Well, Dutchess and I are settled in to our normal writing spot.  She is purring away, curled up in between my arms as I type.  All of the boys and the baby are down for a much needed nap.  The girls are doing artwork and I am sipping a cup of hot French vanilla coffee.  It is a perfect Autumn day with a bit of chill in the air!

I haven’t had any extra time for writing lately, as the Lord has been dealing with me in some things in my life.  He is always faithful to show me where He is wanting to grow me next.  He has shown me some areas where I was dealing with great pride and although it hurts when He reveals these sorts of things to us…I am always glad He has done so.  I share this, because I know how easy it is at times to read about other’s lives and feel discouraged about how far we have to go!  I have had some of my readers communicate these feelings with me.  If I, myself, didn’t have miles more to go I would no longer be breathing.  SO, journey on my sisters in Christ!  JOURNEY ON!  And rejoice when God shows you yet another area where He is ready to grow you!

We have been delighting in our school work lately.  The weather makes it so easy to nestle down with the books.  After Math and English were done and put away this morning we made a “Blessing Tree”.   I will have to take a picture of it.  I actually made two and hung them in the windows.  The children each cut out 4 leaves that I drew on construction paper and a pumpkin.  On the pumpkins I wrote verses from the Bible on harvest.  Then on the leaves the children each told me a blessing in their lives for which they are thankful.  It is all put up and the leaves are falling from the blessing tree and the pumpkins are settled underneathe.  Now, every time we sit down to eat a meal together we will see our blessing trees.  J

Other than the the Lord’s dealings with me J and our school work, I have been sewing and reading.  I am sewing some skirts that I will be selling to another mom for her little girls.  I am also sewing some Bible covers for the children’s Bibles.  We were blessed recently to be able to buy the same Bibles for all of us so when I do Bible with the children we are all on the same page and of course, reading the same version (NKJV).  The children share in the reading while all others follow along.  We start our school day off this way.  It is so fun to watch the children excitedly highlighting their favorite verses as we read along.

The house, lately, has smelled of banana bread, baked apples and wonderful spices!  A friend of ours blessed us back for our giving of meat to them with TONS of homemade applesauce, so our taste buds are loving that as well!

I love to write here at my blog, but today I feel a pull to take this hot coffee and special kitten to a comfy chair and read my TOS magazine.  It just came in the mail yesterday!  I also received the 2007 Vision Forum magazine, so these will keep me great company on these chilly Autumn afternoons (not that I am truly suffering for company around here, lol).  I better go now!  When the boys awake it will be time for some reading!

May the Lord richly bless you all!