Thankful...

I am so disappointed I never finished out my 31 Days series. Life got busy and I never got a chance to get back to it. I have been busy finishing stuff around the house, cleaning out stuff we don't need anymore, and trying to make things look pretty around here.

At this time of year I always have so many things I could share here, but never seem to get the time to do so. So this year I am going to try.

I'll start with a quick recap from Halloween:

Batgirl and Ariel.

Mummy tealight holder. 

 

Jack-o'-lantern.

Here in Texas we have enjoyed the most beautiful Fall this year. We have been here for 12 years, and I think this is the most perfect Fall I have ever seen. The weather has been so perfect - mild for a long time. Usually we go from 100+ degrees, to maybe one week of 70's (if we are lucky), then straight to the 40's, and ice! But we have been so blessed this year with perfect weather and enough time to soak it all in.

And the trees this year have been so spectacular! We always hear how beautiful the autumn colors are up north - ours usually go from green, to orange/yellow for a couple of days, then straight to drab brown. But this year we got to experience the full beauty of Autumn colors - reds, yellows, orange - all so vibrant under the bright blue skies of Texas.

Early Fall - beautiful blue skies and perfect weather.

Spectacular Autumn foliage - this tree just shinned so bright - breathtaking!

So I took the time to prepare my house for this beautiful season.

Antlers seem to be the big thing this Fall season.

So in love with these beautiful Fall flowers.

Side table with Fall colors and the bible from my Mum.

Mantle - antlers are always big around here!

 

 

Sideboard decorated with pumpkins and pinecones.

Look at these beautiful Sunflowers!! GGGGorgeous!!!

Pumpkin wooden bowl - inspired by Jeanne Oliver's Home For The Holidays e-course (SO awesome).

Added a blackboard to the kitchen - I get the top half, the girls get the lower half :)

I have so much more to clean out of this house (it is ridiculous!!). I really want to get it all done so I can relax and fully enjoy this holiday season. Next weekend I want to get all my Christmas stuff down from the attic, so we can start on our Advent calendar/tree. The girls loved doing this last year, so we are really looking forward to it again.

Trying hard to install the true meaning of Christmas without the emphasis being on us, and what we get for Christmas. So far we have put together three shoeboxes for the Operation Christmas Child campaign. We completed one shoebox online, and the other two shoeboxes we did together. We stuffed those shoeboxes so full of love and goodness and our love of Christ - I hope the boxes manage to hold up for their long journey. Trying to explain the process (why we are doing this) to the girls without crying was difficult. They love the idea that they get to make another child so happy this Christmas...and that is what it is all about, right?

Operation Christmas Child - hope our boxes make it intact. They were packed TIGHT!

Well, I have so much more to do...and more to share, but that is all for today otherwise I could go on for hours. Tomorrow I will share our fun family Thanksgiving get-together (we do this the weekend before Thanksgiving, each year) - it is so much fun (although this year it was also FREEZING cold!!).


Until tomorrow...

Thankful for my family, and sweet friends.

Thankful for my warm house, and nutritious meals.

Thankful for the opportunity to live this life to the fullest,

...and to share His love.

Autumn

My favorite season is here! All ready to cozy up with a good book, warm blanket, and hot cuppa. Now just need to wait for the Texas weather to catch on! Ha! Although, at least the mornings are now pleasant enough to venture out for a walk :)

My first Fall project needs to be this beautiful wreath from Better Homes & Gardens - it is gorgeous!

Happy Fall, y'all!

First Day of Autumn...John Keats

Well, yesterday marked the official first day of Autumn, but I was not able to access my blog, so I'll post a nod to Fall today (via John Keats and his beautiful words):

To Autumn

John Keats (1820)

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
   Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
   With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
   And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
      To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
   With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
      For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
   Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
   Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reap’d furrow sound asleep,
   Drows’d with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
      Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
   Steady thy laden head across a brook;
   Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,
      Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
   Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,—
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
   And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
   Among the river sallows, borne aloft
      Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
   Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
   The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
      And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

Autumn Table Display

So last weekend I got a little busy with my fall decorating and made a few things. I am so excited about Fall this year, maybe because we had such a brutal hot summer, or maybe just because it is my favorite time of year. But, then again, I do love summer too...and, I am really looking forward to winter (to get rid of all these deadly mosquitoes!). No, I think autumn is my favorite...the decorating, revitalization of the spirit, the colors, the temperatures (ahhh.....), the coziness (without the chilled-to-the-bone feeling).

