Falling into Fall....

I have been looking forward to this time of year for quite some time now.  Fall is always such an amazing time with cool (er) weather when leaves start to (slightly) change and mosquitoes (for the most part) go away.  OK, who am I kidding?  I get ridiculously jealous when I see pictures of New England in the fall because we really don't have a fall season.  I mean, who wants to eat turkey and pumpkin pie in 89 degree weather??  Nonetheless, we really can't hope for too much living in South Texas.  Fall for us is pretty much the two weeks between Summer and Winter when it is an awesome 70-75 degrees outside and boy do I ADORE those two weeks.
Stephen and I went shopping the other day to get some new plants for the front porch.   He was the sweetest because it was actually his birthday but helped me with my project on his day.  Since we moved in back last November the front porch has been desperately needing some foliage to bring it to life.  We also got some chairs and moved some of our rod iron furniture around to add to the ambiance.   Man was it nice once it was all done!  I have truly enjoyed sitting outside in the morning and reading while Leigh pokes around and plays with sticks and runs from bugs.
This morning we were sitting outside enjoying the cool morning and Stephen noticed a hummingbird.  WHAT???!  I was SO excited!  I have a feeder that was given to me for my birthday last year that has been sitting in the garage along with a stand, AND it had just rained a few days before so the ground was soft enough to put it up before Stephen left for work.  I was SO pumped.  Leigh and I went in and immediately started cooking up some nectar.  Within minutes of putting up the feeders I had hummingbirds buzzing around fighting for their spot on the feeder.
I sat back and sighed.  It was like water to my soul.  I can and always have been able to hear Jesus more clearly when I am in His creation.  Standing there, watching the busyness of those little birds whizzing around I felt like I needed to sit down to take it in.  I needed to rest in it and recognize how busy we are in our lives and Jesus desires us to slow down to see He is there.
So as this fall season moves in, I am going to try to rest in it, experience more of it, fall into it.   I am going to attempt (we are all human, right?) to hear more of Him and less of myself and trust in Him that He knows what is best for me and my family.  I think if I take more time to smell the roses I might be more apt to move past the stinkiness of life.  Have a blessed week friends and enjoy this weather!

 Leigh tinkering outside in the morning. 

Our hummingbird feeders.  The red one looks huge, but it is just the angle of the shot.  

Cha Cha Changes.....

Changes.  I was thinking about that this morning as we drove back from Alice.

I had to get some stuff for my organization day with mom tomorrow and I was thinking about our old house in Rockport.  God has brought us so far since we lived in that little house. It needed some serious organization to make it day to day with all our stuff and the small space we occupied.

In the past 8 months it is crazy the doors He has opened, the people He has brought back into our lives and the constant provision He has had for every single little thing we have needed.  We are now in a new place, with a new home, new school,  new church, and both new jobs.

That last one being a big one for me.  This is the first time I am not stressed about my job with a move.  I don't have to deal with new teacher orientation and setting up a classroom.  I look at Leigh and cannot believe that I don't have to take her to someone else for 8 hours a day while I go pour my life into 230 other children.  I am so overwhelmed and grateful that I get to be home for her and for Stephen.  I get to be available for Anna before, during and after school.

Zephyr was so far from our radar, so removed from our plan.  But isn't that how awesome our God is? That He knows the plans and sets things into motion to take care of us and our needs.  Needs we sometimes even aren't aware we have.  Stephen has always been the one with more of a propensity to dislike change.  Even then, he really doesn't mind it much.  I look for it in most things mainly because I like the freshness that change brings, even the possibilities that come with it.

I cannot wait to see what the fall brings for our family.  One change being keeping up with this stinking blog.  I have missed it and look forward to it hopefully becoming a weekly staple.

Much love,

The Summers

Anna and Leigh in our backyard in Rockport