Every leaf speaks bliss to me,
Fluttering from the autumn tree.
Emily Bronte

This is our new maple tree in the front yard. I have always wanted one. It is still small, but so beautiful!

If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason. ~Jack Handey

I was looking for the Emily Bronte quote and found this one. Who knows who Jack Handey is, but it totally made me laugh!

Fall Fun

We went for a hike by the lake today after school. It was a beautiful Fall day, sunny and warm. I let Sophie and Grace take pictures...

Little Pitchers

This was my conversation with Luke when I asked he and Noah to clean up a game they were done with.

Luke - "I maybe not a worker."

Me - "Why?"

Luke - "Because my back is weawy not feeling well."

I love these boys!

My Mantras of Calm

When I was growing up my Mom used to sing Love At Home when my siblings and I were fighting and arguing. It drove me crazy and to this day I still don't like that hymn. Well, I had an epiphany yesterday. I have a few "go to songs" that I use when I am surrounded by utter chaos. Ever since the girls were first born I have sung The Lord is My Shepherd or Ooh Child to help me keep sane. (Yes, Ooh Child is somewhat cheesy and MoTab will never perform it. But I like it, especially Beth Orton's version.)This really works for me. When my kids are crying/arguing/throwing a tantrum etc. I sing to myself and by extension, them. It keeps me mostly patient and somewhat focused as I work on fixing whatever is going on around me. Yesterday as I dealt with a whining 2 year old who was determined to continue fighting with his brother instead of having a disaster of a diaper changed, what did I start to sing? Low and behold, it was Love At Home. It was nice. And calming. Maybe my Mom never was singing to my siblings and I. Maybe she was just singing herself sane and hoping we would come along for the ride.

  The girls wanted to make a Halloween cat cake. This cracks me up...remembering the cat cake I made as a kid. I made caramel frosting and then added green food coloring. I wish I had a picture!

Family Hike

We made a quick trip to Hanging Rock State Park on Saturday for a family hike. We wanted to see the changing leaves - which weren't actually that spectacular. But it was fun to get outside on a beautiful fall day!

 I am coming to learn to love the beauty here. It is not the grandness of  Rocky Mtns, but there is a lot of beauty here too. It is just much more subtle - I have to look for it and appreciate it.