When nature calls

Fall.  Autumn.  The holiday season.  Whatever you choose to call it, it's here.  Smack dab in the middle of it and it's ready to be absorbed.

My favorite season was once spring.  All the colors and life that are brought forth would literally captivate me.  The warm breeze seemed to call out to even the most subjacent of life.

I'm beginning to enjoy Autumn lately.  It's the time of year when backyard campfires are to be enjoyed, along with the changing color of leaves, and family holidays are upon us.  Instead of feeling rushed to get all the year's goals accomplished, I'm finding it more enjoyable to just relax and just BE.

For the few years we've been in our home, (as some of you from my previous blog know) I've wanted to get the perimeter of our yard cleaned up and cleared away.  Other things were taking priority over it and what was finished only grew back shortly after.  I've learned not to do things like that in the spring.  

So, the family and I got busy the other day and it just happened.  Spur of the moment, no planning involved.  We were just outside and we began.  The girls were a huge help to me gathering all the brush Clayton cut and used the loppers on the smaller items the chainsaw had no time for.

I have to say I've missed this.  Good old fashioned family time that didn't involve being indoors behind some technoligical screen.  Nothing with buttons or beeps.  Nothing but rakes, tools, nature, and gloves touching our hands.  It was truly enjoyable.  So much has been finished because we all helped each other.   That is family.

Here is what it began as all the way around the property:

And this is only part of what we finished:



I wish the picture could show how beautiful it really is.  Just where the edge of the yard drops, are various levels of land and the creek.   It's so gorgeous during this time of year and I'm looking forward to the other 3 seasons I'll get to bask in this little piece of heaven I call my yard. 

I'm embracing the fact we still have 75% of the yard still to do. I'm looking at it as more time outside before it gets too cold, more time to do a little bit here and there and feel the joy as we walk away from it for the day and turn around to take one last glance at what we accomplished that day. 

Such a glorious feeling!

Giving thanks

It's all over Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and every other social network out there.  It has been all month long.  Everyone listing daily what they are thankful for.  I didn't participate.  Not on the networks anyway. Not that there's anything wrong with it.  Sometimes listing these things will open your eyes to all you do have.  I've even struggled before when I have participated in previous years. 

It's nice to see what everyone is thankful for.  Their kids, spouse, job, family, friends, the list goes on and on.  Though, I wonder if we are really thankful for these things we list.  Do we sit and ponder as we update our social network status and think, "Oh that's a good one.  I'll post that!" Are we really thankful for those blessings or do we really have an ulterior motive behind it?  To keep our list flowing?  Just because? To impress?  To make others jealous?  (one would surely hope not) To make ourselves look better than we view ourselves?  To convince ourselves?  My mind wonders if we have thanked the One who made all these blessings possible?  We take the time to type them out, post on every social network we are signed up for and spend the time checking to see if anyone has "liked" or commented on those daily statuses.  Have we taken just that one moment it takes to thank God for them all?  It's a reality check, really.  Self to blame.

This year for Thanksgiving, we will be going to each mother's home.  Clayton comes home early Thanksgiving morning.  I'll be driving to Houston to get him from the airport, coming home to get ready to leave to go to his mother's house 30 miles from us, visit with them, then drive up to Shreveport to my mother's home.  We will have Thanksgiving with her a day late.  That's a lot of turkey and Clayton is in charge of frying it for both families.  I can almost taste it now.  It won't be long.

This year for my side of the family, we are starting a new Thanksgiving tradition.  We will have a notebook and each family member will have one page to write everything they are thankful for.  We will keep the same notebook throughout the years as we go back to the previous years and see what we were thankful for back then.  Maybe the women of the family will be more prone to accept the challenge than the men, but it will be fun.

I'm finished with my page.  I just finished.  Here it is in all it's natural glory:

Just when I was almost finished, I put Thanksgiving at the bottom.  Then I noticed I had left the "S" out of the word.  I laughed at it but thought I'd have to start all over.  Why though?  It's just not that big a deal, right?  So, I just marked out my mistake with a big thick black marker and put on the side with an arrow pointing to it.  "and even mess ups."  It's so true that mess ups teach us and help us grow.  If we are willing.  So yes, I'm thankful for even my mess ups.  With this one, maybe it will even stir a few chuckles.

Happy Thanksgiving!