It's back...& I have partaken.

Oh sweet Heavenly goodness.

Does life get any better than a planet-sized Costco Pumpkin Pie?

Especially when each slice is topped with half a can of this deliciousness?

I think not.

An Autumnal Chill is in the Air.

We finally made our annual trek to Half Moon Bay for our pumpkins. 

A full-bladdered pregnant lady, a car-sick uncle in the back seat, a Dad driver who kept questioning if this is really a tradition or if I'm just making it up, a 2 year-old cheerfully yelling,

"Pumpkin patch...Where are you???"

& an hour & a half later

...thank you traffic...

we arrived.

OH HOW I LOVE FALL!

Is it breaking the Sabbath...

...if I attend the North Valley Baptist Church this Sunday in place of my usual house of worship?

Satan knows he can't get me to commit the doozie sins, but he may have found a method to get me.

Here goes:

A nice young fella knocked on my door yesterday.

He handed me a pamphlet & invited me to their Church services this Sunday.

I never read those things, but this caught my eye:

So I read it.

Every adult who attends in the congregation will be given a

$10 Target gift card!!!

WHAT???

Can this be true?

I asked the youngin' & he said,

"It's a special promotion we're doing."

I thought,

"Your church does promotions?"

S.W.E.E.T.N.E.S.S.

Do I go where I get free Target bucks, or do I go where I hand over a check from my own bank account?

This could possibly be the greatest debacle I've ever been in.

ps- I can seat 8 so if anyone's interested in carpooling...

One man's trash....you know the rest.

Actually, it's not trash I'm speaking of.

It's the lovely tree that Tat & Avy brought home for me the other day from their walk

(see previous post).

Anywho, my freaking genius friend Ashley suggested in her comment that I make a Halloween ditty out of it.

Thanks for the suggestion, Ash!

So this has been our project all morning:

I give you...

The Spooky Halloween Tree

My cup runneth over.

Charity. Acts of kindness. Pure love.

This is what I've been surrounded with lately:

Exhibit A:

Dear friend Kaari knew just how to brighten my day.

I went to my car & found a little gifty on the windshield.

It was a pair of Troy Bolton socks.

Nothing says "I care about you" more than the gift of Zac E caressing my feet every night as I sleep.

Thank you, KJ.

Exhibit B:

The YM/YW of our ward were out doing a service scavenger hunt last week.

They stopped by our house.

They handed my a list of service suggestions, which I quickly handed back to them.

I told them,

"The greatest thing you could do for me right now would be to paint my toenails."

So they did.

If you've ever been 35 weeks pregnant, had a muffin top or a spare tire, you know painting your own toes is a thing of the past.

Bless you youth of Zion, bless you.

Exhibit C:

Tat & Avy set out for a jaunt yesterday afternoon around the neighborhood.

Upon their return, the dazzling duo brought me back all sorts of fond treasures from nature.

How sweet of them to be thinking of me while on their adventure.

My personal favorite is the love token of the branch that's twice my height.

When I saw the 2 approach the house with half a tree slung over Tat's shoulder, I knew I was in for some goodness.

Thanks to everyone who cares about me.

What's in a name?

Well, considering it's the final countdown

...5 weeks & counting...

we decided we should probably get serious about a name for

Tat Jr.

Call us crazy, but making him put "Baby Brudda" on the top of his college applications & resume in the future just seemed like rude parenting.

So we think we've officially agreed on:

...drumroll please...

Lincoln

Penny for your thoughts?

I won't really pay you.