We Celebrate FALL

     At our house, we love this time of year!  We celebrate the changing of seasons from summer to fall.  We dig out our turkey, pumpkin, scarecrow, & other fall decorations in September.  We buy mums for the flower beds & porches.  Fall festivals & pumpkin patches seem to call our family's name!  We also build fires, roast marshmallows, & make smores.  Even candy corn & hot chocolate tastes better in the cooler weather! 
     Saying my kiddos LOVE to play dress up is a major understatement!  This time of year, costumes abound in stores.  We take advantage & stock up on new ones.  Any given day of the year if you visit us you may meet an array of animals, cowboys, or princesses that are also known as our children.  Other kids that visit love our costume collection.  We encourage imaginative play around here.
     Pumpkins are also welcome here!  We devote entire unit studies on them, grow them, pick them, carve them, & eat them.  Our kiddos look forward to guessing the amount of seeds different sizes will have & graphing the results.  We just don't believe that fall could be fall without big, beautiful pumpkins to enjoy!
     We set aside this season for a special time of Thanksgiving.  God has mercifully blessed once again.  We count our blessings.  We write them down.  We reminisce the past year as we head into the upcoming busy holidays ahead.  We also take time to dig into our past American History.  I want our children to appreciate our country's freedom & also recognize those who have gone before & still work hard to preserve our blessed country.  This year I have enjoyed reading Pilgrim's Progress with our 2 oldest girls in our morning devotional & prayer times before their school work begins. 
     Cooking & baking multiply in our home.  The kiddos pick up pecans in orchard for extra cash, & Nathan bakes the most delicious pies!  We all enjoy baking pumpkin & turkey cookies together.  This year the kiddos made a flag cake with friends in honor of Veteran's Day.  It was so delicious too!
     Next after God, family is EVERYTHING!  We strongly believe that.  We are that hugging, kissing family.  Here we are definitely not scared of all of us cuddling close together under warm covers in the mornings.  This is when we do a lot of talking to one another.  We believe in family conversations right in our pjs.  Often we are amazed at what our kids say.  They can be so silly & remarkably serious all in a matter of a few seconds.  I've experienced so many "only God" moments both at night & early mornings that I'm convinced that God ordained family pajama time!
     So what is my point?  What am I saying?  I'm saying to all of those "Halloween haters" that it's FALL, okay?  Fall is blessed by God.  Fall is for extra special family time.  In our house we in no way worship the devil or participate in any sorcery or witch craft.  That's just ridiculous for anyone to even say that of any Christian home.  Yes, we dress up.  Yes, we eat candy.  We also do that any other 364 days of the year.  If you want to turn off your lights, hide away from your neighbors, tell your kids that the devil is worthy of a "birthday" that we must hide from, & call that being a light, knock yourself out!  Call it pagan if you want, all the while justifying your Christmas season displaying huge trees, wreaths, lights, bows, & displays with maybe a tiny manger scene, spending tons of $$$ on presents for your OWN family, calling off church services if it falls on or close to Thanksgiving/Christmas, & hunting Easter eggs right on...really?  Wow, that makes tons of sense & really reflects a life for Christ...just saying!
     This post is controversial for many.  It may bring positive & negative comments & shares.  That won't bother me any.  Everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion.  I am all for freedom of speech & people standing for what they believe.  As for me & my house, we will still serve the Lord right on through & enjoy the rest of fall & upcoming Christmas in the name of Jesus!