seasons

Autumn is my favorite season. I love the crispy cold mornings and the chili and ohhh, the colors. And the smells and the sweaters and the marshmallow roasting. I'm not sure I could live in a region without changing seasons. I love it.

This season at the Adams' has been a whirlwind. Especially the month of September. Amidst the start of the school year and a gutted kitchen, we also prepared to say goodbye to our two little "extra" daughters who had been with us since the first of May. This was bittersweet, as it certainly was not an easy five months...we were all stretched and pulled out of our comfort zones...but we also have some sweet, sweet memories, funny stories, and a part of our collective heart that bears the fingerprints of two little blonde girls. There is also, at least for me, the twinge of sorrow over the things I didn't do well for them...but I have that for my own children as well. Doesn't any mother? We also came face to face with the reality of "the system" and how frustrating (gross understatement) it can be. Above all else, it was really the latter that made September so stressful. In the end, we felt like good decisions were made and that things are hopeful. And we'll get to keep in touch with the girls, which is wonderful.

So we're settling into fall. It's taken some getting used to having two less at the table or in the van, and we don't have to go to the garage each morning for the milk. We've made an apple pie, and tomorrow we celebrate Tim's 39th birthday. We've got a pumpkin party, a wedding, and some visits from friends to look forward to, and hopefully some time to just be quiet. And winter will be here before we know it!! Who knows what adventures next season will bring!

kitchen pics

Unfortunately, I never remember to take really good before and after pictures of our projects. Will some "during" and "almost done" shots do? I hope so. The kids had fun helping with the kitchen demo...after that they they had to make themselves scarce so Dad, Mr. Huntley, and various other suckers - I mean, good friends helped out getting the place put back together. What started out as "let's paint the cabinets", turned into a complete gutting of the kitchen, mudroom and bathroom. Leaky plumbing, old wiring, and crumbling walls were replaced. The fridge was permanently moved to the mudroom which opened up lots of wonderful space in the kitchen where little bakers can be put to work! After six weeks of feeding six kids with a microwave, a toaster, and a fridge in the garage (I'm sure our neighbors thought it was strange to see us go out to the garage in our pj's each morning for the milk)....we made it with relatively few meltdowns. Note: I said "relatively few", not none. Considering all the things going on in our life in that six weeks, which I'll address in another post, I think we fared incredibly well. And thanks to the very hard work of Tim, Dave Huntley, Grandpa B, Kirk, Aaron, Barry, and a couple of late-night rescues by the Kelsalls, we have a kitchen. And I am a very blessed mama!! (Okay, the pictures are in backwards order, and were supposed to be at the end of the post, but I can't figure out how to change it so we'll just have to deal with the anti-climactic-ness. Sorry! :)