Thanksgiving and More!

I know if I don't go ahead and post again before Christmas, I won't get to it until like March because the amount of pictures between Acker Thanksgiving and Ware Christmas will be too much for me to sift through.  So here we are again, a mere 2 weeks later.  YOU ARE WELCOME.

Mary has tooth #2 and is still on the verge of crawling.  We've said almost everyday for the past 2 1/2 weeks, "Today's the day.  Today she crawls."  But no, she's holding out.  And I'm okay with that!  Another Mary milestone (forced milestone, really) is that I've decided that this is the week for her to give up her Magic Sleepsuit.  It's been wonderful, but I don't want to have to pack it for our trip to Collierville in a couple weeks.  So yeah, I'm being a little selfish.  But it's time for her to grow up and sleep like a big baby, darnit!  ;)

John repeated his first bad word this week, so that's cool.  I won't tell you whom in our household he repeated, but I will tell you that it was not his mother.  Ahem.  John also decided he no longer needs a booster seat at the dinner table.  Normally, Pete and I would be the ones to decide when it was time for a seat upgrade, but seeing as we've had John sitting in  his sister's pink booster seat for a year because who has room in their house for TWO small booster seats, I think it's okay for us to follow his lead there.  I can't blame the boy!   

Susannah has in the last 2 weeks begun many conversations with, "When the baby boy comes out of your belly..."  😳  SLOW DOWN THERE, GIRLIE.  I'm telling you, though, when God wired Susannah, he wired her to be a big sister.  There's no one better at it.  She's ready for me to have another baby, and then she'd be asking for another one a month later.  She loves her siblings so much.  (And in case you're wondering: I do not have a baby boy or girl in by belly, so CHILL.)

The other night when Pete was putting Sus and John to bed, he was talking to them about how God is always with us.  He told them that even when it feels or looks like we're alone, God is there.  And Susannah said, "And John.  John's always there, too."  I pray that the safety they feel with each other lasts a lifetime. 

PICS! 

Early morning roadtrip to Harrisonburg means stopping at Daddy's office in our PJs!  (Just the kids in PJs fyi)

Auntie Beth!  She became a team favorite immediately.

Watching Sing and just take a look at John and Charis.  THE SWEETEST.

Playing in the leaves!

Pop took the leave blower to the yard to get a HUGE pile for the kids to play in.

Somebody teach that pup how to smile for the camera!

In case you all out there were wondering how I'm managing as a SAHM these days and not going completely loopy, these ladies are the reason I"m still a sane human.  This is the Bible study groups of all Bible study groups -- I love these gals with my whole heart! 

MARY BABY STOP IT RIGHT NOW YOU'RE TOO CUTE.

Susannah is ready for gymnastics next month!

Mary's new trick is getting up on all fours.

We had some warm weather last week, so of course we picnicked outside!

FIRST FAT LIP!  There were tears, but once we discovered the blood and how silly we looked, we decided fat lips were the coolest.

I take 8 million pictures a day of my 3rd child.  I was told I'd take like 2 pics of my 3rd kid annually.  This has not proven to be true because she is just SO pretty!

STOP HERE unless you want to hear about my random thoughts on things.
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I've been reading in Acts for about a month now, and I got to Acts 17 recently where Paul and Silas are in Thessalonica telling everyone how Jesus is Christ.  Some of the Jews didn't like what they had to say, so they formed a mob and took their arguments against Paul and Silas to the city authorities saying, "These men who have turned the world upside down...saying that there is another king, Jesus" (17:6-7).  These verses are stirring something in my being.  Man, I want this to be what the world today says about Christians.  I want the accusations to be about true Christ-followers declaring with our lives that we serve a greater King Jesus and the world is being turned UPSIDE DOWN (read: the world is coming to see Jesus) because of our love for and devotion to Him.  The lines are getting too blurred.

I almost started typing my thoughts on this whole Roy Moore debacle because that's what's got me so down these days about Christian representation in the world, but I'll refrain.  Let's just settle on the fact that Christians need a better name than Roy Moore and his evangelical followers.  Christians need a better name than Sally Acker, too, actually.  In all this mess--in all my mess--I'm thankful for Jesus and His redeeming blood; and I'm thankful that through Him we have the power to turn the world upside down by the way we love, serve, and pray.

Did that make any sense to you 5 readers out there?  That last paragraph was out of left field, I know.  I can ramble sometimes -- ask my husband!  Nonetheless, I don't keep a prayer journal diligently anymore, so y'all are now subjected periodically to my random thoughts about what I'm reading.