autumn days.

There's no question about it.  

Autumn is my favorite season.

It's often short-lived here in Missouri and we often spend a day or two each September with a taste of Autumn before jumping back into high temperatures for another week or so. 

However, I am hopeful that yesterday was our last day in the 80's for a while.

Bring on the colorful leaves, misty mornings, Pumpkin Spice-everything, scarves, and cozy hooded sweatshirts.

Since making my decision to put down the camera and focus solely on my new role at school this year, I've had a lot more weekend time at home.

It's not basketball season yet and our nephew's football games have been in the evenings, so I have been able to wake up on Saturday mornings and spend some time in the quiet of the farmhouse front porch, taking in the crisp, cool morning breeze.

I love the way Ralph Waldo Emerson said it...
"Each moment of the year has its own beauty."

Every year, in the last weekend of September, I have the opportunity to speak at a women's retreat (hello to all my women's retreat readers!).  This year, I mentioned our "seasons" of life. 

As I sit here listening to the rumble of thunder from an early-morning autumn thunderstorm while I type, I think about the anticipation that comes at the beginning of each season of the year.

We have a chance each morning to "start over", but something about a change in the weather and environment is a real motivation for me.

When the long summer days start to get shorter and the hot, humid days start to get cooler, I feel a renewed sense of urgency for enjoying every moment in my home with Mr. Farmhouse and the girls.

I start to think more about crock pots with simmering soup, evenings spent around the fire pit, and the smell of fresh-baked cookies wafting through the house.

My mind wanders to movie nights as a family with warm apple cider and popcorn, trips to the pumpkin patch, and hay rides.

I begin thinking about the holiday traditions that come with October, November, and December and I smile.

We slow down on the gravel roads to look at deer in the fields and combines harvesting.

We spend our evenings in gyms watching our nieces play volleyball or on the football field, cheering on the boys of fall.

The change of any season is new and refreshing and beautiful.

But there is something about autumn that renews my spirit.

Happy Autumn from the Farmhouse, friends.

​❤️🍂🏡🍂❤️