Fall is so Fun!

Ok before I begin, I am back home again!  This is a post I had ready to go before I suddenly went to Kenya to be with our friends.  I am happy to report Steve is discharged from the hospital and recovering in Nairobi until his follow up appointment on Wednesday.  We praise God for His full healing!  I am thankful I could go and be with Steve and Tanya and see Howard and Aileen.  I even enjoyed my time and the special treats like cool temperatures, nice malls, and great food.  Josh and the kids also did great together while I was gone.  I am so proud of all of them.   Thank you for all your prayers!

One more update.  My Grandma Van Manen has about 2 to 7 days to live.  The hospice doctors said she is in full death stage.  I am so thankful she was able to talk and be with everyone up until this point (now she can't talk).  She has complete peace and is just waiting to be with her Savior.  It is truly special and peaceful.  I was praying for Grandma the other day and became very excited for her.  She is about to be home in the Kingdom of God!  She will be removed from the worlds sin and mess, free of sickness and pain, with her Father forever.  The song came to mind, "...what a day of rejoicing that will be.  When we all see Jesus we will sing and shout the victory!"  Although Grandma's finish line is victory, we still grieve the loss for us.  It is still hard.  It looks like we will not be going to MI for the funeral. It is times like this we are reminded that serving the Lord on the mission field does come with sacrifices.  I don't think it is so much missing the goodbyes but realizing I have now missed 15 years we could have been together.  It is a sacrifice.  I know the Lord honors that and I can trust Him.  Please continue to pray for my Grandma and especially the family.

Ok, and now the Fall Fun...

The end of October we had a Fall Fun Fest here at our house.
People were welcome to come in fall attire, we played fall games, and ate fall foods.

Pumpkin ring toss

Pumpkin bowling

Guess how much the pumpkins weigh

We also had an adult meal I called our friends-giving meal.
It was so fun and beautiful.
 We had sparkling apple cider, pumpkin soup and bread for appetizer,
a thanksgiving backed dinner, and caramel fondu for dessert.

We cooked an early Thanksgiving meal as a family - YUMMY! - because our  neighbors were selling a turkey to get school fees for their daughter and because I am in the Thanksgiving mood.  Emalai loved her turkey leg and actually ate almost two of them!