Weekend Visitor

Fall waltzes in, just a weekend visitor, and we pull sweaters and boots out of the closet, inviting her to stay.  We sip hot cider and bake pumpkin muffins.  The boys play football in the street.

We visit the pumpkin patch, pick out a fat pumpkin for the front walk and snap pictures of the kids among the scarecrows.

Come Tuesday, the weather will be warm again.  We'll hang our jackets on their pegs and trade our socks for sandals.  But today...we'll revel in the glory of October...the clear blue sky, the crisp fall air, the sound of children laughing in the street.

Continuing to count His gifts and grace . . .

1534  morning coffee and quiet time on the patio
1535  golden white rim of sunlight around the clouds
1536  wrapping up a birthday gift for a friend
1537  new dress shirts and slacks for his new job
1538  no cavities!
1539  yummy Bisquick chicken
1540  avocado and strawberries in salad
1541  hearing my boy-child tell what he's learning in science
1542  fluffy, clean, just-groomed dog
1543  tiny kittens piled up together in a heap
1544  toddler "tea party"
1545  my kids on the floor working a puzzle with their toddler cousin
1550  boy-child playing patiently with the little one next door
1551  clear sky, crisp air, and a hot cup of coffee
1552  rolling out the history timeline and attaching new artwork
1553  firstborn coming out of ballet class giggling with her friends
1554  lacrosse practice starting again
1555  special student home for a visit, bringing her beau for us to meet
1556  pancake dinner at Gram & Grandad's
1557  gathering with other women to hear our favorite Bible study teacher
1558  stunningly beautiful worship music
1559  yummy popcorn treats
1560  a field trip with my children to see a student in her school musical
1561  coffee and catching up with another student
1562  picking out a pumpkin for the front walk
1563  Friday night dinner out with Gram & Grandad  
1564  caramel apples
1565  boys playing football in the street
1566  tall boots and warm sweaters
1567  seeing a friend baptized...cold weather, broken water heater and all!
1568  this reminder, as the earth shakes in the West and storms rage in the East:

As long as the earth remains,

there will be 

planting and harvest,

cold and heat, 

summer and winter,

day and night.

Genesis 8:22, NLT

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Sukkot 2012

Then celebrate with joy before the LORD your God . . .

Leviticus 23:40, NLT

  

Continuing to count His gifts and grace . . . 

#1513 Gathering with old friends for a weekend of celebration

#1514 Gracious friends hosting us by the dozens

#1515 All those tents lined up in the field

#1516 Worship under the stars

#1517 Late-night s'mores

#1518 Watching the sun rise over the trees

#1519 Morning mist over the water

#1520 Snuggling under blankets

#1521 Warming up by the fire

#1522 Rocking chairs on the front porch

#1523 Kids on the zip-line over the lake

#1524 Him on the wave runner pulling kids on the raft...their smiles

#1525 Tiny hands holding fishing poles over the water

#1526 Kids splashing in the pool

#1527 Sand volleyball

#1528 ATV rides

#1529 Chef-prepared gourmet meals 

#1530 Little ones making graham cracker sukkahs

#1531 Him teaching so simply and beautifully the "why" of celebrating Sukkot

#1532 Her smile and her kindness as she worked long hours behind the scenes

#1533 Looking forward to next year's celebration

This will remind each new generation of Israelites

 that I made their ancestors live in shelters

when I rescued them from the land of Egypt.

Leviticus 23:43

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Whispers of Fall (with fall bucket list printable)

On the last day of September, I pull a sweater out of the closet and slip my arms into its sleeves.  The sun is sliding away behind the limbs of the oak trees, and I can't remember ever before wearing a sweater in September.  But there's a delicious tang in the air, and the whisper of fall is on the wind.

My boy-child has stockpiled a whole arsenal of acorns by the front door...ammunition, he says, for the acorn wars he and his buddies have been waging in the street and in the yard.

At the grocery store, pumpkins pile high in bins, there are bags of caramels stacked beside the apples, and I'm thinking we might light a stack of wood in the fireplace.

It's fall.  The calendar has said so for more than a week, but the red line on the thermometer says so now, and we are grateful.

The kids have asked for the bucket list*, so I've printed it out for the fridge.  And I'm sharing it with you, along with the recipe for our family's all-time favorite fall treat.

Happy Fall, sweet readers!  May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you.  And may you know that He is good!

Continuing to count His gifts and grace . . .

#1500  sweaters in September
#1501  acorn wars in the front yard
#1502  toddler giggles
#1503  pumpkin muffins hot from the oven
#1504  mugs of apple cider
#1505  first pumpkin spice latte of fall
#1506  scent of fall in the air
#1507  that he got the job!
#1508  Hillsong/Brooke Fraser's song, "Like Incense"
#1509  Gram cooking my firstborn's birthday dinner
#1510  Grandad working with my boy-child's Webelo patrol to earn their badge
#1511  finishing the task even when things went wrong
#1512  phone call from my brother just to chat

This is the day the LORD has made!

We will rejoice and be glad in it!

Psalm 118:24, NLT

 

 

*Note:  I saw a similar "bucket list" online last year, and that inspired me to create my own.  If you'd like to download and print our bucket list, just click here.  If you'd like to check out some of the other fun bucket lists online that inspired me, you can click here or here.  Or, even better, use ours and the others as inspiration to create your own! You'll find lots of fun inspiration online!

And to download and print our family's favorite fall treat, with tips for modifying the recipe for loved ones with food allergies, click here.

 



 



 



 

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