Sweet Fall...

Fall has arrived and is gracing us with her tender beauty and gentle peace.  The cool air outside has turned my heart in such a way this year that it has surprised even me!  My thoughts have turned with the weather from outward to inward focusing on home.  I am so inspired to fill this space with the warmth I feel in my heart!!  Now, how do I do that???

I'm working on it ~ fall candles and warm colors all around, soothing comfort foods for dinner, peaceful music, and reading time with lots of cuddling in blankets and sipping hot drinks.  Oh, my heart!  How I love this time of year!

The boys and I are reading King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table right now, and we are loving it.  Yes, there is a lot of smiting and heads do roll, but it is a fun read and has inspired drawings of knights and damsels by all four of my older boys.  They are acting out scenes from the book in their literature class at Excelsior.  They love practicing their lines and bringing their swords and knightly attire to co-op on Friday. I am also laughing at the sentences I am getting from them in grammar. "Run get thy sword," and such! Because their literature corresponds with what they are studying in history,  I feel like our whole home takes on whatever time period we are in.  Even the little ones listen to the books as I read and act out the scenes with their big brothers.  It becomes a family affair. We are all learning and growing together.  I am learning as much as they are about Charles the Hammer and Charlamagne. :-)  I will miss this one day, so I am soaking it up now.  And, as we read I pray that God will raise these little dreamers up to be knights who go on quests for the honor and glory of their King.

Life is unbelievably crazy and chaotic for me right now.  The last few weeks have been the climax of the renovation (which began a year ago on my birthday ~ Oct. 25th), and tomorrow we will begin to slide downward finally! :-)  We are going to begin moving our things over to the addition in the morning at 7:00 sharp!  I'm so excited that I can hardly stand it!  I will no longer have two tables in my kitchen, a couch in my foyer, another couch and a church pew in my dining room, and stuff piled everywhere!!!  We will begin the slow process of nesting in our new little space, and we can't wait.

Though I must admit the move makes me a little melancholy.  We will not put all four of our older boys to bed in the same room anymore.  I didn't realize how sad this would make me.  I am excited for the older two boys to have their space and to be able to read in their beds with their lamps on at night.  But, my heart hurts just a little to think I won't be tripping over the two trundles in the middle of their old bedroom.  And, Jack will no longer be in our closet.  Change. Good change.

Here are a few pictures from the past few days...

Everybody loves Miss Emery.  Her older brothers adore her.  I cannot wait to find out who she will be! Will she join in with her big brothers or will she hang back and do the girly thing by herself?  What fun it will be to watch her little personality continue to reveal itself.

Erik has been getting home earlier these days.  I did not ask him to do this.  He just felt he needed more time at home.  I am thankful for how God has made this possible for him to do.  Erik takes his job as their father seriously.  He pours generously into their lives and their hearts.  This year he has taken over teaching the older two boys math, and I appreciate this so much.  I am more of a literature/history person, and he is definitely more math/science.  This year in Bible we are reading Acts through Jude.  We are in Romans now, and Erik has also taken ownership of this as well.  He does a much better job of talking them through difficult passages than I do!  I am so thankful for my sweet husband and all he does to prayerfully lead and guide our family.

I can't remember where I saw this idea, but it was a fun surprise lunch for the boys!  We made pb sandwiches on apples slices.  Does that makes sense?  2 thin slices of apple with pb smeared in between.  Yum!

One of the things that has helped me get through the last few weeks of craziness has been big brothers who play with little brothers.  My big three are really learning to help out!  I need them, and I think they are beginning to realize that they play a vital role in our family.  They are needed and appreciated so much!  Elijah is only 5, but he is such a good helper!

Emery and I have gone shopping together a few times lately, and it has been so fun!  We were looking for comforters at Bed, Bath, and Beyond when I took this picture of my little shopping buddy!

Nana came for a visit last week.  She is always up for a game of anything!  The boys had so much fun with her.  Jack still says "Nana" out of the blue at least once a day!  She is a special lady, and I love her so much it's crazy!!!!!

This is a picture of a picture my mom took...

It is so my boys!  I love it.

And, this is sweet Em before church last Sunday.  My mother loved to dress me in sailor dresses when I was little.  So, one of the first things she bought Emery was a sailor dress, and it is finally time for her to wear it!  Precious!

As always life is full and good.  It is crazy and difficult and loud and unending, but it is good.  God is teaching me to slow down and take a deep breath and relax in Him.  It is amazing how this is changing me.  Simple lessons that are making such a difference in my everyday life. He is so good, and His ways are always better than our own ~ no matter how many lists of reasons we have for why our way is the right way.  His ways are best.  I'm so thankful!