Halloween

The leaves are falling from the trees, There is suppose to be a hard freeze (good bye garden) and frost tonight.  And tomorrow is the last day of October.  October has been such a fun month.  We are prepping our Halloween costumes for a party tomorrow night,  The candy is ready for trick-or-treaters- maybe we will break our record of 3 kids last year.  The recipe for the world's best pumpkin bars is ready to be mixed up tomorrow night.  And tomorrow I am dressing up for work as an athletic trainer-- I just need to find a fanny pack and water bottle.  So we are ready for Halloween.  If your not here are a few videos that we found this evening as we were procrastinating cleaning up the kitchen after dinner Grab a cup of apple cider and your favorite pumpkin flavored goody and enjoy.  Omnia Vincint Amor.

Konza Prairie

Yet another Saturday morning rolled around and I was rousing my husband from sleep before the sun came up-- it's a good thing he loves me.  We were headed to watch sunrise at Konza Prairie and hike some before watching the K-State football game in Manhattan. Instead of writing about our day we'll go with pictures-- after all they're worth a thousand words (so this will be a lengthy post). Another great fall outing and both of us were happy-- I got to hike, Arthur got to watch football, and we both got to take a good nap when we got home.  Omnia Vincit Amor.

The first rays of light on breaking across the Flint Hills

We saw close to 15 to 20 deer during our hike.  My camera and my skills aren't up to wildlife photography but this picture turned out the best with an interesting motion effect.

It was not a quiet hike as the air was full of turkeys calling back and forth.

Through the looking glass and back again.

Shadows

Sumac and a windy trail

Those boots were made for walking

At the end of a 6 miles hike where his wife stopped numerous times to take pictures, Arthur was giving a little attitude when asked to pose yet again.

On our way home that afternoon we stopped at Wildcat Creek.

Reflection and Ripples

Changing Seasons

Recently I was eating lunch at work and a co-worker came in and told me, "Whatever you do, don't go outside." It was a perfect October day-- absolutely beautiful and experiencing that weather outside first hand would make the rest of the afternoon of work miserable.  October has always been one of my favorite months- great sports like football and cross country, wonderful food that involves apples and pumpkins- desserts in particular, and excitement of the changing scenery, and gorgeous weather. 

There have been a few changes that I have been dreading this week.  I had to scrape the first frost off of my windshield-- it made me a Grumpy Gus the rest of the morning.  We also set up the bike down in the basement for our off-season cycling.  We might be able to get out a few more weekends but it gets dark to quickly in the evenings now.  I have put in a total of 1 hour so far in the basement and am ready to get back out on the open road.  One of my favorite things about biking is looking at the scenery.  Let's just saw there isn't a lot of scenery in our unfinished basement. 

One thing I do appreciate about commuting to work is watching the changing seasons.  Sometimes everything along the interstate is covered with a fresh blanket of snow, or there is a ton of out-of-state traffic because of summer vacations, or combines cutting wheat or corn.  Right now trees are starting to change to yellow and  bright red sumac dotted across the pastures and ditches.  I get to enjoy sunrise each morning through my rear-view mirror as the sky turns from dark to shades of pink and orange as the sun starts to peek up in the east.  

 Here are a few shots from our walks around town this week.

This squirrel must have been resting after a busy day of gathering nuts.  He didn't move at all for the few minutes I was standing at the bottom of the tree with a camera.

This tree is near the top of the list of my favorites in town-- as usual all the best trees are in cemeteries

This week we...

This week we...

skipped Wednesday evening activities at church to go on a walk and had a wonderful time (we are such heathens).

enjoyed busting out the fall food recipes such as pumpkin pancakes and apple crumble.

woke up at 5am to watch the lunar eclipse of the blood moon.  (Watching the moonrise the night before was actually more splendid since it was a huge harvest moon.)  I always am expecting something more exciting when I watch "impressive" feats of nature in the night sky.  It had better be exciting if I am getting up at dark-thirty in the morning to watch.

discovered the perfect pizza recipe.  For our weekly pizza on Friday I made chicken pesto pizza-- delicious.  I thought Arthur might flip his chair over with his victory fist pumps.  Finally a perfect use for all the pesto I froze this summer.

appreciated the variety of October weather-- cool rainy days and perfect sunny fall afternoons.

did not go on a camping trip due to the rain Friday night.  I was kind of disappointed but I think Arthur was relieved we didn't have to sleep on the ground in the cold, especially if it was going to be soggy.

spent our Friday evening eating pizza and watching a football movie (We Are Marshall).

paid off all our student loans and are now debt-free.  We were shooting to pay them off by the beginning of next year but finished a few months early.  Hip, hip, hooray!  (We don't really have any assets right now either but at least no debt).

