The colors are coming...

I have this tiny little decoration that is my favorite:

My favorite Auntie Karen got it for me a few years ago for my birthday, when she took me shopping for my birthday at one of my favorite stores: The Country Rose.

I think it was shortly after I'd moved into my own apartment, and, having the Brown family blood in me, she knew I wanted something special to decorate my home for autumn.

Every year around this time, I ask Robert to lug in the totes full of autumn decorations from the shed, and I carefully add the accents around our home.

For those of you who know me well, you know that I'm very much an "a-place-for-everything-and-everything-in-it's-place" kind of person. So, in the apartment, I kept trying to decorate each year putting everything in the same place it was before. However, there were a couple problems with that:

• When I was first on my own, a lot of my furniture was hand-me-down or very old (or both!) So, as I saved more and spent frugally, I gradually upgraded the furniture I had. That meant the surfaces to decorate changed frequently, which left me frustrated. 
• I had two different roommates before I got married in the one apartment I lived in on my own, so again - home furnishings changed a bit!

So, one day I finally told my aunt I was so frustrated, because my fall decorating just wasn't coming together. My aunt said, "Well, you don't have to put everything in exactly the same place that you did last year, silly." It's funny, because that was so freeing!

Every year since then, instead of becoming frustrated, I get excited. I think about where I can place each of my beloved decorations to bless my home and my husband, and I'm always thinking about how I can show others who come into my home how much I honor the blessings I've been given in taking care of them, and being intentional about placing each of them in a special location.

Happy autumn!

It's My Favorite Time of Year Again

The last couple of days, I have been excited to look outside my office windows and see the trees changing colors!

This is absolutely my favorite time of year! 

It's taken years for me to figure it out, but when I was in my early 20s, I finally realized it.

One key character trait of mine is that I really love Christmastime. It's magical! I'm the girl that loves the ABCFamily Countdown to the 25 Days of Christmas - because it means the Christmas season is coming! I get sad on Christmas day, because it means that all of the wonder, magic, and special decorations are going away for a whole year. When I was in middle school, on of my favorite boy bands came out with a song called, "If Every Day Could Be Christmas." I listened to it on repeat forever!

That being said, there are some special reasons that I adore autumn.

• When the leaves start changing color, I know the crisp air is coming.
• When the crisp air arrives, I know it's almost my birthday! (Sept. 23)
• When my birthday comes, I love spending my day with my family and friends, talking and having fun. After my birthday is over, I know it's almost time for the annual Awana Conference.
• I get so eager in anticipation of the Awana Conference! When it finally comes, I rejoice for the fellowship and encouragement that can be found there. Then when it's over, I get excited for colder weather, scarves and jackets!
• Once I start bundling up, I get even more giddy for the holiday season, which kicks off with Halloween (which we don't really celebrate in a huge way).
• Halloween comes, and I'm beside myself with joy, because that means that Thanksgiving is near!
• For the entire month of November, I always try to find something I'm thankful for every day until Thanksgiving. When the week of the holiday arrives, I usually go to my mom's and my in-laws' and help them prepare for the big meals. I love that! My mom usually puts me in charge of baking and desserts, because she's not a big fan of baking. This makes me so happy!
• On Thanksgiving, we're usually at 3-5 different places, celebrating a season of thanks and blessings with as many family & friends as we can! I usually nap a bit that night, so I can be rested for late-night shopping!
• For several years, my cousins and I have made a tradition out of going shopping late on the day after Thanksgiving. Because Robert and I have purposed to give practical, homemade or home-baked goods, we don't always spend money on gifts anymore (because all of our shopping is done already!) Instead, I use this opportunity to pick up a couple small items at great prices for us here at home. 
• Oh, and then the magic of the holiday season really sets in! The Christmas specials on TV, the wintergreen candles, and the holiday drinks at Starbucks - oh, it's simply amazing!

So that's pretty much me in a nutshell, right now. :) I'm completely giddy and super excited about everything! I can't wait for Awana to start tomorrow night and all the stuff we're doing with choir and our friends and family - seriously!!

I simply love this time of year.

Goals break

You may have noticed that I took a little blog-break in August from the "Goals" posting.

Basically, I found myself completely overwhelmed and buried at the end of July. We got busy with softball season #1 winding down, play-offs approaching for softball season #2, and Robert has been working crazy long hours ever since then. For myself, I found that I was going to bed later and later every night, and being less and less productive during the day when I got home from work.

I take full responsibility for my (lack of) actions.

But I'm completely excited that it's time for fall, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, beautiful colors, photography projects, and all the other goodness this season brings!

I decided to wait a full week and pray about goals for September, before I posted them. So, yes, these goals are one week late, and will only last about 3 weeks, lol.

I'm hoping I can keep it together this month. I already know we're going to be busy and we've got a lot going on, so here's what I've got on the docket for September 8-30:

• Have Awana "Important Dates," contact cards, and leaders' manuals ready to go by Tuesday, September 12th
• Sleep in at least twice during the month
• Do my shoulder rehab exercises every day (did I mention I'm recovering from a bad rotator cuff injury?) 
• Drink 32oz. of water every day
• Read the "Daily Bread" Devotional when I get home from work each day
• Read 1 chapter from Proverbs and 5 from Psalms each morning, or before bed
• Read two library books
• Get the pantry in the kitchen cleaned out and re-organized
• Get back on track with laundry days, instead of just doing it when I have time. 
• Keep the common areas picked up every day
• 4 new items listed in my Etsy shop
• Sell 10 things on eBay
• Start a thankfulness journal, and keep it going through Dec. 31st (to get in the season of Thanksgiving)
• Spring-boarding off that, be thankful for all the hours my husband gets at work and the abundance of income it's bringing in, instead of feeling sorry for myself missing him!
• Pick up guest room, dust bookshelves and entertainment center, vacuum 
•  Get the newsletter ready for printing and final layout done by Friday, September 21st
• Choose a clubber of the month on Sunday, Sept. 30th and present them with the award on Wednesday, October 3rd at club (we weren't consistent with it last year based on behavior, but we're going to do it every month regardless this year - as a challenge for us finding the silver lining!)

I know it looks like a long, super-ambitious list, but for me, this is a must! I'm all about reasonable goals, and I feel like after a month of being a slacker, I can do this.

What are your goals? Post the link to your blog in the comments so I can see what you're doing :)