Rest Easy, We Have You Covered!

All the forces of good were gathered together on a chilly night in October!

The bad-ies didn't stand a chance, and neither did the stock piles of candy throughout the neighborhoods!

If there was trouble, we swooped in and saved the day!
All our muscle power was tested and pumped into a fine muscle power machine!

You have a trouble, worry, or care...give us a call, we have you covered!

Overtaken With The Love of Fall

I love Fall, have I told you that lately??

I love EVERYTHING it encapsulates; color, leaves, sun...then wind...then sun again, pumpkins, chocolate hazelnut cookies, sunflowers, the beginning of soup and stew season, homemade bread, apple candles, going home, pumpkin patches, building a scarecrow with all the funny old clothes mom won't let dad wear anymore..., my BIRTHDAY, wine crush, apple picking, football games in the cool night air, the need for cozy clothes, and LOTS of FAMILY MEMORIES!!!

It is a blustery kind of day here in Seattle. It is the kind of day where the weather can't make up its mind, one minute it is sunny, the next raining, the next blowing...or a combination of all three. This weather encourages me to, throw open the windows and doors, wash and air dry the sheets, and COOK!!!

The laundry is washed and blowing away outside. The boys and I just finished making Cowboy cookies, which are baking and filling our house with the wonderful smells of oatmeal, chocolate, and coconut. Up next, Barefoot Contessa's Chicken Pot Pie, a fall favorite for sure!! I am just hoping I don't loose the power before I finish making this glorious dinner...the lights have been flickering off an on all day.

Fall made an official peek into our life today, the normal routines were forced to hangout and wait, and the loveliness of the new season was embraced with all that an extra cup of coffee, a puffy vest, fresh cookies, and a pot pie can muster up! The pictures are just a peek into the season ahead and a few Fall escapes that look like just the kind of place to enjoy the crunchy, munchy, pitter-patter, wrapped in a scarf kind of lovin this new season brings.

Hope you had a great day!

If you haven't made BF Contessa's Chicken Pot Pie, you must make a date and indulge in this yummy perfection!

Photos:GapPhotos, Scandinavian Escape, Brandon Remler, Kim Michael, BlogsAway, NHViewfinders, ActiveRain, & Kim Michaels.

Sometimes The Truth Hurts...

Admitting you need help is sometimes the hardest thing to do!

This is a lesson I have been learning over the course of the last 18 months, and am still learning! During our unemployment journey I felt like I worked my way through levels of humbleness, vulnerability, and the willingness to say..."I need help." Just when I thought I had shed off the last of my pride and learned my lesson, our situation would get worse, and I would have another choice to make! Usually I would choose to struggle for a while, pull up my boot straps, put on a smile, and do my best. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that you should let others solve all your problems while you sit on the sofa and eat bon-bons. It is great to learn your own strength, get creative, and problem solve. But there also comes a time when learning when you need to ask for help from the Lord, your family, your church family, or even the community, will truly save your life.

This lesson was never harder than the day when I realized I didn't have enough food to feed my boys. As a mom, nothing could be more important or foundational than putting food in front of my kids. I was terrified, without any clear ideas on what to do, so I literally just sat down and fell apart. After some good cry time, I pulled myself together and prayed! I called out with all that was in me for a solution, for HELP! I needed free or dirt cheep, quality, food...but where was I going to find that. Then the Lord answered... Three minutes down the road from my house was a community food bank. The people who volunteer their time, at the food bank, to help families in the community are kind, generous, and there to with open arms.

This wonderful food bank has saved our "bacon" a few times now, and I just can't tell you how blessed we feel when driving away with more than enough food to feed my family. The last time I needed to visit them I had to take my boys with me. I struggled keeping the tears back as I tried to explain to my boys where we were going and why. (I wouldn't want them to EVER worry that they wouldn't have food or that we couldn't provide for them.) However, to my surprise they were excited to be part of "our shopping trip," and asked if they could help say thank you to the people who were providing us with food! Their sweet spirit was a total blessing to me, and their helpful attitudes made our visit so much easier. The volunteers at the food bank were kind and very generous with my boys, and they each left saying how much FUN they thought our "shopping trip" was!!! All I could say was, Praise the Lord!!!

The point of this story, I want you to know there is NO shame in needing to ask for help from time to time. Being part of a community, whether a church community or public, is such a blessing! You don't have to do it alone! I know there are many families in this same situation all across the country right now, and I would just encourage you to let go of your fear and pride and reach out...let someone help you! Then when you can, return the favor. My boys and I are adding volunteering at the food bank into our homeschooling curriculum this year. I want our family to give back, and I want my boys to experience the pure joy in helping another!

I hope you are encouraged today!

John 15:12
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

BTW, Happy First Day of FALL!!! Love this season!!!

The Turning of Seasons

Hello Friends,
Life has taken us on quite a journey during the last 18 months. I wanted to fill in the blanks, give glory where glory is due, and turn the page with the turning of the seasons!

I am so thankful to be standing where I am today. The Lord was ever faithful, He loving provided strength for me daily, and He continues to show that his blessings and mercy are new every morning!

