Gherkins @ Pyrah's Fall Festival '22

This was our 3rd year to do the Pyrah Fall Festival with CyRi and Livie. I still need to blog the first. LOL BUT I'm determined to stay current. We noticed the festival seems to grow each year. As long as the kids enjoy it, we'll keep doing it. 

I bought four tickets and hoped we'd be able to work it out to meet BreZaak, CyRi and CoRielle at the festival. It was a beautiful day. Blue skies and no rain. Michael wanted to split wood...but we talked him into coming with us. Alex stayed home with GG. 

Little Buddy and Danny in stroller
Benny, Cy, Arielle and Cory, Stacia, Benny, Carrie

📷by Carrie?

Our first spot to visit was the barn full of games! The game hosts were not merciful in the least. At one point Benny got his chicken INTO the basket and then it sort of sprung out...no prize. LOL  Allie and I would not be able to fulfill this role at the festival. Prizes for all the well-behaved children. 

Benny (4)

Gideon (5)

Michael, Carrie, Bre, Arielle, Benny and Livie

Bella

Benny/Livie sending rubber chickens flying - see the chickens? 

Benny, Livie, Bella, Gideon - Cousins 

Ax throwing  - Benny 

Go, Liv! 

Bella (6)

Gideon (5)

A matching game

📷by Arielle

Liv gave Benny her prize! What a sweetie. 📷by Arielle

The weather forecast had showed no day in the 60's for 10 days...but this day was PERFECT. The first one in a long time and it may well be the last in the 60's.  The scenery is gorgeous at the farm, too. 

Cory and his boys📷by Arielle

Cousins! Benny & Livie 📷by Arielle or Carrie

Ah! Carrie and Cy - 📷by Olivia

The girls and Michael - out in the fields

This is a beautiful spot to have fields...but I couldn't help noticing they have as much, or more, chickweed as we do! It did my heart good. LOL They were selling pumpkins that look like mine. Maybe I shouldn't wait for them to turn orange? 

There were petting animals. This was seconds after Bessie wrapped her tongue around my arm. I learned to stay aware. 

📷by Carrie

Several members are suggesting this big bouncy cushion be added to our playground. I told them we have a big bouncy thing (trampoline) but they think this is safer. It does look like fun. 

Benny, Danny, Little Buddy, Livie📷by Carrie

Danny 📷by Carrie

They also have hammocks, roller slides (like the Japanese parks), tunnels and mazes set up. 

Little Buddy & Danny 

Josiah (Jojo) was happy and content to spend the day in the stroller. The TRACTORS are the one thing he wanted to get out and experience. His smile is priceless. He's one week younger than Danny, about a month younger than Little Buddy....They will all be hitting 2  this fall. 

 Such a great smile! 📷by BreAnne

Hello, Annie 📷by BreAnne

Izaak and Bella 📷by BreAnne

Michael, Josiah, Carrie 

CoRielle needed to leave when Little Buddy and Danny had reached their limit of stimulation. BreZaak headed to a vendor for corn dogs, there was talk of ice cream bars...Michael invited everyone to our home for ice cream.  We pulled out the big gallons we're still trying to use up, cones and hard-shell and CyRi and Bre and the kids showed up. Izaak was heading out to hunt. 

Liv and Cy brought in eggs - 

Cy bounces the kids 

Carrie bounces the kids. 

Jojo was happy to swing! 

I noticed we have yellow leaves ON the ground.  Cy said I can no longer say the snow at the top of our mountain is termination dust. I asked what it was and he said, "Snow." ::snort:: I guess it's official. It's coming. 

Michael got the fire going. 

Bre, Jojo and Gideon warming their hands

Michael is happy with Josiah and Carrie

GG, Bre and Jojo 

Michael, Carrie, GG, Stacia, Allie 

Michael likes to hang out at the fire and tend it a bit after everyone else comes inside. 

Stacia and Millie relax at the end of a long day. 

Stacia Did a Thing

Many of you know Stacia as "shy." In reality she has a touch of social anxiety and has fought panic attacks since the Quake and Tsunami in Japan. Crowded locations and shaky buildings are particular challenges. 

She did a thing. She invited a friend and her sister over to play with the airbrush cake thingy. She made a small cake for us to serve with tea. She demonstrated the air brush tool. She had also made 2 8 layer cakes for the girls. She'd baked, frozen, crumb coated and frosted in the midst of my scone baking craze. ::snort::   After our study today, she finished school and set up an air brushing station. 

We had plenty of leftovers from the women's ministry launch...in fact I can have drop-ins for tea at any point for the next few months and simply pull scones out of the freezer. Consider this your invite if you live locally. Stacia suggested no table clothes so her younger friend wouldn't worry about spilling. Frankly, I have no problem dealing with stained cloths, but she made sense, and this was HER thing! I am so thrilled to see how she was thinking of others, stepping out of her comfort zone and doing the hospitality thing. "Opening the door is an act of love."  She's got it. 

