Delights

My children and I have been singing this song at our house recently:

      AUTUMN by Helen Browne

 

Apples yellow, pumpkins mellow,

Tell the time of year,

Nuts are falling, nature calling,

Autumn time is here.

 

Colors gaily, changing daily,

Brighten field and wood,

Autumn's glory tells the story,
God is great and good.

This song is published in Let Youth Praise Him copyright1949.  It was published by permission from Children's Melodies copyright 1915. I got this song book from my grandmother.  It is the same song book we used to sing from in the mornings at my school when I was in fourth and fifth grade.  It gives me great pleasure to pass this song down to my children.

I am also currently delighting in the pleasure of reading aloud EB White's book Charlotte's Web.   And I'm looking forward to checking out the movie version when we're done.  I always love the conclusion that books are better than movies.  We'll see if they say that this time.

Another fall activity I've been blessed to be involved with over the last few years is a six week Good News Club held at the public school two blocks from my house.  It is a blessing to be able to have a positive influence at our local school even while we are homeschoolers.  I've cherished getting to know some of our neighborhood kids while getting to share the truth of God's word.  If you've never been exposed to Children's Evangelism Fellowship, I would encourage you to look into it.  Our club started this last week.

And it will soon be collection week for Operation Christmas Child.  What a joy to partner with Samaritan's Purse in spreading the gospel throughout the world.  May the Lord bless this ministry richly.  May every nation bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  Thy kingdom come.

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4  Hoping that you will find your delight in the Lord as well, and that He will richly bless you.  Love from me.

A model, a maker, a baker, and a prayer need

What we've been up to:

We've finally finished our foam solar system model.

 

The kids had fun creating it.  It was much better/easier to manage than the balloon model.

 

 

We tried to make a solar s'more maker.

 

 

Unfortunately, it seems as if October in Iowa may not be the best time for this project. 

 

 

We had to make snacks for preschool.

 

 

I thought these little fall picks for the muffins were so cute!  I love fall.



 

What I have been struggling with:



this year's schedule!  The constant driving and outside activities make accomplishing things at home challenging.  Sometimes I feel so pressed down I can't breathe.  Fortunately, I've been through this enough that the Lord has given me confidence and hope to try to cope.  I'm also going to try just to get up a little bit earlier.  I've seen a benefit to this so far.

 

What my kids have been struggling with: attitudes.

But I believe this is also largely due to the schedule and just plain tiredness.  We're three days into an earlier  bedtime for them and I feel like I'm seeing improvement.

 

So if you have a spare prayer for us, we would much appreciate it.



The Pumpkin Farm

We had a great day at the pumpkin farm today!

 

 

Check out the height of that blow up pumpkin!

We had beautiful weather and they have so many fun things to do.

Here are the three little pie pumpkins that were included in the price of our tour.

 

 

Wasn't it sweet of my husband to buy me those pretty mums?  My 4-year-old said, "We got you purple because it's your favorite!"  (Even though it's really her favorite.  Still the sentiment is so sweet.)

 

 

HAPPY FALL Y'ALL!

 



Fall Traditions

I have some fall traditions that I not only enjoy, but have unexpectedly blessed my friendships.

Each fall we go apple picking.  It is a tradition we started 15 years ago.  At the time I was married with no children and I went with a friend of mine from work.  By the following year, we both had little ones.  We brought our strollers and picked our bushel baskets full.  Each year we have gone.  I am thankful for her unwavering faithfulness to the tradition.  It is a time set for our friendship, even if during the most of the rest of the year we don't get together.

Our oldest are now in high school.  We each have four kids.

This year's memory was that her daughter had an injured leg.  So, we carried a wheelchair like a sedan chair.  And she did her picking on crutches.  Also, we had a drought this year and at the crucial time in the spring there had been a freeze.  So, there were very few apples to pick. A unique year indeed.

Another fall tradition is to attend the Oktemberfest parade in our town.  Each year another friend of mine joins us and we watch together.

This year most of their family was unable to attend, because their daughter had the privilege of being in a quinceanera.  But their son joined us.  It was very evident to me how much he had matured over the last year just by enjoying his company at the parade.

I'm so glad to have a couple of planned yearly get-togethers with my friends. It is a delight to have these relationships that have lasted and these events that are tied to the calendar year are some nice anchors of blessings.  They've helped us stay connected.  That is something that was not planned.  I'm so thankful to God  for these precious blessings.