A rose and those darn leaves!

For a couple months my rose bush was dormant (and I honestly wondered if it would come back to life). How nice to see this pop of red in my yard. Like a little touch of heaven on earth. :)

Would you believe me if I said that just two days earlier I had raked up all the yard's leaves? And, as you can see in the background, they won't stop falling! Oh the joys of having so many tall trees to look after (while quietly wishing they were dead). Trees are a blessing...seven mature trees lining your small property, on the other hand, is something totally different.

But ya gotta get up and try, right? ;) ;)

Maybe the rosebush bloomed out of pity for me. Ha!

Regardless, this is my favorite season. And may it last long so I can continue to savor it. Even if it means endless hours of raking; I'll take it. <3

Being sick is the pits.

We're all sick with the cold. But it seems I've been hit with it the hardest. I can chalk up my assumptions to being the sickest because of my stubborness to not get a sub to teach my early morning class, even when I literally didn't sleep the night before. I always end up going to bed late, not sleeping, and getting up at 4:30a. Really, the fault is all mine that it's been seven days and I'm not well rested and therefore, worse than I was.

But good friends look past all our stupidity, whining, complaining, and bring love. In this case, love came in tea; brought to me after a birthday party the kids were attending with simple instructions to take with honey and to get. some. rest. :)

Thanks Miss Andrea. You are simply amazing. <3

Kris Kross will make ya...

Maybe it's an off-day for this little man but he wore his pants backwards today, left his backpack and lunch at home, and forgot his homework...

Or maybe it's because a tired Daddy got him ready for school today while Mommy taught her class. It wouldn't explain the forgetting of his homework though.

What is even funnier is while picking up Darren at his bus stop and pointing out his pants, he got red in the face and told me he had no idea he went throughout the whole day that way.

I can't get enough of this kid!

Maybe one day I'll understand homecoming mums.

I think that's what they're called.... five years in Texas and I'm still clueless as to why they are so popular. ;) I originally thought they were some prize ribbons for horses! Haha!

(P.S. Sorry if the pic is sideways. I post from my phone and therefore, never know how my pics turn out.)

I <3 this.

This is why I love walks. :) I love what I find.

By the way, this isn't a carving.

Taking my little man to Pot Belly

Yesterday for lunch a friend and I met up at Pot Belly. How fun it was to have some time with Ikee before she came and share a sandwich. He's such a great kid and I just adore having him as my little buddy during the day while the older kids are at school.

We also had live music and Ikee paid the man a tip.

First day of school

Summer break is over and I'm so sad! How I loved those structure-less months and all the sleeping in. We love the spontaneity of each day; never having a set schedule.

But all things must come to end. I'll miss most the sleep. ;)

The kids were super excited this morning. My favorite line of the morning came from Darren:

Me: "Time to brush your teeth."
Darren: "It's ok. I wiped them on the front of my shirt."

And tomorrow Seminary starts back up! Hooray for waking up at 4:30am! I'm super excited to be teaching the Seniors. It's full of some kick-butt teens!