Hello, Reader.

It was not at all difficult to believe fall had arrived when I woke up yesterday morning. The air was crisp and chill, and the leaves had already begun turning orange and gold and red. But that had less to do with the date on the calendar than the fact we were starting the day in Vancouver, BC.

By evening, we were back in Texas, where it is business as usual: one long, seemingly endless summer.

But we'll get there eventually! And to celebrate that fact, I'm re-sharing some of my favorite autumn resources. I hope they'll help you have a happy fall, whether y'all are feeling the full effects of the season yet... or not!

Free resources for you this week:

• ​50 Fun Activities for Fall - a free printable idea list for the cooler weather months
• ​To Everything a Season Coloring Page - for a peek at how I create these pages, click here​
• ​Autumn Days Word Scramble - try your hand at deciphering these mixed up words
• ​5 Things to Make this Autumn Better - an abbreviated bucket list for busy families
• ​Fall Days Conversation Starters - free printable dinnertime discussion prompts for fall
• ​17 Beautiful Pinecone Crafts - pinecones are plentiful this time of year (free art supplies!)

What I'm reading this week:

One of the books I "read" during last week's cruise was Book 1 of Gordon Korman's Island triology: Shipwreck, as it's currently included with my Audible membership. For the kids on this ocean voyage, nearly everything that could go wrong did go wrong. I gleaned some potentially useful information -- such as the fact your odds of survival in the open sea often boil down to how well protected you are against sunburn and thirst. Fortunately, our cruise progressed without incident, so I didn't need to put any of that knowledge to specific use. Although the final chapter of this short story offered a modicum of resolution, I won't be fully satisfied until I finish the next two books in the series, Survival and Escape.

On the podcast this week:

I definitely did not record a new podcast episode this week, so here's another from the archives for you:

Loving Life at Home: Episode 88 ​ON ACCEPTING YOUR UNCHANGEABLES​ We're all born with qualities that can't be altered and into circumstances beyond our control. The question is, will you learn to accept and live with them? Or allow bitterness and resentment over those unchangeables to fester in the depths of your heart? The choice you make will have a profound effect on the purpose and contentment you find in life. Listen Now

Progress on last week's goals:

Well, I only put four items on my to-do list last week and felt pretty confident in my ability to complete them all, no trouble. Which goes to show how much I know, because I only finished one definitively, which was a good reminder to take James 4:15 to heart!

I did ✅ edit 5 more chapters of audiobook. In fact, I finished all 25 chapters, although the quality of the final chapter is off, so I'm going to re-record that one before uploading the finished audio files to ACX.

I came close, but did NOT ❌ finish stitching the Christmas stocking I brought on vacation. But I didn't even ❌ start writing a rough draft of this year's Christmas letter.

As for enjoying the remainder of our Alaskan cruise, 🤷🏻‍♀️ I ✅ had a great time until ❌ I got so sick on our last sea day that I had to be carted off the ship, barely conscious, in my mother's wheelchair. She insisted I needed it more than she did (and she was right)! But after sleeping for 72 hours straight, I'm feeling better now. Thanks be to God!

Personal goals for this week:

"Lord willing, I will live and also..."

• recover completely from the crud that knocked me off my feet
• finish unpacking from our trip
• reduce inbox to < 50 messages
• re-record chapter 25 of Glad Tidings​
• swap out Back-to-School ornaments for Autumn decor on my tree for all seasons
• attend daughter's volleyball tournament in College Station this weekend
• finish stitching Christmas stocking
• make a fall leaf garland
• write rough draft of our annual Christmas letter​
• record a new podcast
• submit swag bag freebie for upcoming Homeschool Teaching Summit ​

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Thanks so much for all your help! I'll be back next week with more links, reviews, and resources. If you have any special requests, hit reply and let me know. 😊