Happy Fall Y'all

See this litte guy right here? He wanted to wish y'all a happy fall. Isn't he just precious? And he is wearing his signature color, orange, to be fitting for the season. What a guy. He is super stylish like that.













There. Now that you have officially been offered a "Happy Fall Y'all" from our little guy, please allow me to officially welcome you to our home. Our home that has been decorated for fall. Can I just share that I LOVE decorating for seasons and holidays? I do, I do. There is just something so special and festive to me to be in a home that is decorated especially for important seasons and holidays. And I love seeing the excitement in the children's eyes when they walk into our home and it is bursting with color and decorations for the season. So without further ado, a tour in pictures of our home. Take a look around!















Thanks for stopping by! And, Happy Fall Y'all!

Delicious

Whew! It has been a long three days! However, the days have been pretty delicious, as far as days go. On Sunday night I stayed up w-A-y too late looking on Etsy at baby clothes and hats. It makes me want to have dozens of children so I can dress them all in those tiny, precious hats. Delicious. And, I have no doubt that if I were a millionaire I would give some of my money to charity and the rest of it would go to Etsy. Just sayin'. But alas, I am not a millionaire. But I do have a wonderful friend that sews! I have already requested that she make me some of those delicious little boy onesies with the ties appliqued on. I am envisioning a photo shoot with Mister Man wearing his little onesie featuring a tie with fall colors on it, sitting on my delicious orange bench in the middle of the lane. Pure deliciousness! Okay, enough about Etsy and delicious baby hats and clothes.

On Monday my parents took all of the littles to ballet lessons for the day so that I could have a delicious few hours to myself. It was much needed! First on my agenda? An hour nap in my new king sized bed. Delicious. There is just something special about getting to close your eyes in the middle of the day. Next up? A delicious bubble bath. After that I went out to run errands and got my first hot drink from Starbucks for the season. Caramel Apple Spice. Delicious. Then I went to Target. My favorite store on the planet. I could seriously go there every. single. day and never get tired of walking the aisles. I bought my children matching outfits for pictures in the pumpkin patch this fall season. They will look sweet, and adorable, and delicious, I have no doubt. Then I came home to delicious hugs and kisses from my littles. And that night for supper? Boss made his super yummo chili. Our first pot of the season. While some do not care for this dish (he makes it with more of a sweet/tangy/barbeque sauce) in our home it is a family favorite. Add some cheese, sour cream, and fritos and you have a bowl of pure deliciousness. It was a deliciouss day to be sure.

Yesterday, however, was not so delicious. We got a call late Monday night that Boss's dad, our Papaw, had had a heart attack and was not doing well. So yesterday we loaded up the sheep (our she jeep) and drove to spend the day at the hospital. Papaw had a procedure today, and it seems to be helping. He now has a stint in all four of his arteries, I believe. We hope he gets better soon. So while yesterday could have been long and tiresome, and we all could have been cranky, we decided to focus on the delicious aspects of the day, instead. For one, we got to make the drive to Boss's parents town an hour away. With the leaves starting to change, it is one of my most favorite drives. It is deliciously beautiful, and with all of the tickle bumps (that's what my little girls call the hills) thrown in it was just about perfect. Another delicious detail? Because of Papaw's surgery, Boss got an unexpected day off from work, and we spent the entire day together as a family of five. That is always delicious to me. And then Emma and I finished the day with our Tuesday night delicious Duggar Date.

And today is turning out to be just as delicious! I actually had to turn the heat on (just for a tiny bit this morning) to take the chill out of the main level of the house so that we could school. The first heat of the season is delicious to me. Then we schooled at the table and snacked on bagels and apple butter for lunch. Homeschooling and apple butter are incredibly delicious. And baby boy has been napping for over three hours now. That is delicious with a capitol D. Happy Wednesday, friends. Determine to make today delicious.

