Fall may officially begin!!!

It's no secret that I love all things Fall. 

I've always felt as though September 1st is the unofficial start date to Fall, and I am instantly in a good mood. No joke, I am automatically happy and excited for the next four months the second August is over. This is my favorite time of the year, and I just want to embrace it all! The pumpkins, the clothes, the weather, the colors, the smells, the food, the holidays, the crunchy leaves, the movies, the chilly nights...everything! 

It's hard to celebrate the Fall season living in Southwest Louisiana though, because we're still embracing 90 degree weather. Correction, I certainly have NOT embraced this horrid weather. Sick out. All week, I've been wearing halter tops and tank tops and sun dresses and sandals. Bring on the sweater dresses and leggings and boots and cool colors and hoodies and even Uggs for goodness' sakes! Let's put the flip flops away for good! 

Since the weather refuses to cooperate with the season, I have to embrace Fall in my own way. 

By buying new Fall decorations and lighting a lovely Fall candle, an Apple and Pumpkin Yankee Candle. Yum.: 

All of my Fall and Halloween decorations are in storage and I am not about to go fish those out and haul them up here for only me and Jamie to enjoy. Scratch that...for only ME to enjoy! A couple pumpkins and a Fall smell will work just fine for me.

I've also been enjoying my Fall themed magazines:

They just make me happy. All of the pumpkin and apple and chili recipes make my heart joyful and my tummy anxious :)

As of now, it is 12:46 in the A. M. and I am wide awake, so I had to fix myself my first cup of hot chocolate and drink it in my Halloween cat mug:

Isn't that a pretty face in the wee hours of the night? Indeed. Side note, I'm up because I'm trying my best not to sleep on my tummy or back. Keep in mind that I have slept on my tummy without a pillow my WHOLE LIFE! So for the past few weeks, I have woken up every few hours in the night with my hips in throbbing pain. I'm one second away from cutting a hole in my bed to fit my growing belly. I'm not above it!! Side sleeping is lame. I gotta get over it, because I've got at least 20 more weeks of this! Yikes!

And lastly, this week, I made a delicious loaf of banana pumpkin bread:

I saw the recipe on a friend's blog the other day, and I thought it sounded interesting and delicious! You can get it here. I was a little skeptical about the banana/pumpkin combo, but you hardly even taste the bananas! This bread is delicious, healthy, and Jamie even likes it. Yee haw! 

So, now that I have completed all of the fundamentals for a happy Fall, this Southwest Louisiana weather needs to cooperate with me and make this fabulous season complete. Or else, I'm going call Jamie's boss and get him transferred to a cooler city up north. 

On a serious note..

I want to ask all you prayer warriors to be praying for me. The Enemy has been doing a fine job at attacking me the past few months of my pregnancy and doing his best to rob me of my joy. I have been a worrisome mess and this anxiety-filled Abby is just unlike me. The crying starts randomly throughout the day, the worries attack my heart and I am done with it. Fight this battle with me and please help me bathe this situation in prayer and scripture. 

My dad gave me some scripture today for me to meditate on and I already feel more equipped to fight this war. 

• Psalm 37--"The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; he is their stronghold in time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him." (vs. 39-40). I desperately need the Lord to be my stronghold right now. I can't do this on my own, but with Him on my side, I can conquer all. 
• Psalm 27--What an encouragement this whole chapter is to me. Whom shall I fear when I have the Lord of Lords fighting for me and with me? 
• Romans 8:26-39--I am more than a conquerer. If God is for us who can be against us? Of course, it is natural for me to worry during this pregnancy, but not to allow the devil to rob me of my joy. But God is for me and fighting this battle alongside me. Satan doesn't even have a foothold on my life, because my God is for me. Wow. 
• Ephesians 6:10-20--The Armor of God--being a Christian isn't easy. If it were easy, then there wouldn't be a chunk of scripture charging us to put on the armor of God, ready to fight the battles that come our way. Please fight this battle with me. Let's not allow Satan one more tear or worry or fear. I'm done letting him win. I need to wake up putting this armor on and then adjusting the armor throughout the day. I will win this fight against the enemy. 

All this to say, thank y'all so much for praying and fighting the father of the lies with me. I'm ready to win this spiritual war with my sweet Jesus on my side.