I'm not going to lie....fall has been a rough start for me. It's been overwhelming and one of those types of overwhelm that is hard to catch a breath from. We've had a lot of fun (and looking through these pictures makes me so happy) but we've also had a lot of "heavy". Most of the overwhelm has come from lots of minor things piling (5th grade homework being all-consuming, Mellany fracturing her wrist, unexpected household repairs, etc.) but we've also experienced some family and friend losses and my uncle's cancer diagnosis that have been really difficult for us.
One of the minor situations I've had is that somehow my external hard drive no longer works and I've potentially lost every single document, video and picture I've saved over the past 13 years. Thus the reason it's been over a month since I last put together a post. I'm so crushed I could throw up. I know that in perspective, we are all healthy, we have a paycheck, food, a home, anything we could ever need, etc., but taking "hit after hit" is just hard and the external drive crashing is kind of the "cherry on top". I'm hopeful that the hard drive can be recovered (our tech guy in town wasn't able to recover anything yet, so he will be sending it to a forensic company to see what they can get off of it.) and that going into the holiday season will be a bit more easy than it has been going into fall.
On that note, here are some of the happier fall moments!
I ordered 15 mums from a dance fundraiser and got them all put into the ground in my flower beds....I'm hopeful that some of them will come back next year! They are so pretty!
Little brothers waiting on their sister to finish dance.
Night time favorite!
The boys absolutely loved playing flag football this season! They learned so much!
Winston is always up for a good snuggle...
One of the losses we experienced was John's cousin Lisa. She was such an amazing young lady who was taken way too early at age 39. She had such a happy, bubbly, "let's do it" attitude; she will defintely be missed. I wasn't able to make the funeral, but John, his sister and mom were and they even took a family picture....I always love a good family picture.
John turned 43!!! We are so blessed to have him as our husband/dad. I cannot imagine doing this life without him.
Charlie got a certificate in kindergarten for reading 100 books!!
The kids were taking turns running and jumping into John's arms. So I told the kids to step aside and watch out so I could have a turn. They just laughed like "yea right mom".....we blew their minds when I actually did it. Mellany even snapped a picture.... :)
Another of the losses we had, was John's Aunt Nina. She lived a great ong life, at 83, but se will also be missede so much. She's one of those family members who doesn't miss a single event, so all of the activities going forward are just going to feel a bit "empty" without her. For her funeral, we all traveled to KC. We were there a couple of days, then made our way back home.
After getting back from KC, John and I had purchased tickets to the Chiefs v Colts game in Indianapolis for our birthdays. While the Chiefs didn't get the win, it was still a great game and always a good time with our neighbors!
Charlie waiting a the bus stop one random morning....
Mellany working on her 5th grade state pizza project...our girl really does love anything creative.
I got sent this picture from a friend in church....she said Charlie was so proud of his tower.
Charlie's first school field trip....the pumpkin patch. It was such a cute little place and we both had a wonderful time. It was so nice spending the day with him and seeing him in his "school mode".
Winston watching the construction at the neighbors house.
Mellany's state pizza box project....after several weeks of work, it was finally finished!!! She did a really great job!! Now I kinda want to visit New Hampshire and all the places she researched.
Driving home one afternoon and couldn't pass up a picture of how pretty our place looks with the trees changing colors and the mums planted....so peaceful out here!
Mellany wore her new earrings to church one Sunday and wanted a picture of her wearing them. She is just so beautiful!
Last Sunday was the last day of flag football. The boys loved every single minute of it and can't wait to play again next fall.
The picture doesn't do it justice, but the moon was so incredible coming home from small group last week that Mellany wanted to take a picture.
We had a bit of a rain storm this past week which produced the most amazing rainbow where I saw both ends....I couldn't help but try to get a picture....(apparently I'm amazed by anything in nature lately!)
Winston is so miserable while driving in the car (specifically back and forth to KC) that I thought we would sign him up to be boarded. I thought he might enjoy that so much more than traveling. Part of the boarding is that you can put them in doggy daycare. For the daycare the dogs have to be assessed. So this past week, I took Winston to be assessed. He did ok for a while but about 30 minutes after I left, the facility texted me asking that I come get him. He had finished exploring and playing and was just in the corner sitting....basically looking miserable. So, I picked him up and brought him back home. They said that they offer a one-on-one option for him to have some play time, but now I'm second guessing if he will like any of the boarding at all.....
The kids' school celebrated fire safety month by getting to meet with our local fire department and actually get to use some of the equipment. Mellany's teacher took a class picture and sent it to the parents. I think they all had so much fun.
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Mellany celebrated Charlottes birthday at All Fired Up this past weekend. It was a combination of all her favorite things: a birthday, art and her best friends!
My dad and Teresa came into town for Fall Break! John and dad worked on our bathroom remodel, Teresa and I took the kids shopping, and we ate dinners at TX Roadhouse and Pizza King! We even celebrated dad's birthday a little bit late! We had such a great time!
So, so, soooo thankful for all the good and happy memories in the midst of hard/"down" times.
