Mid November feels and thoughts.

 Do you feel the pull in November to be one foot in with fall things yet and all things pumpkin yet when you walk into stores you see all things Christmas?  I don't like the pull.  I'm else one or the other.  For years I always waited to put up Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving because I think it's such a good reminder for us to be thankful.  Now, I also know that thanksgiving and gratefulness is a posture of the heart and not something you just do or express on one day of the year but all the days of the your life!!!!  Thanking God for His goodness and love and forgiveness and all our many blessings is something I need to do every single day.  So why the wait?  Why not go all out for Christmas in November?  I just don't.  If you decorate early and find yourself enjoying the warm, cozy lights in November .... that's great!  If you are like me and wait until the day after Thanksgiving and then feel the rush of all the holiday things .... that's great too.  I do not like the rush of wanting to set up decorations and the tree and writing my Christmas letter and baking cookies and ordering cards, etc, but it's how I roll.  I just can't write a Christmas letter with my home full of pumpkins and fall leaves!  I gotta "feel" the Christmas spirit.  One thing I do do early is turn on the Christmas music!  The radios don't start with Christmas songs until November 28 but we have Youtube and Spotify already playing us Christmas songs here!  I love that!  Also, we did watch some Christmas movies already!  December is really full of programs, banquets, gatherings and parties (which is wonderful) but we don't always have the time to enjoy some full Christmas movies!  So we start now.

All that to say that Austin LOVES Christmas time.  All the decorations!  He would love if we light up every tree on our property with lights!  He just loves it!  So, when we left the cabin a few weeks ago, Mike pulled out some fresh small pines and brought them home.  Austin set one up in his room!  He helped himself to my decorations and put them on his dresser.  It's so cute!  He falls asleep each night with the glow of his little tree on his cheeks!  I love that!!!!!

Hydrate .... we are adding this to our water lately!  Ballerina Farm is a favorite of mine to follow on Instagram and I like the few things I bought from them so far!

The wind is howling and the leaves are hanging on for dear life.  One day, very soon, the leaves will all fall to the ground and I will chase them into the field with my blower!  

More Gingerbread Biscottis filled the car and container on my kitchen counter!

Baby dear is just going from one volleyball game to the next these days!  He loves the noise and people and Mike and I are delighted to help care for him while Hadassah coaches!

Paint by number is a new art for us!  I found these on Amazon!  It's really fun to paint the spaces that are marked by numbers!  It's easy, relaxing and fun!  I am doing the nativity painting.  Ashlyn is doing the Christmas tree scene.  Austin has the bear and Hadassah started the wolf.  Mike has a steam train one he just began!  We listen to the Christmas songs Ashlyn plays and we paint!  So fun!

And now my painting is complete.  One thing I love about this is that I now have this portrait that I can use as decoration and keep for years to come!  We do love us a good puzzle though and it's now time for those to hit our dinning room table but those you do and then put back in a box.  If you are looking for a fun winter project, maybe a paint by number art is for you???

The morning, golden light is beautiful!  It's getting colder outside and soon those front porch pumpkins will freeze and I'll put out some fresh evergreens!!!!  I can't wait!

It's time to restock the vitamins and fight off sniffles!  These are what we have this season!  We hope and pray we have a healthy winter!

And that wraps up the volleyball season for the girls!  Hadassah and Kate did a great job coaching!  The girls went undefeated all season until the very last set in States Semifinals!  That's remarkable!  They played so well!  And this is Gunnar when he's with Mike!  Mike is one of Gunnars all time favorite people!  I mean, the kid loves all of us and lights up with smiles for each of us, but when he sees Mike, Gunnar lights up ten times more!  He will cry if Mike walks past him and not pick him up!  It's just the best thing ever entering into the grandparenting world!!!!  

Good job Warriors!!!!!  Now we move on to basketball season soon.  Ashlyn is going to do PA Elite Volleyball this next season and I hope she will learn lots of good skills here!

Thanksgiving is coming up soon!  Enjoy these next few weeks of pumpkin things because soon we move on to all the gingerbread and peppermint flavors!!!!