This is what we spend our nights watching... Outside.

Samuel last year, in the middle of raking season.

ITS AUTUMN!!!!!

I love Autumn. I already have all my autumn decorations up both on the front porch, and in our house. The leaves are now just starting to turn color. Just a few trees. Soon though, OH!! the majesty of our Creator will be seen from corner to corner in the great outdoors. It is just breath taking to sit on our back yard swing a stare. In every direction is beauty.

And we don't even have to go anywhere!

Our sweaters came out this past week. Our demin, fleece & flannel, too.

Almost every night, John makes a fire in the outdoor fire pit, and we try to enjoy the warmth in the cold evening.

About the only thing I don't like about Autumn, is that winter is around the corner. And that stinks. My Reynauds is already welcomed in the new season, and boy it hurts.

And its only September.

Still, I plan on enjoying the "crisp" weather, and survive the pain.

budgeting

Today is the first day of our new life.



We started a budget!! Again.



We didn't have one when we first got married. No one gave us a clue. We pretty much learned by trial and tough errors. Then we got on a budget, payed off our debt, and were blessed by the freedom a budget brings.



Then 3 years ago, John started his own company. Which threw our budget out of whacked. No longer could we count on a weekly salary. It came down to whenever he got paid, whatever he got paid. ( not to mention, since he is a contractor some people don't pay AT ALL!! We have had to cough up so much money on equipment...ugh) I had no idea how to do that kind of budget. And so........



Now we are paying for it. Big time. Again.



But its time to put my big girl panties on, and fix it again.



And so, last night, with the help of my daughter, we layed out a life plan. A monthly budget, with monthly shopping ( I think I will do every 3 weeks, can't go a month without supplies, but a month is the goal eventually) , and hopefully, we will once again get out of debt, and live free.



And can I say, I am totally excited!! I am tired of being clueless and hoping for the best. It will take a few months to get back in shape, but here we go......

September

I know, I know...I love football.. It is my all time favorite sport. I mean, come now......No competition





But, you see, I married a baseball fan. Big time. And even though I held these children that we had, I nursed them, kissed their boo-boos, taught them, laugh with them, cried with them. STILL, they are bigger baseball fans then football fans.


I don't know where I went wrong.

So by default, from the simple fact that I live in the house, I too, am a baseball fan.


And all baseball fans know, this is a big month. Not the biggest one, thats next month, but it is like New Years Eve, getting ready for the real thing.



And.... is there any better team then the New York Mets?? Well, yes, but we won't say that in this house. As long as they are doing better then the Yankees(they are) then we are good to go.


And go they do.

Shea Stadium. As you walk down the subway plank, you can feel the electricity in the air. Shea is being torn down. Sad times. The new stadium is right next to it. Across the street is the US Open tennis courts. Way cool.




AAAAHHH, almost there.



And this is a picture of our sons and my nephew. Stephen is my sister's son. He is a functioning austistic young man. Much to Stephen's friends frustration who live in Philly, thanks to his cousins, he, too is a Mets fan.





We have more Met's stuff then is reasonable. Chloe's room is a Mets room. Her walls are the same brown as the baseline. Mets and/or baseball stuff just threw up in there. Posters, stand up guys, baseball curtains, calendars. She has her baseball encyclopidias all lined up. These things are the size of big dictionaries!!

......She has a Mets carpet. Enough said.......

When it was her turn to pick a vacation spot, I *hinted* that Prince Edward Island would be lovely. She loves Ann of Green Gables. PERFECT!! So, after a long consideration, she picked Cooperstown. COOPERSTOWN!!!!!! I almost cried, but John said it was her choice, so off to Coopestown we went for the week. It was......not Prince Edward Island.

PS for all of you non baseball fans, Cooperstown is where the baseball Hall of Fame is. Its a small town in upstate NY.

Yeah.


So, here is hoping the Mets do well this year. Or I will have to once again comfort a whole family, as I had to last year.

And the year before.

And the year before that.

And the one before that.......


And the one before that.......

look who is talking

So, I was talking to Maria in TN. She is one of my best friends. I wrote about her before.

ANYWAY, the point is, she was giggling at me when ever I said something funny. Which is not ha-ha funny, but duh funny. Meaning she thought it was funny.


She thought the way I spoke was funny.

LIKE, when I was talking about Boston, I said Boston. You know, Bo-as-ton. Like a good Jersey person would say it. Like a good american would say it. :) Or my dog. (do-ag) Or wo-ata. (water). Or to-alk. Such as in what on earth are you to-alking about??

Yeah, so I am trying to figure out when she became a non- Jerseyan. She has been gone from home WAY too long. Yous guys know what I mean?

PS

And we should remember our military, who are out there for OUR sake.

And we should rememebr to pray for them and their families.

911

Today is a day of remembering.....





I remember when we didn't own a TV, and I was on the phone with a homeschool mom who wanted to join our group. She then told me that her husband told her a plane had hit one of the towers. We both thought it was a small plane out of control or something as such. Then she sounded shocked and hung up.



I remember going to my neighbor's house, and asking her if she was watching tv. She said yes. I asked if I could watch with her. She laugh and said she was watching Barney with her little girl. I told her what little I knew, and we both ran to the tv.



I remember both us standing there, knowing that our world was changing. Not knowing how or why, but the fear gripping our hearts. She is a pastor's wife, so it was good to have been able to cry out together to our King.



I remember that we ( my 3 children and myself) were suppose to take a field trip, just the 4 of us to the Statue of Liberty that morning, and the morning just kept getting away from me. We were suppose to be out the door at 7:30 am. But one thing after another kept us home. I am thankful for the delay. We truly were all ready to walk out the door, but then things kept happening. We may have been stuck at the island for an ridiculous amount of time. Not to mention my children would have had a terribly terrifying view of the horror. And who knew where the next target was....



I remember instead, John & I driving to Washington' Rock , which is about 5 minutes from our house on the hill, where we usually go to see the NYC skyline . There were loads of people there, just shocked. The silence was deafening. We all just looked on. In unbelief. Words escaped us all.



I remember the day making us all numb. After all, we are but 45 minutes from NYC, and we all know someone who worked at the WTC. They are our neighbors, our friends, our fellow church memebers. Our family.



I remember when we finally went to the WTC almost a month later. We saw the pictures, the news clipping, the obituary pages in the paper everyday that were extra thick, for the paper rightly so, decided every name was worthy of remembering. We thought we knew what to expect.





We were wrong. The one thing they never mentioned was the smell. The quietness, the heartache in the air. Still, one month later.



We also saw the hope, the hope that came from all the local churches that sent out people to do everything. Everything imaginable. The Lord was there. The Lord's instuments were the beacons of light in a dark and what seemed to be hopeless world.



I rememeber this nation, standing up together, praying together, clinging together. And most importantly working together, with God at our side, without shame or fear. For our God was the only thing that would make sense of this. If only we clung to HIM.



Yes, we knew some of those who died. We also knew of those who survived miraculously. The stories were amazing.



Today marks that day.



http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/shattered/


And we all should remember.

And thank our Lord for HIS mercies. And HIS grace.

battle fields

Today, I was reminded that the greatest battle that we fight, is the battle of the soul.

It is so easy to blame someone else for....... whatever causes the battle. To fight the battle with our own "power" , to rip the situation to pieces, only to have the piece on the floor and a bigger mess then when we first started..

But in the end, our prostrate hearts before our Lord, our King, in humility and reverence, are more powerful then anything in this whole wide world.

And when we remember that, the battle is won.

Our Precious Jesus........

HE already won.

Glory be to God in the highest.