Summer ✽ Autumn

I somewhat feel like I now have a tag blog, I so often have one of these posts (with one more coming next month!)), but they are so much fun... haha :). So thank you to all those who think of me and my humble little blog when you are tagging people :)!

Today I am going to fill out two tags at once; one very opportunely looks back at summer, and the other is a little questionnaire for September, the beginning of fall, so it seemed the perfect way to combine the two posts and the blending of the seasons that many of us down here in the south are seeing at this time (because fall treats and flip flops are both the norm here right now, right?)

Speaking of which - Happy Autumn, y'all <3!

Blessings of Summer 2018 Tag

THE RULES

*Please thank the person who tagged you! -Thank you, Alyssa :)!!!
*Please include these rules on your blog!
*If it is past the summer, for example: Winter 2019, you can use this tag as “Blessings from Winter 2019 Tag!”
*Write 10+ blessings from God during that season in your post!  Include pictures!
*Tag 4 bloggers!
*If it’s a new season, bloggers can re-tag those who were already tagged a previous season!  (So if this tag circulates, instead of potentially dying off, we can keep it going by using it again each season.  Like, if a blog friend of yours doesn’t get around to doing it till mid-fall, they can re-tag you to do it again for fall 2018!)

BLESSING OF SUMMER 2018...

The hardest part about listing all my blessings is that I always think of all the little moments, and I feel like y'all are probably more interested in the big events... haha :). But, here we go with a few of my favorite things from the past months :)!

Abbi and Emmi enjoying a fun birthday outing!

1. Summer starts and ends with us celebrating family, with 6 birthdays from June to mid-September (Andrew and Tori will take care of our fall birthdays this week, and Bethi and the middle boys take care of spring birthdays - we currently have no winter birthdays in the immediate family!). Each and every member of the family is a gift, so it is wonderful to have a day set aside for each to remind them of how thankful we are for them!

First sibling pic with 10 <3!

2. The most important birthday of our year deserves a special mention all it's own! Isaac Charles Lee joined our family this summer, and has been delighting out family ever since <3. Baby Bear smiled on purpose at 2 days old, and he's been hitting milestones and proving that he's very alert ever since then. He is just the best little snuggle bug, and he's currently sleeping in my lap while I type this. He was the best blessing our family was given this summer <3.

Blueberry picking...

Rock climbing...

Riding ponies for the first time...

I love this picture of Noah!

Our zoo had so many babies this year! Here is the koala...

And if you look really, really, really hard, you might see the baby gorilla, haha :). 

3. Summer obviously isn't summer without enjoying some sunshine! (Although autumn leaves are even better ;).) We enjoyed the outdoors several times this summer with trips to the zoo and going blueberry picking, water fights and a couple picnics in the back yard! And Bethani, Andrew and I enjoyed even more as we tended our garden (which did somewhat better than last year's, but we shall not mention how disappointing it was) and went on walks :).

Father's day outing!

4. One outdoor outing we took was quite unusual. Andrew, Bethi, Daddy and I all went to a state park one night to see the synchronized fireflies! They had a very short trail marked off with lights for main viewing, but we took one of the side trails to get to the lake. The walk there was quite pleasant (for Bethi and I - Daddy and Andrew were attacked by bugs left and right), but coming back was not nearly as fun, as only Daddy could see more than three feet ahead of him, haha. But, it was worth it to see all the fireflies lining the tree tops, all flashing their lights at the same time :)! It was definitely a neat experience!

Peter hit several milestones this summer, including loosing his first 2 teeth, and beginning to read!

5. My summer was filled with several unexpected times of fellowship! Our church held an afternoon for the woman to come together and knit/crochet, which Bethi and I attended and greatly enjoyed! I also met up with a friend last minute when she ended up in town, and reconnected with a friend via blogger  - and I also got to meet Ashley, the sweet blogger from Precious Moments! She and her mom attended a wedding, and on their way by they stopped in at our church, that was so neat :)! Our church friends also blessed us greatly after the arrival of little Isaac, with cards and gifts and meals.

6. Small blessings are always my favorite... we can't forget bible time, coffee, snuggles and books with littles, plants, and all those wonderful things! 

Mama has always homeschooled year-round so that we can take breaks when it's important to us, instead of when other people are used to; it just works better. So several times over the summer, Noah came to do puzzles beside me while I worked on shop to-dos, so he wouldn't be a distraction during reading time :).  

7. With summer came several opportunities for me to volunteer at extra events held by the church that  I work with that has a special needs ministry. It was such a blessing to get to invest in the people that I have come to love a little more, especially since the respites, that I usually help with, are always on break through the summer months.

 Mama stenciled this onsie!

And this blanket <3. 

And these are a few of my favorite personal projects :).

8. No season of life is ever complete for me without a couple of things having been accomplished... crafting, and reading (and probably cleaning out my boxes and drawers, at least quickly). Our summer was filled with a very special reason to craft, preparing for Isaac's arrival! Hand lettering, fabric stamping, crocheting, knitting... there was plenty of everything to keep us plenty busy!

