blessed beyond measure

Guess who decided to dress up after all? He's still a kid somewhere in there. To do things a little different this year, we decided to go to our community Halloween festival instead of trunk or treat at church. And in breaking news to Trey, you don't get candy if you're not dressed up. Game changer. So we had to scramble and look for already-on-hand costume supplies. Turns out we have a lot of basketball stuff. Go figure. Aden has been planning his police costume for probably six months. Kid loves him some law enforcement, and is seriously bent on being a K9 officer when he grows up. So this one was a no-brainer. The thing is, as we're putting these outfits together, I knew in the back of my mind that Trey had gone as a basketball player before and Aden had been a police officer before, but couldn't remember when. It was the same year , y'all. Oh, so sweet. Maybe ironic too, but mostly sweet. Love the Halloween memories, love that Trey is in th...

Fall’s my favorite. For real, y’all. My nose yearns for the smell of pumpkin bread, my mouth salivates for soup, my legs are obsessed with corduroy, and my tush gets that special tingle from the car seat warmer thingy. Seriously, with morning temps in the 40s the last couple of days it’s been all smiles and energy, waiting not-so-patiently for Fitbit to remind me, hey, it’s time to go walking on sunshine again. Even though our adventures have stopped, I still see fall as exploration season, after years of the boys and me gallivanting around the countryside. And it wasn’t at all like this was some chore, because everything we did, all three of us wanted to do. Such amazing memories. It seems like things have changed more this year than they have in a long time, with Trey growing up and breaking away, and Aden becoming less of a little boy and more independent. Not gonna lie, this has been extremely hard on me. All my life I wanted kids, wanted to experience that bond and...

I'm fighting my way through a rut. Today it seems easier to do so, to smile and breathe deep because the windows are open. The sky is deep, deep blue. The mountains that make up our twisty turny horizon are purple navy and so clear you could just reach out and touch them. A chilly stiff breeze is swirling green leaves through the air and onto the ground, leaves that haven't even had a chance to turn a color yet because summer lasted for ev er . But it's finally here, and long sleeves and soup and cold in the lungs are joy-inducing blessings indeed. Hello, fall. Can't forget about the county fair, a big a deal as always, having a bit of classic Americana just a few minutes down the road. Canned peaches and baby chicks, tractors and food trucks, homegrown southern rock bands and deep fried donuts. Not as many rides this year. I think they traded some to have a pretty impressive circus at one end of the grounds. But we rode the heck out of the Ferris wheel and ...