A Chosen Path

Do you ever wonder which path God is going to lead you down next in life? This is something that I think about often, as thus far He has taken me on a pretty wild ride. Never in a million years did I think that I would be a married mother of three and a therapeutic foster parent to over 35 teenagers at the ripe old age of 28. Okay, that's not all true. I prayed with all of my heart that I would be married young with a house full of babies to raise and love, but the teenager part? Sometimes I wonder. How the heck did I get here? Why me? What makes Him think I am cut out for this? Particularly on the rough days. But then God gently reminds me that it is by His grace that I am here. His leading. His plans for my life, which far surpass anything that I could have ever dreamed up on my own. It is easier to see the big picture when looking backwards. Now that I am here, it can be pretty cool to look back at how I got here. But the getting here was tough. I won't lie. And sometimes it's still tough.

There are days when I question His chosen path for my life. Days when it seems like I am only traveling through dense forests, and there is not enough sunlight shining down on my path. Days when I long to raise my family in our own home, keeping our own schedules instead of planning our weekends around everyone elses, creating our own memories and traditions, and just being together any which way we want at any time we choose. Days when everyone elses paths look a whole lot better than mine. I dream of the easy life of our simple family of five, fully knowing that even if we were not on this path or in this work that life would not be "easy". These are just the lies that Satan tries to get me to believe. If we were in any other place in life he would just use something else to distract me. To try to get me to leave this chosen path. To draw me to his path. Because his path looks all glittery and sparkly. It promises that life will be full of roses and rainbows, without any of that nonsense of thorns or rain. It says, choose this path where I will qive you the quick fix! The easy way out! And sadly, I have seen many people fall for his lies. They leave God's path for something that looks better, or easier, and while things might be good for awhile, in the end they get burned.

Because really, there is only one Path. And that is God's path. The path He carefully selects for each of us, crafting it with His plans for our life in mind. And then He gently sets it before us. The trick is that it is our choice whether we will follow His path or not. God doesn't promise us that it will be easy. In fact, He promises that it will not. But he also promises that He will not leave us or forsake us, as we travel this path that He has laid out for us. And in the end, the reward will be great. Far greater than even roses or rainbows.

So I remind myself of this when the going gets tough. I remind myself that to serve others I am actually serving God. When I am tired of tantrums and back talk? I remind myself that I throw tantrums and give back talk to God All. The. Time. And He forgives me. When I get anxiety over filth being brought into my home by dirty people who have not been cared for? When I want to run for the hills or lock all of my doors and windows to keep the dirty parts of life out? I remind myself that if it wasn't for my Savior that I would be dirty too. And on the days where I can't seem to find anything good at all? I just keep putting one foot in front of the other, praying, and trusting that soon there will come a bend in the path and then He will lead me in a new direction. Yes, it's been a wild ride. And I know there will be rough traveling days ahead. But I am determined to stay on this path. Trusting Him with one day at a time.

A Challenge for This Week: Ask God to show you this week what path He would have your life to be on for this season. Are you on it? If not, how will you get there to better align your plans for your life with His will for your life? What lie is Satan using to try and distract you to lead you away from God's chosen path? I am praying these thoughts for myself this week!

P.S. That picture up there? Yeah, I live there. It's okay to be jealous :). Maybe my path is not so bad afterall!

Apple Fest

(The Mama and her Children)











Today was a super Saturday! It finally feels like fall. The sun was shining but the air had a cool crispness to it. We started off our Saturday by heading to the local Apple Festival! It was crowded, but their was excitement in the air. And the smells were completely wonderful. Festivals are one of Ohio's many charms.

After the festival, Boss played some golf with his buddies on their golf course, and then the teenagers and I headed to town for our weekly errands. We rode in the jeep with the top off and let the wind blow through our hair. The store was wonderful without any littles begging for this or that (they stayed home to keep Boss company). One teenager did throw a fit complete with foot stomping in the frozen food section, but what can I say? Our day wouldn't be complete without a little drama. The scene quickly passed and we were on our way.

