Falling into Fall, Literally

I was all excited to go see my parents at the lake this past weekend, we haven't been out there in forever, actually since July 4th. And I was so ready to relax. Of course, the yucky bug hit our house first with Ava, then me, Zoe and now my husband has it. But we were able to enjoy most of the weekend, all while feeling under the weather for me though. Thankfully, I was at my mom's and she got up with the girls so I could sleep in !! I will forever be grateful to her for all she does for me. Luckily we did get some fun in; Ava, Grandma, and I colored and made a "Fall for Jesus" that we got off of http://www.kidssundayschool.com/, collected leaves, played in the leaves, laid in the hammock (I could fall asleep there anyday, right beside my brother's memorial garden), and we got to go see Will, my youngest brother, play football on Saturday night.

I had started a painting project on Friday afternoon before we left of trying to redo Ava's letters that hang on her wall, they had been taken down and put away for a while. So I got them out, painted them solid white and left them there to dry.

When we got home Sunday I was able to paint them pink and start sanding the edges. I printed out an owl template for our pumpkin from http://www.scissorcraft.com/ and cleaned out the pumpkin, and my husband started carving! We have always painted our pumpkins ever since we had Ava but I just felt in the mood to carve one this year, (actually, my husband does the carving, I give the instructions and clean up).

I also had a very unexpected and nice visit from a dear friend of mine Misty, Sunday evening. I was so happy to see her, it had been about a year since I last saw her and she was near my house (which most people are not since it is a little way out there, further south than most go!). I got to chat and catch up with her for a while and that really made my night. I was starting to feel really bad by the night's end and was hoping I would feel much better by morning. I had been taking over the counter cough meds and did my netipot before going to bed.

But by morning, I was much worse. I had to call in sick to work (which I absolutely HATE doing). We did however, get some things accomplished during all of this. My husband finished sanding the letters I had been working on and I hung them up. Rob, Ava, and I painted our small pumpkins. I edited some pictures and then called it a night.

Here are some pictures of crafts and fun stuff from the weekend:

The "Fall For Jesus" Tree

And Ava's "Twin Butterfly's"

And Ava and Grandmas

Pumpkin picture!

The OWL pumpkin, GREAT job Honey!!!

You are the BEST!!



 Ava's painted pumpkin, the yearly "ghost" pumpkin, Zoe's pumpkin, our yearly "spider" pumpkin, and the pumpkin Ava colored with marker at school!

Continuation from yesterday...

Today has been an emotional day for me. I feel like I am on a roller coaster ride. I had a bad morning at work and ran into some obstacles I was not prepared for. It got my emotions stirring and next thing you know I am trying desperately to hold back the tears. Those of you who have grieved know it is an almost impossible thing to do and can come from out of nowhere. I was pleading with myself to stop and hold them back since I answer the phone nonstop at work. I was in the middle of fighting them back when I answered the phone and got a call from someone who's nickname (what we use as verification) was "Eaglebeak." I told myself, see, get it together, God is here, he will take care of it all. They started to dry up but then another episode hit a minute later, holding them back I took a call from someone who's nickname was "Eagle." Again, like a ton of bricks I smirked and told myself that I needed to get it together. It was like God was plainly telling me that I needed patience, I felt his presence and it made me calm. I felt like getting down on my knees and crying out to him how I felt, but I knew he already did. At that moment He felt my pain, He knew my desires.

I can't say that my day has been better nor has it been worse or that the hurt is gone because I am still sad and angry. But I am glad that after tonight I will be off for 4 days, let's hope these 4 days are without illness and filled with joy as I spend time with my girls. I am also volunteering at Ava's school Friday which I am excited about, it will be the first time for me as a parent "volunteer!" I will actually feel like a mommy.

Here are pictures from this weekend;

My brother Will's football team, The Randolph County Tigers!!