Fading into Fall and Our First Army Anniversary

I must take a time out on recounting our cross country adventure back to Alabama.  Since there are far too many fun memories, cute quotes, and special visits with family, I will definitely be coming back to it but today my goal is to catch up on all our Fall fun so far.

In love with my seasonal pillows!

If you ever read my Facebook you may have seen some references to "fading into fall."  While, Arthur was the one who took the liberty of adding that status onto my page for me, it was quote that was heard all around our house the last week of September.  I tried my hardest to wait until the first of October to put up all my autumn decorations.  But I will be honest, I didn't make it much past the first official day of fall.  I love the way swapping out a few couch pillows changing up a few pieces of decor can completely change the feel of a room.

My attempt at camouflaging my melted candle

Unfortunately, I did learn a valuable lesson about storage in the south.  A garage attic in a place where temperature remains over 100 degrees all summer long is not the appropriate place to store candles.  Unless of course, you would like them to take the shape of whatever they are being stored around.
October also makes me feel like it is time to start seasonal baking.  Fall baking (at least the recipes I have) require at least one if not both of two ingredients: canned pumpkin and fresh cranberries.  I wasn't too surprised that local groceries stores are not carrying cranberries yet, but I became quite frustrated to find that canned pumpkin is considered a "seasonal item" and I guess the beginning of October is not far enough along into the season.  But I must remind myself, this is the State of Convenience and I must just roll with it.  Luckily, the grocery store on post carries canned pumpkin so all was not lost and last week my family was "forced" to eat pumpkin corn bread, pumpkin muffins (Jake helped me with those and referred to his job as the "grabber" since he had the important task of grabbing handfuls of dried pomegranates and throwing them into the batter), and pumpkin pancakes (however, no one realized that that is what they were).  This past weekend I also found fresh cranberries on post, so maybe I will try that white chocolate cranberry cake this week.  It is more of a Christmas recipe, but I have to practice at least once to make sure it will make the Christmas baking cut.
Fall festivities are not the only reason the month of October is special to our family.  The first of the month has always (or the last 24 years) been a day for celebration because it is my little sister's birthday.  She is amazing and I am grateful everyday to have her in my life.  I still remember the day she was born and walking into the hospital room to meet her for the first time.  23 years after her birth, October 1st took on another special meeting by becoming our families Army anniversary.

Ama and Jake one year ago waiting for Daddy to get sworn in

Daddy's in the Army now.  Just a few hours before we had to say goodbye.

Anniversaries generally cause me to reflect and this one was no different.  I spent the day thinking back to where we were a year ago, and appreciating how far we have come.  Having Arthur away at Boot Camp and then WOCS school was so difficult.  We missed him terribly, and the time and events Arthur was absent for were a huge sacrifice for all of us.  However,  I am cannot express my gratitude or pride in his decision.  It has and continues to bless our family is countless ways.  My favorite part is that it has allowed me to stay home full time and raise our baby (soon to be babies).  I also know that his decision to serve his country has created a legacy of honor and duty that our sons will look to as they grow into men.

One year later wearing Daddy's helicopter helmet

We didn't do anything too special to commemorate the day, Arthur just enjoyed spending the day at home.  Actually most of the day was spent in the garage with Bridger working on and experimenting with derby cars. This was followed by dinner at a Mexican restaurant and a local high school football game.  Luckily is didn't take much to make the day a million times better than his first day in the army.  But the best gift happened just a few days later, when almost a year to the day of joining the army, Arthur finally started flight school.  He officially starts flying this next Monday.  After all this time we are so excited to have him back in a helicopter again!