dirt under the nails

Back. Home.

I woke up with a great big smile of my face that I couldn't suppress...

I am stationary for two whole weeks, people! Two. Whole. Weeks.

Its been two months since I've been back in America and I haven't slept in our house for more than 5 nights yet.

In honor of this occasion I planted some fall flowers yesterday.

If you had told my teenager self that I would find gardening so satisfying I would have laughed in your face. But here I am, not a teenager, finding great joy in getting dirt under my fingernails.

Pumpkins are on the porch,
pumpkin scented candles are out,
and I have soup on the menu 2x's this week.

Yep, fall is here!

Our trip to Raleigh over the weekend was wonderful. It was jam packed, but felt oddly relaxing somehow. It was great to get to catch up with Josh and Tasha, who generously allowed us to crash at their house and eat up all their food. We had 11 children sleeping at the house one night, and we even managed to get a little bit of sleep.

We made it to Hillridge Farms for a family birthday party one evening. I severely underestimated how cold it was going to be, but my kids were troopers despite their chattering lips. The distractions of a hayride, giant slide, and the corn house helped a bit.

Floating head Ezra. 

Josh and Jeremiah were reunited on the stage for the World Reach Missions Banquet and for Sunday services at Journey church. Pardon my terrible phone picture, but its the only picture I have =)

Today feels like this great big huge gift given to me.
No driving, no schedule, no appointments...just home with my kids.

Yeah, there is the inevitable school to do, laundry to get caught up on, and toilets that badly need cleaning...

but I'm just going to soak up every second of being home.

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