Oh, how I love Fall! The sights, sounds, and smells, the crisp air, the anticipation of all the events this season has to offer – I love it all! Praise the Lord for the beauty of Autumn!
This is our first Fall in the new house, and I am so looking forward to it! We live in an old neighborhood with beautiful mature trees lining the streets. I can’t wait to see the pop of color they bring!
We often take our big family vacation in September, and as soon as we get back, we decorate for Fall. We make it a big to do with snacks and apple cider and a leaf candy dish full of the very first round of candy corn and pumpkins for the Autumn season. Once the snacks are in place, I pull out the big Autumn storage tub, and start dolling out decorations.
I always use my 12 Week Holiday Planner to make notes about decorations and plans for the Fall season. Click HERE to purchase your own copy! {affiliate link}
Now, welcome in as I share our Fall decorations along with bits and pieces of our home and our lives.
This year for the first time, I bought mums to plant for the season. One of the little bushes in front of our house died over the summer, so it seemed like a perfect spot for some festive mums. Funny thing is, when I was younger, I thought mums were ugly. I didn’t appreciate yellows and oranges, so mums just seemed ugly to me. Now that I’m a grown up, I like them…perhaps I’ve grown nostalgic.
Our front screen door is a big old iron thing. I always feel sorry for the mailman because he has to figure out how to get the doorknob on it to turn, and then he has to lug it open because, as you can see in the photo below, our mail slot is in our front door – remember, I told you we live in an old neighborhood!
My mother-in-law bought a bunch of scarecrows on sale last year and gave them to me, so I put them along our front porch where the other little bushes that survived are planted. One of the boys found a sign I painted that says, “Hay There!” Many years ago when Ty was a cowboy on a cattle ranch, the ranch was making small straw bales, decorating them, and selling them at local stores. I helped to decorate them, and this sign was a leftover from those days.
Last year I purchased a large fall wreath, so we hung that beside the door over the intercom system that doesn’t work. I grew up in a Frank Lloyd Wright inspired house that had an intercom system that never worked as well. It was an interesting innovation of that era, but I’ve yet to find a house where the system still works. (Although, I’m guessing I have at least one reader who does have a working one…am I right?)
For years, I’ve had a milk can that belonged to my great-grandfather. It used to sit in my parent’s house with a huge floral arrangement in it, and when they moved away from the “big house,” I inherited it. I’ve always kept it on my front porch. The boys wrapped it in leaf garland and stuck a straw wreath on top. Great job, boys!
Inside the house, we hung more leaf garland along the built-in bookshelves.
I let the children go crazy in the living room. They decorated the piano, the mantel, the hearth, and they tried to decorate the couch and floor (which I quietly removed).
The garland hanging from the mantel is an interesting piece I made a few years ago from paint chips. I traced around leaf cookie cutters onto large fall colored paint chips and then strung them together with raffia. It’s one of my favorite decorations!
On the mantel is a bear candle holder that I’ve had since Ty and I were first married. It makes me smile. (The barnwood art is from Hobby Lobby – The Old Rugged Cross is Ty’s favorite hymn.)
And here is one final photo of my little Aspen dressed in what I consider to be the perfect Autumn outfit for a little girl named Aspen. Hard to believe she’s already 9 months – where did the time go?
Do you decorate for Fall? Why not have a Caramel Apple Dip party, and put up a few decorations this year?! I have a reader who let me know her family has made this party a part of their Fall family tradition every year, which makes me smile to think a piece of my own family is touching the lives of other families! Happy Fall Y’all!
Andie Birdsell says
Amy…thank you 🙂 As I was repenting with tears streaming down my face after having a difficult night with kiddos, asking the Lord ¨what?!¨ ¨how?!¨ i came across the post never good enough. funny thing is, I´ve read it before but I was lead back to it tonight while searching how to fix my children. Ugh! What a sinful heart I have! God in His graciousness showed me the hurt I feel as I ¨never feel good enough¨ for my husband and He spoke to me saying ¨this is YOU, YOU are doing it to them!¨ Oh goodness, these precious little ones sleeping next to me…He has entrusted them to ME and I am tearing them down with my own hands. I am so thankful that He is so gracious and merciful to us, that He gently points out our wrongs (gently-yes, gently, that? what I need to remember when correcting is the gently correct but only when truly necessary, not always pointing out everything they leave on the floor, their bowls left on the table from eating and or the placemat they left after ¨only¨ clearing the bowl) I need to thank them for ANY of the work they have done and praise them instead of bringing them down by the ¨oh, you forgot this, why didn¨t you do THIS yet?! My heart broke lying here after reading that post and as I clicked out I found tonights Fall post. My heart was filled with JOY as I thought about doing this tomorrow with my children b/c I know it will bring JOY to them! They will LOVE this! They will feel so special and it will be a nice way to reunite our hearts once again. Thank you, thank you and thank you Amy! I love that you do this with your family and that you let the young ones decorate as their hearts desired 🙂 Blessings to you 🙂
Amy says
Oh Andie! This gives me goosebumps! I pray you have a wonderful day!!!
Rebecca says
What a wonderful testament to how God works!!!! He amazes me daily with how He’s working out all things for good to those who love Him. And thank God for the forgiving spirit He gives our children. We had a really really!! rough day last Thursday and I asked my little one to forgive me for my sharpness and just plain nastiness and she was hugging me before I got the words out of my mouth. When that happened, it immediately brought to mind when Jesus had said that we need to come to Him as children and be humble like children (Matthew 18). It was just one of those moments when Scripture hits you in the face and you feel like you’ve just been spoken to through the Word.
Rebecca says
Yes, we have decorated for fall. I, too, had to quietly pick up and move a couple things. 😉 Fall is not my favorite season but I do love it.
Your built in book shelves….*swoon*
Aspen….*double swoon*
Thanks for sharing your home, I can’t remember the last time you took us on tour. And thanks for fixing the email reading! I always read through and I comment pretty regularly but some days I’m thrilled to just sit down and read a couple emails!
Amy says
You are welcome! I hate partial feed, so I’m glad you said something!
Suanna says
Thank you for the peek into your beautiful fall home. This year I kind of used your fall party idea, but I just served a special dessert and candy corn on the first day of fall. We also got out our Little People fall set and mayflower for the season.
Amy says
Oooo! I haven’t seen that set! My kids would love that!
Suanna says
I blogged about it in 2011 here http://family6-time.blogspot.com/2011/11/fall-pilgrim-activity-giveaway.html I looked on Amazon and couldn’t find the Mayflower, they do have a Pilgrim set there still.
Diana says
I loved this post! Fall is my absolute favorite season, but oddly enough, I never decorate for it. (Well, I don’t decorate for the other seasons either, so there you go!) But I loved your pictures, and I know how much children adore seasonal decorations, so I think I’ll give it a go! You even inspired me to go dig out the one fall decorating item I had, hidden in a back room! I’ll have to see about finding some more things for a little collection. But I love this idea! Thanks!! 🙂
Amy says
Enjoy!
Sheila Mom to Seven says
Where’s Aspen? Isn’t that DOLL just a part of your decorations? 😉 So adorable…
Reggie says
I don’t decorate for Fall…or Spring…or anything, I’m afraid. Well, technically we do put out the nativity and hang a few lights for Christmas. I’m not a complete bahumbug! I just don’t like storing all that stuff. I do enjoy being in the homes of others that do though!