55-degrees...

This past week has felt like Christmas.  No, I don't have my decor up.  No, I'm not listening to carols.  But it's been around 55-degrees, and for some silly reason when it finally dips down into the temperatures like that, instead of basking in the Fall-ness, my brain skips ahead to Christmas.  I guess Texas will do that to you.  Thanksgiving dinners eaten outside in the backyard.  T-shirts for Christmas attire.  55-degrees reminds me of Christmas.

A little about why I love Fall...

Most of you have heard me rave and rave about how much I love Fall!  I'm not sure I've ever really expressed why.  I mean, yes, it has to do with the weather finally cooling off (though nearing 90-degrees in November is not unheard of 'round these parts).  And yes, it has to do with the fact that I love the smells and tastes of this season... pumpkin, gingerbread, toasted marshmallows, etc.  And yes, it has to do with the fact that Christmas is just around the corner.  And yes, Thanksgiving is definitely one of my favorite holidays - nomz!  But mostly, I love Fall because it symbolizes a time when we are supposed to count our blessings, take joy in what God's given us, and be grateful for our bounty. Whatever it is.  Big or small, fancy or frugal, pretty or not... we've all got something to be thankful for.  

My family and I are not in the place we want to be right now.  We are blessed, though.  I have been at home with the boys for about 8 months.  Though money is tight, we've yet to miss paying a single bill (um... thanks to my in-laws for letting us take a few months off from our loan, by the way!), our home is still our home, we are down to one vehicle but we still have a car that fits us just fine, my boys are happy and healthy and smart and adorable, Michael and I love each other and our still best friends as well as husband and wife.  Life is good.  It's not perfect by any means.  I have things I complain about, things I wish would change... I wish Michael could have a better job, I wish his migraines would cease, I wish I could lose 20 pounds, I wish I was a better cook and housekeeper, I wish my 4-yr-old didn't think he was always the boss, I wish, I wish, I wish.  But I know that I have everything I need right here, right now.  The Lord is our provider, and he has given us so much to be thankful for.

A Harvest of Blessings, indeed.

How could I want anything more?

The season of Fall, with its pumpkins and scarecrows and changing, falling leaves... just always serve as a reminder to me how amazing God is, and how incredibly blessed I am to be His child.  Thank you, Jesus... for everything!

Happy Halloween

We had pumpkins coming out of our ears last week... with three pumpkin patch visits and using pumpkin-y things for school lessons and what not.  And now Halloween has come and gone!  And yes, I quickly put away the Halloween decor and left out the Fall stuff!  Bring on Thanksgiving!!!

Ready to head to the TrunkOrTreats!

This year we had a doctor and a cow.  Though Preston kept saying Callen was a "cow nurse" so that his costume went along with the doctor stuff.  Whatever, they were both darn cute!

Hey there, Little Red Riding Hood

And scored lots of candy!  And Preston bobbed for apples!  That's something I don't think I've ever done (or wanted to do).  Haha!

He almost got one, but not quite. 

My favorite part was when I took Callen up to the people, they'd look through their buckets trying to find something he could have.  Umm, he's 7 months old... he can't have ANY candy, people!  But Mommy likes chocolate, so hand it over!

Michael got to go to the first two churches with us, then my mom and dad came over so we could go to Grace Fellowship for their TrunkOrTreat.  It was bigger and better than last year, way to go team!

This afternoon I took the boys out for Halloween clearance shopping, hitting up Target and Walmart.  Everything was picked through already, but I was able to get the two Great Pumpkin stand-up decorations for the yard (Charlie Brown and Snoopy), so I was pretty excited about that!  Woo hoo!  I guess this means next year we'll have to give out candy.  I did make a point of saying that if you decorate your yard for Halloween, you better be giving out candy... so... we'll see. And of course, the stores were quickly throwing up the Christmas stuff... yep, it's here!

On an unrelated note, Rangers blew it this evening.  They had a great season and made it to the World Freakin' Series, which is absolutely amazing so they have nothing to be ashamed of, that's for sure.  However, it looked like a totally rigged game out there tonite.  The guys were not playing their best, and so it was disappointing to say the least.  But you know what?  We've been there once, we can do it again!  Let's go Rangers!!

