Feeling Blessed

It's a chilly fall day in my neck of the woods and I'm loving it. I adore fall. It's just so crisp and fresh... I look forward all year to the days when the leaves begin to change colors and the temperature dips enough to turn the sky a brilliant robin's egg blue. You should see the tree right outside my kitchen window (windows, actually, my kitchen and dining room are nothing but windows). I don't know what kind of tree it is (wish I did) but it is so incredibly yellow right now. Sunflower yellow. Canary yellow. It's amazing against the backdrop of the sky. So amazing that I'm waxing poetic. He-he-he.

Anyway, feeling poetic as I am, it somehow seems fitting that Aaron and I chased a little dream today: we put a bid on our dream house. Okay, it's not quite Aaron's dream house yet, but it is pretty darn close to mine. It was built in 1897 and recently renovated by a really neat man with an incredible vision for restoring the home to it's original grandeur. I'm drooling over the refinished hardwood floors, original oak moldings, sweeping staircase, nine foot ceilings, and windows big enough for four people to walk through abreast. It's gorgeous. There are some temporary drawbacks, but we are hoping that if we get the house we can someday make it just the way we want it. I'm so excited! But I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high... Now they have to accept our offer (or we have to negotiate) and we have to sell our house. I don't think our home will be a hard sell--it's super-cute and we've done a lot of work to it--I'm more concerned about how I will feel about selling it. We have so many memories here! This is our home... Oh well, we are leaving this situation completely in God's hands. Wherever he wants us to be we will be. As he opens and closes doors we will follow willingly. And hey, even if we don't end up moving into this beautiful old home, at least I'll be able to admire it from my living room windows--it's right next door to the house we're currently living in! How's that for an easy move?

I'm feeling so blessed today... Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's the possibility of the house. Maybe it's the awesome email I got from a sweet girl who is partway through After the Leaves Fall. Maybe it's because I have my first booksigning tomorrow... Or maybe it's because I have fantastic friends...

Laurel Wreath is the next stop on my blog tour and I can't possibly say enough good things about her. We met when she received my novel to review for her column in Christian Women Online. We've been close ever since. She is an incredible woman with a passion for God and I am so thankful to know her! Check out our interview here and her review of After the Leaves Fall here. You don't want to miss Laurel's interview because she is giving away a FREE BOOK! Who doesn't love a freebie?

Hope you're having a beautiful fall day, wherever you are.