Imagine if you will, one knife weilding adult, and 10 very enthusiastic scoopers waiting for their turn to scrape the "guts" out of a pumpkin. I can't seem to get the tops off fast enough, and enthusiasm soon turns to pandemonium. Lucy's under the table eating seeds, Frank and Rose are taking turns trying to grab the knife when I lay it down (which I quickly learn NOT to do.) and the others are just squeezing into my hips tighter and tighter trying to be the next in line to scoop out the guts. Charlie eventually gives up on scooping and decides its more fun to run his trucks and cars through the piles of pumkin seeds and pulp on the table. The purring of his little engine noises and beeping as he backs up to drive through again, are awful cute, but not helping the mess as more seeds are being thrown down to Lucy. After a few tries at pulling the squishy slop out, the girls quickly decided they'd rather carry the pumpkins in and out of the house for me. Somehow we managed to get them all cleaned, and saved carving for naptime, when I had a few less helpers.
The busted pumpkin was cleaned and baked, and used to make pumpkin raisin bread which smells absolutely wonderful. We may have to try it for breakfast tomorrow. And despite the chaos, I'm grateful the kids were able to participate in it, and for such a greater good. These were just a dozen of the 400 pumpkins that will be lit in tomorrow's ProLife pumpkin memorial at our church. I'm grateful to be such a small part of something so amazing and touching. I hope it brings greater awareness to the number of babies being killed each year by abortion, especially at this election time, when the ProLife movement is in such jeopardy of a terrible setback.
