Fall "Open House"

I totally love fall, it is my most favorite season! I wish that I could have a party every fall. I love the way my house looks when it is decorated for fall. I totally love fall activities like bonfires, hay rides, and playing in the leaves. And I love all the yummy fall treats like apples with carmel dip, pumpkin bars, and party mix. Oh, and soup. I love when it gets cold enough to have soup & hot chocolate again. And I can't forget all the great fall candle scents...

Can you tell I really like fall?

So.....the girls and I thought we would invite you over for a little fall open house. Use your imaginations. A yummy smelling baked apple candle is burning, my favorite cercamic jack-o-lantern is lit. I've got a cup of cider and a pumpkin bar just for you. Welcome, let the tour begin!

As you come in our front door you'd be sure to spy these beautiful fall inspired flowers my hubbie got for me. My husband doesn't buy flowers for holidays he buys them just because...

Or if you've been to our abode before you might take note of this...
It's my newest treasure. I bought it from a store going out of business down town. I totally love it. I love that its dark wood, its unique, its old, and I got them to sell it to me for $150! It was originally $2,000. (I totally have to share about my good deals)

Below is another something new. Its a memo board I got for my birthday from Charlene. It has served as a perfect spot for our Scripture memory verses. I love the fall themed magnets that came with it. I added the pilgrim magnets, they were my Mom-0's.
Below are two more of my newer treasures. I bought this large glass piece at the same sale, I got it for $1!!! And the sterling silver bowl (converted to a pumpkin pedestal) was GG's. The acorns and pine cone decorations were collected and shared by my little helpers. They love to help decorate!
This is on top of our hutch that holds our tv. The church was a gift form my mom for our first wedding anniversary. It used to be on the floor back in the day, but now with little kids it has found a new spot.
This is the top of my refrigerator. (Please don't mind the dishes in the sink)
This is a wreath that I redecorate each season. I love that its one that we used on the tables at our wedding. My mom has a big one she always does that with. I'm still learning, mine don't look quite like hers yet.
This is our entryway table. It is always decorated seasonally. The pumpkin belonged to my Mom-o and she shared it with me. I LOVE it. When I was little it was always on top of her TV. I would sit and rock with her with all the lights off and only it glowing.
Grace says, "Welcome- check out our crock with our name on it." (a favorite wedding gift)
Tried to capture the glow...can't you smell the apple pie?

This is the top of our china hutch. If you peak through the door you can see the top of our red Humiston family star plate.

This is my quilt rack. The quilt is another inherited treasure. I think it is so fun that it is red & black which coordinates with my house wonderfully. (quilts aren't usually made with dark fabrics) I always put my little scarecrow collection on it.

This is our hallway. I recently moved the full length mirror to this spot. Titus loves to crawl up to it and talk to himself. The tree tapestry is an art project I did with some of my college girlfriends kiddos. I love thinking about them each time I see it. See our red couch- it totally goes with the fall motif, huh?
The girls even decorated their room without much help.
Faith says, "Bye, thanks for coming to visit." (please try and focus on the cute girl and not the fact that our front door really needs to be painted)

(this post is dedicated to my friend Lindsay Davenport, who I love dearly but has never been to our home. I really wish she could have come for the tour...)

Marriage Retreat

In October we were able to "get away" for a weekend and go to a marriage retreat our church sponsored. It was a great weekend. We chose to rent a small cabin and share it with our friends Greg & Tomi Lowes. I am so glad we did. Above are pictures of our little love nest. Little is the key word. Tomi and I both envisioned it having a living room of sorts since the listing said it included a TV. Nope, as you can see the TV was on top of the refrigerator in the kitchen. The only room other than our separate sleeping quarters. We still had fun sitting at the table playing games and visiting when we weren't in sessions.

Since Titus is still nursing he got to come along. While this wasn't the perfect scenario for a getaway weekend it worked out pretty well. He usually slept during the morning session and the late evening session so we were still able to learn a lot. And we were able to visit in our little cabin with the Lowes after he was in bed.

While there was a lot of information presented I think the thing I enjoyed most was the opportunity to focus our conversations away from the everyday and talk about our relationship, dream about the future, and laugh together (without the interruption of little people.....well less little people anyway) One of the things Jeremy an I try and work at is focusing our date conversations on things other than schedule keeping, the kids, the to list, etc. So, we are always looking for fun conversation starters that help us to talk about the kind of stuff we chatted about when we were dating like our dreams, interests, growing up years, etc.

So, I wanted to share with you a Match Game we each filled out and then let the other person try and guess our answers. It made for some fun conversation. I've changed it slightly to update it a bit. (One of the questions was- The coin return is on the right or left side of a pay telephone)

Match Game

Husband fills out, wife guesses:

1. What did your wife wear to church last?

2. I wear _________ cologne.

3. My favorite color is ___________.

4. My favorite food is ____________.

5. It costs$_____ to fill up our car with gasoline.

6. The name of the agent of our life insurance is __________.

7. Describe the first car we bought after we were married.

8. My hat size is _____.

9. My favorite song is ____________.

10. If we could go anywhere in the world for a free two-week vacation, I would want to go to...

11. One of these evenings when I have nothing to do, I'd really like to ___________.

12. My mother's middle name is/was ______.

13. My favorite TV show is __________.

14. I (do/do no) have a will.

15. My favorite sport is _______.

16. The name of the last book I read is ________. (other than the Bible)

17. My favorite magazine is _________.

18. My favorite season is ___________.

19. My choice for a play would be (drama-musical-comedy).

I think I am mostly (introverted-extroverted).

