wOw! What a week!

Have you ever seen Home Alone 2?

Ok.  Confession.  I love the Home Alone movies.  Well 1 & 2.  Just like It's A Wonderful Life, Elf, Charlie Brown Christmas are a few very select movies that are a must watch, so are the Home Alone movies.

True story.

And everytime Marv says " WOW!  What a hole!"  I still crack up.  

The thing is... I am not even a fan of slap stick movies!!  In fact, I could be said, I detest them.

I KNOW!

Anyway,

 I may be know to say that when something amazes me.

This week, my oldest son turned 26.

How on earth I am old enought to have a 26 year old?  Fine. I feel it every morning.  

This is his birthday dinner.  My 2 boys.  One 26, the other will be 13 next month.  Hoops was 13 when Samuel was born, so this is their year to be 1/2 their age/twice their age.

Yes, that is the map of the world in the background.  Elena is starting 5 in a Row, and it was necesarry to find a spot to put this ginormous map. so it is going up the stairs.

School is in full swing.  Samuel's music lessons are also back.  Actually he still had piano lessons all summer.  It is his first love.

I told him to drag out his violin after not having played it all summer.  He did and proceeded to play beautifully.

People like that are annoying.

The love of my life is 2 years older then I am. 

 I have been wearing reading glasses for years.  I totally own that fact that I am getting older, and yes we are grandparent for cying out loud!!

He refused to even give them a try.  For years.

This week, he finally tried them on, after years of suggesting it.  He was AMAZED!! He had forgotten how clear one can see!!  Now he has me on a mission to find cool ones.

Isn't it cool just to be able to see?  But lo & behold I am on my mission.

And the other day, this is what I found.

Yes, that is my daughter on his shoulder while he is doing some work on the computer.

Words escape me.

Again.

We went pumpkin picking.  We have this rule:  You can take it home if you carry it to the stand to pay for it and then to the car.  John & Samuel wanted to change that rule this year, so Elena could have ever she wanted.  

But since she is part of our family and it is a family rule for...oh...23+ years or when ever we started picking pumkins, the rule still stands.

So she went for the littlest pumpkin.

And for now...she is our littlest pumpkin.

This past week and a half I watched Return of the King.  I love that movie.  There are so many spiritual truths sprinkled all over.  But since it took me all 10+ days to watch it,  20 minutes here, 15 there, 1/2 hour here and 10 minutes there, until I finished watching all four-ish hours, it made me reflect more on what was going on.  It went past entertaining me, and made me stop and think.

I am not a fan of stopping a movie like that.  I rather sit watch and finish.  But who has 4+ hours??!!??!

Still it was good for this time in my life.  It was good to see the sacrife, to see the surrender, to see the battle, to see the victory that was never yours to begin with, to see one continue in spite of the turmoil.

And to remember that most battles of this world are fought on a spiritual level. 

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:12 NASB

Let's live there.  Let's battle on our knees.  Let's fast and pray instead of complain.

Let's live it out.