Early fall

Do you know what early fall means in my gardens?

No weeding.

No watering.

No picking or plucking.

It means sitting back and drinking in the beauty.

Add a cup of hot tea, or coffee, or cider and a silly little dog and a snuggling kitty.  

It makes all that work worthwhile.

Stay tuned for some special cookies later this week!

Baby Tanner's cookies

There is going to be a new little boy in the family.

I am going to have a new great nephew!

I can almost hear the pitter patter of little feet.

There will be onsies,

and toys,

and don't forget the binkies!

My kids were all very committed to their binkies.  

VERY COMMITTED.

And the new additions name is going to be

Tanner Patrick.  So cute.

The baby shower is next weekend, so these have been carefully packed up and are heading to Iowa.  

Can't wait to meet this 

Once again, I hope you can take a look at this

important message.

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It is beginning to look like fall here

And I actually turned off the air conditioner!  

This is very good news indeed.  

Oh autumn how I love thee.  

I found an old bird cage at a flea market and for a couple of years I used it with it's stand and filled it will trailing flowers.  Really pretty until the wind would come blowing and it would go tipping over.  Tried weighting it down, tried tying it up and it was a 

NO GO.

So I plunked it down in a bed of ivy and surrounded it with pumpkins, gourds, concrete leaves, and vines.  

And for a little extra splash, I added a Dollar Tree crow to the top.

Mr. Crow actually startled Mr. Enchanted because he looked kinda real.  I tried him out first on the little swing inside, but he just didn't show up enough.  

Tomorrow I am back on the cookie train, making some cuties that are headed back to Iowa.  

If you haven't had the chance, I hope you will take the time to read

my last post.  It is something I feel so passionately about.  In fact there was a very good article on yahoo that goes into further detail.  

Thank you sweet friends!

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PLEASE READ

Something hit very close to home this week.

I have debated for several days about whether I wanted to post this.

I went back and forth with myself until I decided there would be no peace of mind till I did.  

Let me begin by saying that by the grace of God, my son is safe.   As an army parent you drink a confusing cocktail of love, pride, and intense fear daily... and it can be pretty hard to swallow.  I lurk on facebook watching for that beautiful green ball next to his name indicating that he is online for chat.  I can breath again until it disappears, and I know he is off on a mission.  Let's just say it has been a long nine months.  Each morning you pray that you won't get THE DREADED VISIT.  My heart is breaking for the parents who did get the visit this week - the visit telling them that their sons were dead. Incredibly brave men who sacrificed their lives to protect others in their group.

HEROES

And I guess I haven't been able to let this go because of how so many young people view this word.  To me, it doesn't mean athletic prowess or a powerful businessman or a talented actor or rock star.

It means men and women who put their lives on the line like it is just another day at the office.

 It means the sacrifice of drawing fire on yourself to protect those whose lives are depending on it.  

It means a courage so strong that a life is given without hesitation to try to rescue a fallen brother. 

COURAGE * HONOR * SACRIFICE

And it happens every day.  

I have avoided looking at military sites that give the casualty reports.  Because I could list "worry wart" on my resume, it was just better not to go there.  And certainly the media doesn't cover even a fraction of it unless it is something "different" like the blue on green attacks.  If I am being honest, (before I was an army mom), I am ashamed to say I just didn't pay all that much attention.  

When you look at sites like this, you get a much more realistic and horrifying picture of what goes on pretty much every single day.  Go ahead and take a look at it - take a good look at all those faces and think about the loved ones they leave behind.  

So what is the purpose of this post?

To give you a real and uncomfortable look at the sacrifice made for our safety and freedom.  And to ask you:

 to thank a soldier, 

to encourage you to get them a cup of coffee (or a soda) at the airport - chances are they haven't had a lot of sleep, 

to ask business owners to hire a veteran, 

or to get involved with great organizations like The Wounded Warrior Project, Operation Gratitude, or Honor Flights which give our WWII vets a chance to see their memorial in Washington D.C. 

But most of all, to PRAY for the families who have lost something precious beyond words.

And PLEASE pray for the safety our of troops who are deployed.  

If this touches your heart, please pass it along.

Thank you and much love,

Lisa

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