PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES, of course!

And pumpkin spiced bread. And pumpkin crunch granola. And pumpkin baked french toast (we are not waiting until Thanksgiving to try this!) and glitter pumpkins and glowing pumpkins and pumpkin cream cheese truffles…there is just nothing about Fall that is not better with pumpkin added in!

Last week I talked about having more grace and less stuff in our lives. This week, we’ve continued to tackle one section of the house at a time and there’s been more room in our days for family time. We’re having meals together at the dining room table regularly again–even on late nights! We’ve had farm time together and done chores together rather than separately, and we’ve taken evening walks together. Managing our “stuff” isn’t taking up as much of our time! This will be a season-long process, but we’re clearly making progress.

This week I’m thankful for…

1. Pumpkin Spice Lattes! It added a whole new dimension to the start of soccer season when I walked in to Starbucks before our first game two weeks ago and got a whiff of that cinnamon and spice scent!

2. Soccer season! Never thought I’d say it, but our kiddos really enjoy soccer season and it’s fun to watch them have fun. I’m also really enjoying watching them each come along in their skills and seeing the difference between each level of play (since they’re all 3 on different teams now!). Plus I’ve really enjoyed the 15 minutes of “family fun time” at the end of Speedracer’s practice–and he tells everyone that it’s his favorite part too.

But do any of you veteran soccer momma’s have any tips on that awful soccer gear smell? Good garden peas!

3. Cooler weather! You may not know this about me, but I love cardigans. (No joke, seen my Pinterest board lately?) Being able to wear them inside or outside with getting sticky and sweaty is about my definition of a perfect day!

4. Penny! She spent all afternoon on Saturday hanging out with the kids in the woods. And then helped us move the chicken and duck pens. (She “herds” them into the middle of the pen while we pull it to make sure no ones legs get stuck under the edges.) She went on our little nature hike with us and goes jogging with the kids when they’re doing “conditioning” for soccer–even though all they do is run back and forth along the front fence line over and over again. She’s just the epitome of “family companion.”

5. Sunrise! I don’t like getting up early. I’ll just put that out there. But sometimes you catch a sunrise that makes it all worthwhile. Not always, but sometimes.

6. Family Movie Night! This has once again become firmly established with us. We consider Friday nights spoken for just like soccer practice nights and Bible Club nights. Once again I have a “stash” of movies that no one knows about to pick from and once again everyone comes home and helps straighten up, cook dinner, and set the coffee table for the meal. About half way through the movie, we pause to clean up and the kiddos run to get their jammies on before we finish the movie. It eases the angst of the week because no matter how much homework or farm work or house work the weekend holds, Friday night is going to be fun and relaxing!

Well, that’s my list for this week…how about you?