Once home my two little helpers and I made caramel apples with the apples we got from the festival. Delicious! There are no other words to describe them. The recipe was really simple. Mix one bag of individually wrapped caramels with two tablespoons of milk and melt in the microwave, stirring in between. Once melted, roll apples (that have had their stems removed and a wooden craft stick stuck in the center) in
the caramels. Let them harden on a cookie sheet that is greased with butter. See? Easy as pie. Although pie is not really easy to make, so I am not sure who came up with that expression. But caramel apples? Those are easy to make. And did I mention they were delicious?















And just because he is cute as pie, here is a picture of my youngest sporting his overalls courtesy of Ms. Judy. Your welcome.

A Beautiful Mess

I am a fairly neat and orderly person. Unless we are talking about putting my laundry away, the inside of my van, or organizing my bathroom. But right now we aren't talking about those things. Because in most everything else in life, I like things to be tidy. Looking good. Clutter free. A place for everything and everything in it's place. If the main level of the house is a mess, I cannot seem to relax. However, this has not always been true about me. Growing up, my room was a disaster. I could have put a million holes in the walls of my bedroom while hanging up pictures from Teen Magazine (and was quite often irritated that my Dad would not let me. Jonathan Taylor Thomas, anyone?) and it would not have bothered me at all. But something strange happened when I began to grow up and start having to pay for some of my own things. All of a sudden, nothing could get dirty. Everything needed to stay looking nice and shiny and new. A few examples.

When I was seventeen, my parents bought me my first car. She was a 1999 maroon Mitsubishi Gallant. She had a sunroof and she rocked. I put the "S" in somebody when I drove her. I named her Ruby and she was with me until 2005 when Boss and I both traded in our "cool" cars for our first family vehicle (We keep cars like we keep dogs around here. Not for very long at all). Ruby was a very pretty car. The only trouble was that she had tan cloth interior. Even on the insides of the door, all the way up to where the windows began. This caused me some trouble. You see, I like to drive with my left elbow resting right up there on the door where the siding meets the window. And after time, the indention of my elbow began to wear a nice little spot into the siding of my car. The fabric began to look all squishy and worn. And after awhile, the spot was all I could see when I got inside of my car. It drove me crazy. When someone else would ask to borrow my car I would say, sure! But put your elbow on my worn spot and make it worse, and you die. I was kidding of course. But not really. The worn spot drove me bonkers. The inside of my car now looked like a "mess".

Another example. When Boss and I were first married we used part of our wedding gift money to buy new bedding. Our first "we are a married couple who now get to sleep together" bedding. It was important to me. I took my time picking it out and finally decided on a fluffy green and tan comforter set from Target. Looking back I cannot believe that I selected that bedding, but hey! I was young and in love and everything looked beautiful to me at that time :). Anyway, I loved our bed. I loved our bed for many newlywed reasons (ha!), but I especially loved my new comforter. We had not had it for very long, when one day I came home to our very tiny apartment in Charleston to find a huge, fat, navy blue ink spot, smack in the middle of my new comforter. Turns out Boss had left a broken ink pen in his Champs work wind shorts, and when he took them off and tossed them on the bed after work, the ink bled through onto my comforter. I was a sad, sad wife. That was the first day that I learned that love is a choice and not always a feeling :). My beautiful bed no longer looked pretty. It was stained and ruined and all my eyes could see when I was in the room was a navy blue ink stain "mess".

Last example. Shortly after we were married, Boss and I discovered that we were pregnant with our first baby girl. After we discovered we were now three, we decided to move back home to my family. Because we were in the process of moving and building a home while pregnant, we postponed buying baby nursery furniture. When the house was finally completed, Emma was 10 weeks old, and I went to town decorating her room with the tiny budget that I had. Her walls were painted pale purple and I selected a crib to match the rocking chair I had gotten from my mother. Her room was very sweet. But then our baby girl grew and grew, and one day she began getting teeth. Little teeth that liked to gnaw on the side of the crib and leave little teeth marks all over it. I had planned to use this crib for many more Z babies, and now in my eyes it was ruined. No longer perfect. To me, it now looked like a "mess". I am ashamed to say that I was actually frustrated with my tiny baby girl and her naughty teeth gnawing ways.

