I Love Fall

Yesterday was a beautiful one in Connecticut. Sunny and mild (about 70 degrees), the weather invited me to spend some time in the out of doors. And that is what I did. Without any special agenda, I took three separate walks and savored the sights, sounds and smells of autumn. The leaves are changing colors here, and then falling on still green lawns, begging for rakes to gather them into piles. Soccer fields are filled with boys and girls running and laughing and yelling as they enjoy the competition. Yesterdays blue skies were painted with puffy clouds that made me think the sunset would be amazing (and it was).

As I walked I thought about our time in Connnecticut. We are now in our fifth year here, and a lot has happened in the last four years. Our three oldest sons have all gotten married. Barb now has three wonderful daughters-in-law to share in her torment of living with the Dean guys! While we didn't do the choosing, we couldn't be happier with the choices our sons made. We love Kelly, Marianne and Jennifer (who also brought us Erin, our only grandchild) and so thrilled to have them in our family.

Shawn has grown alot in the last 4 years. When we moved here he was entering middle school in the seventh grade. He is now well into his junior year of high school, pressing us to get him his learner's permit so he can start driving! He has been to a prom, made a couple of visits to the Emergency Room of the hospital, gone to Sports and Music Camp in New Hampshire 4 times, and become a leader in the youth group he attends. He is a good student, a fun kid, and a great son to Barb and me, and we are thrilled to have him still at home.

The Lord helped us face and get through the ordeal of Barb's accident with the motorcyclist. We are so thankful he lived and has made a partial recovery from his life-threatening injuries. While we wish it had never happened, we have learned much about trusting God even when we don't understand why things have happened the way they did.

We love our home here, we love the people in the church, Barb has grown as a nurse working at the hospital for the past 4 years, and I have made some wonderful friends in a group of pastors with whom I meet for prayer on a weekly basis.

And as we have gotten older we have learned to appreciate the blesssings God gives us in the little things, like the change of seasons!