Fall? Snow already?

I guess I am still having some shock living in our new land. Last night on the news, the 7 day weather outlook mentioned snow over the weekend. Seriously? It is just the beginning of October but since I am already Christmas shopping, it feels later. When I was younger, I hated to hear my parents say how nice the pretty trees looked with their different colored leaves. Everyday driving through Rock Bridge State Park, south of Columbia, MO, I would hear the same thing. Now, I think I would give anything to drive through the park and see the leaves. I have realized that not only do I miss hearing them say the same thing over and over, but I hear myself saying that to my kids. Lately, we have had this crazy conversation about the things we have in common. The kids like to compare who has Dad's toes or nose or Mom's huge earlobes. I hope that we pass on the things that don't fade or grow old, like love and compassion and faith in God. Ok, maybe Mom's attention to detail and Dad's spontaneity too!

Holy Cow, it's almost Fall!

After I was doing a never ending amount of dishes tonight since I strongly dislike our rental house dishwasher, I finally dried my hands, and I looked around the kitchen and it hit me, I had not yet flipped the calendar from August to September. Hey, it's only been three days! Where did the summer go? Michael is now in 4th grade (I remember 4th grade vividly) and Katelyn is in 2nd grade and brought home a love note from a boy named Caleb. Then last week, my baby boy, Joshua, turned 4! So as I head into the fall and try to ignore the singing and candles with the numbers 3 and 2, I plan to treasure every moment with them. I love the fall and always have, even when my parents reminded me that the leaves were so pretty and made me crazy driving so slow through Rock Bridge State Park. Fall makes me feel at home with endless football watching and chili making! Maybe fall in Iowa will be somehow different than Missouri or maybe we have just been so busy all summer that I look forward to the peace of scheduled days. And, even with piano lessons, violin lessons, swim lessons, flag football, soccer and junior Bible quiz, not to mention all the youth activities, I plan to stop to smell the pumpkin scented candles! Even if I have to keep one in the minivan!

wii, facebook, vacation and me?

Ok, here is my first blog post and I am in Columbia visiting my parents. I dropped my three lovelies off at their Grandpa and Marmi's house for "Summer Fun Camp" with all their cousins and drove to Columbia. Friday night was quite entertaining as my dad bought my mom a wii for her birthday and she and I played the bowling game. While this was going on, my dad got a facebook account. At some point, I stopped "bowling" and went to read a book, leaving my mom to play a video game and my dad on facebook. It was a strange role reversal that made me think, "is this when I start to take care of them?" Honestly, they are both so independent and mostly healthy that I am not worried about them "needing" me for some time. None the less, it made me think about the next 10-20 years in fast forward. Saturday was an adventure as we drove to see Hello Dolly at Arrowrock Lyceum Theatre to benefit the Central MO Food Bank. That was a fun musical to see and my dad and I had a nice dinner while my mom was doing what she does best, getting the party started! So, today I got back in that blue minivan and drove back to St Louis to pick up the kids and drove back to Columbia. I am already dreading the drive back to Newton and wish I could push a button and be there. I love our new church in Newton, but I miss my family and friends in MO. It is fun to visit, but I miss home. I miss being busy helping David in whatever task he asks me to do, I miss trying to search for the right color sock as he gets ready for Sunday morning church and I miss the hurry to get out the door, all three kids, fed and dressed and scrubbed clean and ready for the day. Vacation is the time to relax and do whatever without the hustle and bustle and stress, and just maybe it will be just enough time "off" to make you miss life as you normally know it! For me, this mini-vacation has done just that! I miss it all!