sat begging at the children's feet and would run off with any scraps that hit the ground. That actually only lasted until Brian started grilling steaks a few feet away, and then they were a bit more interested in what he was doing.

We found the best little carving kit at Target with kid friendly tools. They worked so hard and looked so cute trying to saw into those silly pumpkins.

Savanna has an incredibly strong sense of smell -{ always has! }- and the smell from the pumpkin "guts" was almost more than she could take!

Micah's face says it all!

Micah was so proud of Savanna for getting her hands good & dirty and digging with all her might to get the pulp out of the pumpkin. Last year she would hardly touch it but this year she was a woman on a mission. Not only did she get all the pulp out but she also sorted through it so we could roast the pumpkin seeds later.

PUMPKIN PRAYER

Dear Jesus, as I carve my pumpkin, help me pray this prayer

OPEN my MIND so I can learn about you...

Know that the Lord is God (Psalm 100:3)

TAKE OUT all my sin and forgive the wrong I do...

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us(1 John 1:9)

Open my EYES so Your love I will see...

Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law (Psalm 119:18)

I'm sorry for times I have turned up my NOSE at what you've given to me...

Create in me a clean heart, O God (Psalm 51:10)

Open my EARS so Your Word I will hear...

Incline your ear, and come to Me (Isaiah 55:3)

Open my MOUTH to tell others You're near...

I shall declare the works of the Lord (Psalm 118:17)

Let your LIGHT shine in all I say and do...

Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16)

AMEN!

Fall Treats

We got all our supplies together to make some yummy fall treats. As Micah and I were getting everything out on the counter, we realized that the Symphony candy bar (which is the best part of the stuffed brownies) was somehow missing. We ended up finding it in the back of the van with some other bags of stuff for the church where it had been for the past two days. Needless to say, it had taken on a new "form" due to our crazy weather.


That little bump in the road didn't stop us though!


The kids carefully measured, poured, and stirred.

And although the candy bar didn't break apart in the nice neat rectangles as intended, we made due. If you have never made these, they are the BEST BEST BEST brownies you can ever make. I am all about giving credit where credit is due, but for the life of me I can not remember where I got this recipe. Anyways, all you do is pour brownie mix into this nifty little flowery cupcake pan from pampered chef and then stuff a chunk of the chocolate, toffee, and almond Symphony bar into each little "flower". Once they cook you have this delicious ooey, gooey goodness inside each little flowery brownie.

We also dipped pretzels rods in orange chocolate and rolled it around in reeses pieces.

TA-DA! The finished products!

Sunday School Party

Our Couples Sunday School class loves to have fellowships. We got together this week for a soup and salad social and let the kids play. It was so funny because the we had our party at the Lodge which is full of amazing things to do like tennis, swimming pools, playground, workout room, etc... But instead, our kids entertained themselves by rolling down a hill. I mean, over and over, they kept rolling down the hill. It was absolutely precious! They just giggled and giggled ~ it's the simple things in life that bring a smile to my face.

We finally made them stop so they would come eat dinner.

Ryan and Kaden found a tree to climb

Ally, Rilee, and Savanna spent the night making up cheers to entertain us all.

The little boys pretended to be bucking broncos
The big boys spent the evening enjoying some good ole football. We warned Curtis not to loose his testimony if Alabama didn't win, but fortunately they pulled off a win!

Church Homecoming

Our church celebrated Homecoming today with a wonderful worship service, dinner on the grounds, and a huge inflatable obstactle course for all to enjoy after lunch.

WARNING~ I took a ton of pics!
Purvis boys -- On your mark, get set, GO!
Savanna and Matthew rolling around waiting for their turn
I was so proud of all our teenagers and how they tried so hard to help the little ones.

Angel giving MacKenzie and Hannah a boost up

Megan is a senior in high school and one of Micah's FAVORITE people to be around. She has that wonderfully contagious joy that is such a delight! She also has that life of the party personality like Micah, so when the two of them get together there is always fun!

All the youth were trying so hard to help out Jackson get over the rock climbing wall. He got SO mad everytime somebody touched him. He would scream, let go, and fall right back to the bottom. The teenagers finally left him alone and he was able to climb it ALL BY HIMSELF!

The kids were so excited when Preacher joined the party and went through the obstacle course too. Every child there wanted to race the Preacher!

I love the way Jerah is pointing at Brian as if she can't believe he's doing this!

Then Brian challenged our Music Minister Bro. Phil...this was a real crowd pleaser

I guess they broke the ice because before you knew it several grandmas joined in on the fun

I love this picture of Susan tying her skirt up so she can play with her boys.

TOO FUNNY!

Where there's a will, there's a way!

Here comes Mrs. Amy!

MacKenzie and her mom Stephanie raced each other

We were all a little nervous when Bobby lined up to race with his son Spencer. Anybody remember Pooh Bear getting stuck in that hole?

He made it!

Micah hamming it up for the camera

Marshall and Meredith ~our local love birds! I am kinda hoping this pic might end up in a future wedding slide show {wink, wink!}

Savanna was pooped after who even knows how many trips through the obstacle course. She curled up and took a little break there at the end.

It was a beautiful fall day spent with our wonderful church family.