Happy Fall Ya'll

Fall is in the air and I am sooo excited!!!

September 1st is the beginning of what to me is THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR and the best part is it lasts until December 31st! The house is decorated and plans are being made to pick apples, can tons of applesauce, go to the pumpkin patch, make a trip to the mountains, and ultimately prepare for our annual trip to visit "THE MOUSE!" It's just the most wonderful time of year and I am simply giddy!!!

Fall to me is the time tidy up and start decking the halls. It's time to get cozy and make every little nook and cranny warm and welcoming to all who enter.

It's the time I love to warm up our home with the delicious smells of a pumpkin spice candle, a big ole pot of soup simmering on the stove and the mouthwatering smell of a freshly baked apple pie.

It's time to pull out those cozy quilts that just scream "curl up with me and a good book."

  

It's time to add a little touch here...

 

and a little touch there,

all that say, "welcome home"

"welcome to a new season of life"

"you are loved"

and, "I'm really glad you're here."



Now, as it is quite obvious, I love details, and more is always better! So, in my book, there is no nook nor cranny too insignificant to be ignored. The one spot in my house that gives me the greatest joy is by far what most people would probably consider to be, well, completely ridiculous. But, it makes me smile. 

Yes, I really do love to decorate my toilet paper.

My Happy Place

Okay, now who am I kidding? Technically this is not my official "Happy Place" that would be Disney World, but for some reason they refuse to believe I really am Cinderella and that is my castle!!!

So, ya know, a girls gotta live. Definitely not a  close second, but nonetheless second would be my porch. It makes me happy.

I feel like such the "Southern Belle" (said with a deep southern accent) rocking on my Atlanta porch, sipping my ice cold glass of sweet tea,

listening to the melodic sounds of birds chirping and feeling the gentle touch of the early morning Georgia breeze across my skin. This is where I love to wake up in the morning. It is always neat... with the exception of an occasional spider web or the hairy debris on my chair left from the wandering neighborhood cat who has also claimed my porch as his happy  place. But really it isn't my comfy rockers with red and white checked pillows, the big pots of blooming red flowers or all the precious to me antiques or thrift store treasures that make me happy, it's all about who meets me there.

This is where Monty and I have our "porch time", aka....time to talk without the kiddos (even though we turn around to see their little noses pressed up against the glass). This is precious time Monty and I have shared either hashing out a heated issue, sharing our hearts, dreaming of our future or crying out to God for peace, wisdom, and direction. Not to mention the countless hours we spent rocking and feeding tiny little babies.

Most of all this is where I can think and pray and be silent before God. Oh, how I love this spot. This is my "good morning God spot" or shall I say my "God spot." Morning after morning, year after year God has welcomed me here. This is where he has spoken so clearly I've had to look twice at the rocker beside me. It is where he has simply refreshed my soul as I've felt His touch in the gentle breeze. It is where he has become so real to me through the reading of His word. This is where I have begun to understand "the abundant life." This is where He has rocked my world and convicted my heart. This porch has been my sanctuary my house of worship. Now really, who am I kidding, this porch isn't even my "happy place." He is my "happy place" and nothing can compare. This place is simply an old porch apart from Him.

Only with Him does it become my "Happy Place."