Four Little Pumpkins…

This is how I spent my Saturday night.

Carving pumpkins.

I’m not a fan of halloween, at all, nor am I a fan of carving pumpkins, but the kids are.

(and let me point out that I am not the designer of the pumpkins, I am simply the carver.)

Now, perhaps you’re wondering why there are four pumpkins for our family of three.

Are you?

Or do you just think that I am overly ambitious?

I can assure you it has nothing to do with being ambitious.

It has everything to do with the fact that four seems to be a number that keeps popping up in my life here of late.  Four nerf guns, four pumpkins, four cups of hot chocolate, four glasses of juice…

Four.

Ok, so I know what you’re thinking… it’s because someone else is hanging around and makes our little clan of three now have four, right?

Nope.

Kinda close, but not really.

Yes, there has been a new addition to our lives.

While I’m not engaged as some of you have guessed, I am dating someone.

Shocked?  No?  Really?

Because I am.

He kinda came out of no where, really, but here’s what you might find a little funny.

He lives right around the corner from me.  He lives next door to a house that I was at four times a week during softball season.

I’ve driven past his house thousands of times in the past four years, and yet, I never knew that he existed.

Kinda funny, right?

More than funny, it’s really only something that I can pull off.

However, he comes with baggage.  The cutest, most adorable baggage known to man.

And so the reason that four keeps popping up in my life is because there are now FOUR of them.

Two of his.

Two of mine.

Stair steps, really as they are all 2 and a half years apart.

It’s chaos, but I’m getting used to it.

I’m used to picking out and making things fair for two, but pumpkin carving was a bit interesting last night.  I had to pick out four pumpkins that were close in size so that there was no fighting.

Guess what?

There was still fighting, so he, the genius with kids that he is, had them all line up to draw straws and flip coins, and arrange it so that every one was happy.

And they all were.

And when they were bored of the carving, the four took off to partake in the nerf gun wars that have become an intrical part of our lives, I sat there at the table finishing the scooping, the carving, and the sorting of the seeds so that I could roast them.

I made him sit there with me, even though I know that he wanted to be involved in the war.

Because he’s awesome with kids like that, did I mention that?

My kids adore him.

But I made him sit there with me.  Because four minutes to talk at a time, in between four children, is about all the time that we get.

He’s the first man to meet my kids in almost two years.  He’s sweet and funny and majorly good looking.  And he cooks.  Seriously.

Which is good.  Because I don’t.

And he was brave enough to go with me when I took my youth group, 13 girls ranging from 15-5 to see High School Musical 3.

So there’s my news.

I met someone.

He makes me us very happy.

Until next time…