Fall at the Dahlhouse

I have a love/hate relationship with fall. Funny...I know. It is by FAR my
FAVORITE season of the year. I LOVE the change in weather, the color of the leaves as they fall, pumpkins, warm drinks, decorating the house, going to the pumpkin patch, Halloween, Thanksgiving, pumpkin spice lattes, long drives, warm cozy fires...

The other side of the relationship with fall is the "hate". Fall ushers in a LONG season of anniversary dates of loved ones that have died...especially my dad's passing. Our brains are AMAZING! And as I have been learning lately through my trainings through my school district, our brains look for PATTERNS and ways to organize all types of information. FALL is a time of year where the simplest of things can trigger strong memories of the past. Sights, the weather, smells can take me right back to memories I haven't thought about in years. For example, when Safeway began selling pumpkins, I remembered 9 years ago that I bought a pumpkin and took it to my dad in the hospital because I thought it would be a nice touch to all his flowers. The big yellow leaves falling remind me of driving to meet with family to plan my dad's funeral after he passed. It's the little things.

God was FAITHFUL in bringing me Luke right after my dad passed. Luke was my light in those dark times. So...bringing back the topic of decorating for fall...I purposed in my heart that if we were ever BLESSED to have children that fall and Halloween would be a BIG deal. Every September I get down the "fall boxes" and we start to decorate! I would like to share with you some of my favorite fall decor that we put out each year! This year was special because Grace helped me decorate this year. She was full of ideas and thoughts on where things should go. :) I think she will be a great decorator in the future (much like her Mama and Mimi!)

This is my grandma's piano and every calendar holiday I decorate the piano accordingly. It houses the nativity scene in December, snowmen in January, hearts in February, Easter fun in the spring and fourth of July in the summer. 

One of my favorite decorations in the Mickey Mouse ghost. He is special for 2 reasons...1) I bought him in Disneyland! 2) He was bought when we attended my brother and Katie's wedding in 2010. He was originally a popcorn holder, which if you know my family is quite fitting!

This area is fun. Bella plays with all this stuff and loves to talk about "rick or reat" (trick or treat). I don't think Bella will be anything for Halloween because she is so scared of the costumes. :)

I love to decorate the dinning room table. I was blessed to get my mom and dad's dinning table and china hutch. I grew up with them and now my kids get to grow up with them.

This was one of Grace's ideas! This is the window above the kitchen sink. They are just little jack-o-lantern candles and little Halloween buckets. That is Mickey Mouse as Jack Sparrow sticking out of one of the little tin buckets.

And finally my most prized piece of fall decor is a card that sat on the window seal of my dad's hospital bed for the entire month of October 2003. It is a card that has an incredible photograph of a pumpkin. I set it out each year and tell my kids about it. It was given to my dad by the real estate office he worked for. It reminds me of all the people that cared for him, prayed for him and supported him during that difficult time. He was truly LOVED by so many. He is still greatly MISSED by so many!