Blessed & loving FALL

This morning I got the kids ready for school as usual.  After they drove away on the bus it was not the usual.  I had to hurry to get Morgan a bath & dressed & get us ready to go.  We stopped by the school to drop Gabby's lunchbox off that she forgot sitting on the counter.  We stopped to fill the car full of gas and then headed to Iron Mountain for baby appointment #2.  I was feeling sort of rushed but not enough to be driving crazy.  As I approached the intersection at Hyde when a black hybrid vehicle failed to slow down much let alone stop at her stop sign & she pulled out right into my lane on US2.  With God's protection I was able to slow down a little & maneuver my car into the turning lane to avoid hitting the black car.  Morgan said, "whoa mom, what are you doing driving crazy?"  I told her I was driving like that to avoid an accident.  The woman looked absolutely clueless as I made my way past her.  Then she proceeded to drive very close to my bumper for the next few miles until she cranked it into the turning lane at Cedar Hill medical building.  Wow!  My adrenaline was up as well as my blood pressure...I was sure of it.

When I got to Iron Mountain I dropped Morgan off for my Gram to watch her while I went to my appointment.  It was a longer appointment then just the basic measurements so I thought Morgan would appreciate not having to sit & wait for so long.  It is such a blessing to have family nearby to help with my kiddos when I need it.  I am very thankful to them.  My mom usually goes out of her way to help me out but she had an appointment this morning at just about the same time.

Today was an exciting day for me.  Today was the day that I got to hear the heartbeat of our next child.  It's always been a nerve-wracking appointment for me but today I was at peace & excited. I  even recorded the whoosh, whoosh of our baby's heart.  It sounded so wonderful to my ears.  Yet another blessing bestowed on me today.

Each season is special in some way to me and fall is no exception but I think that if I absolutely HAD to choose a favorite season, it would be fall.  Despite the horrible allergies I have each year (and this year being worse since I am unable to take medication that helps due to being pregnant & the meds that work are not safe for a growing baby) there are so many things that I love about fall.  I was excited to remember that each fall for the past few years I have had to travel to Iron Mountain for different doctor appointments & there are 2 spots along the way that are usually drenched in beautiful fall colors.  They both have trees up on hills that have some of the brightest red leaves I've ever seen.  Then mixed with orange, yellow, some evergreen trees, some brown leaves...the colors are breathtaking.  I actually slowed down in both those sections of road so that we could take in the colors for as long as possible without causing an accident.  When I pointed the trees out to Morgan she said, "mom you are right,t the colors are so bright & pretty!"  I love playing in the leaves with the kids.  Taking turns burying each other & raking a big pile to jump into together.  Throwing leaves in the air to wait for them to fall on your head as if they are HUGE colorful chunks of snow.  My all-time favorite is taking a walk with my family & trying to find the BIGGEST piles or even the smallest piles of leaves to crunch through.  The kids think it is the best.when I, their very serious business like mom, takes them on walks & acts just like a kid. I think maybe that's why I love it....because I get to be a kid again each & every year.  I am often task oriented but when fall comes, I throw caution to the wind *so to speak* and the kid in me comes out.  I've been told before that I love fall because the colors look good on me with my fair skin & my auburn hair.  And I was actually born at the end of October so Fall means celebrating my birthday.  But whatever it happens to be....FALL is my favorite season.  Gotta go....its time to be a kid again! :)

I'm especially looking forward to next week. I think we'll be getting our family pictures outside in the beautiful leaves if it isn't raining.  I can't wait.  Because I love this picture from 2009 but Adam was missing. Can't wait to add a family picture to our wall in the living room with all of us in the leaves (until next year when we have our new little one.)