Autumn Leaves

My boys are always so willing to join in some big activity if it involves doing, and I am so very grateful for this. Today it was another "leaf day" at our house. Fall doesn't really last too long - at least the beautiful saturated colors of fall leaves. I remember ironing leaves between sheets of wax paper with my mom when I was a kid and then using them as fall decorations. The smell of that warm leaf is etched into my memory. As an adult I've tried all sorts of ways to capture the autumn leaf and bring it inside, but it always fades to brown and crumbles. Today the boys and I played in the park and on our way home we collected some pretty amazing maple leaves; yellow, bright orange, and red-orange with bits of green. I decided to coat them with mod podge as a way to extend their brilliance and beauty, even if only for a little while. So the boys and I got busy painting leaves. I've been sewing them on a thread, (sort of like popcorn on a string) trying to make a garland long enough to hang above our kitchen counter. When the painting was finished, my kids ran back out into the back yard where they played until dusk. Climbing the apple tree, running in and out of the chicken coop to welcome our new adopted chicken, and in general just being kiddish. It was a wonderful Fall Sunday at home.