Happy First Day of Fall!

Yeah! It is the official first day of the fall season!

I do love fall, even though we will have to wait another month or so for it to really feel like fall. Here in Houston, the first day of fall rarely brings with it cool temperatures and breezes. It will be weeks before we see colored leaves dropping from the trees. Sweaters will remain packed away a good while longer. But that's OK. It is the spirit of fall we capture and enjoy and revel in today.

So.....let fall begin!

Today we ushered in the season with a whole host of activities and fun. Before Mass, I was a real creative genius and I used a leaf shaped cookie cutter to cut a leaf out of their microwave pancakes. Now if that doesn't win me "Mom of the Year", I'm not sure what will. Seriously, frozen pancakes or toast is about all we have time for on Sundays before Mass. After lunch we made a fall leaf craft (I think Melissa did this one last year!) which was fun and turned out really nicely. Daddy even made one too! That was a fun treat for all of us since Daddy isn't usually here when we do crafts during the week.

Then we read the Gail Gibbon's Apples book and the worksheet to go with it. We cut open an apple crosswise so we could see the apple's seed chambers and the star shape they make. Of course, we had to eat the apple too!!!


Once Michael and Andrew were down for naps Jacob and Nicole and I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.


This recipe was so generously shared with me by Melissa. They are tasty!!!!! (Maybe she will post it over at Mixing Bowls and Measuring Spoons.) We doubled the recipe and it made so many cookies!!!!! I remember doing this last year and we had plenty to freeze. They froze really well.

This evening we will end this lovely Sunday with a nice Sunday dinner (as we call it here in Texas). Roast chicken, homemade mashed potatoes, cheesy cauliflower, baked apples and, of course pumpkin cookies for dessert!

Hopefully, time permitting, we will have time for our own little Autumn Nature Scavenger Hunt. I love this idea. What great way to get the kids looking closely at the details of creation around them!

Until then, the littlest ones are still napping, Brian is reading to Nicole and Jacob and I am waiting for the last batch of cookies to come out of the oven. And there are still fall books to be read!


I pray this autumn will be a time of abundance and blessing for all of you, my dear friends and family.

P.S. As I reread this post, it seems like we were busy, busy, busy all day long, but actually it was quite a relaxing family day!