Fall Weather Has Finally Arrived

My Dear, Sweet, Awesome Jesus!

Thank you for creating seasons! Thank you for creating Fall. Thank you for this outstanding weather and the crunchy, falling leaves. Thank you for the cooler weather. Thank you for creating gorgeous colors outside. You're an amazing God, and I THANK you for giving me a season that I love so much! Amen!

Today is the perfect Fall day! This morning, it was like 50 degrees on my walk and I had the privilege of whipping out a hoodie! Woo hooo! It was gorgeous out! Now it's like 67 degrees and perfect outside. Here is a picture of our Fall-looking backyard. Try to spy the puppy running my way :)

Looks like she's smiling, doesn't it? She's actually snacking on a leaf:
First day to wear a scarf! Yessss!!! Scarves are my favorite and I love wearing them!!:
Halloween Party:

On Saturday, our Sunday School small group had our Fall/Halloween/Harvest/whatever party at Jason and Jennifer's house. It was all potluck, so we all brought different yummies to nom on. I made an apple cake and a trifle. Delish! We also had hummus, bacon-wrapped venison, chicken, green beans, squash casserole, garlic pasta, French bread, meatballs and beany weinies, and hot apple cider. Oh boy, was it a feast! We also did pumpkin carving and bobbing for apples. Here are a few pictures of our fabulous evening!

This is a Jonagold apple. It was MASSIVE!!! I had never eaten a Jonagold apple before, but it was crisp and sweet and delicious!:
My little helper. She loves to sit in the kitchen with me whenever I cook, hoping and doggy-praying that I drop some food for her to taste test.:
My PERFECT apple cake! It was kind of the consistency of bread pudding, and it was oh so very tasty! I will certainly make it again! I bet you could even eat it for breakfast if you're feeling sweet-toothed :)
Here is my trifle. It had brownies, marshmallow cream, 2 tubs of cool whip, cheesecake pudding, cream cheese and caramel. Ooooo baby!! The only thing I would change would be to add more brownies. It was rich and sweet and perfect! If you'd like the recipe, I'd LOVE to give it to you :)
Me pulling all the gunky gunk out of the punkin'. I HATE that junkola! But Jamie did the carving, so I had to do my part.
Jamie and our "special" pumpkin. We decided not to use a stencil thing (or whatever it's called), so Jamie--the artist--did his own carving. Look how proud he is!!!:
Carving away at his masterpiece:
Filthy, nasty, punkin' junk:
Jamie, his silly smile, me, and our prize-winning (yeah right) pumpkin!:
Claire, a fellow Chi Omega, did an incredible owl carving. However...the owl's head fell off. Incredibly tragic. She was not too thrilled.:
Russell's pumpkin. This mummy was way cool looking!! Way to go, Russell!
Jason's pirate ship. Wow! This is some very good carving:
Tori's headless horseman! She told me to "bring it" with the pumpkin carving and she certainly BROUGHT IT!
And the prize winning pumpkin goes to....
ISABEL!!! WOOO HOOO!!!! Her wolf was incredible! Good job, my dear!
Jamie and his apple after bobbing for it. He should have won several awards. An award for most creative and original pumpkin. An award for the fastest pumpkin carving. And an award for the most dramatic and wettest apple bobbing. He's my hero:
The apple-bobbing men:
Obviously, it was a top night! Jamie and I are so grateful and so blessed to be involved in such an awesome Sunday School! Thanks for a fun party, everyone!!!

Schedule for Today:

• Laundry
• Walk
• Gym
• Dishes
• Clean bathrooms....sick
• Vacuum (that's a really tough word to spell)
• Pack for Angela's wedding weekend!!! WOO HOO!
• Shower at some point...if I'm lucky
• Hug and kiss my cute husband when he gets home
• Enjoy the weather

Challenge:

Take some time and say a special prayer to God. Not just for your meals. Not just for you and your needs and wants. But really take a few minutes today and praise our God for something in your life! Thank Him for his awesome power and grace. Pray a special prayer for a friend or family member or loved one. Pray for our troops. Pray for something/someone you care about. Just take some time to talk to God. He's love to hear what you have to say :)

I love you guys so much and want to thank you for your encouraging words about my blog! You all are so great and I thank you for reading! For those of you who want to follow me, you just go to the top left-hand corner and click on the "Follow" button. That's it :) Thanks for reading! I appreciate you all so much!

Have a fantastic day and get outside and enjoy this weather at some point today!!!