I truly can't believe it's the last day of October.
It's been a beautiful month.....a fantastic autumn....to think we are now in the beginning of the 2nd month of autumn......wow.....pretty soon Thanksgiving here in the States will be upon us!
For now, I am thanking God for the beautiful, warm weather we've had this week...and for most of the month actually! And I'm finding FIVE FAVES from the last week to share with other bloggers who link up over at Susanne's site. How about joining us? What were some blessings you discovered in your life this week?
FIVE FAVES
Claire with Aunt Joy |
My younger sister Joy and I Stockbridge, MA |
- ANNUAL AUTUMN DAY AWAY! Ever since my oldest daughter went away to college, I've done something each autumn with my youngest girl. We go with my sister Joy (she is 2 years younger than me, and the oldest of my 3 younger sisters) to a small village in one of the surrounding states or areas. For the last 3 years, we've gone to Vermont so this time....our 4th Annual Autumn Day Away... we chose to go to this tiny village, about an hour away, in Massachusetts. What a nice day! The weather was very mild and the sun was out....there was a chill to the breeze but the sun was so warm....we walked all over the main street and a couple of side streets and did a lot of shopping. I actually bought 4 Christmas gifts plus something for my dining room table. The photo with my sister and I is in front of the Red Lion Inn (where Dave and I had our first official date way back in 1989!) where they were displaying 2 pumpkins. They were over 1000 lbs! We had a delicious lunch at The Main Street Cafe, did some more shopping, and then had lattes and gelato (homemade!!) at this amazing shop. I had the Hazelnut Gelato (OH MY!) and the Almond Joy Latte....a really special treat. It was a lot of fun and we are already planning next autumn's excursion. It's a blessing to be able to do fun things with family.
New table-runner for Autumn homemade by a local artisan in Stockbridge, MA |
- ANSWER TO PRAYER! Claire turns 16 on Dec 21 and do you know how difficult it is to plan a birthday party so close to Christmas? Mine is in December, too as are 2 of my nephews, 2 good friends, and a sister! So it's a busy month! Claire has always been easy when it comes to parties...she typically has a couple of friends over for a sleepover or movie night, etc. She is a lot different from big sis who always needed theme parties, with all the trimmings. But at least I could do those in the backyard as it was July! So...we started looking at places to have this party since she wants to invite more than 3 friends and our family room just isn't big enough for a huge party.......I started praying about possibilities. We wanted our church's youth center but the dates and times weren't available for when we wanted the party. BUT....(this is a huge benefit to belonging to a mega-church with multiple campuses!!)....this campus was free the night she wants her party and I met with the facilities manager and he said I could book the entire lobby/cafe area!! Glory to God! Here is a pic of our satellite church in the town just to the north of us:
it will be a blessing to have the Sweet 16 party here! |
- AMAZING WEATHER! Tuesday was a day off of work for me due to Parent Conferences and my supervising teacher said the special ed aides didn't have to go in! That was a huge blessing because I was able to fit in several little errands that needed to be done and now I won't have to fit them in on Friday evening or Saturday. I had lunch with a good friend of mine and then raked leaves......enjoying the very mild temperatures and the lovely color of our maple tree in the backyard. We have a smaller maple whose leaves are just turning, to the right of the one shown in this photo. That little tree in the front right is a pear tree whose leaves are just turning a dark red. Autumn is such a blessed time!
- ATTENTION ATTAINED I work as a Special Educator in an integrated kindergarten. 10 of the children are "gen ed" kids who are in school for only the half day program. (they have no known developmental/academic delays...are typical 5/6 year olds). The other 8 children are "all day" kindergartners, who have specia l needs mainly in the areas of speech/language, attention, motor planning, and one is on the autism spectrum but is mild....like Asperger Syndrome. Some of them have social/emotional issues as well. Most of them went to a special needs pre-K so services were already in place (speech therapy, OT, PT). One boy I worked with last year is repeating kindergarten...he is actually one of my fave 5 year olds......(I know we are not supposed to have faves but.....we all do!). Well, all last year he had difficulty with self-control. I have noticed a huge improvement in his attention during large group activities and much better self-control when engaged in free play or more unstructured activities. He also is screaming or crying a lot less and using his words/language to get his needs/wants known. This is a huge blessing to me. Even though it might seem like a little thing, it is BIG for this little boy. I'm very proud of him.
- AIR TRAVEL SAFETY Dave had to fly out of state very early on Tuesday morning......and come back late Wednesday evening. This was his first business trip since his heart attack in September. I'm so thankful that he had a safe flight both ways!
That wraps it up for me.......I hope you enjoy the weekend and do some restful, refreshing things.......
10 comments:
I can't believe it's the end of October already either! But here it is. It's lovely weather here too. In fact tomorrow is supposed to be a warm 66* tomorrow. That is amazing. The leaves have been beautiful here too. What a fun time with your sister and daughter. I can't believe you are already ahead on the Christmas shopping. I LOVE that table runner. The colors would look wonderful in my kitchen too! So glad Dave had a safe and sound business trip!
16! Wow! Time really flies doesn't it? So glad your hubby had a safe flight. I so enjoy Autumn festivals! Everything about them is so fun! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
We also have nearly summer weather in Belgium. Can't remember that it had ever been so warm on end October ! Being a special educator must be sometimes very hard !
Your autumn day away sounds fun! That's so neat about finding a place for Claire's party. Wow, so many birthdays in December! That's neat, too, about the little boy learning more self-control. I can imagine how concerned you must have been during your husband's first flight away since his heart attack. Glad all went well!
Your autumn table runner is beautiful, Faith! I love to buy special things like that. Oh...and I really like your handbag in the picture of you and your sister. ;)
I'm so tickled at how the Lord worked out things for the celebration of Claire's 16th birthday party!
I have a daughter-in-law who would truly understand the depth of your pride in this little guy. She's a pre-K teacher and has a special needs child in her class this year.
Was really glad to hear that Dave had a safe trip flying both ways.
Have a wonderful weekend, Faith!
So glad that your husband is doing better and that he had a safe trip. That will be an amazing place for your daughter's party. How fun! I love your concern for the children you work with. A good teacher is always happy when his/her students succeed! Have a great weekend!
Hi, Faithe, Thanks for visiting my blog. I enjoyed your FFF here. I am not a fan of flying so I'm always very thankful to get home safe and sound. I'm glad that your husband did well after his heart attack. A scary time for you both, I'm sure. Love the autumn tree! We don't have these here in Florida and I miss that! Have a great weekend.
I remember you talking about your girls and how one of them created your header for you (I think). How sweet.
Your time away sounds AAAAmazing!
It's amazing that Dave is already so active and doing so well. And hurray for safe travels (I'm traveling this week so would appreciate prayers).
What a fun time you had with Claire and your sister. It's truly a blessing to have sisters living so close to you.
I love the idea of an annual autumn day away! Glad you got to have such a good time! I love that runner you purchased for your table. I'm kind of addicted to table linens ...
(I'm late getting to stop by but I never like to miss commenting on FFF posts.)
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