Oh Fall...

I'm falling for you all over again.  Oh how I love this time of year.  The cool crisp mornings with afternoons that are just right.  The return of Friday night football and all the excitement that brings.  Most exciting for me is the change of color.  I love to watch the leaves change colors as the weather cools.  Looking at a beautiful tree that is splashed with a rainbow of colors is one of God's greatest gifts.  And where better to see such a magnificent display of God's glory?  The Great Smokey Mountains!

When I was a child we would take annual trips to the mountains for our summer vacation.  I loved listening to the breeze rustle the leaves and the sound of water cascading down the rivers.  Oh the splendor!  Since I have been married, we have only returned once and the oldest two were so young they don't remember.  I have taken the kids on day trips to the foothills at the Georgia-North Carolina border, but that just whets my appetite to see more.

Well, this year is the year!!!  The kids and I will be traveling to the beautiful mountains in just a few short weeks.  Right now we are in the heat of marching band season as we prepare for competitions, but soon that will be all over and when it is we will be taking off.  For one week the kids and I will revel in the fiery reds, bright oranges and golden yellows of the trees as they begin to prepare of the coming winter.  I will be able to take them to places that I so fondly remember from my childhood and instill in them a love for this place.

My excitement mounted even more today while Blake and I were reviewing his history.  He has been studying the southeastern region and some of these same places we will visit.  Oh, I got so excited telling him about the people of this region and the things we will visit.  Now if I can only contain myself until then, and promise my husband that I will return at the end of a week. :)