The Fall of Holly has arrived....

I love it. My favorite season is finally here. It’s my friend, Andrea’s, favorite season too, so I’m sad she has to endure fall in Iraq. Hmmm…I bet they don’t have any Fall Fests or apple pies there….anyway, here are all the reasons why this season is my favorite!

• I love turtlenecks. It doesn’t matter what size you are, or what your haircut is, a turtleneck looks good on anyone in my book.
  
• I love leaves. I love raking them, jumping in them, and even tracking them into my house.
  
• I love apples. You know how Forrest Gump has that scene in the movie about shrimp? I could have that same scene with apples. Apple Pie. Apple Dumplings. Apple Cookies. Apple Cake. Apple Cider. Apple Crisp. Apple Candles. Apple tart. Apple Bodywash. Caramel apples. Honeycrisp apples. Apple Cobbler. All served with….cinnamon ice cream- the Blue Bunny Flavor of the Month. I love the sight of that in a supermarket freezer.
  
• I love Fall Fests….and hayrack rides….and campfires…and Howell Tree Farm…and apple orchards.
  
• I love football season. Friday Night Lights – whether it’s high school or college, I love watching a good game. (Go Hawks. Go Michigan. Go Dowling. Go Southern Cal)
  
• I love the movie ‘It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.’ But, as Charlie Brown says, there are only 3 things that you should not discuss in public: religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin. So, I hate to even bring it up on this blog, for fear you won’t believe.
  
• Going to Halloween stores and taking the kids and scaring them with all the scary skeletons, monsters, and witches. Yes, we are cruel parents- we take them there in sheer happiness with great anticipation of scaring the pants off of them. We did it last night- and it was so fun. Joe would sneak around the corner of an aisle and put on the scariest mask ever and the boys would shriek and cling to me and hug me. I love the hugging, Joe loves the scaring. It works out perfectly.
  
• I love harvest. I love riding in the combine with my dad and talking about yields (this is where I calculate our Christmas check in my head, all the while acting very interested in his crop). I love bringing the boys home and putting them on the tractor with Great Gpa Cecil and putting them in the combine with my dad. Knowing this will be the only taste of ‘country life’ they get, it’s an important tradition every year…..we usually get a call from mom or dad and they say, “We’re starting this week…when can you come home?” I love that call.
  
• I love watching the little kids dress up in costumes that crack me up. Or, listen to them come to the door and say “Trick or treat, smell my feet…” or tell their only knock-knock joke for the 90th time.
  
• I love all the flavors and scents of fall that come out in all the candles now…frosted pumpkin…cinnamon and clove….sweet pumpkin….autumn berry….fall harvest….caramel pumpkin….apple pie…mmmm. I love those smells.
  
• I love fall decorating…the leaves…the berries…the apples….the scarecrows….the oranges and reds and yellows and browns…..the pumpkins…it makes any house cozy and warm.
  
• I love wearing sweats on a brisk autumn day….sweats, and sweatshirts, and long-sleeved shirts….my favorite attire for any season, really, but especially fall!
  

Those reasons above are just a few signs that fall is here. Joe and I refer to it as “The Fall of Holly.” This is when summer ends, and fall begins and I get to pamper myself a little, get a little time away from the house and the boys when I need it, and do things that I want to do – summer is consumed by Joe’s plans and softball usually. So, it’s a good compromise. I encourage you to join me and pick a season and dedicate it to yourself. It feels so good.

A few things to catch up on before I finish this blog….Maddox is taking more and more steps every day. Today he took 5 or 6 by himself, and he’s standing up by himself in the middle of the room all the time. Looks like fall might be his season, as well! He continues to throw temper tantrums and has now taken a liking to “hitting.” I’m not sure what is in store for me with this child as he grows, but I have a feeling we may be in for challenging times….

It’s funny because when you have your second child, you ask yourself, “Can the second time around really be as good as the first?” If you’ve seen one kid take his first step, have you seen them all? The answer is simple: Yep, it’s just as good. We’re celebrating with Maddox as he goes through all his ‘firsts’, and it’s just as fun and just as ‘new’ as the first child was.

Joey has been very good with Maddox lately. He really is sweet and often gives up his toys or tries to cheer Maddox up when he’s sad. Maddox hauled off and hit him like 4 times today, and Joey did as instructed – walk away and mommy will solve it. He didn’t get mad or bitter or hit back. That made me proud – as I know someday Maddox is going down in a big way by his big brother. I hope daddy is around for that one. He also is so happy when Maddox stands by himself or walks. He always is the first to alert me, “Mom, you have to come see this! Maddox took a step! C’mon Maddox – do it again!” What a sport! Joey is doing great in school and loves to see me waiting for him, which makes me so happy. And, I recently volunteered to be a Sunday School teacher one weekend a month in his classroom, so I can’t wait to see him interact with the other kids there.

A funny Joey story for you…he was taking a bath and I was reading a magazine right outside the bathroom door (so I can see him but I’m not right there). Anyway, I hear him grunting and I just ignore it (typical boy stuff) and then I hear him say, “Mom, I keep pushing this in and in and I can’t get it in. Can you help?” So, I go in the bathtub, and there he is shoving a washcloth down our bathroom drain. I look at it and he says, “See, mom? I can’t get it down there…just a little more and it’s all in.” Boys will be boys. This time, I caught him just in time. Next time, I won’t be so lucky.

In closing, here are some family photos we took after church on Sunday when my parents were in town!

No, Joey is not the favorite child or grandchild...Maddox had to go inside for a much-needed nap!