I love fall.
I love the scent of crisp, autumn leaves crunching under my feet and the
warmth of a caramel apple cider between my fingers.
I have no complaints about being stuck inside under a blanket, nose deep in a book.
There is a sense of pressure to get all the outside activities completed before the months long of rain settles. The kids have had their first teacher conferences and I'm happy to report all grades and assignments are right up in the A's. Charlie is starting his AA basketball and continues to take guitar lessons. Addison enlightens us daily with her artistic abilities as she always has a sketch in process. Myriam gains more awards weekly with the most recent of being "the quietest kid" at The Good News Club. As far as Baylee goes, well, she's counting up to 60, telling me her phonic sounds to letters and still refuses to be potty trained. We recently sold The Mill Inn to YWAM North Cascades which is a huge win for both parties. We are thrilled to see the local base expand and grow as God cultivates a generation of Jesus followers providing more space to house
missionaries coming to town.
Here's a little more insight into what's been happening in our home:
Addison had a class hike up at Chain Lakes which turned out to be a little wet and quite a bit chilly. I'm not sure I've gained a trail buddy but Addi did great as she was groups ahead with her friends leaving Mom to chat with others in the back. You really can't fail on any hike up at Mt. Baker!
{ Lynden Dutch Treat: Myriam Princess Belle & Charlie a runner }
I hate Halloween. I grew up not being involved in anything outside of handing out candy to the older kids coming to the door with pillow cases full of cavities. Once in a while our parents would lend their firefighter, nurse or sports player outfits to knock on a few doors up and down our street. I think out of punishment for not getting along or attempts to save money, my parents bought my sister and I one clown outfit as Traci was in one leg and myself in the other. We didn't get very far but certainly lends to a good laugh now!
While Addison was hanging out with her friends this year, Charlie and Myriam took to the downtown shops for a little harvest fun.
{ Sweetest m & m ever. }
It pays for Daddy to have good relationships with all his sub contractors and customers in places where they do Chicago deep dish style pizza the right way. What a treat to receive two frozen Giordano's pizzas from Doug! One piece alone and you think you were about to burst from the intake of cheesy deliciousness. Needless to say, the kids have been having leftover pizza for lunch all week.
This woman; Mom.
I am beyond proud of what she accomplished on October 21st! My Mom, Cheryl, set out to walk 1000 miles in honor of Traci beginning January 1st. She knew what she needed to walk each day to accomplish the year long goal and confidently walked through her 1000th mile next to myself, Dad, Charlie and Baylee as we cheered her on through town. Much deserving of a glass of pink champagne and cake for achieving her goal months earlier and also committing to not stop walking for all those continuing to battle breast cancer including Grandma Haak and our Pink Sisters in Portland, OR.
Every year, since I can remember being apart of the Broersma Family, we have been carving pumpkins and causing havoc. Anything from unmention's to cute stacked pumpkins to make a teddy bear have been designed. As the kids get older the designs become more creative and with the growing ages of all the cousins, Tim decided to add another element to the annual pumpkin carving party. The Broersma/Gerlach Pumpkin Carving Competition where I must add the Musical Mama's (SIL Becky and I) won the overall event winning dinner and a movie together. We made the old man be judge which Dad took very seriously. The other two Dad's...well, they were unsupervised cooking dinner over the fire, far from any confinement from their wives to direct their carving skills another direction. And as usual, I always eat too much candy corn leaving me with a sugar crash right before bed.
I met Paige at the She Speaks Conference this past summer in North Carolina. We happened to be in the same place, at the same time and instantly made a deep connection with each other. Paige is a gift using her ministry of networking and Bible study skills to bless me immensely. Recently, I had the opportunity to support Paige in Cullman, Alabama, at Stone Bridge Farms with The Springs Church. Such a needed and full reunion of two friends from states away. I was able to meet so many amazing women at the G.R.I.T. (getting real in the truth) Retreat as Paige spoke about Rahab's rescue and being prepared for battle by getting our armor on. I then had the opportunity to share my rescue story in our marriage, introduce the Reclaim Ministry to these sweet women and encourage them to seek the blessings and find joy in all our battles. We spent powerful time in worship and prayer, but most fulfilling was time spent deepening this friendship. Thank you Tim for keeping the house in order when I was gone!
This is by far one of the kids' favorite fall places to visit: Stoney Ridge Farms. We were all so excited to see that they opened up again this year for fun-filled, pumpkin donut loving, corn maze dazed entertainment! Baylee was adamant that her squash was a squish and Myriam claimed to have found the most perfect pumpkin. I gave up attempting to snap the picture perfect photo so I've learned to accept what I can grab and relish in the memory.
{ Fall days means sunny, chilly motorcycle rides to Blaine for coffee; of course all traveled on the back roads. }
The endless game of chasing leaves until all five maples, oaks, chestnut and neighbor trees undress for the fall weather. There is always at least one big pile created before Dad blows the rest of the mess over the side of the hill. Many laughs, tosses and jumps were had on this Saturday morning!
And now that fall has a nice routine going on, we begin to make wish lists for the next season. I already saw a Christmas tree in a front window down the street and yes, I've listened to a few Christmas songs along with my shopping list being 75% completed.
But first, 19 days before we celebrate Mimi's 7th birthday!
Happy Fall Ya'All!
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