October in Bloom

We had an amazing summer here in Wisconsin but I think this Fall is taking the cake for the most glorious time of year. There is just something about the pops of autumn leaves and the brightest, warmest hues peppering our landscape with color that cannot be beat. The cooler temps, the smell of a pumpkin spice candle, football on the TV, soups and chills, BEER, boots, fleeces and vests, crunching leaves as we walk down our sidewalk….it's just such a great season. I love living in Milwaukee in the fall and am so grateful to reside in a climate with four seasons. Let's not discuss what follows Fall though, alright?







Last year I took a bunch of pictures with Truman under our favorite tree in October. I've been going a little crazy snapping pictures of the leaves with my iPhone this year when we are out and about. But then Sunday was simply too perfect to ignore the pull of my real camera any longer. Nate was at a course all weekend and the kids and I didn't have plans. So I put Porter in the Ergo (where he took a fantastic nap), grabbed my camera, had Truman and Cecelia take their 'leaf collecting' bags, and we were off to have some fall fun. It was one of those moments in time when the sun is shining just right and the leaves seems to glow around us, illuminating the air like we were in some sort of dreamy bubble. Tru and CC had a ball throwing leaves at each other, jumping in a leaf pile we made over and over again, and playing Simon Says with me…all as I snapped away. Some of my favorite shots feel like photographs that I will seriously cherish forever because they capture T and C and this season so well.















big time fave:


another fave:




and yet another fave:


The weekend before this we did the Pumpkin Farm thing for our first real Fall activity this year. It was really chilly but the kids had a blast. My nice camera came out to play again. As did Cecelia's new adorable boots and vests for almost every member of the family (ahem, NATE!)







I'll be the first to tell you that this season of our life is heavy and challenging and I feel like I'm struggling to keep my head above water. But when I step back and really look at October, taking a breath and remembering that every season seems short when it's gone, I realize that life may be crazy right now but I'm embracing the crazy. I might feel spread thin and a little frazzled, juggling needs of others along with my own. But the leaves are changing, the temperatures are dropping, and that crisp fall smell is out there for us. Embrace the crazy. Soak in the season. It's sure to change before we remember to take a breath and life will feel more organized someday.

And then I'll spend too much time looking back on the pictures of this season, wondering how it could have seemed so wild when it was all so beautiful. I think my biggest goal for this Fall is granting myself some grace, cutting myself and everyone around me some slack, and riding the wave of change. Plus I want to really appreciate these pretty leaves before they blow away and the white stuff replaces them for months upon months upon months.

Thank goodness for Octobers.