We moved some of the hot drink selections and the hot water pot to a little side table by the table. 

Mom Mary's table and cloth

As a side note - I have a few pieces of polish pottery. We always longed to get an assignment to Europe. I planned to do the military spouse thing and go to the factories - but that didn't happen. Krista has begun picking up pieces at the base's BX. I've SAVED them for SPECIAL occasions. Joelle impacted me Monday. She reminded me I can USE the special things. SO...I pulled out a Polish pottery tea pot and set it out with the everyday pots. I like to make a pot of tea, but no one in the house besides me has liked tea for years...so I use tiny pots for every day. Allie LOVES the Republic of Tea selections and she and I can easily make a normal size pot of tea and down it. It's the small things in life. LOL I pulled out a fun mug from Krista and I found two HUGE mugs I'll have to use soon as well.  Allie and I spent time debating if the big ones WERE cups or soup bowls, but the bowls have little tops, and this has a handle. We think a mug. What do you think? BTW big mugs are why one needs burning hot lava drinks to start with....so one can warm their hands and the drink remains warm through a long conversation or good book. ::wink:: 

12 oz and 20 oz mugs

FINALLY, they arrived in the driveway and were properly welcomed by Millie into our home! I will quit blathering about Polish Pottery. We are so happy this family has moved out to the valley, and it will be much easier to get together. 

We enjoyed drinks and treats...played games and shared memes. Allie was home! GG decided to sit and read and had no need of me during the afternoon.  Michael and Alex had Bible study and Michael brought home dinner. It was a great Friday afternoon - chicken and macaroni salad - which I was too full to eat. I don't think the girls did either. LOL 

It's nice to bring a busy week to an end, it's great Stacia orchestrated the afternoon of community for us all. Have I mentioned lately how much we have loved the dreaded "teen" years? "Teen" years are still not allowed in our home...we have young adults.  It's a joy to watch them as they do the adulting thing. 

Thoroughly Thursday

 Allie and I had a wide-ranging, in-depth conversation as we set over tea and breakfast and discussed week 1 of our new Bible Study.  It was so good I hated to go home...but we did. 

She hit the books. Stacia hit the books. I got chili in the slow cooker and puttered around doing "things." 

Thursday night is life group. We meet twice a month. One family and a couple were unable to make it - a new gal joined us. It is always a sweet time. We enjoy an hour of eating and visiting and then we connect over an ongoing discussion on how to practically love God completely and love others well. I did not take any pictures at Life Group. 

The only picture I took all day is the following one.  Chain tea and scones. I do love having a bit supply of various scones in the freezer. LOL I made some Devonshire cream....the girls aren't sure they like it. I do. 

Fall Ministry Launch

It is a GOOD thing I did all I could on Tuesday to prep for tonight's Fall Launch. I can't even remember all that happened Wednesday morning, but I clearly remember the day was not going as well as I'd hoped. There were attitudes, the need for ANOTHER run to the store and, well, caregiver duties. 

As I stood in line at Freddies I sent an SOS for prayer out to the Gherkin Gals - though I missed Arielle in the text...maybe God knew she had enough on her mind that day. ::snort:: I simply told them the launch was that evening and things weren't going well at home - I could use prayer. Sweet girls. They prayed. Several offered to come visit with GG. One even offered to bake.... just the knowledge that they had my back made the day better. 

By afternoon I was done, everything was packed, GG was happy, had been fed twice and the laundry was done. I was able to sit and linger at the table with as close as I can come to Cafe Live Forever's scone set. Three mini-scones and a pot of tea. 

The launch went great. There again friends had my back. Lindsey found me muttering at the copier and took over copying. Jacque set flowers in vases and put them on the table. Lindsey came down and made coffee, and generally did "all the things." Joelle showed up with cream and brownies, Joann brought a meat/cheese tray, and someone brought honeydew. And we had lots of scones.  

Dorothy and Rachel assured me English scones "list" and so I threw out the gummy ones that "looked level" but were bleck on the inside...and went with the ones that gloriously listed. 

Everyone enjoyed the treats and the HOT drinks. I introduced this year's leadership team. I shared about our upcoming Bible study and Paint Night. I introduced Gather:Table which is modeled on resources from IF:gathering.com.  

I first got excited about the possibility of this for our women last March. I invited input from a few people.  I prayed about it some more. I ran a trial group over the summer so try out the questions and format. I waited for the right time and a fall ministry launch was perfect! Most women I have mentioned it to catch the vision. Three volunteered to host additional tables. At the launch we actually set up tables and set 4 - 6 women at the table so all could experience how simply an hour and 4 questions could move us to deeper connection.  We're in the sign-up phase and then I'll meet with hosts, set up groups and we'll get it going.  I'm excited at the possibility this will offer for women who crave connection but can't fit a weekly Bible Study into their schedule. 

It was a good night. It was wonderful to be back together with these women.