This and That

 I thought I'd come on and chat a bit with you, and share a few photos and video I've taken over the last few days. Autumn is waning, but there is still beauty to be seen.

This whole season has been full of good things and hard things. My cousin's husband died. Our dear friend died. Another friend has come through a serious health crisis that we thought would end in death as well.

Only God knows our days. They were written in his book before we lived any of them. With these loved ones we've had to say, "Thy Will Be Done." It's the prayer that never fails.

Seems easy, right?

It's not. Because often God's will, is in direct contrast to what I'd prefer. However, knowing His goodness, and learning about it more and more through hard things, I might add, have brought me to a place that I can say those words that never fail.

My dear friend Jane, now a widow, has flown with her son to England and she is visiting their family for the whole month. He teaches at Cambridge.

She's doing well. She and Rick were married for 52 years. She has always said that they could have married the day they met. They both knew they were meant for each other. I love their story.

This has been a season of change as well. My youngest is about to move out. We will have no kids living at home for the first time in 36 years! We had our oldest, Nate, the year after we married, and Kyle our youngest, 16 years later!

Being their parents have brought us so much joy.

The family has grown over the years, too!

We are not considering ourselves empty nesters, as we have my parents as house mates! 

What a clan! I'm so thankful for each one of them! Just look at that little cousin crew!

Are you in the Christmas decorating in the beginning of November? I'm not against it but I am not quite ready yet!

Tim and I will be visiting Emma and Vinnie in Tennessee right after Thanksgiving, during the time I normally decorate for Christmas! So I am thinking of getting a bit of a head start with garlands and lights, and then add the plaid ribbons after I get back. I can do the tree the evening of Thanksgiving also. So it will be mostly done when we get home!

If we weren't hosting Thanksgiving, I'd be tempted to decorate all out in a few weeks. However, we're having out family and a few guests. We need to be able to get around in here! And we can send the kids to the basement to play!

I love autumn, and I love Christmas and I think they can mix and we can all be happy!

Let me know what you think about it!