oh me, oh my it's a renaissance festival

while the husband and i were in houston visiting his parents we went to a renaissance festival...and oh my was it quite the festival. as julius put it for about the first hour he didn't need to watch anything but my reaction to what i was seeing first hand. i was shocked and completley blind-sided by the dedication of some of the people that dressed up and also a little grossed out and i could not stop laughing at what i was witnessing. so rather than just talk about it some more here are the goods :)

 my mother in law ended up buying the rocking horse on the right!  the craftsmanship was and beyond sturdy so smooth and just goregous..now all we need is children :)

 here's just a taste of some of the characters we saw at the festival (can you see captain jack sparrow)

 the jousting arena...

 birds of prey show...the owls were my favorite

 i know...right! dedication straight up

oh i haven't laughed so hard in a long time...it was an adventure.

Da-na-na-na-na-na-BATMAN

Happy Halloween! We've been busy around here carving pumpkins, eating candy, and making pumpkin chocolate chip cookies...fall finally feels like it has arrived and it is glorious!

 my cute little pumpkin owl

 he is one serious pumpkin carver

 top to bottom: genn, mom, me, julius

 look at that cape!

 i just love these two

 "why so serious..batman?"

 i think colton's favorite part of the trunk-or-treat was passing out candy to the kids with us :)

 have a safe and happy halloween!!!

heaven is for real

i have known from an earlier age that heaven is for real. sometimes it is hard for me to put into words the things i know to be true and the things i believe in but i know that there is a heaven where our Heavenly Father resides with His Son Jesus Christ and those that have passed and those that have yet to come to this earth.

i started this book Heaven is for Real friday morning after breakfast and finished just before lunch time that same day. i literally could NOT put this book down. to give a quick synaposes of this book it is about a young boy who is almost 4 years old that has a near death experience due to a ruptured appendix. after the boy returns home and all is well he begins talking of his visit to heaven and all that he saw and experienced there.

it is an enlightening book that lets you see into what Heaven looks like. my favorite part of the book has to be (and i promise i won't divulge any other parts of the book) when colton (the boy the book is based on) his father and sister are in the car driving somewhere together and it happens to be Good Friday. the father asks if either of the kids knows why the celebrate Good Friday and what it represents. the sister responds while bouncing up and down excited she knows the answer and says,
"its the day Jesus died on the cross."
the father responds,
"Yep, that's right. Do you know why Jesus died on the cross?"
she stops bouncing and when she didn't come up with anything the dad asks colton if he knows.
he nods.
"Well, Jesus told me he died on the cross so we could go see his Dad."
his dad goes on to say that the answer colton gave was the simplest and sweetest declaration of the gospel he had ever heard.

i also was struck by his answer and feel the same. Christ died so that we could live again, and to live with his Father. it is such a beautiful book that spoke to both my mind and my spirit. i hope you take the time to read this amazing book. it's compelling and something i will not forget.

chapter 17 spoke to my heart and i think may give peace to many

it's bee time

bee's. the first thing that use to come into my mind is to swat or runaway from the little pests or honey (duh). this week though my opinions have completely changed and i have such appreciation and i am in awe of these tiny little creatures.

my father-in-law is a bee-keeper and we helped him this last week do a quick "hive evaluation". at first i was anxious and apprehensive (um, hello people it's a bee-hive) to help and wanted to make sure there was an exit strategy. once i calmed down and knew my exit strategy i was ready and excited to see some bees. suited up in all our bee-keeper gear and headed out into the backyard.

i learned that when you smoke the bee's they retreat back into the hive and bury their little faces into the comb which allows them to calm down so you can do you evaluation without them wanting to attack. so you smoke the bees. so next step is to get the frames out. there are 8 medium size frames which are coated in plastic and as the bees collect pollen they then build upon the plastic coating and make their honeycomb and start filling it with honey (yummm). the point of the evaluation is in short to see the progress the bees are making and the amount of honey they're producing currently.

it was one of the coolest things i've ever experienced and i have such an appreciation for bee's now. they are incredible creatures that are so particular and perfectly designed to do what they do. i am so grateful that a loving Heavenly Father created these little guys. i am also VERY grateful that i was not stung and that the bee's allowed me to take a little peek into their world. also a big thanks to my father-in-law for taking the time to teach julius and me all about the life of bee's and for the HONEY!

oh and yes the honey that came from this hive is.to.die.for!!!!!

(just a warning there are a TON of pictures)

 

                    

preparing the smoker 

here you can see the different layers of the hive and how there are 3 sections that all contain 8 frames

 this is the lady of the hive... it is rare to see the queen so it was quite the treat to watch her in action

it was amazing to see them appear and completely cover the frames

 assembling the hive back together...everything went smooth and the hive passed their evaluation with "flying" colors (hehe)