Welcome Back, Fall

Since this past week it's actually been feeling a little bit like fall here, I've been thinking of all the things I love about Fall.  To me, Fall is...  longer hikes, preferably discovering new trails whenever possible. Longer bike rides in the evenings. Black Walnut Season (I have a love/hate relationship with this one.). Morning fires to take the chill of the air. Backyard campfires. Rekindling my love of hot cocoa. Pausing to notice the changing landscape around me. Camping (although I don't think this is happening this Fall and that makes me a tad bit sad!). Fresh apple cider. Eating apples. Eating them dipped in caramel. And baked up with sugar and cinnamon. With a scoop of ice cream on top.  Blue Jeans and sweatshirts. Mike enjoying football games. Inhaling, deeply, the crisp air. Windows open, letting the outside merge with the inside (loving this even more this fall since we installed our attic fan a few weeks ago!).  Getting lost in a corn maze. Finding the perfect pumpkins. Carving them. Planning for Halloween costumes. My parents semi-annual visit. Attending Fall Festivals (our favorite - Apple Butter Making Days in Mt. Vernon, MO). Note: Must get there early if you want to get the freshly made apple butter out of the kettles on the courthouse lawn. It's the contentment of being back in a routine. It's raking leaves. And jumping in them. It's discovering again the joy that each new season holds. Oh, Fall, it's good to have you back! (Even if it means I'm spending part of my Saturday picking up black walnuts!) 

Gratitude. Thanksgiving. Passing it On.

Every November, since 2006, we've been doing the same activity. I have this old cornucopia that sits on our dining room table. Next to it are strips of blank paper and pens. Every night at dinner, we write one thing we are thankful for, share it, and put it in the cornucopia. Then on Thanksgiving Day, we read them all.

Then I saved them all. And when I finally had enough at the end of last year, I made place-mats with them.

Tonight was the first night they were on our table. The girls smiles and enjoyment from reading them was simply precious. They were trying to get each other to guess who had wrote what! :) I also saved their fall artwork during these years and put it on the place-mats too.  Two sheets of paper, covered with contact paper. Simple. Easy. Here are a couple of pictures, sorry for the poor photo quality.

New this year, I decided to do something different during the month of November.  So, using my favorite EXPO marker idea, combined with my other favorite A to Z idea, I'm writing on the girl's bathroom mirror, one new thing every day this month. The top of the mirror says,
"My A to Z reasons I'm thankful 4 my girls!" So far...

A. Always try to do the right thing.

B. Big Brown Eyes (windows to their soul!)

C. Care about other's feelings.

(and for tomorrow) D. Dance and Sing

Gratitude. Doing my best to pass it along to my girls! 

Twindians!

They thought balancing baskets on their heads was 'indian like'!

One of the neighbors called the girl's 'twindians' tonight! We all thought it was cute, so it's what we kept calling them all night! We got to trick or treat with baby Henry tonight too! He was a deer, but you can't see his cute 'hooves' in the picture. Oh, I love these trick or treating years with the girls! Way too much sugar, but their giggles all day long just make my heart smile! These years are going to end waaay too soon! But I will have to remember to heed Dr. Suess' advice, "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."

Sarah

Morgan

Henry's First Trick or Treat! 

Our Dinner!

A Day Off of School...

• a quick trip to walmart for all stuff needed for our fun, and donuts to start the day.
• a long walk with a friend and her sweet baby. Oops, forgot a picture!
• an attempt at making our very first scarecrow.

• carving our pumpkins. I tried drilling mine this year. Mike loves his Spartans. Sarah's has the biggest grin. And Morgan's has the cute tongue. 

• and making some yummy new recipes. Homemade soft pretzel bites. Homemade mozzarella sticks. and our favorite, homemade chicken nuggets. 

• and staying up late to cheer on the Cardinals!! We also made these fun baseball cookies to help us celebrate! Loved girls hilarious questions during the game, like: "Do they use pizza boxes for bases?" and "Why is the guy behind the batter wearing a tux?" 

The Sky is Falling!!

This time of year, I find myself saying "the sky is falling, the sky is falling!" quite often.  You see, before there were houses in our neighborhood, there was a walnut farm here. So needless to say, the walnuts are sure falling everywhere around us this time of year! Think, pool balls falling from trees, okay maybe not that heavy, but certainly that large!

