Autumn Highlights

Our autumn has been full and inspiring.  Not too many pictures have been snapped, so a little list of highlights is in order:

• Our temple, the Brigham City temple was dedicated and we were able to attend a session just last week.  Sitting in that gorgeous edifice, the first thing I felt was that I was finally home.  And while all temples feel like home, this one feels like our home, our very own special, sacred temple.
• I was able to ride down with my stake to the Relief Society meeting and go with my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law.  And the whole day was a much-needed break for me.  Patrick insisted I leave early and do some shopping in Brigham City and some pondering on the temple grounds.
• Our house is coming along nicely.  Almost completely sided, it's being mudded and taped at this stage in the game.  Our builder keeps promising Thanksgiving, but I'm expecting December...{I've never been one to get my hopes up too much.  It allows me to not be too disappointed or pleasantly surprised}.
• I've been busy with lots of photo shoots...this warm Autumn is lending itself well to photographs.
• We've been busy with your tradition of a yearly family movie to give to our parents for Christmas.  I'm not sure why I've never uploaded the past year's movies to our blog...I'll have to put that on the to-do list.
• Last Friday and Saturday I attended a Time-Out for Women event with my sister Natalie and my mom.  It was literally amazing and I loved the time spent with two of my very best friends.

And then there was Monday....when Easton and Tate disappeared to the outdoors and by the time I got Maylie all bundled up, I found Easton raking leaves and Tate raking dirt (Tate claimed to be getting the garden ready to plant in).  Easton asked me if he could earn a little extra money since this was an extra chore.  I was so happy that he wanted to help that I agreed wholeheartedly. 

And after 45-50 minutes of raking non-stop, Easton was the proud owner of 5 piles of leaves.

But the story doesn't end there.  The sweetest part came later after they came in and were ready for bed.  "Mommy?" He began.  "I want to earn money so I can get you and Daddy something."  I couldn't believe my ears.  Where had he learned this art of generous giving?  I stand continually in awe of the spirits that our Father sends us.  Aren't they a miracle?

I love you Easton.

And Tate.

And Maylie.

And Patrick.

And Autumn with all of it's splendor....

First Family Olympics.

A new tradition was started to end our summer with a bang.  We held our own little version of the Olympics.  

Easton represented Germany

Patrick--New Zealand

Tate--Portugal

and me--the US

Events included a diving competition (who could make the biggest splash jumping in Easton's new pool); balance beam (walking straight across and doing tricks); long jump (over the hose); 50 yard dash; and discus throw (frisbee in the pool). 

I recorded most of the events on video, so the pictures were sparse, but I am truly hoping to find some time this fall to sit down and compile our year's memories into videos...

The standings at the end of the day were as follows:

Gold--Germany (Easton)

Silver--New Zealand (Daddy)

Bronze--United States (Mommy)

Honorable Mention--Portugal (Tate)

And we decided that we'll hold our own family olympics as the last event, the resounding finale of every summer.

Homemade Slings on Memorial Day

"Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language." ~Henry James

Memorial Day brought Nana and Papa, Coco and Jason, Natalie and Jon.  We grilled brats and hot dogs, drank lots of root beer, roasted marshmallows in the fire, and had a Family Home Evening lesson about David and Goliath...complete, I might add, with homemade slings and jumbo marshmallows slung to the Goliaths on the wall (Papa and Easton). I will definitely have to upload one of the movies taken during the competition. :)

I wasn't a super slinger, but Colie and Papa showed great skill.

Maylie loved having her little arms tickled.  She sat perfectly still and didn't move for about 10 minutes.  Oh the sweetheart.  I don't think the boys liked tickles until they were about 2 years old!

Cure for a Heartsick Soul.

I woke today with a feeling of heartsickness...for no apparent reason.  The day loomed on like drudgery, but I did my best to wear a smile of love for my loved ones.

My prayers were answered in late afternoon when I least expected it...

...leaves ablaze with sunlight...

...clouds floating atop the mountains behind our house...

...a red water pump...

...an antique gas pump...

...a paper-thin leaf all perfect on the wet cement...

...a stone firepit that waits for summer...

...wheels turning to the rhythm of time...

...little boy laughter breaking the solitude of a small farm town...

...witnessing how even though we fall we're "still okay..."

...Tate telling me to look up and see the "beautiful clouds..."

...and seeing it all, the windows, this cottage, these trees, this world, from a new perspective.

I thought I was enjoying the beauty enough from the large picture windows throughout our home.

But experiencing it firsthand, with the wind on my face and the cold in my ears was invigorating and awe-inspiring and consuming.

I guess all my heart really needed was to join hands with nature and breathe in the scent of aging winter.  Maybe His creations could be the answer to many of our sorrows and sleepy eyes and bad moods, and even aches in our hearts that spring up from nowhere.  It seems that winter brings withering of leaves and shrubs and oft-times a withering of our hearts.  But this withering, only makes room for new growth and a vibrancy of green.

Maybe the ache I felt today was only a longing for communion.  A communion with His creations.  And a communion with Him.  And sometimes it's much easier to feel His love and His whisperings when you're standing in the majesticness of His handiwork...