No, not Christmas…Not yet anyway. In our home, there is a strict ban all things Christmas until after Thanksgiving. (Imposed by my husband…if it were left up to me, I’d probably start the Christmas music up mid-July!)
No, I’m talking about the sniffling, sneezing, coughing, cold season that comes this time of year. Hannah seems to be (finally!) getting over a cold that she has been fighting for the past 2 and a half weeks. And, I guess, it was just a matter of time before I caught it from my little carrier monkey. 
 I seem to have been fighting it for the better part of the last week, and for a little while, I actually thought I was winning! Silly me.Â
Hannah probably would have been okay to go back to the nursery this morning, but since I have now joined in the sneezing and sniffling fun, and didn’t exactly think anyone would appreciate my sharing, we opted to stay home and sent daddy out to brave the wind, and head to church alone. He seems to have escaped the germies thus far…but with all this wind, and his allergies, he will probably be joining in the sneezing before too long! :)Â
Right now, the wind is howling down the chimney, and my froggie wind-chime is going crazy on the back porch!  I opened up the blinds so we could watch the leaves (and other stuff) flying around. I am beginning to think that “Fall†is a slightly innacurate term. Around here, leaves don’t “fall,â€Â gently floating to the ground over the course of a few days or weeks. No, one strong gust of wind, and the leaves are uncerimoniously ripped from the branches all at once!
But, with the wind blowing outside, Hannah and I have had a cozy morning here in the house.  We have played in her kitchen, “played letters,†watched Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (in honor of our own blustery day!), and had our own little Sunday school with her storybook Bible, and a “lesson†from a book we’ve just started working through, Leading Little Ones to God.Â
I have also recently been convicted that I need be more dilligent to help her memorize Scripture. This child has an amazing memory – like most children her age, she is like a sponge! We have done a few short verses, but I am beginning to realize that she can handle more! This epiphany hit me the other night while I was “reading†a few bedtime stories…instead, she recited 2 of them to me – in their entirety. I know that she can do the same with several other books, as well as the first half of The Cat In The Hat. But, I want to be sure that she is filling her mind with God’s Word as well! So, this morning, we began working on Psalm 23 (only 6 verses), and the last seven verses of Psalm 19. I have a feeling that she will pick them up fairly quickly! I’m excited to see her learning – and hopefully applying! – God’s Word!
Well, Daddy is home from church now, so we are going to enjoy the rest of our Sunday together!