The Last Gifts of October

~ October Gifts ~

Rainbows in the sky, after an unexpected shower

"Wom! Can we run to the end and find the pot of gold?"

You can - but I probably won't go with you.

Finished projects...

A little Bug, snug...as a bug, in a ... blankie

Hand stitched

I thought I would never finish it, put alas, hard work and effort pays off and I'm left with a lovely light weight imperfect memory crazy quilt.

I'll take it.

Then there were the costumes...

Micheal, Cleopatra, Spidey and Captain America

All gifts

Trunk or Treat and then a visit from the "Switch Witch" that night

(they leave their cancer causing candy on the porch and the Switch Witch comes by that night and swaps them for healthier treats and goodies.)

This was our first year trying out her services - it was a hit!

then, a birthday

one that had been counted down and counted on

A little squirrel girl completed 9 trips around the sun

and was very very happy about it

Family from afar came to give birthday hugs,

friends from town brought Calico Critters,

and there was shared cake with an aunt and uncle

Trinity Sky said it was the best birthday she has ever had

Since having my Girl of Wonder, the end of October always leaves me a bit wistful. 

Our little rose bud is blooming, not quite little anymore and not quite big.

She's perfect though...right where she's at she's perfect.

She fills our hearts with all kinds of goodness,

her zest for life and her satisfaction with herself leaves me inspired.

"You know you're children are growing up when they stop asking you where they came from and refuse to tell you where they are going."

P.J O'Rourke

Trinity is going places. She's gonna travel the world - either physically or mentally, but she'll have adventures. 

She is going to give the world so much, and already has.

 She is a light, one that sometimes I wish I could keep in a mason jar to glow and glow beside me. But I know, that would be an injustice of beauty. So, little by little...we'll unscrew the lid and let her fly about.

Then someday, I imagine she will go, the little jar will be empty

So for now, I'm soaking up her light, as much as I can

to forever keep in my mind

So she really won't leave.

Happy 10 hours until November Friends

I can't wait to see what gifts it brings

Just Gratitude's...

Thank You God for all good things

... for misty mornings

... for burnt sienna and raw umber and sage green

... thank you for a view

... thank you for a warm home

... warm clothes

... thank you for flannel. I dearly love flannel.

... thank you for thrifted beauty

... for the hidden talents in all Your people

... thank you for pictures of streams crashing over rocks, I can hear it.

... thank you for this little potato bin - that it was once not so very tasteful,

and after a good sanding...the treasure was hidden beneath 

... thank you Lord for wood grain

... thank you Lord for potatoes

... for root vegetables

... for starch

... for lots and lots of starch

... for one lone pepper, growing and turning and bright red

... thank you Lord for my little garden

... thank you thank you thank you

... for a hard working man

... for a handsome man

... for a firefighter man

... for a pallet wood collecting man

... also, thank you lord for my little man Brady Bunches of Love

... for pigtails

... and little aprons

... and miniature animals and their cute little clothes and cars and water bottles and rugs and houses and wagons and lamps and books...and all their cute little things 

(I can barely keep it together when it comes to dollhouse goodness)

... thank you that I can't keep it together

... for helping hands

... for the bread we eat

... for life from You

... thank you God for brave kids

... for new skills

... for them being able to do all things because of You that strengthens them

... once again, Lord, thank you for autism. It's a tricky road but it's navigable because of You,

walking alongside me, holding my hand and theirs.

... for new little pets (the quiet, low maintenance kind)

... thank you Lord that I still have one little set of chubby hands left in the house...

... for new projects

... for creating

... thank you for a free costume and a visit from Cleopatra herself 

(I'm honored)

... for "putting the wash out"

... thank you that I feel rich when I see stacks of firewood in the backyard

... thank you for the little things that add up to be really really big

... for Mario and Luigi and their never wavering presence in my life

... for bare-feet in October

... thank you for the sunny days

...for baby Moses

... that she knows that story

... that she wants to play it all by herself

... for banana friendship cake sans frosting ... just pecans and honey and cinnamon

... thank you for a recipe that takes me back to sweet times

... thank you for the sweet times today

... for bear claws as big as your head (the tasty kind)

 ... and of course trees. Thank you so much for trees.

... thank you for walks and leaf crunching 

Thank you for being with me always,

that I get to just be myself everyday of my life

basking in your gracious love 

Thank You that You are good 

always

thank you for freeing me from religion and giving me friendship

thank you for freeing me from sadness and filling me with joy

.........................................................................................

... also, thank you for avocados.

We Came Away with Color

I  imagine the trees know each other.

I imagine this because, you see, if you ever take a walk in the woods...

there is evidence all around...

of them catching each other, leaning on each other, growing with each other.

That's what I love about trees. 

They are full of wonder and strength and color.

I love their out stretched arms, inspiring me, too, to reach up...

way way up

towards the sun and smile

just like them.

Today we were blessed with crisp fall air, 

a lovely mountain drive,

and a picnic lunch.

We were blessed with climbing,

and hugging, 

and hauling branches.

The chainsaw was buzzing,

 the leaves whispered,

oak and pine and aspen scents surrounded me...

we were blessed.

Hard work and trips up and down a mountain with arms full of winter warmth...

We were blessed.

"The human spirit needs places that have not been 

rearranged by the hand of man."

“I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least - and it is commonly more than that - sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely 

free from all worldly engagements."

- Henry Thoreau

My little squirrel girl wanted to build a house then and there

in the great woods.

I did too.

Instead, I collected bark and rocks, and pictures -

to take in my pocket and remember

 that there are still quiet spaces,

even in my mind.

 (no aspens were harmed in the making of this life. I promise he's cutting the fallen dead one.)

Hawk feathers were found...

and spider friends discovered high in a tree. 

"look what we found mom!"

The littles really love insects.

That's what i love most about children -

their happiness in discovering,

 their eagerness to learn, 

their friendly little hearts when nurtured.

~Golden leaves rained on us~

"I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out until sundown,

for going out,

I found,

was really going in."

John Muir

.

We came away with quite a bit of fire wood for the soon to come winter,

peaceful souls,

fall kissed cheeks...

...and color.

We came away with color.