The first day of Fall, at least in our household – for the last 10 years – it is the day we celebrate the first day of Autumn with something special added.
A celebrate-art season
Pumpkin Art
Candy Art
Face Art
Costume Art
Leaf Art
Black Cat Art
EveryDay Art
Autumn always seems more of a celebration of home
raking the leaves
pear and cinnamon candles
emptying the flower pots
storing the lawn furninture
coming inside to the heart of home
unfolding the quilts and wrapping them around about ourselves
hot chocolate or apple cider
bowls of chili with jalenenos and cheese
but for us, the first day of Autumn is something more
the first day of autumn 10 years ago welcomed our son
thanking God for such a sweet blessing
and we prayed
his hands would find God’s work
his feet would walk in God’s path
his heart would feel God’s love
his voice would share God’s word
his ears would search for the sounds of God
And that he would himself through God
He wants us to build a house with a slide from the family room to the basement
He likes to relax and not do his school work
but God made him coachable
God sprayed him with non-stick offense spray – so insults don’t stick
He grieves when his friends hurt
and prays for them at school
but not just his friends –
He has a heart for the hurting
and a joyful, scrappy, teasing humor
he is still the ““Jump-a-Fence
Climb-a-Tree
Homespun,-he-is-Free” kind of boy
He is like autumn
blustery, quiet, soothing
amusing itself, like autumn with a pile of leaves,
colorful
talking like a rush of wind
refreshing like 68°
Blessing us like the berries on a dogwood in Autumn bless the the robin
comfortable like an old blanket wrapped around you on a brisk morning
spicy, saucy like cinnamon in apple cider
Our First Day of Autumn Boy
Happy Birthday!
And. . . . Thank You God!
Blue Cotton Memory 