Additionally, the school book fair is this week and the girls wanted extra money to buy books.  So, I challenged them last week to begin picking up walnuts. The trailer was full today, so we took them to the huller.  Side note: The majority of black walnuts sold in the united states come from Missouri! And for all their hard work...they got $27.72! Of course they had divide it among their friends who helped them out this past week, but they still ended up with $8/each. So, they are filling the trailer again! :) The walnuts have to be picked up anyways, and the neighbors appreciate the help, and they are outside enjoying the fall weather! It's a great thing!  I guess money really does grow on trees!


Update: 10.7.11 - Sold another load for $31.20!!
Update: 10.11.11 - Sold another load for $34.20!!
Total: almost 800 lbs of hulled walnuts!! $12/per 100 lbs. 
Updated: 10.27.11 - Sold another load for $49.10 (491 lbs of hulled walnuts! $10/lb now)

Waiting our turn at the Huller. That's a lot of walnuts!!

Putting our walnuts into the huller. 

Our Thanksgiving Day

 Being that on Thanksgiving Day my heart is both abundantly full and tenderly aching at the same time, I've come to appreciate the peacefulness and laid-back-ness to our Thanksgiving Days.  Here are a few moments I wanted to remember about today.

We slept in a bit, then enjoyed cinnamon rolls while watching the Macy's Day Parade on TV, in our pjs, as the sleet and freezing rain fell outside.

The girls also enjoyed a scavenger hunt around the house.  As soon as they were done, Sarah wanted to make a scavenger hunt for us.  Then Morgan made one. We enjoyed finding their treasures.

For the past several years, the girls have made all the dishes for our thanksgiving meal. Mike takes care of the turkey, because frankly, I don't touch raw turkeys. I assist the girls as needed, but they are getting so grown up and are doing a great job reading recipes and making yummy dishes. 

As Sarah, Mike and I worked on a puzzle, Morgan insisted on setting and decorating the Thanksgiving table all by herself. Didn't she do a beautiful job? Candles, leaves, fancy glasses. 

As we sat down and filled our plates, I looked over at Sarah and she just had a look of pure happiness on her face - smiling at the fancy table before her.  It was precious. 

The girls insisted on toasting our sparkling grape juice...for the many things we have to be thankful for.  They both wanted to say our Thanksgiving grace today. And they both did.

I got a nap in this afternoon, Mike got to watch some football, and then had 2 desserts! Then off to our annual tradition of ice skating downtown!

We returned home, had a cozy fire, and ended the day watching Miracle on 34th Street together.  Relaxing. Perfect.

I also enjoyed the phone calls that connected me to my family whom I could not be with in person today.

A to Z Gratitude: Part Two

Ok, here's the rest of my list.

N – North Point Church (and the 1000s of lives changed every year because of it.)
O – Opportunities to celebrate milestones (like Darian & Beau’s upcoming wedding!)
P – Photos (that capture so many sweet memories on life’s journey.)
Q – Quietness (that replenishes my soul.)
R – Remembering those I love (thru tangible things they made me…paintings, woodworking, baskets, quilts, and other things around my home)
S – Sarah (who reminds me to enjoy the moment, who is both sweetness and compassion, and who adds much joy to my life as I share life’s journey with her.)
T – Teacher Friends (who keep requesting me as a sub!)
U – Unrushed evenings (where we can kick back and relax.)
V – Visits from mom & dad (every Spring and Fall for the past 14 years we’ve been in Missouri)
W – Writing (and chances to pursue writing as a career)
X – Xcellent Health (for myself and my family)
Y – Yesterdays memories (of holidays spent with my cousins.)
Z — Zippers (‘cuz it’s ‘z’ and ‘cuz they add a lot of convenience to my life! Afterall, it’s the little things in life!)

A to Z Gratitude: Part One

On facebook, several friends are writing something every day they are thankful for this month.  One friend is doing gratitude from a to z, and well since I've been all about A to Z this year (same friend got me started!), I decided to 'copy' her idea and make my own list a to z of things I'm thankful for.  I decided to post it on my blog, so I can always remember the things I'm thankful for in this season of my life.  Here is the first half of the alphabet (not necessarily in order of importance).

