Welcome Autumn

 Autumn has crept right up on us! The air is cool and crisp and the leaves are already changing! Baby has been teasing me the last couple of days, and I am in full nesting mode. As I approach this birth I can feel myself closing out everything around me. 

The children play happily around the house while I work on this or that. Though I'm tired, I need to be busy creating and doing.

We woke up to clouds and wind today which naturally gave me the desire to bake. I looked at the remaining bag of apples from a sweet neighbor and decided it was about time I did something with them!

 I filled my crock pot to the top and ended up with a little less than half a pot of apple sauce. The house smelled amazing as it simmered all morning! The littles ate two helpings each for afternoon snack and loved that it was warm and tasted like apple pie. 

 I've been trying to keep the freezer stocked with bread before baby comes, but our family seems to eat so much of it that I can hardly keep up. I usually make white because it's quick and easy, but today I pulled out my trusty wonder mill and ground some wheat. Hyrum and Joe were fascinated at the transformation from wheat to flour. I called that science, and we went on enjoying our day.

 Between storms we threw on sweaters and let the sun kiss our cheeks. This little guy is still just as rambunctious as ever! His stitches are healing well and he carries on each day as if nothing ever happened! Today I couldn't help but smile at the way the sun brought out the strawberry color in his hair.

 By the late afternoon the house was cozy and smelled of all things Autumn while a nasty storm blew in from the West. We got a quick walk in and arrived home just as it started to rain.

Mr. Stannix had some late meetings tonight so I did bed time solo. Luckily they were all pretty tired and it went relatively easy. After they were all tucked in with hugs and kisses I tried a recipe for "apple blondies" that didn't disappoint! I've stayed up far too late cleaning my kitchen and blogging, and should probably make resting a little bit more of a priority. I've still got a lot of apples left to use. We'll see what I come up with tomorrow!! This really is one of the best seasons.