Ah Yes, Fall is Here!

The air is crisp, the mums are out, pumpkin spice latte in hand, football in full swing, candy corn in bowl, and house decorated! We are there! My husband would make the case that fall is the best season because of the 5 C's. College football, Colors, Candy Corn, Corduroys, Camping.
I decorated my house this weekend and had so much fun doing it. This is a picture of our family room. We've had our windows open all week. It has provided the best sleeping weather!
I know we all live in different regions of the country and so some are still in summer and some are progressing quickly to winter. But those that get to enjoy a true fall season, isn't it great?

On another note, we are heading to Florida on Thursday to visit with our dear friends, the Beelers. We are very excited to see them and let our little ones play together. Elizabeth will be great with child, I'm sure! (she's due next month) On Friday we are going to their youth retreat because Ed is the speaker. It is so weird to think that the kids will be swimming and water skiing, etc. Not exactly a typical "fall retreat". We are very excited though to see them and catch up. We miss all of our seminary friends very dearly and there are days we wish we were back there together! We are thankful for a time to visit at least one!

Mr. Squirrel

I had a friend in high school, Becky, who loved animals. I remember her family had these squirrels in their backyard that they would feed. They of course named them as well and they were the funniest names. Becky, if you are reading this, what were their names. And what was the name of your cat? Anyway, last week I had an incident that reminded me of those squirrels, so Becky, this story is for you!

You know, those who know me well, know I am not an animal person. The only time I am just amazed at animals is at Sea World. I love to touch the sting rays and dolphins. Other than that, you could say I don't have much of a heart for them! Well the other day we went to a park in our neighborhood. Long story short, there was this little baby squirrel that was following people around. It clearly had no mother and was following people to take care of it. My mind went back to the book, "Are you my mother?", one of Micah's favorites.
I saw this lady pick him up and pet him. Micah watched this little squirrel out of curiosity. So we walked on by after the lady put him down. Ed was in amazement that this squirrel was so tame. We walked to the other end of the field and there at our feet was this little baby squirrel. It was our turn to be followed. He was all around Micah's feet and so Micah kept picking up his feet not to step on him. I decided this was the cutest little thing and obviously was so domesticated that without even thinking I picked him up. Before I knew it this little thing was in my hands and I was petting his super soft fur. Ed about freaked out that I would get rabies or something. I let Micah pet him too. He was the cutest. Then I put him down and he followed two guys to another area of the park. I amazed my husband so much he took a picture.

Hopey Girl!

Dear Baby Sister,

Today is a big day in your life! Happy 18th Birthday! This birthday is a little different from all the others. You will celebrate today with no family, no old friends, but all new people. While it may be hard, I hope that you "feel the love" from all the people that love you so dearly.

18 years ago, Mom was 3 weeks past her due date, and we thought you would never come. But like in all things, you arrived in your own timing, when you were ready! I will never forget, I had just started 5th grade, and my teacher and classmates all knew we were waiting for you! It seemed like everyday when someone came on the PA to our room, everyone would look at me hoping it was time. But on September 5, 1990, the PA sounded with my principal's voice. He said, "Mrs. Charleston, can you send Katie MacPherson down for early dismissal? Her new little sister is here!" Everyone cheered and I ran down to meet Grandma Mary in the lobby. She took us to the hospital to meet you for the first time.

Things really changed when you arrived on the scene. I became Momma's little helper and babysat you when mom had to go back to work. We had an instant connection. We shared a room until you were about 3. In the mornings you would wake up in your crib and call out to me. It was so sweet! Then you became a toddler, a very difficult one. It is no secret that you were trouble. But that trouble was disguised in humor and absolute cuteness! That is why you got away with so much!

I just wanted to tell you how proud of you I am. I am so excited for you and your new adventures in college! I pray for you all the time. Today my prayer is that the Lord blesses you with new friendships that will last for a lifetime. No one said going away to college is easy, but it is so worth it! May the Lord draw you closer to Him each day and may you love Him more than anything else in this world! I love you, Hopey girl! Happy Birthday!

Good Old Sam...

