Autumn Love

                                 

According to this we've done our fare share of relishing. I have been taking knitting lessons, but it's not coming all that naturally to be honest. I really have to work at it. It would help if I had longer chunks of time to practice. I did finish a second pair of baby Uggs but they weren't any better than the first. Regardless, I think I'm moving on to a new pattern- The Brielle Slouchy. 

                 

Lots of walks with this guy or else he'd never leave the house.

Homemade hot chocolate by the Harry Potter colored fire.

Fall Festivities

This is one of the best school projects we've done this year for Jane. A nature notebook.

Here she is doing leaf rubbings whilst listening to the lap harp...

One evening while preparing the school room for the next day, I thumbed through her notebook and found these sweet pages.

 The next best school activity this year has been the writing center. I found this killer typewriter at the BB for $1.50. Check out the stack of letters ready to mail this week.

 I like this letter Jane wrote, this part in particular... "P.S. Are we nature buddy's?"

 I love it when I find pictures on my phone like this one. I later found out it was Charlie who took it. How did he get so close is what I want to know.

Seasons of Change

This was a blustery fall morning. The girls packed all kinds of things (dolls, limes, Despereaux, notebooks) in their bike baskets, then went for a ride. 

Scarlet got a wand in her workbox one morning and changed Timmy into "a freckle, and a pig."

Scarlet loves to hold a blanket and suck her thumb- she'll often show me a part of her blanket to smell. The last time she did this I said, 

"What does it smell like? 

I don't smell anything, it just smells clean to me." 

Scarlet answered, "It smells like chocolate and marshmallows."

Autumn 

by Rainer Maria Rilke

The leaves are falling, falling as if from far up,


as if orchards were dying high in space.


Each leaf falls as if it were motioning "no."



And tonight the heavy earth is falling

away from all other stars in the loneliness.



We're all falling. This hand here is falling.


And look at the other one. It's in them all.



And yet there is Someone, whose hands


infinitely calm, holding up all this falling.

Fall Festivities

Pumpkin Farm Fun

Family time with Grandma Gail and Grandaddy, Gessie, and Ash's family.

Jacob was making us laugh because he was walking around with a corn cob between his legs (like for a while), so that he could use both hands to peel a corn cob and then have one ready to peel after. 

These ghosts are my new favorite crafty craft. They are super easy, cost like $4 and they are boo-tiful!

These are some shots of them hanging outside. The wind makes them fly around in a ghosty way.

See the floaty-ness.

        

 

I am missing Jacob's mask picture for some reason? It was fascinating for Tim and I to see our kids in a family dance setting. I didn't get pictures at the actual masquerade because it was too dark for my phone camera. But here are some highlights. Scarlet could not have been more delighted- she danced the night away. Jane learned some sweet dance moves from Shaina (who seriously got the party rock'in). I am still picturing her dancing on a chair with a black wig on... love her! 

Charlie was shy like me but he really wanted to dance. He needed his pal Brady I think.  And Jacob was happy as a clam just dancing by himself :0)

If you were coming in the Fall

Emily Dickinson

If you were coming in the Fall,

I'd brush the Summer by

With half a smile, and half a spurn,

As Housewives do, a Fly.

If I could see you in a year,

I'd wind the months in balls --

And put them each in separate Drawers,

For fear the numbers fuse --

If only Centuries, delayed,

I'd count them on my Hand,

Subtracting, till my fingers dropped

Into Van Dieman's Land.

If certain, when this life was out --

That yours and mine, should be

I'd toss it yonder, like a Rind,

And take Eternity --

But, now, uncertain of the length

Of this, that is between,

It goads me, like the Goblin Bee --

That will not state -- its sting.

Turkeys are Chubby

We celebrated a birthday with our latin friends- The Sotello's, and it inspired me to make piniatas with the kids. I was actually so inspired that we started right when we got home at around 8pm. Little did I realize, that piniata making is quite an ordeal and once you get started you sort of have to finish. Needless to say, we were up late, covered in sticky stuff, talking the night away. But when we finished, we had 2 large turkeys to stuff with treasures and bust open on Thanksgiving.

This is my parents mantle, can you see which item doesn't belong? The colorful feathers and red gaggle give it away...

I added this picture because the boys discovered they could blow up the piniata balloons and stuff them in their shirts for muscles and it was so cute.

Here's the close up of our Turkey (yes, his head popped, leaving only a beak and gaggle and body).

This is the picture of the drive up to Gramma and Baba's house for Thanksgiving weekend. If you'll look closely you'll see the three of them asleep on the back row, and a little bunny cuddled up in there.

Here is some of the Thanksgiving madness. Mark wants everyone to see his muscles lately (he's been drinking a lot of muscle milk :0)

Charlie and I picked all these apples from Grammy's apple tree. These apples make hot pink applesauce.

The weather was wonderful- it was actually hammock weather!

Mom made a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner. All my favorite things were there and why does it taste so much better when mom makes it!??

Check out her classy table settings. Our napkins had a fall leaf around them.

Albert and Christa stopped by and it is always a treat to see their family. We feel so blessed to have sweet friends that make an effort to visit us.

We saved the turkey piniata for Zach and he took care of business, as you can see here.

It was full of random house hold items like buttons, and paperclips and some things from the toybox etc. It was funny how the kids were excited about it even though it was mostly their own stuff inside :0)

The Voravongs, our forever friends.

 "As the days grow short, some faces grow long. But not mine. Every autumn, when the wind turns cold and darkness comes early, I am suddenly happy. It's time to start making soup again."
                                                    -LESLIE NEWMAN


I may have posted this before but every year at carrot harvesting time I make this soup and its so good.

Carrot Soup

2T olive oil

2 lbs carrots thinly sliced

1 small onion, diced

¼ c honey

1T grated ginger

1t cinnamon

1t chili powder

½ t nutmeg

½ t allspice

1 carton (900 ml) fat free chicken broth

salt and pepper

Garnish ideas:

plain yogurt

fresh chives

wheat and honey pretzel twists

My bursting carrot bags.