Is it almost November?

Is today really the last day of October? Really? Time is just flying by....faster then sand in an hourglass. Only four weeks or so until Thanksgiving, and then it's Christmas! Sometimes I wish I could just slow it down. Savor life more. Breathe deep. Relax. Chill out. The practice of writing down gifts, grace-filled moments of daily life is a good practice. But I am finding I am not disciplined. I forget. I go days without writing anything down. Sometimes a week.
Help me to slow down Lord. To look for the moments. The small pleasures. Those tender, grace-filled moments, amid the chaos of life, the routine, the ordinary.

211. wispy cotton candy clouds
212. dreaming
213. making plans
214. scarecrows
215. dirty glass on door where kids press their faces
216. highlighting passages in a good book
217. cottonwood trees
218. dirt roads
219. halting first steps of a toddler
220. how the list grows

Linking up over here....

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Harvest

It's that time of year. Probably a farmer's most favorite time of year. Harvest. Our harvest is almost over. By tomorrow all the corn will be combined. There are two circle of pinto beans, and some hay left to be baled, but the end is in sight. Here are a few pictures I got of the guys hard at work.

Ray filling the grain cart with corn

Beautiful view

Lone cornstalk

Clear, blue skies

My farmer bringing the grain to semi

"Yes, son, mommy is always going to take your picture!"

Smiley Lainy

Silly Charlotte

Grown up Larissa

Here it comes!

Filling the trailer

Grandpa running the combine

It is quiet now. I have just tucked the girls into bed and have come out to the living room. There is a pile of laundry that needs to be folded, and I wish I could say that the house is all picked up and ready for another day tomorrow, but I would be misleading you. That hasn't been happening too often around here. I am still recovering from our big trip to Pennsylvania.
The above sign, my sister made for me while I was in. It is a quote that I borrowed from Ann Voskamp. She wrote the book, "One Thousand Gifts" and if you haven't read it, I would highly recommend it. All is Grace. Even the toys strewn about, the markers and crayons on the table, the pile of laundry staring you down, the dirty dishes in the sink, that sticky spot on the floor that no matter how many times you've wiped it, it doesn't go away, yet you don't have time or energy to mop the floor. Yes, even those are grace-filled moments. Are you looking for them? Do you take the time to notice? I struggle with it. All.the.time. Especially when I am feeling overwhelmed.
But it is quiet now. A good time to process thoughts. To write things down. To pray. To listen.  And here are more graces to add to my list.....

181. canning pears
182. puddles
183. rain dripping off the roof
184. naps on a rainy afternoon
185. all afternoon rain
186. parched desert turning green
187. renewal
188. rebirth
189. hope
190. change
191. crickets
192. dry breeze
193. brisk mornings
194. butterflies
195. little girl trying to catch butterflies
196. unexpected, yet exciting news
197. children playing at the kitchen table
198. little girls listening to Little Women on tape
199. peaceful Saturday morning
200. ironing jeans for my hardworking farmer
201. fall evenings
202. baby boy who stands and rubs his belly
203. change of seasons
204. boy splashing in dog's water dish
205. anticipating harvest
206. lazy day
207. frisky kitten
208. setting sun casting shadows on the mountains
209. fresh, cut grass smell
210. hearing a pivot running in the stillness of the evening


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