About 18 months ago, my husband's family company began to show stress from the declining economy. We found ourselves facing unsteady income and the fact that a job loss was emanate. We began to look for other work, along with many others across the country, and were faced with the reality that this was going to be a long process. Life, daily, became a game of survival and an ultimate test of faith; in our Provider, our marriage, our communication skills, our ability to persevere while under extreme stress...all the while attempting to keep our home peaceful and steady for our boys!

For me, I was stretched to renew my faith in the Lord, to daily ground myself in His word. I loved seeing scripture around my house, feeling His love through the form of music, and I learned to listen to the silence where I found great insight. I found out that I am actually stronger than I gave myself credit for and learned again how to use the gifts He had placed in me to support my husband through a very challenging time.

I was given the ability to see my husband, for the first time, through His eyes. He created a man with great strength, wisdom, determination, loyalty, perseverance, a servant, and a loving provider. I gained respect for the man He created him to be, and learned that I could trust in Him/him to provide for our family. Our days together weren't always easy, our communication was tested, and we daily struggled to gain some sense of control. But ultimately we found strength in each other, and daily placed our burdens at the feet of Jesus...together!

By April, we officially had no solid income, all our resources had been drained, and we faced the ending of a rental contract before us. As I began to pack our house and transition our boys into the Summer, I had to remind myself not to panic. The Lord remained so faithful, He provided small side jobs, monitory gifts from loved ones and strangers alike...just when we needed them the most, and our daily bread from unexpected, but loving sources. I have never experienced love and generosity from a community, a church family, and loved ones like we did during this time...WE WERE SO BLESSED! Our thanks will never feel like enough for the burden they helped us carry!

The middle of June rolled around and I, on wobbly feet, daily stood on the knowledge that the Lord would take care of my family. The house was packed, the boys were finishing up school, and the future was still unknown. Again, the Lord provided. A family from pre-school provided us with a place to stay during the month of July...A very cute, clean, happy one bedroom apartment on 10 acres complete with mules. I was speechless, and so thankful...my boys were thrilled! A week later my husband was called in for an interview. 4 interviews & 2weeks later he was OFFERED A JOB!!! We were thrilled, humbled yet again, and relieved! The week we moved out of our home, of four years, Glenn started his first week of work! The Lord is good, right?

We spent the Summer, officially "homeless," house hopping. We stayed on the farm for a month and a half...which was such a blessing, lived with my sister, and then my in-laws. We continued to look for a new house which would fulfill our streamed lined and practical list of requirements...this was no easy process. I had truthfully been looking for a new home since January and still hadn't found "the right one!" Our goal was to move into a new situation on labor day weekend, one week before school started! After months of scouring Craigslist, and one week before our moving deadline, I found IT! The Lord yet again, came riding in on His white horse and saved the day! Not only did we find a great house that met our conservative requirements, we found one that exceeded all of our expectations! The Lord totally blessed us!

On labor day weekend, my completely amazing sister, her family, their dog, and their camper parked in our new yard! They spent the weekend helping us schlep boxes, sort and organize, problem solve, and begin the process of restoration of our hearts and our home. I am not sure what I would have done without her that weekend, but I am so thankful she was here. Her act of love and service was a complete blessing and she really did help make my house feel like our NEW HOME! A transformation began through the moving process, we had come full circle, we had remained faithful, and the Lord really did have us in the palm of His hand.

Life has begun to resume a "new" normal. Daddy has a new job with different hours, my oldest son is in Kindergarten, my youngest is in Pre-K..., and I am trying to keep track of them all! No complaints from me though...I am thankful for our steady, crazy, new, and blessed life! I am looking forward to the upcoming year, and plan on writing one heck of a Christmas letter proclaiming all that we have to be thankful for this last year!

Thank you for standing by me, your kind words of encouragement, and prayers. We are so very thankful for where we are standing today, and so happy to be moving forward!

Emily

My Fall Road

Today started out as just another ordinary day; coffee, breakfast, shopping list compiled, everyone dressed and out the door. But then ordinary turned magnificent...

Our weekly trip the grocery store was decorated by falling gold, piles of gold, swishing and whooshing gold moved by our presence on the road. It was like driving through a Fall heaven, and my thoughts turned to how blessed and grateful I am for my life.

My boys ooh-ed and aah-ed in the back seat about Fall's glorious gifts, and I, lost in the amber haze, thanked God for those boys, my incredible husband, and our life together!

I am so blessed to be their mom! They are the sparkle in my day, they are the laugh lines forming by my eyes, they are my daily thoughts and my dreams for our future, they remind me how good and sovereign God is, and their love...their rough and tumble boy love, is everything I ever have wanted!

My husband is strong and focused. He isn't just the head of our house, he is the eyes...to see where we are going, he is the muscles...to hold, hug, and lift in moments of sadness and joy, he is the legs...to move us forward and along side God, he is the mouth...slow and comforting, and along with my sensitive and gentle heart & hands we make a pretty great team! I am so thankful for him!

