The beginning of fall...and other things

 So it is. Today is the first day of fall & I love it! I don't believe I have ever heard anyone complain about the nice cooler weather and small breezes that come with this time of year especially if the summer has been  a little warmer & dryer than some of us I appreciate. I know there is good, beautiful things about every season but there's some seasons that I like better then others.   I'm just being honest here & I am sincerely happy that this season hosts my birthday! :) 

My sister Rhoda & I have been all into celebrating the season. Yesterday we baked apple and pumpkin pies before we went to work and since I have tomorrow & the next day off we decided it would be perfect to send "fall presents" to friends & relations. Some now and some at the beginning of winter... So you never know. You might be getting something now or later. :)

 I love how Rhoda brings the outside in with whatever is outside at the time. Currently there is a tall vase of chives sitting on the kitchen table.  Simplicity I tell you. :)

 And I can start making all those amazing fall scented candles that I just love! I got some new ones this year & It seems like people like to buy them. :)

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And than there are other things to write about. The certain subject of time and what we do with it that keeps running through my head and not wanting to go away.  I believe it's something good for me to think about since I find it difficult to manage my time properly on occasion a lot of the time. It goes something like this. As I look and observe my life/lifestyle and the way I spend my time I have no option but to painfully observe how much of my time is wasted. Completely. One example is that I find myself spending a lot of unnecessary time on the internet.  While the things I look at are sometimes helpful ( i.e. looking for ways to better teach music to oneself, projects to do, etc..) and useful, the effort/time put into looking for those things is wasted if I could be spending time with my family or doing something that I really need to be doing or quite honestly, spending needed, important time with God. I find myself being the most frustrated and irritable at myself and life in general when I get to the end of a busy day and find that I have just spent all my 'spare' time on internet and maybe not even read my Bible that day at all!  It's beginning to become clear to me in this way: Imagine you had a close relationship with someone. Sister, brother, friend, parent etc.. and suddenly one day you see the relationship changing VERY fast. While you're still close and know each other well the relationship just kinda stops growing. Perhaps you or the other person has become very busy or you/other person has found other things to focus on and the time spent with each other becomes basically non-existent and as a result someone is left hurt and wondering what happened to the relationship that was once there but no longer is. This mental illustration brought to my mind a much more serious thought. What if that's how Jesus feels when we suddenly "don't have time" and the time we spend reading the Bible & praying & drawing closer/learning to know Him deeper becomes basically non-existent? I don't have to look very far to realize that the relationship that was once there has become one of those "when I need you/when I am afraid" deals. On my part. Not because He became too busy with other things but because I have little by little been filling my time with things that have become "more important" to me. Jesus doesn't want a relationship that only gets noticed when life gets rough. He wants everything. That includes our time. If someone were to ask what my excuse is for spending/wasting time on things of little importance when I have not even spent time with God....I would have no answer. People read us much more then we think and they can see -much better then we wish- what is dominating our lives. I have been deeply challenged by this thought: Whatever we focus on/give ourselves to the most determines who/what is our god.  When God sees a need for something to change in the life of one of His children He makes it known and does not force then to change but the peace that comes and the glory He receives when we do is reward enough for any small thing that we may consider a "sacrifice".   I am challenged to change my habits and live every day for the Glory of God. He created us for the very purpose of bringing Glory to Himself and too often we do just the opposite and take time for the things we want to do or we chose the things that make us feel good about ourselves instead of choosing JESUS. 

In which we go to wisconsin....

In august we went to Wisconsin.  Us kids went up in February or maybe it was March but the reason/excuse this time was that some very close friends of ours were getting married and what a shame it would be to miss out on it! So we went, and cooked food for the wedding and enjoyed ourselves enormously. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding with only about 100-120 guests -I think little weddings are the way to go. Seriously people. The ones I have been at are always so much more relaxed and personal...just sayin' :)-  We discovered after we got there that there was no dishwasher and all the plates, cups, silverware etc. would have to be washed with our own hands. We began to imagine a long process & it was not such a glorious mind picture but we discovered that even the cleanup was to be fun! It's amazing how much fun washing dishes is when you're in a kitchen with 5-11 or 13 friends and everyone is helping 'happily'.... but since ya'll don't want to hear about the cleaning up I will let you look at some pictures. Cause those are always understandably much more interesting than words.

 

Here is Micah, Rhoda & I trying to entertain ourselves on the way up.

 

Jonathan & Anna - they are the main reason we went and it was a good reason too! :)

 

The mothers- Lydia & Lydia :)

 

I don't have a picture of just Anna but she was a lovely bride!

 

 I loved how happy & relaxed they were...

 

And than the reception....yes, this is the wedding I was making candles for the last time I posted...

 

 

 

It was fun to serve the bridal table cause we knew everyone and it was sorta just like serving family. And just in case you are interested...they had mountain dew for their drink. ;)

 

- the bridesmaids -

Kathryn & I

And than once we shot guns.  I even shot the AK-47 or was it 14? (something like that...I don't know my guns at all ) it was fun, but the fact that my ears filled with static reminding me of airbags so I couldn't even  hear the shot took a little of the extreme excitement out of it. (and those of you who know me well are going...Hannah? extreme excitement? weeellll....you never know. :) )

And then there are the pictures that were taken before or after we made a random trip to DQ for ice cream.

Random, I know.... :)

                                            

 And then there is Rachel, Mary, Rhoda, Lizzie, Kathryn & I...You know, I never did say that this caught us at our most photogenic best did I? :)

And that my friends is all for now. 

I hope you have an amazing rest of the week!