Pumpkins

We picked up some nice pumpkins last weekend at the Pumpkin Ranch in Winterset and were trying to figure out how to best display them. Heather did some searching on the world wide web and found some glittered pumpkins that looked fun...so we decided to give our pumpkins a little sparkle.
We brushed the pumpkins with Mod Podge first and then dumped on the glitter. We used a pink on the orange pumpkins and an orange glitter on the white pumpkin. After the Mod Podge dried, I gave it a coat of clear poly to try and seal the sparkle!
...and the finished product!

Pumpkins with sparkle!

How are you displaying your pumpkins this year?

GARRETT'S POPCORN!

If you want to bring a smile to Heather's face and happen to be going through Chicago, stop into one of the Garrett's Popcorn shops and pick her up a bag of their Chicago Mix...pick one up for yourself too because it is AMAZING!
Heather's mom flew through the Chicago airport yesterday on her way back to Des Moines, so Heather asked her before she left...and texted her that morning to pick up some Garrett's popcorn. The airport does have a Garrett's Popcorn kiosk!

The Chicago mix is a blend of their caramel corn and their cheesy corn

Everyone at our house loves this popcorn!...but Riley rarely gets a taste of Garrett's popcorn!

...and if you are running the Chicago Marathon this weekend, good luck and get some popcorn while you are in town!

Fall Food

With fall sneaking up on us, we officially made the switch at our house, our fall decorations came out, we switched our bedding to our fall bedding and our recipes have more fall flavors. One of our favorite fall recipes is Glazed Stuffed Pork Chops from KraftFoods.com (click on the link for the full recipe)
Stuff the pork chop with stuffing made with apple juice (we have used apple cider) and apples and a raspberry mustard glaze! They are dynamite!

For dessert, peanut butter rice crispy treat with pumpkin frosting!

Welcome to fall! (get the rakes ready, the leaves have started to fall too)

Book Review: EntreLeadership

I just finished reading EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey and I would say that the subtitle is very fitting for this book: 20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches.
Ramsey unpacks how he runs his business and gives very practical advice to leaders, owners and workers that can be applied to any business. He covers wide range of business topics such as being a team player, pursuing your dreams, setting goals, making decision, selling by serving, and delegation. He talks about his faith and shares the lessons that he has learned through bankruptcy.
I ended up taking about 12 pages of notes because he covers so much material. He also has a lot of extra material on their website! This is solid business knowledge that can be applied to any business. I would highly recommend this book if you own your own business or every want to start your own business. I would also recommend this book if you are a leader in your company or have direct reports. I wouldn't sit down and read this book just for fun, but it is a very useful tool for the business world!

Pumpkin Ranch

This past weekend, Heather and I headed to the Pumpkin Ranch in Winterset to get some pumpkins. We met my family there and had a blast. Dave and Jen have done an awesome job with the Pumpkin Ranch, so much to do and a ton of fun for the kiddos!
Morgan was a little nervous at first, but she loved the zip line!
There was also a trampoline, surrounded by hay, to jump on! Heather, baby and Morgan all loved it!

...fun for everyone!

Christa, Rhonda, Morgan and Keri on the hay rack ride out to the pumpkin patch!

Tom and Piper looking for the perfect pumpkin.

Heather and I enjoying the ride.

We got out to the pumpkin patch and the search began...Heather found it, our pumpkin!

My dad and I with our pumpkins.

Welcome to fall!

We had a great time hanging out at the Pumpkin Ranch, there was a ton to do...and we didn't even have try the corn maze! It was a lot of fun to watch Morgan explore and find pumpkins!

Chair Recovery

We got this chair from Heather's folks with the plan to reupholster it. I have never reupholstered anything before, so this was new territory for us.

After lots of research online, a few youTube video's, I was ready to jump in.

My basic strategy was to undo the chair and make a pattern from the existing fabric and reapply the new fabric onto the chair! After pulling more staples than I could count, I was able to make a pattern with the new fabric. I also cut out a piece of wood to straighten out the back of the chair.

After several more staples...the chair was reupholstered!
We are still planning on painting the legs black, but for now, we have a chair!

Book Review: With by Skye Jethani

I just finished reading With by Skye Jethani and I thought it was excellent! Subtitled "Re-imagining the Way You Relate to God" Jethani unpacks 4 common ways of relating to God and how those fall short and then devotes the last 4 chapters to look at how we can live a life with God.
He starts out his book with looking at common ways we all relate to God. We live life under God, life over God, life from God and life for God. With each of these styles of relating Jethani unpacks the good stuff we get but also how each of these falls short. Life Under God essentially means that if I do all the "right" things and follow all of Gods rules, he will bless me. On the surface this looks great but dig deeper and there is no relationship with God. The prophet Isaiah sums it up well (Isaiah 29:13) "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules that have been taught."
Next he tackles life over God, he mentions atheism but more so he looks at Christians whose understanding of faith leaves little room or need for God. This way of relating to God reduces faith to principles, divine laws and applicable instructions. Basically a way to exert more control into our lives. This exchanges a relationship with God for applicable principles.
Life from God, this posture looks at God to supply whatever we want or need. We become the consumer, putting ourselves in the center of our universe and God is around to help us be the best we can be.
Life for God, this posture looks at how we can live our lives to accomplish his mission however we may define it. On the surface this looks great too, and it would be great to have more Christians doing Gods work, but a life spent for God is not what God desires. God's mission shouldn't define our lives, God himself should. Jethani looks closely at the life of Paul in this chapter and in Paul's life we see that he understood that his calling was not the same as his treasure. The problem comes when we find our significance and worth in serving or obedience instead of in God.
The last 4 chapters Jethani unpacks what life with God looks like. He starts with looking at the Good News of the Gospel and reminds us what Christ did for us all on the cross. He looks at a life with God, life with faith, life with hope and life with love.
He ends the book with an appendix that gives some good practices; praying with the scriptures, praying with the Church, praying with the Holy Spirit. For small groups, he also includes discussion questions!
All in all, I really enjoyed this book, Jethani does a great job of unpacking how we can live a life with God. I would recommend this book!