Just a Hint and a Treat

We are just about to change seasons here and it is always a magic time for me.  People ask what my favorite season is and it must usually be the one we are in, unless it is very near the end of the current season and I am already anticipating the next one, which then becomes my favorite.

So, I am only now beginning to see hints of the beauty that is coming....this one right in my own yard.

This hint, and the covered dish dinner at church and the covered dish Arts Council meeting on Monday, got me thinking of fun fall treats.  No, I don't actually "cook" real food for these things.  I usually volunteer for the paper products or chips or drinks, you get the picture.  Real cooking for others is too stressful for me...and who needs that?  Besides, there is always WAY more food than is needed at these things, so I am going with treats!  Cute fall treats that I found on....say it with me...Pinterest!  Here we go:

Supplies assembled...

Step one.

Dark chocolate kisses and mini Nutter Butters...that's pretty healthy, right?

Step two.  Completed project.

How easy was that?

But, wait....what is it?

Who knows?

There.  Do you see the clue in the leaf bowl?

Oh, there it is again.

Cute little acorns....edible and healthy!

(and I don't know what happened to the color....sorry)

Now, only one problem.  What to do with the left over supplies...

Have you seen any hints of the season to come?  Have you made treats to share?

A Prayer for the Teacher

Dear Father,

It is the night before the 1st day of school...again.
Hours have been spent by each teacher, thinking and planning and arranging to make tomorrow memorable for each of the students that will sit before them.

They have organized and agonized.
They have prettied up the place and hidden what they could.
They have studied their class lists and written the names many times.

Bless them, Father, with the passion that brought them to teaching.
-the passion for learning even today and tomorrow
-the passion for loving the less lovable as well as the most lovable
-the passion for teaching and celebrating the growth

Bless them, Father, with the patience they will need each day.
-the patience for stories that need to be told
-the patience for encouragement that needs to be offered
-the patience for interruptions and paper work

Bless them, Father, with miracles big and small.
-the miracle of connections made with a smile and a pat
-the miracle of trust established through listening and honoring each one
-the miracle of futures changed and lives lighted up

It is the night before the 1st day of school....again.
Let the joy bubble up,
let the magic begin,
let Your love shine brightly.

In the name of your Son, a powerful teacher in His own right,
Amen.

Big Kids - Not Scary

I always taught little kids because big kids are scary to me...at least in the abstract, or in herds, or sitting in front of you with eye rolling and texting!  That is scary.

But, today, I got to hang out with some big kids who were charming and funny and polite and didn't even have a phone with them!  What?  Did you even know that 18 and 20 year olds could go out of the house without their phones?  I know, right?

I met these two at church on Sunday.  They are here visiting my friend Doris, who is their grandma, but she works, so I volunteered for my best friend, Stevie and I, to entertain them for a day...and they were good with hanging out with two old farts that they didn't know at all.  That should have alerted me that things would be fine....

So, off we went up the mountain to Blackwater Falls State Park and Siriani's Pizza.
They ooohed and aaaaahed at all the right scenic places on the drive.
They thought the pizza was yummy.
They thought the deer were adorable...the snake not so much!
I'm telling you, these two are keepers!

Here are a few pictures:

See?  Aren't they cute? 

Blackwater Falls....black water due to tannin in the stream.

Oh, cute kids and the falls!

Falls with nice big joe pie weed...I think.

POWER!

The gorge at the bottom of it all...

...from way up here on top where none of us really wanted to be for very long.

Cool stacked rock garden.

Really cool.   I want to build some.

Stevie and the kids being brave.

Kassaundra trying to hold up one of the windmills.  

Sorry.  I hope Kris's turned out better. :-)

I LOVE these windmills and the gentle swoosh they make.

It was kind of trying to storm a little bit, so Kris and Kassaundra ran 

up around the corner and Kris took this one.

With the little storminess, the mist began to rise from the valley.

So pretty.  Kassaundra took these out her window.

I had a great day with kids who are going to make a difference in their world...a difference for good.  Kassaundra wants to be a teacher and Kris wants to study criminal justice.  

Stevie and I can rest.

I feel better about the world just knowing they are coming along behind me.  

Thanks, Doris, for sharing them with us for the day.