The spirit of home!

This is my favorite time of year. I love the colors, the air, the temperature, and everything else about Fall. I love to get out my Fall wreaths and I always put out my acorn candy dish with candy corn in it. We light pumpkin and spice scented candles and Rachel and I both love to be at home.

We had lost that for a while though. I have always had the kind of home where my children's friends love to come. Rachel has had two best friends since she was three and they have spent a lot of days and nights at my house. The girls always talk about how they remember me baking things for them or funny things we would do. They love it there!

Yet for a while, our home wasn't ours. After an unsettling marriage and living with someone who didn't enjoy the essence of a home or people for that matter, we began to retreat. Even Rachel's friends would ask if her step dad was home before they came over. Lately some of them have confessed to me that they didn't like being there when he was there. One friend said that every time she came in the house she just wanted to poke him and say "is there anybody in there?". So for a time there were many uncomfortable weekends, and the joy of our home went away.

Lately though, since my divorce, we have reclaimed it. The girls are back to coming over and hanging out. They spend the night, cook dinner, watch movies and we laugh and giggle. I had forgotten how much I had missed the joy of having a happy home and of having peace. In the midst of the fog sometimes you cant see who you're living with or what you're dealing with. Then when the sun shines down and burns the mist away, you begin to see clearly again. The joyful spirit of our home is back!