Friday | We Still Have Flowers!

Hello, friends. Welcome to another Friday! Earlier this week I stood by the back door and watched the leaves drift down to the ground, coffee in hand. We have two locust trees in the backyard and we’ve noticed that they are always the first to drop their leaves at our house, so it’s a preview of what’s to come. We’ve had a week of rain, clouds, and cooler weather; today’s high is forecasted to be in the low 50s. Fall really is here! And Fridays are for joy around here, so today I’m sharing some pictures of flowers, an update on an illness that has swept our house (there’s a bit of joy in it, I promise), and something I’m looking forward to watching at the end of the month.

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We have another gladiola! The one in the opening picture is a little more peachy and pastel than the other orange ones that bloomed and I love it. This is only the second year that we’ve planted gladioli and I am amazed by how late they bloom. Everything else in our yard is dying away but they just keeps on going. Soon we will be digging them up and storing their bulbs over winter and I can’t wait to see if they’ve multiplied below ground.

Most of the hydrangea blooms have passed into pink for the year but there are still a few, like this honker, who are fresh and unfazed by the changing weather. This is one of my favorite flowers and I’m always so happy to see how huge they grow with absolutely no care, other than deadheading in the late fall.

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Remember when Colton was sick a few weeks ago? What I didn’t say in the blog post is that it was giardia. I feel awful that he picked up a parasite somewhere, but it could have come from anywhere thanks to how often he puts things in his mouth. What I didn’t know before now is that it’s contagious and that people are likely to get sick 1-2 weeks after exposure. And like clockwork: Matthew, Bronwyn, and I have all had it over the last couple of weeks. But here’s the joyful part: even with three of us being sick from it, it’s been so much easier than it was when it was just Colton. I have been so thankful for the relative ease of it all. I started getting sick from it late last week and I’ve been symptom-free since Wednesday. Matthew and Bronwyn should be right behind me – whew! And Bryce is totally oblivious to everything happening in the house and seems to have escaped unscathed.

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I haven’t let myself get too excited about this because it has always seemed too good to be true. But here we are, 30 years later, and there’s a NEW HOCUS POCUS coming out next week on Disney+! You might know that I’m a massive fan of the original and enjoy rewatching it from September through October most years. We are counting down until next Friday’s premiere! I might even arrange our school week to ensure that we are finished by Friday afternoon, order pizza, and pop some popcorn. It sounds like a wonderful way to spend an early fall afternoon.

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That’s all I have for this week, friends. I hope to be back on Monday with my One Little Word — if you can believe that it will be the last Monday of September. I hope this weekend is full of exactly what you need. Take good care.