Enjoying an October Snow

 If you've been on this blog for more than 5 minutes you know I'm a 'winter girl'. I love winter so much and snow... 

(the view out my dining room window) 

So a swirling all day (not too much accumulation) snow in October makes me so happy.  

So happy indeed that all of the fall came down, got packed away and a Christmas tree went up. Once it snows, I don't care what the calendar says - you can break all the rules once it snows. 

Capturing Autumn, It's Just Not Possible

I am so glad for this blog and a place to put my photos. 

Sometimes I get a panicked feeling as October is ending Because that means that the leaves are almost gone. I wait for them all year long. It is so beautiful to live in Connecticut in the fall. 

If you ever visit New England in the fall we are at peak color around October 20th - Vermont around October 13th. 

Recently I brought my camera in the car when Scott was driving and I snapped away - these are the usual places we drive every day. Our neighborhood, our town, our schools...

... in fact most of the pictures are blurry but I love them anyway. 

But pictures just can't capture it. There is a smell in autumn too, and that can't get on the blog. 

Sometimes Scott and I daydream about what house we'd like to move into... it's so much fun to dream. 

There is this one that is a speck across the pond - it's take your breath away kind of house surrounded by the woods. 

This on my way to school

And my "little school in the woods" 

I'll always love a drive with a bend in the road

Another of my school in the woods

A picket fence and an old barn with a dreamy tree 

A whiz of color flying by... 

The swirl of leaves on the ground 

Sometimes I have my ISO too high but I still love it. 

And this, I drive by everyday on my way to school. I caught these too late, one or two days earlier it was stunning. 

Main street... ahhh

And this front yard - how I love how they decorated with pumpkins on the old stone fence posts. 

Oh goodness, it's a good thing that Christmas is next because it's just hard to give up October. 

Christmas is Next

I kept it simple in my living room this fall. Since my walls are a light, light green and every accent in that room is a pale, pretty pink... dark, autumn colors just don't work in that room like they do in our family room. 

So I kept the painting of my girls above the fireplace and used some felt pumpkins up there - and some real ones by the hearth from our pumpkin patch trip. 

I love the sunshine this room gets in the afternoon - especially in autumn.

As much as I've loved decorating all autumn long... my home is holding it's breath... because Christmas is next. 

Building a Family at School

We've been doing a bunch of social/emotional lessons this year. And this just came down (because a new one was about to go up) and I love it so much I had to take a picture of it. 

It is based off of the book, Our Class Is A Family (found here) and it's lovely. 

All of the children used watercolors and created these portraits (some very creative with masks on).

And then they finished these sentences... 

We are a family when... 

They wrote the most wonderful things... made my heart leap for joy! 

We truly are a family and I adore my class this year. 

Seeing Autumn

Apple crisp, a favorite childhood book with the most beautiful illustrations, and tea, always tea is how I chose to 'taste and see that the Lord is good'.... 

(one little book that reminds me of Anna at 5 and one little book that reminds me of Abigail at 5)

Tonight I came home - changed - and looked out my bedroom window. I thought, "oh my goodness, I am the luckiest." So I grabbed my camera to capture what I saw on my way downstairs to have dinner with my little family. 

 Pretty amazing through the sheer curtains 

Looking from upstairs out to the backyard... 

Through the dining room window

This sweet 5 minutes of running around and taking a few pictures made me think about how we can choose so many times to see God's goodness in the everyday. It doesn't matter how full our days are - doesn't matter if I'm not 'home' like I was for those 13 precious years - I can still choose to 'see Autumn'

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the one that takes refuge in Him. 

The Lord is always good. It is our choice to taste and see that goodness. Even in a moment of looking out of my window. Even with laundry to start, a family to meet at the dinner table, 4th graders to plan for, on and on. I will always have more peace, more joy when I taste and see that the Lord is good. 

Pumpkin Patch

Such a glorious fall day. Cool, really cool, enough for warm jackets and fuzzy boots. Sunny, and just that little bit of wind. And leaves, prettiest that I can remember. Is that because anything 'good' seems beyond spectacular this year? I'm not sure. But I sure did love our trip this past weekend to the pumpkin patch. 

We've been going to this pumpkin farm for years and years. It has so many good memories for us. The drive there is just as wonderful as the farm itself. We drive past (why didn't I take pictures?) the prettiest New England houses and churches and through lovely towns. Sometimes it doesn't seem real. 

We take the tractor hay ride down to the field; bumping along through the woods. 

We take lots of pictures (especially with Anna since she's a senior - although we try not to think about her not being with us next year) 

The girls and Scott look at so many before choosing. This time Anna wanted 2 and Abigail picked one. 

I love this one so much of Scott and Anna. 

I love the happiness. 

After we decide we've looked long enough we ride the tractor back through the woods to the farm. 

We thank the farmer we've come to associate with fall and pumpkins and head home. 

This year I picked a few of these for my pink and green living room. I love these colors! Scott said something like, "aren't you going to start decorating for Christmas in like 2 weeks?" So true! 

This year we pulled over for a few pictures by the river. (Kelli, remember this? We were standing right there when they went tubing!) 

Just a little playing in the woods down by the river. 

Best fall day so far!