started a new TV series on Netflix that Arthur suggested despite his manly nature (cough, The Gilmore Girls) and have enjoyed the witty, intellectual dialogue.

replaced all the tires on Arthur's car so hopefully he is now safe for driving especially with winter coming.

often look at each other after a fit of laughter about something random and odd and comment on how much fun it is to live with our best friends (i.e. each other).  Omnia Vincit Amor

A Sunday afternoon jaunt through the country

The first weekend of October was beautiful.  I have a deep appreciation for the month of October and so far it has not disappointed.  On Sunday afternoon we went on a quick bike ride to get out and enjoy the autumn weather.  The back county roads weren't too crowded with Sunday drivers so it made for a fun ride.   After looking up the definition of jaunt I thought it described our ride perfectly.

Jaunt: a short excursion or journey for pleasure.

 (Some how it seems strange that a quick, short ride has become 30 miles for us-- we actually didn't measure the distance before hand but had a general idea of where we were headed.  If we had completely comprehended that the ride would be 30 miles we might have thought to put on sunscreen (deceived by beautiful weather yet again) and our backsides probably would have enjoyed the extra cushiness of bike shorts for a ride of this distance.)

I took my camera along since I am trying to learn the art/science of photograph this month-- more on that later.  Anyway here are a few snapshots from our Sunday afternoon jaunt.  Everyone needs to take a jaunt or two during October so please get out and do so.

Wildflowers and lady bugs

Hitting the open road

Arthur patiently waiting as his wife stops and takes pictures of random scenery--such a wonderful guy.

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Where the rubber meets the road

The past few weeks in Sunday School class we have been discussing Jesus' seven miracles recorded in the Gospel of John.  At times we start to believe the miraculous is only found in the Bible.  However I also think that we sometimes aren't looking for the incredible ways God is working in our lives.  While the following tale may not be as "miraculous" as making the lame walk or bringing the dead back to life, I still think it is important for us to recognize God's hand in our daily life.
Last weekend we were headed to Manhattan for the football game.  I realize we have already posted a blog on this but I did leave out one of the major events of the day since we try not to include activities that would cause our parents unnecessary worry.  We were nearing the exit off the interstate and the flow of traffic slowed too quickly for vehicles traveling at 75mph.  About four or five cars in front of us a vehicle swerved to the shoulder and everyone was slamming on the breaks since traffic suddenly stopped.  Arthur applied the breaks and swerved to the left to miss rear ending the car in front and even navigated around the car in the left lane missing the back bumper by inches.  This whole time I just knew this situation could only end in an accident.  However we narrowly missed two cars in front of us and didn't get hit by anyone from behind.  Even more amazingly, this situation probably involved seven to eight vehicles and with all the cars going every direction no one ended up in an accident.  We are crediting Arthur's quick reflexes and reaction as well as some divine intervention as well.  Truly blessed.
However, the blessings didn't stop there.  This weekend Arthur's family stopped by for a visit and his dad noticed there was an issue with one of the tires. There were a few spots worn clear through to the cord.  We knew all of them needed to be replaced and were planning on doing so next month.  Our best guess is that the damage occurred during our close call the week prior.  Arthur had been driving to work all week on this tire that possibly could have blown out, especially on the interstate.  Yet again God is good.
We put on the spare tire this afternoon.  Of course no tire stores were open in our town over the weekend but the spare was a full size tire that had never been used before so Arthur doesn't have to drive to work on a donut replacement tire.  Changing the tire was  a stress free process.  We weren't on the side of the road stranded but in a parking lot a block from our home.  It wasn't dark and we weren't in a hurry.  It's so wonderful to have a husband who is handy and can change a tire.  Of course I get the privilege of being Arthur's "ezer kenegdo".  Ezer kenegdo is the Hebrew word used in Genesis when God sees that Adam needs a "helper".  Marriage is about a team effort.  Several months ago we wrote a post about synergy in marriage.  While I am not strong enough to change a tire (this is why I married a big, strong guy) my previous tire changing experience proved valuable today.  One of the nuts on the tire required a special key to loosen it.  I have previously been in a situation where we were stumped about how to get that nut off and through reading the manual I found out that the key was in the glove box.  It was the same for us.  Arthur said that he never would have guessed what he was looking for or where to find it but instead it took less than 30 seconds to get the piece we needed.
Another point that we talked about in Sunday School was continually recounting or retelling how we see God at work in our lives.  Deuteronomy 4:9 calls us to do this specifically:
"Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them." 
Sharing and remembering the instances where you see God's fingerprints on the events of your life is important so that we do not forget His goodness and blessings and to also remind us that He has provided in the past and will continue to do so even now in our time of need.  Omnia Vincit Amor.