I consider myself a (sharp-sloppy-good) dresser.

In so far as my anxieties are concerned, I think I am (a worrier-average-carefree).

My favorite style of music is______.

I think I am (very handy-OK-kinda helpless) as a handyman around the house.

If I could have any job I wanted, I would _______.

The name of my best friend is ____________.

I consider myself a (great-good-average) lover.

I would like to have _____ grandchildren.

If I could afford any car, I would buy ________.

The brand of our lawnmower is _______.

My favorite book of the Bible is _________.

If I had to accept one of these I would rather be (3” taller-3”shorter-30 lbs heavier-30lbs lighter)

If God were to grant me knowledge to cure one of these I would choose (cancer-birth deffects-mental illness)

I think I would most like to live in the state of ________.

If I could have only one thing on my hamburger it would be...

The hairdo I like most on you is ______.

I believe the ideal house has (one story-two story).

My best subject in high school was __________.

If I were to suddenly discover my friend and next door neighbor was homosexual, my relationship with him would likely (remain the same-deepen-end).

My favorite version of the Bible is____.

The property taxes on our house normally run about $_____ a year.

What did we do on our last anniversary?

My shoe size is ______.

My favorite ice cream flavor is __________.

My favorite way to eat a tomato is ________.

One thing I hope you never cook for me is ________.

Let’s _______ tonight.

One of these days I’d really like to _________.

Plus being handsome, I’m also ________.

There is a regular screwdriver as well as the _______ screwdriver.

On a rainy night I like to ________.

The last gift I bought you was ________.

I wish you’d share _______ with me.

A responsibility I have that I really wish you had is_______.

The breed of dog I like best is ________.

My favorite actor is _______.

My favorite actress is ________.

It now costs ____ cents to mail a letter.

One thing I’m really afraid of is ______.

Bank advertisements often say, “Member FDIC” what do these letters mean?

On traffic lights, the light at the bottom is normally the ______ light.

If I were injured in an accident I would want you to contact ____ first.

My favorite relative on your side of the family is _______.

When we retire I’d like to _______.

My main Pet Peeve is _______.

I like to see you wear _______.

I feel very masculine when you _______.

I wish I could help you more in the area of _______.

If you were told to put a 2x4 in your 4x4 what would you do?

If I could play any musical instrument well, I would play _____.

My choice in beds would be a ______ size bed.

A perfect breakfast for me would include ________.

Wife fills out, husband guesses.

1. What tie did your husband wear last?

2. On what day of the week was your eldest child born?

3. My favorite color is ___________.

4. My favorite food is ____________.

5. The title of the last movie we saw together was ______.

6. My favorite flower is _________.

7. Our first married address was ______________.

8. If our firstborn had been the opposite sex his/ her name would have been _______.

9. My favorite song is ____________.

10. If we could go anywhere in the US for a free two-week vacation, I would want to go to...

11. One of these evenings when I have nothing to do, I'd really like to ___________.

12. My mother's middle name is/was ______.

13. My favorite TV show is __________.

14. My ring size is _______.

15. My favorite sport is _______.

16. The name of the last book I read is ________. (other than the Bible)

17. My favorite magazine is _________.

18. My favorite season is ___________.

19.My choice for a play would be (drama-musical-comedy).

I think I am mostly (introverted-extroverted).

I think the next major purchase for our home should be _______.

In so far as my anxieties are concerned, I think I am (a worrier-average-carefree).

My favorite style of music is______.

As you are sitting at home, the telephone (or doorbell) rings. You say, “____ get it.”

If I could have any job I wanted, I would _______.

The name of my best friend is ____________.

I think ____ children make an ideal family.

I would like to have _____ grandchildren.

Our wedding was held at ____ o’clock.

I think I am a _______ cook.

My favorite book of the Bible is _________.

Our dream home would be located (city-country-suburbs-on the water-in the mountains)

If God were to grant me knowledge to cure one of these I would choose (alcoholism-dug addiction-cigarette smoking)

I think I would most like to live in the state of ________.

My favorite perfume is __________.

The appliance I expect to purchase next is ___________.

My best subject in high school was __________.

The luxury item in our home that I would miss the most is _________.

My favorite version of the Bible is____.

I think a wife should have about $____ of “mad money” per week.

How did we celebrate our first anniversary?

I am a ______ swimmer than you.

My favorite ice cream flavor is __________.

Who is more punctual, you or I?

One of these days I’d really like to _________.

The last time I told you “I love you” was _______.

On a rainy night I like to ________.

The last gift I got you was ________.

I wish you’d share _______ with me.

A responsibility I have that I really wish you had is_______.

The breed of dog I like best is ________.

My favorite actor is _______.

My favorite actress is ________.

There are ___ books in the Bible.

One thing I’m really afraid of is ______.

If I were suddenly taken ill, I would want you to notify ____ first.

My favorite relative on your side of the family is _______.

When we retire I’d like to _______.

My main Pet Peeve is _______.

I like to see you wear _______.

I feel very feminine when you _______.

I wish I could help you more in the area of _______.

A hobby I’d like to pursue is ________.

When we buy our next home I will insist on___________.

Life is _______.

One change I’d like to see us make at mealtime is ___________.

My favorite Bible story is ______.

If I could remove one item from our home, it would be __________.

A household chore I really dislike is __________.

I need to contact someone I (text-email-call) them.

My favorite thing to do with my girlfriends is __________.

I normally buy our groceries at ___________.