Fall Blessings

I love fall. It is my favorite season. I love the brilliant colors of the leaves and fall decor. I love sitting around bonfires and toasting marshmallows. I love harvest and all the sights and smells that go along with it. I love the shorter days and evenings cuddling with our kids in their fuzzy pajamas. I love apple cider. I love pumpkin pie. And fall happens to be the home to my favorite holiday -- Thanksgiving. 

I love Thanksgiving because at this time of year I stop to remember how much I have to be thankful for. It is SO easy to focus on daily frustrations and mundane chores. Some days I have to be very intentional to have joy and to focus on the positives. We are all so unbelievably blessed. 

So, here are some things I am thankful for. 

God, because He is my strength and comfort and peace. There are days when I am in constant prayer and so thankful that I can talk to God about the things that break my heart most and about the things that fill my heart with joy.

And His Son, Jesus Christ, because I need a Savior -- every day.

My husband, because he is the most amazing man I have ever met. He is hard-working and full of wisdom. He is disciplined. He is forgiving. He is kind. He is loving. He is encouraging. I am so proud to share this life with him, and grateful that he works so hard to give our little family all we need. 

My children because they truly are a blessing from the Lord. They make me laugh. They make me learn. They make me cry. They make me play Hullabaloo with them. 

My health. This is one that I know I do not truly appreciate, because I think you cannot truly appreciate good health until you no longer have it. 

Our home. It has nothing to do with the colors on the walls or the placement of furniture or the porch swing. It has everything to do with the memories.

Modern conveniences. Ok, I admit that after visiting New Salem years ago I thought it would be cool to live in a log cabin and cook over a fire and sleep on a trundle bed. But I am POSITIVE that the thrill of life without indoor plumbing and electricity and motorized vehicles would fade pretty quickly. So, I'll enjoy modern conveniences and spend a few nights out of the year camping in a tent and cooking over a fire. Good enough for me.

Healthy food, because there are SO many who did not eat today.

Hot tea in the mornings, because I just never could acquire a taste for coffee.

Long, hot showers, because I can think in the quiet of the shower.

Long walks and runs, because it feels good to get outside and play. 

And, Arby's new Peppermint Stick Swirl Shake, because it is AWESOME!!

Our Trick-or-Treaters

I always love guessing what the girls want to be for Halloween. It is fun for them to dress up for a night and explore a character beyond themselves.

We don't visit many houses on our quest for goodies, but love to stop by a few houses of friends and family for visits. This year we also went to a trunk-or-treat in Macomb one evening. This year, to go along with our early American history lessons, Emily chose to be a native American. I am not joking when I say that she wore her costume every day for a week. That is how excited she was! I love that she is so interested in native American history.

Megan chose a cowgirl -- a very sparkling cowgirl in her sparkling hat and boots. She also loves dressing up and chases Emily around trying to capture her. So far, the keen survival skills and speed of the native American have been able to escape the creativity and persistence of the short "settler of the West." I am encouraging them to make a peace treaty as the pilgrims at Plimoth Plantation did with the Wampanoag tribe. : )

And Eli was Clark Kent. I wish I had a portable toddler-sized telephone booth as a prop. He had no idea what was going on, but loved visiting grandmas and aunts and uncles. And, of course, he didn't mind his sweet treats that he collected along the way. 

Spooky Halloween Dipped Oreos

The girls and I made these dipped Oreos and added eyeballs for their cousins' Halloween bags. We were lucky to have buddy Kaden stop by after school one day to share the treat with us. This was as serious a photo as I could get!! Fun kids!!

Captured Moment

Happy Birthday, Emily!

I honestly cannot imagine life without Emily. She is everything I hoped she'd be when we first met her 9 years ago -- and more! She is fun and creative and caring and helpful and smart and adventurous. I could go on and on and on, but you get the point. We think she is pretty special. So, for 9 years that God has allowed us to be her parents, we are thankful! 

Here is Emily with her birthday "pancake." Somehow, this have become a tradition in our house and I honestly don't remember when it started. 

And her cake. She decided on a Halloween party, and requested brownies instead of a cake. So, this is her halloween birthday brownie!

She had her cousins and some friends over for her party, and here are all their cups lined up on the counter ready to be filled with lemonade and water!

Decorating was so easy this year. Cheap decorations from the dollar store added a little atmosphere and helped "haunt" our house.

We had pizza bagels, fresh vegetables, chips and salsa and fruit salad for supper. 

Some of the kids came in costume, and it was fun to see all the little characters!

Here is Emily opening cards.

And the highlight of the party was a slightly chilly hayrack ride. The kids had to stop and pick up 6 jars that contained instructions for them. Then we returned home for brownie cake.

Here are the kids doing jumping jacks during the hayrack ride.

There was a nearly full moon that lit our way back home.

I hope she enjoyed her birthday and her party. Thanks to family and friends that helped celebrate!

Just One Vote

Does one vote really matter? 