Looking back I can see that it was crazy for me to be so uptight about "things". After all, many cars have come and gone since Ruby. It was so not worth wasting my time on an indention in the side of my car's fabric. The same is true with comforters and cribs. After all, they are just "things". And while I began to loosen up a bit the more I grew and the more I mothered children, I still found that my insane need to control things and keep them neat and tidy remained. What would start out as a mother/daughter baking day would turn into a mother baking day, because I did not want the children making a "mess". What could have been a really fun memory of fort building in the living room, I would say no to, because I did not want the "mess". So many things I have missed out on because I was afraid of getting dirty. Afraid of the "mess". But then I read something one day that changed the way that I view "messes".

If you have not read the story of Kate Mcrae, you should. She is a little girl who is fighting brain cancer in Arizona. I first heard of her story over a year ago, around the time she was diagnosed. I think I was drawn to her because not only was she right in between my daughter's ages, but she shared my youngest daughter's name. Kate. And if that had not been enough to keep me reading and praying, looking at the photo of her piercing blue eyes on the Internet did me on. For a year now I have read her mom Holly's blog as she has journaled this road they are traveling with Kate. Several weeks ago she shared something so profound, that I will forever be changed when I think of things that make a "mess".

Kate's mommy shared that she had a shiny, white laptop that she used for her blogging. One day Kate decided to use the laptop as a surface for drawing her picture. Evidently she put her little paper on the laptop and began to draw a beautiful picture....with a green permanent marker. That bled threw and left green permanent marks all over the shiny white laptop. Kate's mommy shared that a year before she would have been upset over such a thing. Much as I was upset over a stained comforter and a gnawed on crib. But now she shared she is just thankful. To her, those green marks represent that Kate was well enough to be coloring. They are a forever, permanent mark to show that her daughter is alive and living. They are a reminder that she is here. And should anything ever happen to sweet Kate (and I pray daily for complete healing), I have no doubt that those green marks will be all the more cherished. To Kate's mommy those green marks are not a mess. They are beautiful.

As I began to think about the concept of a beautiful mess, I began to change the way that I thought about "things". That indention in my car? A permanent mark to show that I was there. Young, single, driving back and forth from home to college. It is proof that many hours were spent in Ruby. Some hours laughing with friends. Some drives spent praying and crying and wondering what God's plans were for my life. Would I get married? Would I be a mommy? And the stain on the comforter? If I still had it, I would no longer find it a mess. I would use that blanket to one day share with my daughters when they are newlyweds (and perhaps their husbands have irritated them) that love is more than a feeling, it is a choice. A choice to love even when they irritated. A choice to love through all of life's messes. And the baby crib? Oh, how I now wish I had saved the bar to that crib with my sweet baby girl's teeth marks on it. Showing that she was there. That she was growing. That she was my baby. Now, those teeth marks would be beautiful to me. A beautiful mess.

As I have reflected on these thoughts I have seen that I am not only leery of "messes" when it comes to things. I am also leery of "messes", when it comes to me, too. I can be a complete "mess" on the inside. Bitter thoughts towards my husband. Grumpiness towards my children. Luke warm in my relationship with God. But I slap a smile on my face for others to see. Why? Because I don't want them to see my "mess". I am afraid that if I show them my stains, or my indentions, or my gnawed on marks, that that is all they will see when they look at me. All they will see is a mess. But the more I think on this, the less afraid I become of showing others the "mess" that I am. Because you know what? My "mess" represents that I am alive. It shouts to the world, hey! I'm human! And it also shows a beautiful need for my Savior. I no longer feel the need to show the world that I am a shiny, white laptop in perfect condition. I am beginning to be okay with showing my permanent green marks as well. Because in God's eyes I am not just a "mess'. I am a work in progress. A beautiful mess. I am beginning to try and live differently. In the way that I view my earthly posessions. In the way that I mother. In my relationships with other people. I am trying to be more comfortable when it comes to getting messy. Because life is messy. And that's okay. Because it's a beautiful mess.