Fall Photos

 

 

 No fall decor is complete without...Mater. 

  I'm glad I got a picture of Sam's addition to the centerpiece.  I came through the dining room later and he was gone. 

  Last Saturday was our church's fall party.  Here's my artistic friend Mary Jane getting ready to paint some faces. 

 Sam gets ready to exit the bounce house.

  Hay scramble!

 Oh, and as you can see, Keely took most of these pictures.  Thanks, Keels!

 Our pastor, Wade, on the left, and Kevin playing a friendly game of beanbag toss. 

Chili cook-off tasters hard at work!  

I love hanging out with our church family!  We are truly blessed with such wonderful friends in Christ to walk with. 

Pumpkin Patch Pictures

We made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go to the pumpkin patch last Friday, then went to the local cider mill for our annual cider doughnut and cup of cider. This year we had it chilled instead of hot, because it was such a warm day. 

I think the fall color peaked about two weeks ago, but there are still some colors to enjoy, and a growing pile of leaves to play in in our backyard.

We marveled at the variety of colors, shapes, and sizes of the pumpkins and gourds. Aren't you thankful the Lord made such beauty for us to enjoy?  He could have placed us in a grey utilitarian world, without the capacity to appreciate or create beauty.  But that's not who He is. 

Eli's fine baby hair was really blowing in the wind, which looked hilarious. 

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.

Stanley Horowitz

Autumn is Coming!

In anticipation of the first day of fall (my favorite season!) later this month....

The breezes taste like apple peel, the air is full of smells: ripe fruit, old footballs, burning brush, new books, erasers, chalk, & such. --John Updike

Family Fun Night

About three years ago Kevin and I decided that we wanted less of Halloween for our family, so, even though we never 'celebrated' it, as in draping faux-spider-webs across our front door, we thought we'd replace the whole scary scenario with something else. We didn't want our kids to feel like they were missing out on candy and fun, though, so we determined to make the 31st of October a day that they would look forward to and have fond memories of. (Last year, actually, we went to a Reformation Day party that was a blast, but this year we're going back to our family night at home.)

Keely and I are going to make lots of party/snack foods that the kids requested. We'll have a scavenger hunt with candy at the end, and Kevin will read a little to the kids about Martin Luther. We don't often buy new DVDs, but we make this night an occasion when we do. (With all the costume money we're saving, this is still a bargain!) Tomorrow night we'll be enjoying this one.

What about your family? Do you celebrate Halloween or Reformation Day or neither?

Delicious Autumn

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." George Eliot