A First

I just have to laugh at myself.  My son came up to my bedroom this morning while I was talking with my daughter to tell me that we're out of coffee.  Then he clarified, "The coffee is going to taste kind of weak this morning, Mom.  Before I looked in the coffee container, I filled the thing up with water and pushed the on button before I realized it would be very weak coffee."  I asked him how much coffee he was able to get and he said about half, so I told him to go turn it off.

After calling my  husband to request he stop off to get our coffee on his way home, we headed to the convenience store to get some coffee. What a treat for the kids!  My daughter mixed french vanilla and pumpkin spice for my oldest, she did a blueberry toffee for herself and my youngest did what I did and just got coffee and half and half.  We added our own sweetener at home.

For the first hard frost of the year AND the coldest morning of this season, coffee in the morning is a wonderful welcome thing to have to wake up to and to warm up to.  The season of snuggling under blankets has begun.  Coffee and snuggles while reading is a good thing.  :)

Fall Cleaning

During the Spring and Summer we have our furniture arranged one way in the living room and in the Fall, it is time to turn things around so that we can benefit from the fire place.

Today was that day when we moved everything around, dusted, detailed the corners getting rid of cob webs and evicted the dust bunnies.  We still have a little bit of dusting to do, but we're almost done.  We had to stop, have a late lunch, and get ready to go to Bible Study this evening.  Tomorrow we can finish.

We had a wonderful time this evening at church.  I think we surprised everyone by having my kids in the study with us.  Since this is part of their education, it makes sense for them to do the study.  It is a basic discipleship course on the Old Testament that will end right before Christmas.  Then in January, there will be another one just like this one that will cover the New Testament.  I am encouraged by the experience they will have with this course.  God is so good!

Yesterday my oldest decided to clean out his home schooling basket, where he keeps all of his supplies.  I try to encourage them by praising their efforts when they do things that are unexpected like that.  I know a hug and a heart felt "Thank you!" or "Good Job!" with a high five does wonders for them.  They're such big helps here, especially when our backs do not want to let us move very easily.

Tomorrow we'll finish our work in the living room and move on to another room, I'm sure.  With all of us working together, things get done quickly and we don't have to worry about spending a week on one room.  This is a deep cleaning, so we can make sure to decorate for Fall, then Christmas after Thanksgiving.

For some reason, this push to clean like this has hit me a whole month earlier than usual.  I hope it just means that I'll have more time on my hands to enjoy my family, teach them, love them, maybe do some sewing...stuff like that.  LOL

Pennsylvania Beauty

I was thinking the other day, "If the Lord wills it, I shall never move from Pennsylvania!" while driving through the area on my various errands.  I know, I've said in the past that living in the south would be wonderful for my arthritic back, but wait until you see why!

This is taken from the highest point in Cook's Forest.  My hubby and I climbed the fire tower to see the leaves.  What beauty!

What a beautiful area we live in!  We're so thankful, and humbled that God would bless us with such beauty.

This is the Clarion River.  This particular spot is where local canoe rental businesses take their patrons to put their canoes, rafts and inner tubes in the water for a 4 mile ride.  We've done this before, but on our own canoes.  What a wonderful time! 

Entering Seneca Point overlooking the valley.

I couldn't resist this one.  My husband is on the left and my oldest son on the right. 

A porcupine in a tree!  How cool is that?

This is the road we walk on to the right.  My husband pulled off the road to pick walnuts, and I snapped this picture.

Yes, it is a little blurry, but it is still beautiful nonetheless. I love this particular view of the road. Isn't it how life is? It's an uphill climb in some places with winding roads that you can't see around the corner ahead. There's such a beautiful rendition of life. You can look at the beauty around you or dwell on the potholes in the road. ;)

Our 3 blessings on the way to the Fire Tower & Seneca Point in Cook's Forest.

And me, enjoying the beauty God has blessed me with. 

Today and the past couple of days have been rainy.  Rain is in the forecast for the next few days too.  As I look out the window, just a few leaves are hanging on to the trees on the northern part of our property next to the road.  The burning maple still has quite a few leaves, but not for long.  Today is a melancholy day for me.  Another season has come and gone.  It is time to deep clean the living room, cover the few windows with plastic and begin preparations for the holidays.  This year we'll have a Christmas Tree, like every other year of our married life except last year when we were gone for Christmas to Florida with family. 

Today, though, is also a day that we'll can almost 30 pounds of peaches in to jam.  They start in the crock pots, then my daughter and I will leave to go get some beautiful soft yarn for a new baby afghan.  This is one of a mystery to me.  I'm making it out of obedience.  Once it is done, I'm sure the Lord will show me who will need it.  Who knows?  Maybe it will be us and I'll need to make another one for twins?  I don't know, but I'm trusting in the Lord's leading with this knitted afghan.  I've never made a knitted one, only crocheted, so this will be an interesting change.  Just like the change of seasons....