It conjures up pumpkins, and hay rides, soft blankets, sitting by the fire-pit, toasting marshmallows, soft drowsy light, and golden sunsets, the crisp air, and apple orchards. I love those beautiful days when the air is so crisp, the light dances off the amber leaves, and the world just seems a little more radiant, more beautiful than the day before. Those days when His touch is more softer, and sweeter, and your heart fills with love and grace and happiness. Beautiful Autumn!

So to celebrate the season I made a sweet little centerpiece for the table:

I started with lovely supplies from Hobby Lobby - lots of items 40% - 50% off (who shops for anything else if it's not 50% off??). So we have a cute rustic little wooden box, some flowers, a pumpkin, acorns, pine cones, floral foam square, a candle and ribbon.

I cut the floral foam to fit in the box, with the candle.

Then I stuck in some flowers, leaves and berries. I filled in the space around the flowers with dried spanish moss - I bought a big bag for about $2.50 at HL, and it may have even been 50% off!! LOL!

Finished it off with some feathers, a pumpkin (in the center), some little wood acorns, pine cones, and a pretty bow. I could not get the bow to glue onto the box, so I made a hook to hook it onto the side of the box. Very simple, but so pretty! Really, you can do this - just stick them in there, play with them a little to get the balance right, and viola! Little things like the feathers and bow are the perfect accents and really make it something special, so don't forget the little things :)

I think the only thing I might change is the candle - change it to a non-flame one, because I just feel a little uneasy with live flame, plastic foliage, spanish moss, and kids!

Oh, and sorry about the pics - my camera ran out of battery so the iPhone had to suffice!

Next up - the wreath :)

Fishing in a Tutu, and other weekend musings...

Monday was busy, so this post is a little behind, but here it is anyway:

Ever seen someone fishing with a tutu on?

Well, now you have! I think I could accurately describe both my girls as "tomboy princesses!"

We had a relaxing weekend at the lake "cabin". I finished the flooring in the bedroom and tore up more carpet to reveal lino underneath it. I do not like carpet. I really do not like the very ugly brown carpet we have, so I am very pleased with my progress. The husband is looking a little concerned. Guess he is just not sure when (or where) I will stop. Not sure when or where I will stop either. Really need to make a plan (that I will somewhat stick to - hehehehe!).

Before - the ugly brown carpet.

Close-up of very ugly brown carpet!

Carpet gone - looks better already.

Pulling out the million staples - uugghhhhh!

Vacuum :)

Done ;)

Love it! It looks SO MUCH BETTER, it smells so much better and it will be so much easier to clean. WHY. DID. WE. WAIT. SO. LONG????? (weird, huh?)

Hallway and bathroom are next....

In other news...we had big storm Saturday night - mostly lightning and rain (thank you Lord - we really needed the rain). The lightning always scares me the girls, so not the best rest that night, but we all slept in, so that was nice. We always worry about the big trees we have right next to the trailer - they will have to come down, unfortunately, just not safe :( boo! So I really need to start thinking about more landscaping - natural, hardy and pretty.

Grandparents new puppy was locked away for most of our visits over there - the girls were not amused! Poor puppy hurt his knee last weekend, so he is on "bed-rest". Girls still not amused! Puppy gets in the way when everyone is eating. Girls not amused! Not amused at all :( Hopefully puppy will be allowed out of exile next weekend. So these photos are from last weekend:

This photo shows my 3yr old being chased by the puppy. We were laughing so hard - you have never seen a kid run this fast EVER!

From the top pic to this, this is all I could get of her! I really wanted to get a pic of her face - so priceless!

Grandpa and both girls running again with the puppy.

Grandpa's dock - feeding the catfish.

What a pretty Autumn day.

Busy weekend. Busy week ahead!