October 2010 Tweets to Remember

October 1st, it's DEFINITELY time to bust out the Fall decor. Almost literally... nearly dropped the giant, heavy tub of decor & killed it! 11:46 AM Oct 1st

Put up Fall decor AND my new blender/chopper came, so happy right now!!! http://twitpic.com/2tpc2k 1:50 PM Oct 1st  

Beautiful day, wonderful feeling, I feel like singing psalms, meaning songs, singing praises all day long! 10:13 AM Oct 2nd 

Regina & Kevin are married! ...Again! Hooray!  7:11 PM Oct 2nd

Got home from church, mentioned what a beautiful day it was, suddenly Michael & Preston were off to the #Rangers game. Ha! 1:48 PM Oct 3rd  

Enjoyed some time outside (my bare feet got chilly!!!!), now we're gonna make chocolate chip banana bread - it's been a fabulous day!  Sunday, October 03, 2010 7:27:14 PM

As much as I love Fall, I tend to forget how much Fall allergies suck. Windows open: lovely breeze, terrible sneezing & stuffiness. Doh. Sunday, October 03, 2010 11:26:11 PM


Break from school to play & stay warm. http://twitpic.com/2umrzb Monday, October 04, 2010 10:28:41 AM

Hahaha! Just heard Preston tell Michael "Today, me and mommy and a guy named Chris traveled to India!" Yay #Sonlight & #MissionIndia! Tuesday, October 05, 2010 6:18:40 PM


Yay for mid-week playdates! Wednesday, October 06, 2010 12:04:14 PM

My friend @mgail531 is in critical condition at Las Colinas hospital. Severe pneumonia. Please pray for healing in Jesus' name. Thursday, October 07, 2010 8:10:02 AM

Homeschool day at the Fort Worth Zoo! http://twitpic.com/2vfdlk Thursday, October 07, 2010 10:40:16 AM

Safely at the Ranch. Wooo, hello vacation! Friday, October 08, 2010 5:21:26 PM  

Just had a fun, beautiful ride around the ranch this morning. This is awesomeness even through the allergies!  Saturday, October 09, 2010 10:57:00 AM 

Four snotty/stuffy Clarks sleeping in one room makes for lots of snoring and snuffling.  Sunday, October 10, 2010 9:29:46 AM 

Bye bye to the ranch & the sweet family who allowed us this vacation getaway.  Monday, October 11, 2010 12:03:56 PM 

Preston dancing all crazy to @mxpx, suddenly yells "PAUSE IT! I gotta go wash my eye out. I poked it!" Oh boy, that's hardcore dancin'.  Monday, October 11, 2010 10:10:33 PM 

Fried Frito Pie, check. Visiting Big Tex, check. Watching The Killdares, working on it. Yay Fair!  Tuesday, October 12, 2010 2:03:00 PM 

Omgosh, ya'll, the Deep Fried S'mores Pop Tart is completely worth the $100 I just handed over for it. Serious nomz.  Tuesday, October 12, 2010 4:24:18 PM 

Wow.... just wow. Go Rangers! Tuesday, October 12, 2010 10:40:28 PM  

The other day I picked up a gallon of milk, 2 loaves of bread & a bag of tortilla chips for $2.48. No coupons necessary. Aldi rocks! Wednesday, October 13, 2010 9:43:55 AM 

Dude, its only October... but we found Santa enjoying dinner at IHOP! http://twitpic.com/2xekhl Wednesday, October 13, 2010 8:12:14 PM 

Hello, Beautiful Fall Day! Yes, I am still wearing shorts. Why? Because I want to feel every bit of your 65 degree-ness!  Thursday, October 14, 2010 10:03:22 AM 

P picked it for me, told me to take a pic of it so it would last. :) http://twitpic.com/2xmksr 4:14 PM Oct 14th

Want to get up for coffee, but have a sweet, snuggly, warm baby sleeping in my lap. Having to prioritize... move over baby!!!!  9:04 AM Oct 15th

Yay! http://twitpic.com/2y4dbp 10:09 AM Oct 16th

My husband is in the garage scrubbing clean my new freezer while listening to the #Rangers via walkman plugged into his guitar amp! *LOVE!* 4:05 PM Oct 16th

Enjoying a strawberry-banana smoothie along with some eye & ear candy (Kelly & Sinatra in On The Town) after a productive day.  9:03 PM Oct 16th  

A 4yrold that whines/throws fits about EVERYTHING & a 7mthold that fusses/screams if put down. LORD, grant me patience & lots of it! 10:06 AM Oct 17th

