Welcome Fall...

Fall is ushering in many changes for us here at BGC.

As I sit here and type I can hear the bulldozers behind our cottage beginning to break ground on the Watford Cottage, the first that will be built in a series of projects that will over the next three years bring newer, more modern and updated dwellings places for all of us here on campus. The cottages we live in now were built in the seventies, and though they have been very well taken care of over the years, they are beginning to show the wear and tear of forty years and hundreds of kids to cross their thresholds. We are all excited about the new cottages, naturally, and the campus is abuzz with who might get the first one that is being built. Each cottage thinks it might be them. I don't know when they will announce the lucky family who get to move into the first one next spring, but for now I am just excited to have an existing cottage to decorate for Fall!!

We have limited resources and funds to decorate with this year, but little by little we will add to our Fall displays. This year I bought little wooden pumpkins to put all the kids names on and I love the way they somehow magically glow with the candlelight on the mantle. We have redone the pictures on the mantle too, removed the dark navy ones that were there when we moved in and added some with a little more color and energy to brighten things up a bit. I really like the way it is turning out. 

I have finally almost finished getting our command center reorganized and redecorated. I wanted to get all of our boards and calendars together in one place. The Fall dates are filling up quickly and I have not even begun to get everything listed. Its a busy month, but with this cute way to keep track of it all I feel better about the possibility of getting it all accomplished! 

I also got our Fall Bucket List up and the girls are super excited about getting some things 

checked off!!

We have done a little decorating outside, too. I found this gray wreath in our storage area and added a few fun touches to make it into an October appropriate greeting for our front door. 

(Bailey) Heifer the kitty seems to think she is the scary black cat to add just the right touch of spooky to our Halloween Countdown! 

I was able to pick up these cute pumpkins to stick in our yard at the BGC garage sale!

 Aren't they cute?

Soon we will be able to pick out real pumpkins at the BGC "Pumpkin Patch" and I can not wait to add them to our decor as well. We are planning on hosting a little B.Y.O.P. (Bring Your Own Pumpkin) Carving Party on the girl's side of campus. It should be fun and you know pics will soon follow!!

This week is also Homecoming at Waller High School where the girls all go. 

Its been fun and helped us to get excited about the new season.

I had the best and cutest little mum making helper on the planet!!

The girls have all been dressing up each morning for "theme day" at school, so that  has been lots of fun, too! 

Brianna dressed for the sock hop on "Throw Back Thursday"

Billie cheesing it up for "Nerd Day"

And here are all the girls who got a mum for homecoming. So cute enjoying this crazy Texas tradition!

We tried to make it to the Homecoming Parade on Wednesday and missed it (Mommy Fail!!!), but in my defense when we got to the ending local only ten minutes after it was supposed to start it had already gone by, so it must have been the shortest parade in history!!

But I took the girls who had gone with me and Bug to the park instead to make it up to them and they had a great time enjoying a crisp Fall evening together (Ok, not crisp, but not hot either!! It is Texas after all so we take what we can get! ). I'm so thankful to have sweet girls who aren't too cool to play and have a good time with Bug!! 

Homecoming night was also busy and fun around here!

Even though its kind of dark I love this picture of my country girls on the ranch at sunset heading out to the
homecoming game.

Kelly and her date to the homecoming dance with their "third wheel" Selam and Billie with her date. 

My handsome homecoming "date" and fellow chaperone, my good friend, Blake Travis.

Our girls cutting a rug!

And this pic totally cracks me up! Some of our BGC boys were quite the wallflowers at the dance!!

 All in all, its been a great week. Its definitely had its moments but we have gotten through the parts that were hard.

These girls are a challenge but we are praying through it and enjoying the moments like these where we can have a good time building memories with them.

Please pray for:

Cliff and his family as they mourn the loss of his Grandpa Jefferson. 

Our girls and the relationships that we are trying to build with them.

Our own personal relationships and for time as a small family of three that is both meaningful and rejuvenating.