The Hallen Home Needs

More Celebrating. More cake. Good wishes. More to come...

Hey Pumpkins

What cute pumpkins! Just down the road from us is the sweetest pumpkin patch, Green Spot. Great place to take our little preschool class to. We visited the honey house. Ran through the hay maze. Said "Hi" to the animals. Climbed on a train. Picked a pumpkin. And rode on the farm tractor through the farm fields and hills.

I always have such a hard time choosing a pumpkin. Not one of them is the same. I love long and skinny ones. I love the short and round ones too. I love the white ones and the perfect bright orange ones too. And even if they have some green on it or a scratch or two, i love them just the same.


Beautiful autumn morning.

I love Survivor Stories

I don't remember how I came across Nienie Dialogues...oh, yes I do. I was checking out Kristen's blog, a little over a year ago. There was a really cute button on her side bar that I click on... and it changed my life.

It was a week or two after Peter was diagnosed with cancer, when life was very overwhelming with scary possibilities and fearful unknowns. Truly one of the things that helped me through it was reading c jane enjoy it {also known as Courtney, Stephanie Neilson's sister}on a daily basis or as often as she posted a new entry. Who knew blogging about her sister's battle to survive a tragic firey airplane crash would help me get through Peter's battle with cancer and beyond?

This is a great story! It's not an easy one to read. It reminds me that life is tough, heartbreaking, and it happens to everyone, even the ones doing all the right things. But we signed up for it. We said, we were willing to do it and it's worth it. I have to keep telling myself this when I get a bit of bad news or have to face another hill to climb over. This is life.

SO if you missed Stephanie Neilson on Oprah yesterday, like I did. I know, I should've made myself a note to remember to watch. How did I forget that???? Ugggg!! Here's a little clip that was shown.



Life is hard but it's beautiful too.

An Overdue Cleaning

After taking children to their schools Tuesday morning it was just Peter and me. Peter's been under the weather lately due to an overdose of grapes. I didn't know that consuming grapes in abundance could do that to a person, let alone a little guy. Peter's poor stomach and bum. So we've been hanging out at home where there is a good supply of diapers and clean clothes and desitin. Maybe I should go on the grape diet....hummmm. A good cleansing.

After I spent a half hour arranging the canyons so beautifully I knew that I needed to be more productive and tend to the things that have been neglected for quite some time. Like the family car. It's white, or it used to be. I can't even remember the last time the children and I have washed it. Today had to be the day.

The dirty expedition is a big job for one mommy and a preschooler. Some how I mustered up the courage and got started. It took me an hour to get it sparkling. The windows were finger print free and the wheels were silver again. Amazing.

I was actually excited when it was time to do the afternoon Crafton carpool. It felt so much better driving around. I love looking out clean windows. The whole world seemed a more pleasant place to be. The blue sky even seemed brighter. When I pulled up to the curb and Andrew opened the door he noticed right away with rave reviews of the sparkling white color. A friend walking by commented to me that I looked at peace. "thank you, kind friend"

As I drove to and from on errands and later to a meeting I found myself smiling. I was surprised when I noticed that the gloomy, fearful, and doubting mood that I've been under for the past three months have been washed away with the dirt that had built up on the car. I felt scrubbed and polished and now I was sparkling.

"Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage: be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." Joshua 1:9

I'll be washing the car more often, along with other things. Courage.