I've been going non-stop and can barely keep up lately.  Evaluating how I can slow things down.

In the meantime, you can check out what our November looked like.

Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men.
Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And declare His works with rejoicing.

Psalm 107:21-22

I read these verse a couple of months ago and was really stopped by the idea of thanksgiving as a sacrifice.

I don't know about you, but I've never really thought of it that way.

Giving thanks, to me, has always been about being thankful for the good things, the gifts. Because there is always something to be thankful for.

I was blessed by the thought that God knows that giving thanks is not always the easy or comfortable thing for us. Even if there are always things to be thankful for, sometimes they are surrounded by a lot of difficulty. Waiting, hurting, sometimes even suffering. 

It's such a sweet thing to think that choosing thanks even in the hard things, can be our offering to the Lord. Makes me want to be more thankful, even when things aren't what I want them to be.

If I have nothing else to offer, I can always bring a sacrifice of thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pretty much the only guarantee with small children is that nothing will go as planned. At least that is how it goes around here.

Something I have learned in the last couple of years, and that I have been growing in understanding of continually, is that my sweet, beautiful, perfect little girls are not perfect.

Mind-blowing revelation, I know.

But seriously, my eyes have been opened to the misconception I was carrying around. I never would have put it into words, but somewhere in my brain it was there, shaping my thoughts and views of things. 

The misconception: if you are a good enough parent, your children will be perfect. If you train them well enough, if you protect them enough, if you make your home holy enough, your children will be pure and perfect.

I'm hesitant to ever blame my wrong ideas on anything, but I honestly have to point my finger with this one and say I think it's a product of well-meaning but not quite right Christian parenting and home schooling books. 

The problem with this idea is of course the obvious: my children.

They are sinners. Just like me. 

At times they choose to do wrong. Just like me.

It is impossible for them to be perfect. Much to my own sorrow, just like me.

I must stop thinking that they are my little creations to tweak and primp until they meet my heart's desire.

They are made in the image of God. Just like me.

And they are His to prune and correct and mold into something beautiful. Just like me.

There are times when I need to be the mom, and take charge and be the boss and assert the fact that I know better than they do.

But there are other times when I need to recognize that we are the same, and need to be stopped and humbled and seek forgiveness. 

Because they make mistakes. Just like me.

Because they are not perfect. And they will mess up. That's why they need a Saviour. 

Just like me.

I'm so thankful that I may come boldly to the throne of grace. And I'm so thankful for the privilege of being able to lead my girls to do the same.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I feel like winter is almost upon us.  So I wanted to pause and savor what's been a sweet Autumn season for us.

Enjoying the pretty colors and playing tag.

Caramel apple day at Grammy's. An absolute necessity.
(after seeing the gourmet apples at Costco, the girls decided their apples needed some extra candy)

Our seasonal table so pretty and bright with our home-grown pumpkins.

A new addition to our table decor this year, found here.

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf's a flower.
- Albert Camus