fall is in the air

fall is my favorite time of year! i just love the smells.. pumpkin, cinnamon, crisp air, apple pie... the weather, the food, the clothes, football, the holidays, the leaves falling, family, friends, and so much more!

in celebration of the fall this morning chase and I made pumpkin pancakes from Trader Joe's- my new favorite!

and last night I made my "Martha Stewart" fall wreath out of corn husks!!

the mountains!

Lone Star Lodge in Red River, New Mexico

Gorgeous lake we rode by on our four hour 4-wheeler trip!

a family of deer we came upon!

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burden, and I will give you rest"
Matthew 11:28

... this is the life...

balloons, birthdays, family, and friends!

a few weeks ago we went to Albquerque for the Ballon Fiesta! it was super fun because all the people we love were there! that weekend we also celebrated brooke's 25th birthday and chase's 26th birthday! thanks for a GREAT weekend everyone!

ballet flats by kojo designs!

my friends jordan and kirstin have this amazing craft blog called kojo designs! They post so many different creative, fun and practical ideas on how to be craft-y! Since I love to do crafts, but usually can't come up with most of them I love visiting this site and I now you will too! Jord is one of my closest friends and so I get the honor to craft with her often (not as often as we would like though!) Anyway, for the month of October they are doing a giveaway for these adorable little ballet flats with little embellishments. I want to win a pair! Check out their blog to see how you can win a pair as well. They asked for name ideas for these fabulous little shoes and the name I gave them was:"petit pirouettes". I think this would be a great name for these ballet flats because it means, "small turns" in French- which is a ballet term and something you do with your feet while wearing ballet slippers! Please check out their blog for all your crafting needs and ideas- I promise you will LOVE it!

Thanks for sharing your craft-y minds with us!

Mr. & Mrs. Koehn

a few weeks ago I met my family in Albuquerque and flew to Denver for my cousin's, Lindsay, wedding! I had such a great time seeing family, meeting Paul (who is perfect for Lindsay), staying up late talking, decorating the tables, and of course eating delicious food!!

It was been 3 summers in a row now that we have gotten to see family over the summer because of wedding celebrations! Next summer we want to plan a "non-event" reunion where we can all just be together without having the busyness of a wedding. Any suggestions of where to go?

Congrats Lindsay and Paul! I am so happy for you and can't wait to see where God leads you in life. May God be glorified in your marriage! Below are a few of the 100's of pictures that I took!

With the Bride-to-be at Cheeseburger Lindsay & Paul :0)

Cheeseburger!

Cousins & Grams!

more cousins!

Brooke was the hair dresser! Didn't she do a great job?

Marci and me! Sisters!

The table #s that Lindsay made The tables with goldfish in the bowls!

and favor= jelly beans!

It was a gorgeous wedding in the mountains of Golden, CO!

Enjoying the yummy Italian food! So in love!

resting in Christ and not in stress..

i have been behind in posting lately because, well to say the least- my work life has been a little crazy lately. Since I work with school foodservice we are in crunch time just like all you teachers out there. I now have a new appreciation for teachers preparing for school.... it is a bit overwhelming!

Something that a dear friend of mine, Heather Weaver, told me a few weeks ago (who is an early childhood teacher in Lubbock) was, that she was not going to let stress, worry and anxiety rule her August, but instead Christ was going to be the center and ruler of her life. I have been thinking about this ever since then and have been finding rest in Christ as the ruler and King of my life and not letting 12 hours days at work, working on the weekends, and unnecessary drama get me down or be the ruler of my life. Christ is good and sustaining me through this time.

Thanks to all of you that have been praying for me and caring for me during this season. I have been so blessed with wonderful friends and family who pray, speak encouraging work and make "back-to-school"/de-stresser gifts bags! (thanks jord) and husbands that let me cry on his shoulder and comfort me through it all!

"come to me all who are weary and burdened.... and you will find rest for your souls." (paraphrase of Matthew 11:28)

Happy Birthday to you...

MOM!!

I wish that I could be there to help celebrate, but since I am not I thought I would dedicate a blog to my mom! Here is a list of a few things that I appreciate about my mom:

• She is just a phone call away to talk about everything or nothing at all
• She loves her girls unconditionally... 
• She is my best friend- I can tell her just about anything
• We are pretty much the same person... ha ha
• She has the most caring loving heart I have ever known
• My friends love her because she takes all of them in as her own
• She loves Chase like her own son
• She loves the Lord and encourages me to do the same
• Her hugs
• Our special "voice" we share :0)

There is so much more, but we would be here forever. I am so blessed to have the mom that I do. I hope that I will love and care for our future kids as much as she does one day. Thanks mom for who you are. Hope your birthday is wonderful! I can't wait to celebrate it in Denever in a few weeks. Love you...