Fall Days and Remembrances of Summer

I will admit it! I don't enjoy fall. I don't savor the "cool crisp air and leaves on the ground." I like it HOT! I like the summer! Thankfully today is in the 80s. So, it's nice still. But, it's getting dark earlier in the evening, the nights are getting cooler and there are Christmas decorations at the stores. Fall is coming (and by some definitions is already here)!

One thing that fall brings, which I do enjoy, is our annual apple picking trip. We started this when Karissa was in kindergarten. So, this will be the fifth year of what has become a family tradition. As of today, we are planning on going on Friday.
Perhaps I will even remember to post pictures... but, don't hold your breath! I am looking forward to making apple pies, applesauce and drying apples. YUMMY! I also like pumpkin pie and pumpkin butter. So, I guess that fall FOODS are good! Just not fall weather!

Fall also brings a re-evaluation of our homeschooling. For instance, about a month ago, I was thinking, "What do a second grader and a fourth grader REALLY need to do?" This is a good checkpoint for us. "What's working? What's not? What's missing? What's overkill?" This year, I also asked the kids ONE thing that they would each like to learn this year. Micah wants to learn a lot about fossils. Karissa wants to learn to cook a simple meal. I think that we can accomplish both. However, Karissa's task would be easier if her brothers didn't have food allergies and she could make mac-n-cheese or grilled cheese and tomato soup or something like that. Math is going well. Spelling is going well. English is going well. Reading is going well. History is going well. Handwriting is going well for some and not as well for others. Piano is going well. Science is so-so. (And our kids have a teacher with a chemistry degree!) Memorizing 1 Timothy this summer was a good experience for the kids. I hope it sticks with them for their whole lives. We'll need to review a bit, I'm sure. We intended to start a new passage this fall, but haven't gotten very far.

Fall also brings a reintroduction of the "crazy life" to our family:

Gymnastics (for Karissa)
Soccer (for Micah)
AWANA (for Karissa, Micah and Matt)
Piano lessons (for Micah and Karissa)
Family Small Group (for all of us)
Sewing lessons (for Karissa and I)
Bible Quizzing (for all of us)
...and a myriad of other activities.

I realize that these are all our choice (and I don't think I'd choose to have it any other way), but things sure are BUSY!

For Laurie, and anyone else, who has wondered about the last couple of months in our family, I'll give you a quick rundown and a few pictures.

From July 27-August 5, we went to MI and stayed at my parents. Matt did some sort of computer training in Grand Rapids. He and Dad put a new roof on my parents' barn. Matt and I celebrated our fourteenth wedding anniversary. My Grandma arranged for she, Mom and I to take the kids for a ride on a "scale model" train along with some friends. We went swimming at "Uncle" Burt and "Aunt" Cindy's pool. We went to the zoo with my Mom and Aunt Cindy. We went blueberry picking. We also got to see people that I haven't had a chance to catch up with in years!

Here are a couple of pictures that I "stole" from my Mom's blog:






From August 11-August 16, Matt went on a trip to the Boundary Waters with his Uncle Doug. He has lots of good memories from this trip. He left his pillowcase with all of his extra clothes at his parents, after he stayed there the night before their trip. He also has a good "hero story" (as Karissa calls it) about he and his uncle helping a ranger paddle someone who was injured out of the "boonies" to a place where they could get to the hospital. He took a lot of really good pictures. Here are a "few":












Here is a picture of Rachel one month ago today. Such a big girl!



Here are some pictures from August 20th, our "first official school day". (Micah would not consider himself in second grade until I declared a specific day that we were starting, even though we did some academic things on and off all summer!):






How do those of you with more than one child EVER get any good pictures?

Labor Day weekend my parents came to visit. On Saturday, we went to Brookfield Zoo. Micah was lost for about 20 minutes at the end of the day and it was definitely a time of great prayer. Daddy was standing right next to him and had looked at him about 15 seconds before I asked, "Where's Micah?" These things can happen so fast! Thankfully, Daddy found him sitting nicely on a bench. God is good!





Here are a couple of pictures of Rachel and Grandpa from that weekend:




Here's a picture from September 5 of Rachel "reading books". She's almost 10 months old here. Aren't you impressed?



Oh, and I forgot to mention that sometime between the first day of school and Labor Day our house almost flooded. Exciting times!

I think that gives you a good "snapshot" of the last couple of months in the life of the McFarlane family. Is that good enough Laurie?