HMJ: The Short and Sweet Version

It's been a crazy week.  I was working to get the newsletter done by deadline (made it with room to spare!) AND do this crazy homeschool high school thing at the same time.  A feat which would have been much easier if I had stayed on task throughout the month!  Lessons learned... pun intended?!

It all started when my husband's outdoor cat mysteriously passed away Friday evening.  He was positively inconsolable over it... a real shocker considering he is not a man of much emotion.  I felt helpless, he had never lost a living thing close to him before.  When his mom lost her favorite cat, he bought her a new one... so I decided to go in search of the same!

Meet D.C... named because hubby loves D.C. (the kids are Marvel fans though! ha)  His full name is actually Dusty Cat because he is orange on tan and, when we first brought him home from a foster family who rescued him, he was quite scruffy!  We call him "Dusty" for short and he sure has healed hubby's heart fast!

I told the family that having a blogging mama is like being a pastor's family... they are always going to get used for embarrassing object lessons and picture ops!!

Dusty has been a bit of a distraction in school.

But we are all adjusting.  We have three (yes, 3) indoor cats who are still adjusting as well!

This week was also made busy by fall decor time.  The cozy colors and scents and tastes of autumn are among my favorites and I look forward to the decor switch up each year.  My step-dad got a new phone and was texting me panoramic pictures of his house so I was inspired to do the same...

... you can see all the "fall" sprinkled around the house!  You can also see Dusty helping Brooke with homework if you look real close!!

Study hang-outs with friends is going great.  It really does seem to help Brooke's ambition and outlook with this being her first homeschool year all by herself.  She hasn't mentioned anymore about joining the public/private school ranks... but she has gloated about some of the additional perks of being homeschooled she is noticing since we made our pros and cons list a few weeks ago!

Hopefully this weekend can launch a better next week!  I have some tests and study pages to write up, a Make-it Break to attend with Brooke at Michael's, and some re-assessing of our chore system because this last week has set neon lights around the need to do so!  By the way, Monday kicks off a blog series here on Quick, Low Mess, Homemade Meals with Easy Clean-up!  Be sure to check back in for that!

On that note, I have grocery shopping, kids to chaperone and pizza to devour!  Have a marvelous weekend... I hope you get a chance to check out the Autumn in your area!

Blessings,

You can click here to see some of the great blogs I am linking up today ...

By the way.....

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