November Grays

This week has been colder than November ought to be. Even with the heat on in the house, I am still freezing. I enjoy the light in the mornings while I run with friends, but I am awfully sleepy by 5pm when it's getting dark. I wasn't ready for winter to hit so early. I'm beginning to wonder if we moved to Canada and someone forgot to tell me.

It's been gray and windy. The gorgeous flame of fall seems to have passed in one windswept day. The grayness seemed to seep into my bones, leaving me tired, lonely, and feeling worn out.

But in the midst of the gray, here's some color...

Visiting the approximately 6700 flags placed as a memorial for all fallen soldiers since 9/11.  

Enjoying the sweetness of Bible study with a new group of ladies after a very trying day. Oh, the Lord was good that evening (and all the time!).  

Little Bear praying for a missionary couple for the week as part of Awana. He wrote a letter to them today to encourage them. I told him he should include a Bible verse that would help them feel encouraged and to know that the Lord is with them. He went off in search of his Bible and wrote Deut. 31:8. "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged." We didn't help him with it all; the Lord put the verse on his sweet heart, and he poured it out to them.

The prayers of a sweet friend when I was so overwhelmed I couldn't pray for myself.

Starting this timeline with Little Bear. He was in love.

A cold morning run with a friend who had been away.

Long, trying days with Curly. Knowing that this too shall pass but most important is for him to know he is loved.

Tiny Dancer charming the girls at the college while we waited for Little Bear's piano lesson. She was sporting one of her creative outfits, and they were eating it up. She's gone dressed as Yoda, a ballerina, and sometimes just like this. 

So many patterns, so little time.

Curly being excited about math as he works on his own pet shop. He is so excited to work on this every day. 
  

A doctor's cure on the most stressful day... 

Did you know there's a Dr. Pepper museum in Waco, TX? Neither did I!

Sometimes I get so bogged down in the big picture. I can't see the forest for the trees, as they say. But this week the Lord showed me the trees. And while the forest can be scary sometimes, the trees are beautiful.  

Fall Love

You just can't beat the beauty of fall. All of the colors: the leaves, of course, but also the sky. The sky has such an assortment of colors this time of year, and it feels like you can almost touch it. The way the sun shines through the leaves at just the right moment so that it looks like the tree is ablaze. Amazing.

And besides the beauty, leaves are so much fun to collect and play in. Walking through a pile of them on the side of the road, kicking them along and enjoying the awesome crunching sound they make.  No kid can pass that up.

Fall. It's my absolute favorite time of year.

Readings Around the House

The Star Wars obsession continues. I kissed Tiny Dancer while she was sleeping last night and found no fewer than four Star Wars books in her bed with her. The current favorite around here is this:

She's really taking off on her own reading, so there is an endless flow of books going through her hands at the moment.

Little Bear is in love with these Charlie Brown books.  

For school, he's reading The Kitchen Knight and Roland Wright: Future Knight among others.

 

 

And Curly is reading The Song of Roland (Eleanor Clark, out of print), Adam of the Road, and The Illustrated Book of Myths. 

 

 I can't seem to settle on anything for myself at the moment. Anyone have any suggestions? I love to read and am not liking feeling lost!

Trick or Treat!

Yesterday started off with a bang for us. Tiny Dancer came downstairs with a belly ache. She didn't really eat dinner the night before, so I thought maybe she was hungry. She did eat a little breakfast, but then minutes later was curled up in a ball on the couch. That should have been my clue. But it was expected to be a busy day, so I was trying to get dinner in the crock pot. Next thing I know, she says she feels like she's going to be sick. I ran to get the bucket, but I just couldn't make it in time. I'll spare you all the gory details; let's just say it wasn't pretty. I made her a little bed on the couch, hoping she would get better by the evening.

The rest of the morning was spent doing school. The boys wrote stories to go with The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. Curly even said math was fun yesterday. It was just a worksheet full of math problems decorated with a picture of a pumpkin. Math is the dreaded subject for him. So... if I put a picture on the page, it's suddenly a good time?

By afternoon, the little lady was riding her scooter with no further instances, so she was ready to go trick or treating with the boys.  

The Star Wars theme continues in our lives. Actually, they got tons of compliments on having coordinated costumes. Take advantage now, folk, because it's not likely to happen again.

This pumpkin is not impressed.

It was our first time trick or treating in our "new" house. We closed on Halloween last year, but we didn't move in until two weeks later. We weren't sure what to expect in a new place. It was definitely different. It's a smaller neighborhood, so it didn't take as long. There were also a lot less people out and about. And we really didn't know many of the people we did see, aside from our immediate neighbors. Every year prior to this, we have walked around with friends. This was our first year just the five of us, and it was a nice change. Other years I felt like I didn't really get to see my kids because they moved at various speeds in the pack. This year we moved a little slower and had more time together. Days where all of us go out are numbered, so I was thankful for the change. 

After collecting the loot, we returned home for a viewing of Toy Story of Terror! Super fun.

This clip has my favorite scene: the Pez dispenser throwing up.

Now that Curly is ten and in fifth grade, I can see where certain things won't last forever. I'm trying to cherish these moments while also training him to independence.

What did you do for Halloween?