Just told the checker at Kroger "No, he [Callen] isn't waving at you, he's giving the #Rangers claw." That's my boy! 1:27 PM Oct 17th

Just sewed three pairs of wanna-be-baby-legs for Callen. Reminded myself how awful I am w/a sewing machine, but they'll work at least. 7:48 PM Oct 17th

Callen just reached over, grabbed the remote & turned on the tv. It's a guy thing, right? To know how to operate things instantly? 8:49 PM Oct 17th

Wanna-Be-Baby-Legs http://twitpic.com/2ymbdv 9:01 PM Oct 17th 

School resumes after a week off for vacation. Have I told you lately how much I love homeschooling & it's flexibility? Well, I do! Monday, October 18, 2010 9:38:04 AM

OH MY GOSH RANGERS ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? Save some for tomorrow, fellas. Holy heck!!! Tuesday, October 19, 2010 10:58:25 PM

I don't think I've EVER seen so many tweet/fb statuses all talking about the same thing. This is amazing. #Rangers #claw #antlers Tuesday, October 19, 2010 11:05:28 PM

Oh my goshhhh! I finally won CASH from the many sweeps & contests I enter constantly! A $250 check from Kellogg's just arrived!! PTL!!!  Wednesday, October 20, 2010 1:48:30 PM

Had a great day of hanging w/my mom, homeschool bookstore then later on library booksale. Um... I really love books!  Thursday, October 21, 2010 9:25:11 PM

Oh.My.Goshhhhhhh. Unbelievable! #Rangers #Claw #Antlers #WorldSeries Friday, October 22, 2010 10:14:15 PM    


Busy day: Lowe's to build a flapping bat, Michael's to decorate a shirt, B&N for story, cookie & mask and ToysRUs for Lego car building.  Saturday, October 23, 2010 1:29:26 PM

Its official, Mr & Mrs Hummel! Congratulations! Saturday, October 23, 2010 3:32:01 PM


It's a cruel world where I know that pumpkin PopTarts exist & yet cannot find them anywhere!  Sunday, October 24, 2010 1:22:45 PM

Fun family outings are less and less fun with a 4-yr-old who has a serious attitude problem. #PumpkinPatchFAIL Sunday, October 24, 2010 3:57:56 PM

Halloween Cookie Pizza! http://twitpic.com/30mqof Sunday, October 24, 2010 9:02:21 PM

Sweet: Listening to them make each other giggle. Not sweet: Hearing their skulls crack together, followed by screaming. #Brotherhood Monday, October 25, 2010 1:46:55 PM

Pumpkin carving time! http://twitpic.com/30w3ba Monday, October 25, 2010 7:53:37 PM

Muwahahaa! http://twitpic.com/30wj44 Monday, October 25, 2010 8:52:22 PM

I attempted to toast pumpkin seeds two different ways... nope, don't like 'em. Oh well. :::eating my cookie pizza::: Monday, October 25, 2010 9:22:32 PM    

Ok, I know it's just baseball & all, but does anyone else feel like we're about to watch a man walk on the moon for the first time? #Rangers Wednesday, October 27, 2010 6:19:42 PM

Well, poot. Wednesday, October 27, 2010 10:36:39 PM

Such beautiful weather made me give Callen his Christmas present early! http://twitpic.com/31oqj5 Thursday, October 28, 2010 5:08:05 PM

45 degrees, yaaaayyyy! We're heading out to the farm/pumpkin patch... yeehaw!  Friday, October 29, 2010 9:02:08 AM


Hey goat, say hi to your mother for me! http://twitpic.com/31wqrr 10:56 AM Oct 29th

Had a yummy brinner, now watching ToyStory3 w/the family, enjoying the cool breezes coming inthe windows. Perfect. 7:20 PM Oct 29th

This morning's goal: Bake a pumpkin brownie cheesecake. Oh my! 10:11 AM Oct 30th

Brownie pumpkin cheesecake, nomz! http://twitpic.com/32d95h Saturday, October 30, 2010 6:05:23 PM

Goood church this morning, love me some FREEDOM & VICTORY in Christ! - Oct 31st 1:35pm

Happy doctor. http://twitpic.com/32qt34

Happy cow. http://twitpic.com/32rg7j

I brought home the wrong kid from trunk'r'treat, this one just asked "Can I have something good for me? Carrots & water, please!" WHAT?!?

Nooooooooooooo! #Rangers