Thirteen years ago last spring we had an unforgettable day in the MacPherson family. After years and years of begging for a dog, our wish was granted. I was 14(just finished my freshman year), Krista was 9, Michael was 8, and Hope was 4. My mom let me in on the secret that my parents had gotten a yellow lab mix, a little puppy. They got him from the lab rescue. I could not believe they actually did it. I knew my brother and sisters would be so excited, but nothing prepared me for their reaction. My mom brought him in one day after school. She just walked in the house with this adorable little puppy in her hands. The kids just squealed! My brother who was quite the dancer, just started dancing (the butterfly in case you cared!), shouting "Oh yeah, Oh yeah, we got a dog, Oh yeah!" Priceless!
It took us forever it seemed like to decide on a name. Some that were in the running were Reese's(i don't even know why now!), Simba(he looked just like him), Max(i think), and others I don't remember. His name...Sam. I'm not sure how we got to that. Knowing my parents they chose it and directed us towards that name, letting us think we named him!
We had years and years of fun with him. He was a great dog! Very playful and loved attention. My favorite story is when he was a puppy and grabbed my sisters braided hair and starting shaking his head pulling it as if it were a toy. Her head was just following the pull of his mouth side to side. Krista just yelled "Katie, help!"
Well, Monday, my parents came home from vacation, called for him, and there was no answer. Good old Sam had died that day. He was very old and we knew it was coming. Sam dying has symbolized the ending of things in a lot of ways. My youngest sister just headed off to school and my parents now have an empty house for almost the first time in their marriage. Sam dying was like an official end of an era in our family. All of us kids are out on our own...well almost! My dad and a family friend, Mr. Mike, took Sam to Mr. Mike's house and buried him in the back of their property.
I loved Sam, but I'm not exactly an animal person. But when my mom called to tell me that he died, I was genuinely sad. He was such a good dog! I think my brother loved him best. Michael was Sam's buddy. So I know my brother may miss him most.

Christmas is Coming...

My latest hobby has become this:

A felt Christmas stocking for Baby C. I made one for Micah when he was a baby. (I would show you, but it is packed away.) These stocking are kind of a tradition in our family. They are the ones with the sequins all over them. My mom's stocking as a kid was one of these and my grandma made all of us kids one. So I am carrying on the tradition for our kids. It is kind of fun to have a homemade stocking rather than a store bought one. The kit has a gazillion steps. Lots of cut outs, stitches, etc so it will take me a while. But this is a before picture and I will show you more along the way. I know you are thrilled!

Martin's First Yard Sale

Today we had our first yard sale. We decided to go in with another family and do it together. The sale took place at our house. The driveway and yard was covered with many items that we "had to have" and at some point lost their flair. A lemonade stand and Rice Krispie treats topped it all off!

So we started the sale at 8 because with 5 total children we figured it would be hard to get up and running. However, being the rookies that we are to the world of yard sales, little did we know that our start time really doesn't matter. We had people at our house before 7AM! These people are crazy. So our friends pull up and we start frantically putting stuff out to sell. So the four of us adults try juggling putting stuff out, negotiating with people, checking out customers, keeping watch that everything is paid for, and keeping track of whose money is whose, oh yeah, and watching kids. You try standing firm with a ridiculous offer while you have, "MOMMY, MOMMY!" shouting at you in the background. I found myself just saying, "whatever!" to these people as they walk away with a ridiculous deal. I mean this lady wanted a really nice pair of cropped pants from The LOFT for a dollar. I mean, come on, I paid like $50 for them. Yes, I'm a little disappointed that I can't wear them anymore and you can, but a dollar. Just give me three for it. I got a dollar.
The first hour was insane. My friend Janalee and I just kept laughing as we knew we practically were giving stuff away. So we gave ourselves a pep talk to be more hard-nosed. We had about 3 waves of people throughout the morning. Once we got all our stuff out of the house, we could settle more and enjoy it. All this to say, it was so worth it and we made around $280 for each family. Not bad for your first yard sale! It is kind of sad that we had that much junk! The best part is that we sold most of our stuff and took the rest to Goodwill. Nothing came back in my house!
Oh, the other drama was that our signs were mysteriously disappearing off the street corner. At least three people came and told us that an Asian man was taking them down. This man is our neighbor and in our house is known as Mr. Miyagi. He is an old man that walks in the neighborhood and has some strange behaviors. He "checks" everyones mailbox by looking in it, walks up and down peoples driveways, and apparently can't stand yard sale signs so he takes them down. Ed, my persistant husband, kept driving down and putting more up all morning. Mr. Miyagi isn't going to ruin our yard sale!

It has begun...

I love the fall. I love the weather, the pretty leaves, football, kids back in school, decorating my home with oranges, reds, and yellows, and cute little pumpkins, the smell of pumpkin bread, camping, my birthday...my husband loves it more though.
Tonight is the first event of the fall for the Martin family. It is Fantasy football draft night. Every year for the last nine years my husband and all his college friends (with some new additions) gather for their draft. It is a HUGE deal! It first started with a required jacket, tie and boxers, Dr. Pepper, Ritz Crackers, and a podium in a dorm room. Now it has transpired to an internet draft. No ties, no jacket, (yes boxers), no podium, no dorm room, but yes there are still Ritz and DPs. It started at exactly 8:45 and will go all night. There are 17 rounds with 16 players and 2 minutes per player for each pick. Yeah, it will go on forever!
The wives usually have a big part in it. We get to offer our suggestions (at times they are actually taken), keep track of the positions they have picked, take note of bye weeks...we are the secretaries. This year I'm taking a different route. I'm not involved! I actually kind of like it. We'll see how his team does this year without me!
Anyway, as I lay in my sweet bed, while my husband is sitting by his laptop on the floor with a lamp shining (PIXAR) on a bunch of ESPN magazines with more stats than you can bear, I will dream of cooler temperatures so I can wear my fabulous fall wardrobe! Goodnight!