9. There were many books that I enjoyed reading... a couple of my favorites were "Girl Defined" and "Women of the Word", both of which I highly recommend to everybody! I also got some time in for some fun fiction books. Right before Summer ended, several of my siblings, my Mama and I all started going through a bible reading with many, many other ladies through an online ministry that a church runs. It has been so neat to go through it with so many other ladies who each notice different things that the text brings to light. And it has been so much fun to all be at the same place and better able to discuss what we are reading, learning, and noticing for the first time!

Fourth of July.

10. Our summer came to a close with the events of hurricane Florence. Thankfully, but the time it hit land, it had already started to lose it's force, and we and all our friends in it's path were kept safe! Our family personally didn't even lose power, we just had a very rainy, cozy Sunday, which was the perfect day for me to get some cleaning and work done to be ready and caught up a bit for autumn. Despite how blessed we were, though, there were several deaths and damage caused by the storm, and I know that many of those affected would be grateful for continued prayers.

And I realize, looking back at my summer, that I probably want to think about taking more pictures than I do. Actually, it's something I have been working on recently. But. 1. I still don't think about it as much as I would like, because I get too busy/think I have plenty of time later, and 2. My phone camera is really not that great, and so it's not a very great encouragement to remember more when I do remember, haha...

Now it's your turn! Any of you can take this tag and fill it out :)! What blessings do you think of when you look back at your summer?

But, I'll also tag several of you especially :)...

-Kainoa from Kainoa's Corner.
-Ashley from Precious Moments.
-Maddy from Little Bit of Sunshine.
-Hosanna from Having a Heart Like His.

Go ahead and do whatever season you get around to ;). Haha!

Hello September Blog Tag

(Or, you know, the "September means fall and fall lasts longer than the beginning of September, so this tag is still relevant tag" ;)...)

THE RULES

*Thank the person who tagged you. Thank you, Maddy!

*Answer the questions.

*Nominate at least three other bloggers. 

*Write out at least ten new questions or just copy these. 

*Include the guidelines in your post, use the tag picture, and try to avoid nominating bloggers who have already been nominated. 

THE QUESTIONS

Fall or autumn?

Autumn. Always Autumn. I may say fall, because that's just kind of what we call it here in the USA, but I will always think of it as autumn. I promise there is a difference ;).

Favorite fall activity?

Baking spicy sweets and going for a walk when it actually feels/looks like fall :)!

Sweaters or hoodies?

Sweaters. I love sweaters! Although I admit, they are kind of hot down here until about January... haha!

How would you describe the perfect fall day?
The perfect fall day would include baking + doing something crafty, a walk outside with a crisp wind blowing and the colored leaves rustling, followed by a warm cup of coffee + a fall treat enjoyed while reading/watching a fallish book/movie (not a book or movie about fall, because there seem to be few, but a book or movie that has the comrade-ish, beautiful, thoughtful feeling of fall). And then a family supper enjoyed leisurely, and a few moments before bed spent journaling about + thanking God for some of my many blessings :)!

Windy or rainy days?
Windy. That way I can get outside and enjoy it!

Apple pie or pumpkin pie?
Mmmmmm, my mama's pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream! We actually just had some for Andrew's birthday, delicious!

Do you like apple cider donuts?
I have had them once - we went apple picking with my grandparents, and they "treated" everyone. I was skeptical at first about fruity donuts, but now that I have had one, I kind of want them again every once in a while.

 
Favorite fall time drink?

Warm coffee. What other answer did you think I could give ;)?

If you could go to one state in the USA, just for the fall scenery, where would you go?
Just for the fall scenery? Let's just say Virginia, but the truth is I would do more than look at scenery while I was there, haha (I like to multi-task/do the most productive things when given a choice - if I were taking a trip, it just makes sense to say hello to friends at the same time). BUT, it DOES have such gorgeous colors when fall comes <3. Here in SC, half the trees are pines, and they aren't that fallish, but Virginia has next to none, and they have pretty falls!

What color leaf do you like best?
Hm. That's a tough question. I think orange, but I also love red. Yellow and brown give nice contrast, but I wouldn't want those to be the only colors :).

I tag...

-Alyssa from Here is Love.

-Molly from A Ramble Through the Woods.

-Bethi from Gratefully His.

Here are my questions for you girls! (For what is, I guess, now the Hello Fall tag ;)...)

-What book do you think has the qualities of fall in it? 

-What is the first thing you want to do when autumn gets here?

-What is your favorite fall treat?

-Favorite thing pumpkin?

-What is one thing that most people think is a fall activity that you may or may not indulge in in secret year round?

-Do you like another season better than autumn?

-Is the scenery pretty around you during autumn, or do you have to pretend fall has come?

-What are 3 things you are grateful for?

-Do you enjoy apple picking?

-What is your favorite bible verse about gratefulness?

And now I'm going to wrap up this post... but I will be back very, very soon... because October and Write31 are just around the corner!

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri