Made of Monday...Autumn

I know the first day of school is behind us and the true first days of fall are still weeks away, but I am ready for it. I can feel it just like I can feel spring as the crocuses start to peek through the snow.

Autumn is a busy time of year for our family – birthdays and anniversaries galore, school events, and all our favorite things happen this time of year, too…football and marching band. The weather has cooled enough for us to hike like we mean it.

I know I shouldn’t wish away the summer, but I am looking forward to fall.

I am ready to have the windows open and the air conditioning OFF!

I am ready for jeans and sweaters, rich jewel tones and warm cozy colors.

I am ready for the crunch of leaves on wooded trails.

I am ready for apple picking and baking pies.

I am ready for bubbling pots of stew and soup and hearty meals baked in the oven.

I am ready for afghans and blankets to cuddle under for story time on the couch.

I am ready for shoes and socks, instead of flip flops at least for a short while.

I am ready for evenings on the porch (without bugs!).

I am ready for the days when I stop short to stand in the warm sun that shines through the front windows in the afternoon.

I am made of autumn...

There is a great giveaway going on over at Naptime Diaries that includes some goodies from the TIAMO shop. Including a hair tutu of choice from the list of Hair Tutus of the month, and a set of Glad Text cards similar to those found here. I hope you will go enter for a chance to win!

Thursday…Can you believe that it is Thursday already?

Our two week summer reprieve is quickly coming to an end. It really was more like a crazy blend of mad dash to get life back in order and a lazy laid back family decompress.  The kids have really blossomed under their daddy’s influence. 

But today is the end…We have Grace’s pre-school open house and just like that a switch is flipped and the semester begins. Back to School picnics, back to school events, prepping assignments and books, checking calendars, and this year the addition of Grace going to school and on-line classes for me, as well as the commitment to make TIAMO a go and my husband will be working part-time not at school.

As much as that sounds like a heavy sigh, bordering on a complaint…this year it feels like a challenge, a challenge I might be able to live up to.

Regardless it is full of blessings! Like fellowship that is treasured respite from the hustle and bustle. Like a home that is sacred space for our family.

The greatest blessing though is my husband (as much as we might drive each other crazy, as much as I know there is HUGE post-law school adjustment a head of us!).  As he starts his third and final year of law school there is so much happy, fulfilling future in front of him.

He has always been a hard worker, though he sometimes does his best not to look like it. He is thriving on the rigorous law school schedule.  If it is possible, He is more excited about the start of classes now than he was two years ago, and not just because it is the final first day. He loves law, he loves analyzing, he loves “putting bad guys in jail”, and he loves seeing God’s law in our law, and is going to love being a lawyer.

There isn't any greater blessing to a wife than a happy husband. The kids thrive off of that happiness. It makes home life agreeable.

Sometimes it is hard to compete with law school and all that comes with it, but I know he is happy and I know some day (very soon) he will be done and the pace and focus of our lives will change. I am trying not to wish it away, trying to let him have room to savor his successes and prepare for the next challenge (finding a big lawyer job to pay all these big law school bills!).

I couldn’t be prouder…So let the games begin!