In 1839, Marcus Morton was elected governor of Massachusetts by getting one more vote than his opponent. 

Herbert Connolly lost track of time while campaigning for a seat on the Massachusetts Governor's Council in 1988. When he went to vote, the polls had just closed. He lost his own election by one vote.

In Sydney Nixon's case, "just one vote" mattered twice! In 1997, he won his election for Vermont state representative by one vote -- 570 to 569. Then there was a recount and he lost -- 572 to 571.

So, one vote can make a difference. Whatever your views and whichever candidates you support, make sure that you vote! It is your right; it is your responsibility.

Presidential Facts 43

Barack Husein Obama

2009 to ??

After working at Baskin-Robbins as a teenager, Obama garnered a great distaste for ice cream – a treat he dislikes even to this day.

Presidential Facts 42

George W. Bush

2001 to 2009

This President Bush was the first to hold Little League tryouts on the White House lawn. Perhaps it was no coincidence; years before he was a managing partner of the Texas Rangers baseball team.

Presidential Facts 41

William J. Clinton

1993 to 2001

Congress investigated many things about the Clinton administration. One was the possibility that it wrongfully used the White House staff, postage and stationery to answer mail addressed to Socks, Clinton's pet cat.

Presidential Facts 40

George H. Bush

1989 to 1993

While he was campaigning for president, Bush was sometimes called a "wimp." Yet he was a fighter pilot in World War II and flew fifty-eight combat missions.

Presidential Facts 39

Ronald W. Reagan

1981 to 1989

Reagan lost some of his hearing, which may have been caused by the loud gunfire during all the Western movies he filmed in Hollywood.

Presidential Facts 38

James Carter, Jr.

1977 to 1981

Jimmy Carter was the first president to be born in a hospital.

Presidential Facts 37

Gerald R. Ford

1974 to 1977

While studying law, Ford also worked as a fashion model.

Presidential Facts 36

Richard M. Nixon

1969 to 1974

Richard Nixon was a good poker player. Despite his low army salary during World War II, he won enough from his games to finance his first campaign for Congress.

Presidential Facts 35

Lyndon B. Johnson

1963 to 1969

Johnson kept three television sets in the Oval Office. When he was president there were only three networks, so he could keep his eye on every channel.

Presidential Facts 34

John F. Kennedy

1961 to 1963

When making a speech in Germany, Kennedy meant to say "I am a citizen of Berlin" in German. He made a mistake. What he really said was "I am a jelly doughnut."

Presidential Facts 33

Dwight David Eisenhower

1953 to 1961

This president was born David Dwight Eisenhower but decided to switch his first two names.

Presidential Facts 32

Harry S. Truman

1945 to 1953

Before going into politics, Truman owned a men's clothing store.

Presidential Facts 31

Franklin D. Roosevelt

1933 to 1945

Roosevelt was so superstitious that he canceled appointments scheduled on Friday the Thirteenth and wouldn't sit at tables of thirteen people.

Presidential Facts 30

Herbert Hoover

1929 to 1933

President hoover and his wife spoke in Chinese when they didn't want to be understood. Wealthy by the time he got to the White House, Hoover donated his entire presidential salary to charity.

Presidential Facts 29

Calvin Coolidge

1923 to 1929

Calvin Coolidge shared his presidential home with countless dogs, cats and birds, two raccoons, a donkey, a bobcat named Smokey, lion cubs and a pygmy hippo.

Presidential Facts 28

Warren G. Harding

1921 to 1923

Warren wasn't the only member of the Harding family who worked in Washington DC. His sister was a local policewoman.

Presidential Facts 27

Woodrow Wilson

1913 to 1921

Wilson didn't learn the alphabet until nine years old and could not read until twelve. But he became president of Princeton University and president of the United States.

Presidential Facts 26

William H. Taft

1909 to 1913

Taft owned the last cow that lived at the White House. As a household pet, Pauline grazed on the lawn and provided milk for the family.

Presidential Facts 25

Theodore Roosevelt

1901 to 1909

Roosevelt's eyesight was so bad that he could not recognize his own sons without his glasses.

Presidential Facts 24

William McKinley

1897 to 1901

Except for George Washington, presidents shake a lot of hands. To keep from getting too sore, McKinley would squeeze a man's hand warmly before his own got caught in a hard grip.

Presidential Facts 23

Benjamin Harrison

1889 to 1893

Harrison was the grandson of William Henry Harrison (president #9), who died after the cold he caught during his inauguration grew into pneumonia. Benjamin took no chances; he wore a full set of long underwear to his inauguration.

Presidential Facts 22

Grover Cleveland

1885 to 1889

1893 to 1897

This minister's son was the only president who hanged a man. While he was sheriff of Erie County, New York, he was also its executioner.

Presidential Facts 21

Chester A. Arthur

1881 to 1885

Arthur loved to stay up late at night -- and to sleep late, too. He often ate breakfast when he should have been eating lunch.