Thankful for the Beauty of the Season

There's a nip in the air today,

it's crisp and the trees are showing

off their best colors.

The mums have completely opened their

buds as if on cue for Halloween.

Our final farmer's market day of the season

was over flowing with gourds.

The leaves are falling as fast as my husband can blow

them into piles.

(this is not my husband but a google image)

The noise of all the blowers in our suburban

neighborhood creates quite a racket this time

of the year. I know it's not nearly as fast

but I like to do it the old fashioned way.

Where you can actually hear and feel the crunch of

the leaves beneath your feet.

Where you can smell the scents of autumn

wafting from the earth

instead of gas fumes.

My oldest son Josh has always been the expert

carver in our family.

From the time he was 14 or so until he moved

out on his own our front stoop was graced with the most

amazing pumpkins.

Now they sit on his own front stoop.

It requires a great deal of patience and the

right tools.

It's amazing the detail he gets with these tiny saws.

...and last but not least I want to

introduce you to the newest member

of our family,

isn't he the most darling ball of fur

you've ever seen?

I went to the vet's to get medication

for our dog and there was this

cutie pie in a crate asking

for someone to give him a forever home.

I just had to bring him home and now he is my

best little buddy, following me everywhere.

When he's super tired he sits at my feet

waiting to be picked up so he can nap.

My youngest son, Alex, named him

'Eli'

for one of his favorite movies

'The Book of Eli'.

Great movie if you haven't seen it yet.

Hope you are all enjoying this glorious

fall color where you are...

God really does like to show off

this time of year!

Finding My Way Back

after a very long hiatus from blogging

is proving to be much harder than I thought.

I have been struggling to find some balance in my life

and as the primary caregiver for my sister it has been

somewhat of a struggle.

Some of you may remember that she was diagnosed

with lung cancer last August, it's been a tough year.

I am by no means complaining, I am fortunate to be

able to help her through all of this. I simply found myself

overwhelmed by the demands on my time and so

 stepped away from posting on my blog.

                                                    While I am in charge of her care I am also

                                             the person who has to keep all the other family members

                                             caught up on her condition etc. To say I craved solitude

                                             would be a huge understatement. By the end of my days

                                             I have little to share and simply tire in the retelling of it all.

                                                   I want to assure you that even though

                                          I very much wanted to be alone most evenings, I

                                          never felt lonely. I very much enjoyed reading all of

                                          your blog entries and felt like you were all close by.

                                         A few of you emailed or checked in, you know who you are, 

                                        and made me feel like I was missed. For that I thank you.

                                      A few followers dropped me from their rolls, but that's okay.

                                                         I have been gone a long time.

                                         Some days were especially difficult, and I'm sure there

                                         are more tough times to come. At times it feels like sitting

                                         at the edge of the world with nothing to keep you from

                                        falling into a great abyss. Thankfully God has been walking

                                       beside me and though I often feel like the ground beneath

                                       my feet is slipping away I know that He is holding me tight.

                                                 So if you'll bear with what may be sporadic

                                                 posting I think I just may be ready to come

                                                                      out of hiding.

p.s.  You may or may not have noticed the change in the title of my blog (everything else is the same).

        It seemed appropriate since I seem to be spending so much of my time there.