life lately...

October has been a long month... loooong. That little surgery I had put me through the ringer, but I did my best to get out of the house now and again for an easy glimpse of fall.

1. Almost four years after my fabulous Fiesta Forty, a free photo book coupon prompted me to make an album of the party photos. It took more than I thought it would to find all the pictures - and I realized that I didn't even share much about the party here!  It makes me so happy to have the photo book around.

2. My little out-patient surgery... wasn't. We were sure we'd be headed for home four hours later, but instead, it was four days later. I am doing okay now... but it took a lot of healing to get to okay. 

3. The night we finally came home, friends brought us cupcakes. Since it was late, and Eric didn't have time to go to the grocery store, we had them for breakfast the next morning. 

4. A week after surgery I finally put on my face & hair for a little outing to my mom's house. It was SO good to get out! But it kind of did me in for a few days...

5. This kitty! She is not a snuggler... but she took up as my caretaker and sat with me everyday. 

6. Two weeks after surgery I felt well enough to slowly walk through a corn maze! It is the first time we have had one in our area and it was fun!

7. Eric thought we needed to take a drive out to safari road... and the golden sun set made our leaves look like fall! 

8. More fall... as in falling acorns in our driveway. Continually. 

9. I spy with my little eye... this gator! And you are supposed to see gators on Alligator Alley! I have turned my husband into a scenic-overlook- lover. This little bridge gave us a great view.

loved.

I am pushing myself through the days, sometimes speaking out loud to accomplish this or make progress on that. This morning I hit a wall... wondering if I was coming or going, and only wanting to hide under the covers for a few more hours, or maybe the rest of the day. I wonder if I am starting to get sick, but I don't even what to think about it, since I must be well for my surgery next week. {surgery?! yes... hoping for a final fix to this.}

I headed out the door anyway... and in my blah mood, my eyes were glued to the road, my heart heavy with doubt. Half-way to work, three of my favorite songs played on the radio in a row, starting with Mandisa's Good Morning... how can you not feel just-a-little-better when you hear that? Though I felt encouraged, I could still feel a tear or two hovering in the wings.  I dropped Laura at the zoo, thanked her for her help in getting me out the door this morning, and then headed off to work, wondering, how? And just before I came to the zoo entrance, I spotted a little blue zippy car. I stopped and in a flurry of arms flying and buttons being pushed, I finally got my window rolled down. She did the same, and we shouted I love yous across the road.

Thank you, God... for lining up your love for me... even putting my Mom in just the right place at just the right time. You always know just what I need, and I am so thankful for your provision, the way you make me feel loved.

coming home...

All I really wanted to do was see the mountains... I talked about it for months. On our way north, we planned to stop and admire them, but a storm swept through and as we drove uphill and down, all we could see was sheets of rain and faint tail lights ahead of us. Maybe on the way home. 

We left Chicago with our weather apps open, watching Hurricane Erika... hoping we could make it back ahead of her. Before the end of the day though, she had broken up and drifted far into the Gulf. We were happy to slow our pace just a bit and Eric decided it would be okay to detour down into Gatlinburg.

We arrived in time for a little fun at OberGatlinburg...

the last time i went down an alpine slide was three days before i started 7th grade!

And in the morning, the shortest path home was up and over the mountain. As we drove up, the beauty took my breathe away. And when he said Let me know if you want to stop at an overlook, my eyes must have danced. Six overlooks later he was probably sorry he had offered, but that is one of the things you do for love. {Or maybe mostly so I would stop complaining about not having time to stop when we drove through in 2005.}

I think he thought I might have been kidding when I said I never thought I would see this beauty, but I wasn't. Every view was postcard perfect and I was in awe of how God made the peaks and folds of our beautiful earth. That He would do this just so our eyes could take in such an amazing sight... it made me giddy. 

The dramamine I took for the curves of the mountain roads kicked in and I slept on and off most of the day... Eric was wide awake though, and I was thankful he could put the miles behind us.  When we finally made it into Florida, with many hours still ahead of us, and the promise of heavy rain bands headed our way, we stopped for one last night. For a moment, I wondered if I was afraid to go home. But after a good night's rest, a few more hours of driving, and a stop at the grocery store, there we were. Home. And it was a-okay. 

Home is where love resides, memories are created, 

friends are always welcome, and family is forever.

{even if one of them has run off to Iowa}

love...

This is one of my most favorite pictures. Ever.

You are precious in every way, the sunshine in my day,

the joy in my soul, and the love of my life.