Just Curious...

There are a few questions about blogging that I have been pondering for some time. I have my own answers for each of these questions, of course,but I'm very curious to know the answers and opinions of other bloggers. I would love to have some feedback, so I'm leaving this post up for awhile. Feel free to leave your answers in comments, or you can email me.

1) Why did you start blogging? What was your motivation?

2) If no one ever read your blog, would you still continue to blog?

3) Are there specific areas of your life that you don't blog about, or do you feel like nothing is too personal to blog about?

4) Do you sometimes add a blog to your blogroll simply because that particular blogger added you to theirs?

5) Would you consider it offensive or rude if you repeatedly commented on someone's blog, and they never commented on yours? If so/not, why/why not?

6) Do you ever feel pressured to post just to give your readers something to see?

7) Would you ever consider meeting a fellow blogger in person? Why or why not?

8) Have you ever considered deleting your blog, only to keep it going so as not to disappoint your readers?

9) Is there any situation that would ever cause you to stop blogging?

10) Have you made any close friends in the blogging world, a person you feel as if you have really connected with?

Well, that's it for now. Once again, any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Field Trip

Yesterday, Chloe's class took a field trip to Boyd's Orchard:



I went along as a chaperone, and we had a really good time.
We got to take a hayride:



sample some apple cider doughnuts, which were delicious:


pick pumpkins:





play on the playground:

and visit the petting zoo:

We had a really great time, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous!

You can see more pictures here. I've also created a slide show on MySpace. You can click on the link on the lower right side of this page, under my 'Here and There' section.

Changes

Well people, the hair had to go. It was getting a tad too long:



It was halfway down my back and getting pretty annoying.
Here is what it looks like now:



Thanks, Dayne!

I have also begun to 'reluctantly' embrace autumn. I have not been ready for summer to end: I'm still ready to go swimming and attend cookouts and continue working on my tan. The changing of seasons often depresses me. I enjoy autumn, it just seems as if summer flew by too quickly, and I'm still searching for it, not quite ready to let go.
However, with the recent chilly mornings and the changing colors of foliage around town, I've been forced out of my denial of summer's end.
I bought some pretty baskets of mums to set on my front porch,





made a fall wreath to hang on the front door,




and hung a berry garland around the door frame:

I also set out this little treasure I found at a yard sale a couple of weeks ago:

Next on the list: hunting down Halloween costumes for the kids. I better get on that before Christmas sneaks up on me!

Amusing Conversation

Last week, Chloe's friend Addy came over to announce that her pet mouse had just had babies. She invited Chloe to go across the street and look at them. Addy informed Chloe that she could look at the babies, but she couldn't touch them because they weren't "winged" yet.
When they came back, Chloe was excitedly telling me all about the new babies, and before I could blink, she was asking me, "Mommy, how do the babies get out of the mommy mouse's belly?" I was caught completely off guard, wracking my brain for an answer. This was the first time Chloe has ever asked me the question before; Paige asked me the "where do babies come from" question a few years ago, which I guess is only natural since she's seen me through three of my pregnancies. I didn't go into a lot of detail with Paige, but my answer seems to have satisfied her for the time being. I suppose I should have been expecting it from Chloe sooner or later, especially after just having visited the new mouse babies, but honestly it never crossed my mind. You'd think I would be prepared for such things by now.
Anyway, before I could say anything, Addy piped in with her bitingly honest 6-year-old reply, " I know how they get out--they come out through the mommy's 'pee-pee' !"
She exclaimed this triumphantly while pointing at her own 'pee-pee'. Chloe wrinkled up her nose, turned to me, and said,
"Is that why they come out all red?"
I laughed so hard I thought I would burst.

Father's Love Letter

I was given this letter just yesterday, and I have to say, I've never read anything so beautiful. I know it's been around for awhile, but I thought I'd share it with you. I highly recommend that you check out the website and watch the videos, especially the narrated version.

www.FathersLoveLetter.com

Father's Love Letter...The Cry of a Father's Heart from Genesis to Revelation

My Child,

You may not know me, but I know everything about you...Psalm 139:1 I know when you sit down and when you rise up...Psalm 139:2 I am familiar with all your ways...Psalm 139:3 Even the very hairs on your head are numbered...Matthew 10:29-31 For you were made in my image...Genesis 1:27 In me you live and move and have your being...Acts 17:28 For you are my offspring...Acts 17:28 I knew you even before you were conceived...Jeremiah 1: 4-5 I chose you when I planned creation ...Ephesians 1: 11-12 You were not a mistake...Psalm 139: 15-16 For all your days are written in my book...Psalm 139: 15-16 I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live...Acts 17:26 You are fearfully and wonderfully made... Psalm 139: 14 I knit you together in your mother's womb...Psalm 139: 13 And brought you forth on the day you were born...Psalm 71:6 I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me...John 8:41-44 I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love...1 John 4:16 And it is My desire to lavish my love on you...1 John 3:1 Simply because you are My child and I am your Father...1 John 3:1 I offer you more than your earthly father ever could...Matthew 7:11 For I am the perfect Father...Matthew 5:48 Every good gift that you receive comes from My hand...James 1:17 For I am your provider and I meet all your needs...Matthew 6: 31-33 My plan for your future has always been filled with hope...Jeremiah 29:11 Because I love you with an everlasting love...Jeremiah 31:3 My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore...Psalm 139: 17-18 And I rejoice over you with singing...Zephaniah 3:17 I will never stop doing good to you...Jeremiah 32:40 For you are My treasured possession...Exodus 19:5 I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul...Jeremiah 32:41 And I want to show you great and marvelous things...Jeremiah 33:3 If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me...Deuteronomy 4:29 Delight in Me and I will give you the desires of your heart...Psalm 37:4 For it is I who gave you those desires...Philippians 2:13 I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine...Ephesians 3:20 For I am your greatest encourager...2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles...2 Corinthians 1:3-4 When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you...Psalm 34:18 As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to My heart...Isaiah 40:11 One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes...Revelation 21:3-4 And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth...Revelation 21:4 I am your Father and I love you even as I love My son, Jesus...John 17:23 For in Jesus My love for you is revealed...John 17:26 He is the exact representation of my being...Hebrews 1:3 And He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you...Romans 8:31 And to tell you that I am not counting your sins...2 Corinthians 5:18-19 Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled...2 Corinthians 5:18-19 His death was the ultimate expression of My love for you...1 John 4:10 I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love...Romans 8:32 If you receive the gift of My son Jesus, you receive Me...1 John 2:23 And nothing will ever separate you from My love again...Romans 8:38-39 Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen...Luke 15:7 I have always been Father and I will always be Father...Ephesians 3:14-15 My question is...Will you be My child?...John 1:12-13 I am waiting for you...Luke 15:11-32

...Love, Your Dad
Almighty God

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