Season of school & change.

To everything there is a season...

Thankfully, fall is my favorite. The house begins to feel crisp and clean. The air is dry and cool. We have to bundle babies that look delicious in hats and coats...

The flowers take color in their fullness of bloom and adorn my sidewalk with such grace.

Pumpkins begin to appear as if they were meant to be there. As if the entire year was built around this one season and this is the queen of time.

Inside, I decorate with gusto! The house turns into a warm-colored, fall-smelling place of comfort.

Details don't matter quite as much because fall is a beautiful mess. Leaves, straw, hay and seeds fall where they fall and when I see them doing so, I am reminded of why it's easy to love this season.

Scarecrows spring forth life. They bring talk and smiles among my children.

As I'm baking from the kitchen, I peek around the corner to take pride in the small things laying around that bring me so much joy. I literally get giddy and feel alive inside.

Speaking of the kitchen, it smells like freshness. Homemade pies, cakes, cookies, salsa, pork chops and lots of delicious spices flee from this space and invade the noses of my family.

Everywhere you look in this house, you can see bits and pieces of our favorite season.

And this year the changing season means something new for our family.

Something that is just as exciting as autumn itself.

Something I have waited my lifetime to begin...

...and it's finally coming together.

Everything has found it's place and although I'm rearranging our supplies quite often, we have everything we need to officially begin school on Monday.

Our calendar, Bible verse, weather chart, reading chair and letter rug are the highlight of the room! The kids enjoy this space and are eager to use it every day!

Even Braden has been spotted sitting 'Criss-Cross-Applesauce' all alone on the letter rug.

Our focus is on Jesus and we know that His hand is upon this home. He makes Himself known here and I cannot wait for the kids to begin learning more of the Word everyday. Nora already has this months Bible verse completely memorized!

Our supply cabinet is filled with papers of every color, blocks, scissors, glue, flash cards, crayons, markers, chalkboards, stickers, etc, etc, etc. We are busy organizing it each day so that it feels just perfect.

We are officially kicking off the school year tomorrow night as we sit down with our family and have our first annual "Night Before School Supper." It is a time when we will all be able to focus on the task at hand which is preparing these children for the kingdom, equipping them with knowledge and skill to live in today's world while remaining focused on education and Jesus.

It takes every one's involvement to ensure the kids will learn what they need to learn.

Remember that I love the idea of 'unschooling.' In a nutshell that means that I want the kids to learn just as much (if not more) from every day experiences and interactions as they do in a structured curriculum. This means that we understand that they are constantly watching the people who are in their lives and learning from their speech, actions and activities.

As an entire family, my hope is that we will daily pray for our lives to be a reflection of Christ so the kids can see that in us and, in turn, replicate it in themselves.

I will have many more pictures of our actual supper, as it will be themed:)

It is an exciting time in our lives and an exciting time in the year.

Getting my house prepared for fall prepared my spirit for teaching these children and I am thankful for the opportunity to do so. The Lord is awesome and at work in this home...

...What's going on in yours today? Have you decorated for fall yet?

Do you have a school room you'd like to share?