One of the great joys of fall is going to the orchard and picking crisp apples!  I went today with my friend and some of my boys to pick apples for canning.  We had perfect weather-cool and sunny with a slight breeze.  With these conditions it is so easy to get carried away with the picking.  You just move from tree to tree sampling all the different apples. This leads you to having to take some of each kind.  I can't wait to taste my fresh applesauce and pie filling!  There is something about putting up your own food.  I don't have as much time as I used to as I am busy with school and work, but I look forward to the time when I have a little less on my plate and can squeeze in more time to put up more produce than what I am able to do right now.  With that being said I did get some peaches and pears canned and will have my apples done by next weekend.  My kids eat them like they are candy!  I love giving them something yummy and nutritious!
On that same note of food-I am getting excited that soup weather is upon us.  Not that I am a big fan of the extreme cold we get down here but I love coming home to a crock pot full of soup and I love trying new soup recipes-so if anyone has one for me to try I would love it!  I hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of fall as much as I am!

It seems at times that our lives and  experiences are unique, which they are, but then you talk to a friend or acquaintance and you realize that even though we are unique, we all experiences similar things and have similar lives.   I was talking to Kristine and we both are different people with different lives but with some similarities.  We both are going to school and we both thinking (hoping) that this semester would be maybe easier or a least not as stressful.  However it seems as though it is our hardest one yet! Crazy! 
I feel a little out of sorts and disorganized (which is somewhat normal for me) but  life has been hard this semester.  Funny how we think of our lives as a time frame-i.e. semester, school year, sports season, job, etc.  Life is just that life! I guess what I am saying is that I should just be enjoying it as it comes and not sweat the small stuff.  Life always goes on, the small stuff comes and goes, and we are still here working, coping, trying, succeeding.  I will look back at this time and say that wasn't so bad.  I got through it and I am still alive and kicking.  This is just a small part of the bigger picture.

It seems as though this semester had been going on forever but it had just started!  I am hoping for it to go by quickly and as painlessly as possible. Somehow I don't think that that is going to happen. 
On a different note it seems as though fall might be here already!  I have to say that while I love all the seasons for their individual beauty, fall is my favorite with spring a close second.  The warm days and cool nights, the crispness in the air, the colors that change daily, and the smells that come with it all.  I made pumpkin crasien cookies the other day and it invoked memories and visions of fall; Thanksgiving, Halloween, soup, pies, curling up on a couch with a warm blanket and a book, hot cocoa, etc.    Another sighting of fall is football.  Now I am not an avid sports fan of any sport, but I do have four boys and I am pretty much guaranteed to have a boy somewhere on a field on any given night of the week.  This will continue to go into November.  At that point one would think that I will be relieved of sporting events, but then basketball starts, and the cycle continues....My husband has been known to say-"Get used to it-we have four boys and that's what we do-sports!" which of course he is right, but for once it would be nice to do something girly or non sports related!  Oh well! That's my life! And I wouldn't have it any other way because I can not imagine my life with out them!  When life gets crazy with them I remind myself that someday I will get four daughters-in-law and I look forward to that!  But not anytime soon!  They have so much to accomplish in their life before that and I am anticipating each and every milestone!  I am grateful for the positive examples and support that they have in their lives-my husband and I, their aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents, teachers, leaders, etc.  Where would we all be without the positive examples and supports in out own lives?  I know that I am grateful!  Love you Cameron, boys, Mom and Dad, Brothers and Sisters, -in-laws, friends, neighbors, nieces, nephews, etc.

I wish life was less stressful!  However we tend to put too much on our plates that help to add to the stress.  I am so ready to be done with school and have one less demand in my life.  Between my family, work, college, church, and any other thing I try to cram in-some days I want to scream.  I will probably look back at this after I have taught for a couple of years and say man I wish I could go back to that time!  Haha!  I am just so ready to be done.  My family is too.  They have been so patient and understanding when I have to say mom is busy right now or I have homework, or Sorry I can't go to your game because I have to much to do.
However I really love everything that I have learned and all the experiences that I have taken from this opportunity and time of my life.  I have made many friends and have learned a lot.  I look forward to the day when I get to impart some bits of wisdom and knowledge to others.  I love being able to teach little ones and see the look on their face when they finally grasp a concept or get excited about something that I will be teaching them.  There is nothing more rewarding than experiencing in a child's excitement and know that you had a hand in it.  I love making my kids happy and seeing their excitement over simple things, like taking them fishing, or reading a fun book to them.  You can't help but smile. :) I just love it!!

The Finch's~October 2012

I have lost the Grandmother of my youth; she passed away on the 3rd of September.  She was the one that I would call on a Friday night and ask if I could sleep over with my sister.  She made my favorite meals; hamburgers and French fries with ice cream for dessert.  For breakfast we would have French toast and bacon or sausage and eggs.  She was the best cook and a fantastic baker. 

 Some of my fondest memories of her are her Christmas candies that she made: fudge, divinity, nut rolls, chocolate covered cherries, peanut butter balls, coconut balls, etc.  You name it she made it.  She also made the best doughnuts!  She really could make anything and it always turned out.  I get my love of baking from her and my mother.

I also loved that she took time out for me.  She would help me go through old clothes from my aunts when they were young and I would dress up in them and model.  In the evenings she would sit on the couch with me and let me choose a TV show.  My sister and I would always choose The Golden Girls.  To this day I still love that show and think of her whenever I see it on and I can't pass up a chance to watch an episode.  Somehow it brings me closer to her. 

While I will miss her, I am glad that she is free from her earthly pain and reunited with my grandfather, cousins, aunt, and other family members.  I will always have her in my heart and will see her again someday.  I love you Grandma!