Finishing up October 2024

"Spiritual maturity comes when we carry what is ours to carry and learn to trust God with what isn't ours to carry. It's learning to stay in lockstep with Him. If we rush ahead, we'll end up carrying more than we're meant to carry. If we pull to the side or lag behind (out of fear of what's ahead), we'll also end up carrying too much of the burden.

But when we walk at Jesus' pace and take no more than what has been placed on our sholders, it keeps the weight of life light. The challenging thing is, this isn't a one-time decision. It takes constant evaluation. What we should be carrying at any given time is a constantly moving target based on the season of life we're in. There's a burden and a blessing for each season of life. Maturity is learning to embrace the blessina and shoulder only the burden God is asking you to carry in each season."

~Joel Malm, "Keep it Light: The Freedom of Priorities in Life, Work, and Love"

Sarah came back from her vision trip to the Solomon Islands. We had been car sitting for her since Olivia's wedding. Time with Sarah is always sweet, and she made sure to reach out to each of her grandparents near by. Watching her learn to walk at Jesus' pace is a joy.

We exercised our early voting option in our hometown's beautiful art deco courthouse.

One of our family's favorite operas, Rossini's "La Cenerentola", was playing in Houston. We pondered ways to all attend together, but we just couldn't make it work. In addition, one of our favorite baritones, Alessandro Corbelli, was performing on stage. He is nearing the end of his carreer, and opportunities to watch him live will be drawing to a close. Katherine requested that her Christmas present from the whole family be a quick trip to stay with Benjamin and Hannah and to attend this special performance. So we made it happen :)

For Halloween, I wore my Wonder Woman shirt and headband. What a difference from dressing up as Mr. Clean last year!

Some of the orch dorks came by to trick-or-treat. They sure do make me smile!

The day after Halloween you could have found me at Walmart at 6:30 in the morning buying halfprice candy for the orchestra program. I'm daily listening and learning to embrace the small things that God is asking me to steward and trusting Him to guide the yoke as we travel together.

Buffalo River Trail with friends

I'm practicing and preparing to be a grandmother. Not because we're expecting grandbabies anytime soon, but because I miss little ones!

Whenever we get the chance, we borrow small children. And their parents. Some of my favorite people belong to my wonder twin, Lauren. We've been looking for a kid friendly trail so we could hike together. First stop, Rock-N-Java for some early Saturday morning coffee.

Our destination for this autumn day was a gentle portion of the Buffalo River Trail near Tyler Bend. Lauren's kiddos did a fabulous job, and watching the adults parent so sweetly brought me great joy.

The weather was beautiful, the snacks were plentiful, the sleeping preschoolers were adorable, and the friendships were encouraging.

October: Joy in the Process

"We must never put our dream of success as God's purpose for us. The question of getting to a particular end is a mere incident. What we call the process, God calls the end. His purpose is that I depend on Him and on His power now. It is the process, not the end, which is glorifying to God." ~Oswald Chambers

So many good things happened in the second half of October...opportunities to "depend on Him and on His power now".

All-Region Orchestra auditions...it's so fun to be on the giving end. We were the ones trying out almost forty years ago, but now we get to serve the kids.

Our coffee and calendar dates continue to fuel our marriage and our goals.

The evenings are cool enough now for a fire pit and s'mores.

I love volunteering for the orchestra program. Stamping music for the directors frees them up to do other things.

My gym buddy keeps me accountable, and sometimes we match, too :)

Fall is in the air

We cleaned up our little garden in anticipation of the coming frost. 

The long beans produced bountifully this year, which made Katherine especially happy since they taste like home to her.

The afternoons were beautiful for walks with Grandma, and sometimes my dad joined us.

The cool mornings are my favorite time to be outside, and our bike rides along Tucker Creek give me a delightful sunrise view.

Happy Birthday, Aaron!

We didn't get an anniversary trip this year, so we combined a weekend away with Aaron's birthday celebrations. 

First stop, Serenity Farm Bread in Leslie. The combination of their handy location, delicious sourdough, and a bathroom make it one of our favorite places to stop.

Then we checked in...The Wee Nook was exactly what we needed.

Cute Highland cows.

My morning "Jesus and Coffee" canine buddy.

A beautiful and quiet place to work through "The Art of Marriage" series together.

This is an excerpt from one of the videos :)

We explored some new trails each day. First, we tried Big Creek Cave Falls. Not much water was flowing this time of year, but it's still fun to tromp around.

We stocked up on local apples, sweet potatoes, and winter squash at Friend Orchard just outside of Harrison. We almost didn't stop, but I'm so glad Aaron made the U-turn. We came home with three different kinds of apples, and because they were "number 2" not "number 1" apples, the price was cheaper. Next time we are up this direction, I will check to see what else they are harvesting!

We also enjoyed a brunch splurge at Sweet Honey Cafe and Bakery in Harrison.

We followed brunch by exploring Hideout Hollow Trail.

The leaves were just beginning to turn vibrant, and it looked like this trail would be an amazing place to visit when more water is flowing.

More and more, we're once again considering trail through the lens of "kid friendly", and this trail certainly qualifies! Not too long and not too steep.

 

Quick Trip to NW Arkansas

We made a super quick weekend trip at the end of September to visit the newlyweds.

We stayed with some former missionaries in their cute little studio apartment they named "The Nest". It is indeed a place to rest and refresh, and we're so grateful for this family that has adopted Olivia.

I had my walking route already planned to go by beautiful City Lake before church.

After church, we heated up the big pot of chili we brought with us and enjoyed hanging out with some of our favorite students!

Happy Birthday, Katherine!

All Katherine requested for her birthday was for the Gebauer girls to come spend the weekend and attend the inaugural Arkansas Renaissance Festival together.

Early Saturday morning, we piled into the van and drove north.

The location was lovely and well laid out.

We watched knights jousting,

and Claire and Aaron did some combat of their own.

At the end of the unseasonably warm day, we arrived home, sweaty and tired. So we cleaned up, grabbed a bite to eat, and played Seven Wonders. What a treat to spend time with these ladies again!

Katherine's birthday was a few days after her friends left. We strongly believe in eating birthday cake even if you have already received your gift. Voila! A mouth-watering apple torte to celebrate the last of our teenagers.

Favorite things in September 2024

1) This is my new favorite mug (which is really Katherine's mug) that we picked up on one of our many road trip stops at The Coffee Parlor. The mug states "coffee is my love language". Truth :)

2) Katherine was reading Agatha Christie's "Death on the Nile" for school, so we bought this delightful World of Hercule Poirot puzzle as an enrichment activity. What a fabulous puzzle! Piecing together the various characters and clues made me want to go on a Poirot reading binge.

3) Aaron gave me my first little trim with his personal hairdo equipment. Most days I'm thankful just to have hair again, but some days I feel like I've had an 80's perm.

4) Katherine is navigating home school and concurrent college classes so well. I often find her reading for school with a guinea pig on her shoulder to keep her company. Maybe Misha is there to console her as she reads books like "All Quiet on the Western Front". Twentieth Century World History can be heavy and dark, and having a furry friend always makes life better.

5) I listened to "Strong and Weak" (yay for libraries!), and now I want to buy the book so I can go back through, take notes, and ruminate.