Our life may not be perfect, we always are dreaming of and working for our future, and there is always room for God to work, but today we are going to enjoy and be thankful for this moment...where we are today! I want to enjoy this amber, hazy, Fall moment. I am blessed!

Pictures: Rob Eastman-Falling Leaves, Boys-A Lasting First Impression, Road-Nikko, Japan Yahoo.

Showing Off The Fall Love...

Just wanted to let you in on the Fall linky fun! Pop on over to Hooked on Houses and share how you decorate your lovely house for the Fall season!

Also

The Nesting Place is having a fall mantle linky party, I am still working on my post for her, but I didn't want you to miss out on the fun! There are some amazing posts, I love the creativity!

Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Favorite Fall Transitions-Linky!

As we all have entered into this Fall season, I have so enjoyed every Fall sneak peek into their homes. The Nester is one of the blogs I visit regularly and this last week she posted on 10 ways to decorate for Fall. This post included simple ways of bringing the elements of Fall into your home. What I liked most about her ideas is how well they would transition into the upcoming seasons and holidays! I love this transitional idea, often I get so excited about the next season or holiday that I don't fully enjoy what is happening around me right now.

This got me thinking how fun it would be to have everyone post together about some of their favorite ways to decorate for Fall, which can transition into the October & November holidays! What do you think, want to join together with me on a Fall Transitional Link Party?

I will get us started! Here are some of my favorite transitional ideas:

Natural elements...Twigs, florals, grains, ect. Every year around this time my mom would always have my Dad out in the bushes and twigs surrounding their home. He was collecting rose hips, corkscrew willow branches, and pulling out pussy willows from the previous Spring. These are great natural elements that can transition into the upcoming months, and be used in so many creative and festive ways!

Nuts and Pine cones...stack them, pile them, surround other items with them...great colors and textures!

Seasonal dishes can add a pop of color and easily transition through the holidays...brown, red, silver and gold can grace your home all the way through December!





Loving the white, green, and yellow gourds and pumpkins this year. Don't get me wrong I love the good old orange pumpkins, but I feel of the other colors will transition into November, saving me time and money!

And, of course leaves can be used in so many different ways; in jars and canisters, mantles, wreaths, piles on porches or in empty flower pots, etc. A great Fall look can be achieved here without a lot of expense!








Okay, so those are just a few of MY favorites, what about you? How do you transition your Fall decor into the the upcoming months and holidays? Link up YOUR ideas on making the most of fall decor! Can't wait to see what you come up with!



Photos: Book Serving K. City, Martha Stewart, Katie Brown, House Beautiful, & Weeds and Seeds

Enter your link here, remember to link your post, not your homepage!

My Front Door!

My friend Kristin at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia has just transformed the entrance to her lovely home by painting her front door! She has invited us to link up and share our doors!

I happen to LOVE entrances and really feel that they set the tone for what your guests should expect when they walk through your door! This is their first impression of you, your home, and what you value! Kristin and her home are classy, elegant, and just plain lovely! I guarantee this is the impression you will get when you walk up to her home.

I hope you enjoy a peek into my life, and join the link party...it is so fun to see the different personalities portrayed in our homes!

Happy Tuesday!

Fall is Best!

I LOVE FALL!

So I thought I would share the "why" with you!!! Let me count the reasons...

One of the many candles that burn in my house this time of the year, also LOVE Macintosh apple!

1. The smells of fall; crisp air, rain, spice, fresh fruit from the trees, turkey in the oven, apple pie...etc!

Johan and his Daddy picking pear from one of our favorite orchards!

2. The colors...the brightest and best reds, yellows, oranges, browns, and greens! Love them so much I used them as my June wedding colors.

3. So many birthdays...I was born in October, and we all know that was a blessing, hehe! Other birthdays...my sister, my nephew, and two brother in-laws.

4. I met my husband in the Fall!

5. Back to school; new school supplies, new friends, and the prospects of another year of possible excellence!

6. Sunflowers

7. Walks in the crisp fall air/crunchy leaves underfoot

Every year I pick up the first few fall leaves I find! My boys now are part of this tradition, we have quite the collection!

8. A Drive, a walk, a climb to enjoy the fall leaves, some of the better viewing is high up in the mountains!

9. Fall cooking with a lovely glass of wine, the recipes of Fall are some of my favorites!

10. Another excuse to use, display, wear, and flaunt the color RED!

11. The feeling of a soft, warm scarf wrapped around my neck.

12. Fresh pressed apple cider.

13. The hunt for the perfect pumpkin

Erik on his second pumpkin hunt!

14. Warm apple fritters and a hot latte after the pumpkin is found

Sometimes it is a dirty job!

15. When weather is cold enough to start having fires again!

16. Decorating my house with all things Fall!

The wreath on my front door this year!

17. Corn on the cob with lemon herb butter

18. My sweater collection

19. Our family picture that we take every fall!

20. The quiet, cozy, and calm of all the Fall evenings!

A little fall sparkle

To name a few....

I hope you enjoy this Fall as much as I know I will!

Photos: Seattle Times/NWSource, Moon Blog, All Rights Reserved-A Lasting Frist Impression