Fall Homemaking

In my last post, I shared how I was falling short in some areas. Homemaking has taken a BIG hit. Seems like  that is always the way. When life slaps us, we tend to do only the necessities, and leave everything else to the wayside. Once I started to do some Fall decorating, I realized just how lax I had become.

Ok, maybe not THAT lax.....more like..... 

 As I began to pull out the decorations, I saw areas that had been neglected. Like the formal dining room. Yes....laundry on the dining room table. It is clean, but does NOT belong there. Never in the 13 years that I have lived here have I used that formal room as part of the laundry room, until the last several months. 

 If you look in that far back corner, you will see baskets stacked on each other...all laundry. 

The desk in the eating area and the shelf above it, were in a terrible state!

Remember that hermit crab Zach won?? His home has been on that shelf for the last month! And look at the junk!

Even the little scarecrow didn't hide the mess.....toothpaste and old mail still glared back at me!

Baby steps....which is code for "the clothes are off the table, but the baskets are still in the dining room".

I did spend some time on that desk and shelf today and it looks MUCH better.

 I didn't have a before pic of the desk, but it was covered in junk mail, and dust! Some other fall touches around my house.....

 Hoping to make strides each day to getting things back to a system of homemaking that keeps me from falling short!

Falling Short

I am falling short, in many areas, including blog posts. 3 months is a long time! Way too much has happened to play "catch up" again, so I'll just share my thoughts. 

Fall....I love fall and this year is especially nice as the spiritual atmosphere is calm. It is the first fall in 13 years that I am not on egg shells. In fact, I have relaxed to the point of "Falling Short." 

I have to admit, life has been hard. Harder than I could have ever imagined, and I have not taken the punch as well as you would have thought. I am Wonder Woman, right? Not even close. Grief is such a horrible emotion. Is it an emotion? It sure feels emotional. Loss.....it is overwhelming. My daughter, deep friendships, church....the loss is far reaching. Sometimes it feels VERY unfair.

And it sucks to have to accept the reality of your situation.

But then you have to make the best of it, right? Isn't there always an alternative?

And if you trust...miracles can happen......

....like winning a hermit crab, while throwing ping pong balls, left-handed into a little fish bowl, set among many little fish bowls, all positioned to make it impossible to win. 

So let's talk blessings and not losses for the rest of this post! Joe moved in and he has been such a ray of sunshine here!!!! He and Bud have really brought some life and laughter back in....see how God replaced one child lost to me with TWO brought home??

And with Joe, my grandchildren have been multiplied.....

....nah...that's the old bunch! ;) (TJ and Zach both had broken bones within 6 weeks of each other, and Emerson turned FIVE!!)

Lakota and Alijah, are amazing kids and we have loved getting to know them and love them like they are our own...which they now are!!! Double portion!!!!

And more blessings....one I am confident enough to share here.....

A new girl!!! Well a new, old girl....Kimi is the woman in Bud's life. They actually went to his senior prom together, and have rekindled their relationship. I think it is pretty serious. She is just the kind of girl to keep him on his toes. She is FUN and loud (she admits that) and is always ready to make you laugh and have a good time. You can NOT be sad around Kimi!!!! Did you know Bud's name is Kim? Yes...Kim and Kimi. This next pic actually shows her personality better.....

We LOVE her, and she makes my son SO SO SO happy!!! 

She has a son, Dylan, who is 6, and so my Grandma cup runneth over!!!!!

It is wonderful to see God restore that which was stolen. Now I need to do MY part....more on that next time. For now I need to get back to my quilt.

It's All About ORANGE

I am feeling quite chatty today, so you are getting a rare 2 posts from me! I did an bit of fall decorating, and I was struck by all the orange around my house! These beautiful Marigolds came from my garden. I put a strip of fall fabric around this little vase and it brightens up my kitchen counter.

Not all orange, but orange enough, I picked up some of my favorite soaps for the season, along with some wonderful hand sanitizers. Bath and Body Works has a nice sale on right now with all their fall scents on special! The Pumpkin Spice is amazing!
I also grabbed a "Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin" room spray while I was there. Everything smells like Pumpkins here! :) What is fall without a new Yankee Candle? This year I got "Farmers Market". It is SO good!.....and it is ORANGE!Orange accents went into the entryway also.Clashes a bit with the brown and salmon table runner, but I like it anyway. On second thought, now that I am seeing it here, I think I will flip that to the back side, which is gold.Sass seems to like the ORANGE also....she was smelling and rubbing her face all over the Marigolds this morning!
I even decorated my daughter in ORANGE.....HA HA!
Have you decorated for fall yet?