Did you miss the first three parts of our series, Enjoying the Harvest? Be sure to click over and read those entries:

Enjoying the Harvest in Your Homeschool 

Enjoying the Harvest in Your Parenting

Enjoying the Harvest - Recording the Moments

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This season of harvest is bright and fruitful, both in our lives as parents and as we approach the season of Thanksgiving. Not only have I learned to see the harvest moments in our lives, but I've also learned to count our blessings, naming them one by one in my journal. The list is growing, right along with my faith.

This "enjoying the harvest" does not just apply to our children's growth and education, by the way. Try to take time to take a walk -- really walking, not just speeding through another task. Notice the color of the sky, and the birds that you see -- can you identify them? And when you are making that apple butter in a slow cooker this year, don't forget to add some savory spices and then enjoy the taste on hot buttered biscuits. Put on some classical music and really listen to how lifting Mozart can be with your morning coffee...a much better way to start the day than listening to the morning news. In other words, YOU have got to slow down and "smell the roses" too. As they say around my house, "when mama ain't happy, ain't NOBODY happy!" And I'm trying to remedy that, working on it on a daily basis.

It is my prayer that these Enjoying the Harvest posts have helped you see that the fruits of our labors are ongoing and lifelong. The harvest is never-ending, and we need to enjoy the harvest moments, right in the midst of the chores and labors of love in teaching and learning and sharing in our family lives. Live, really live, each day that God gives you.

May you have a bountiful and joyous harvest season, and may you find peace in the quiet moments that you can catch in the mayhem and noise of family life!