A – Amazing Grace (I’ve yet to discover anything more powerful than grace. I’m spending my life in pursuit of understanding it better every day!)
B – Being an American (It’s election day, afterall!)
C – Computers (They help me keep in touch with those I care about and give me access to almost any info I need!)
D – Daisy Dog (have you seen those big brown eyes and floppy ears? Need I say more?)
E – Education (and the opportunities I’ve had to expand my horizons thru it.)
F – Family (and their love that is always there for me.)
G – Girlfriends (they add both depth and joy to my life!)
H – Home. (There’s no place more beautiful. More sustaining. More life giving.)
I – Incredible husband (the perfect one for me. He still makes me smile everyday.)
J – Jesus (and the joy of knowing him.)
K – Kisses (my husbands, my kids, and chocolate ones too!)
L – Laughter (is there any sound more beautiful?)
M – Morgan (among other things, she's thoughtful, helpful, trustworthy, and I love being a part of her life and watching her become this amazing young lady (too quickly, I might add!))

Fall Humor

So, I'm walking by our Fall Scarecrow...only to discover the poor guy has to use the bathroom! Apparently the girls' friend was over (love her!) and she moved the scarecrow's limbs a bit. Cracked me up! :) Just thought I'd share the humor! :)

Halloween Weekend

Friday Night: Halloween Night @ the Museum. A heart dissection (pig heart), making wounds, glow in the dark fingerprinting, explosions, levitation (with magnets, air and static electricity), dry ice bubbles, making slime. Needless to say, it was spooktacular!

 Saturday Night: Thriller performed by over 100 people on commercial street. A couple friends participated. I don't think the girls knew what to think. The thriller dancers did a great job!

Sunday Night: Trick or Treat Fun. We went trick or treating with the neighbors, followed by a campfire, smores, the laughter of friends and the screams of kids playing games in the dark. The girls convinced me to dress up this year and I'm glad I did. It was a lot of fun.

Gratitude

Gratitude. It's the gift I received today.  I had the joy of planning the Fall Party for Sarah's class.  I've done Morgan's class parties the last 4 years, so this year was definitely Sarah's turn.  We played M&M fall bingo, made a fall craft, did the mummy wrap game, ate spiders for a snack, and made a giant spiderweb.  Good times. The best of times, really.

Afterwards, as we are walking out to the car, Sarah says to me, "Thank you mommy for coming to have lunch with me! and thank you for the fun party!"  So as fun as the party was, and planning it was, the greatest joy came in my daughter pausing to say thanks at the end!

I also got to drop in for the last half of Morgan's party. She's in 4th grade and still gives me hugs when I see her at school, oh, I'm soaking it all up! I'm not going to be 'cool' for much longer, so I love that I am still cool in her 4th grade eyes!

Both classes did the mummy wrap game. Here's a few pictures I took of the cutest mummies I ever did see!

Pumpkins!

Pumpkin Carving Night! Sarah's is on the bottom left (she bought a pumpkin that doesn't stand up! :)) and Morgan's is on the bottom right (it's her 'oh no' pumpkin). On the top, Mike and I decided to carve our alma mater's - Go Spartans! and I didn't feel like carving a tiger, so here's the Go Mizzou pawprint! :) 

As an added fun bonus tonight, the ice cream man stopped by while we were out carving, so we got to get ice cream! Yes, it's really that warm here right now!!

Welcome Fall!

Unofficially, the Guinness Book of World Records Mum is in my front yard. I have NO idea how it grew this huge. I was trying to take some pictures to capture the enormity of it. The mum is so huge that it's blossoms are making the middle split open. I bought it at the PTO mum sale two Falls ago - I think it should be the poster mum for next year's sale! :) Notice the 4' bench behind the mum! Beautiful mum, beautiful girls, beautiful Fall day.

It was a perfect afternoon for a walk at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield. Loved the family time before Mike headed off to KC for the week. I hate it when he travels. Really hate it. So I'm trying to think of what I'll love about him being gone...hmm, no football games on the TV, a bed to myself, and the alarm not going off at 5:30 in the morning! At least I have my parent's visit to look forward to this week, as they are arriving sometime mid-week! With fresh Michigan Apple Cider, I might add!