It's official. I am jealous...

Ok, it's officially autumn and I am stuck in Florida where everything is still hot, sticky and sunny. It's ok for the summertime. But in the fall. I miss the bold, dramatic colors of the fall leaves. I miss the cool chill in the air. I miss everything about the fall season. So, let's take a moment and have an official pity party for me. Silence please!

PS:

It won't always be this way. In a few months while you are freezing your butt off and clearing snow from your driveways...I'll still be in eternal summer weather. It might get down into the 70's by then!

Time to reflect on spiritual things....

I was reading a book that quoted some verses from Isaiah. It stated that the Lord promises to "create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain." (from vs. 5-6)

The author stated that ' every dwelling place' is a home. In the last days each 'dwelling place' will have the promised protection if we are worthy of it through our faithfulness to the covenants we have made with the Lord. If we have the eyes to see, we can stand in front of our homes and know that, spiritually speaking, the Lord's glory, his pillar, is above them and will defend them.

"Isaiah refers to our homes as holy places. In these places we can defeat Satan. These positions we must defend. In them we will make our stand. We can triumph over the adversary if we protect our homes. Then, in turn, our home can be a place of protection. A place of refuge from the storm. It is in the home that we will have the Lord's glory to defend and help us."

These words were on my mind as I was walking my Bailey girl through the neighborhood tonight. As I came back from my journey toward my home, I saw the large clouds practically sitting on top of the homes on my street. They were so large and they were so low in the sky right at the time of dusk. They were striking in their contrats to the darking sky. In my minds eye, I knew that to the naked eye, we don't always see the protection from evil that we pray for in our daily family prayers. But it is real. It is a 'cloud of protection' from all worldy things. Our homes can truly be a 'Heaven on earth' if we allow it. If we will protect the things we allow in our homes...it can be a Holy place.

Look out! I am in the mood to redecorate. I have been scanning through magazines and looking through online blogs. I found this dining room in a decorating book from Havertys. Isn't it gorgeous? I fell in love with it. I think it's me to a capital "T". It would look so good in my home. Why is it that I can't like 'cheap' things? Why must I always zoom in on the most expensive pieces in the store???? I have viewed blogs where women have gone and found things at flea markets and pay $5.00 for a stunning piece of furniture that they sand and stain themselves. It makes me feel empowered. I can do it, right? My sister, Dana, just refinished her dining room table and it looks gorgeous. Her act of bravery was inspiring. It's also bringing out the competitive side of me. If my baby sister can do it....surely I can do it, too! So...tomorrow I am off to a resale place in the obscure town of Ruskin. I am going to try to look for something that would serve the duty of a buffet/server in my dining room. We will see if I come up with anything. How embarrassing will it be if I find a dream piece of furniture and mess it up when I refinish it? Live and Learn. That will be my motto. Wish me luck!

How could I forget????

Most normal, intelligent, neighborly folks hang the routine stuff from their ceilings and walls of their garages. Bikes and sports gear are the standard. It's not unusual to view that sort of thing as you walk by their homes on a Saturday morning stroll and wave to them as they work out of their garages. My wonderful neighbors look at my garage and just shake their heads... we aren't your typical suburbia folk.

More detailed pics of the latest scare gear... (Notice the fingers hanging out of the mouth on the one mask?!)

It's official...my boys are insane!!!

Many people save money each month and place it in a Christmas fund, but not my family. We go one step further. We have an official Halloween fund. My friends think we are completely crazy. Maybe we are. It's just that my boys get a huge kick out of Halloween and look forward to the Haunted House they build every year for the local families. It was so big last year that people couldn't believe they didn't charge admission. In fact, we had a minimum of 250 people. People drove into the neighborhood just for the scare! My guys just love the thrill of scaring kids and adults until they pee in their pants. It's nothing for them to chase people down the street. It's true. I have pictures to prove it. This year, the boys have already drawn a blueprint of their official haunted house.. It will be a crime scene. Complete with furniture (from Craig's list) and corpse lying all over the 'room'. It's quite detailed and they have spent hours on this already and it's only the middle of September! They have also been busy shopping for new gear. Not that they don't already have rubbermaid totes full. In fact, it's getting to the point we need a storage facility to hold it all. I am a good little wife. I say nothing. I just smile and nod when it's appropriate. In my mind I think of Christmas and all of the 14 large rubber made totes full of my Christmas paraphenalia. I admit, it's worse than the boys and their scary stuff. It's ok. Its a trade off. "Whatever makes you happy~makes me happy, grasshopper!"

Oh...my broken heart!

I am so sad. My girlhood dream of romance has died. I remember going to the movies to see Dirty Dancing with my friends Tiffany, Greg and Ryan. We had such a blast. We fell in love with the music and the romance of it all. I always thought Patrick was bigger than life. To me, he was the epitome of sexy. How sad we have lost him.