Tired...but trusting

Well, I know I don't make this the focus of my blog, but today I had to vent....
I am getting so ridiculously tired of seeing these:

Three months on clomid proved to be unsuccessful (two made me ovulate, but no baby) so now we are off to a fertility specialist (or RE, reproductive endocrinologist, as you will often see it abbreviated if you read infertility forums and such).
This morning I was reading Oswald Chambers, and something that he wrote, as it so often does, cut straight to the heart. Speaking of facing difficulties and suffering in life, he says, "How are we going to get the life that has no lust, no self-interest, no sensitiveness to pokes, the love that is not provoked, that thinketh no evil, that is always kind? The only way is by allowing not a bit of the old life to be left; but only simple, perfect trust in God, such trust that we no longer want God's blessings, but only want Himself. Have we come to the place where God can withdraw his blessings and it does not affect our trust in Him? When once we see God at work, we will never bother our heads about things that happen, because we are actually trusting in our Father in Heaven, Whom the world cannot see."

My prayer is that through this difficulty, the Lord would make me better, not bitter, and that no matter what the outcome is, I would be able to raise my hands in praise as Job did, and say, "The Lord gives, the Lord takes away, Blessed be the name of the Lord."

This is how I know...

That fall has definitely arrived...

Those special harvest decorations have exchanged their dusty spots in the attic for places of honor in the dining room...

A friendly scarecrow-man complacently basks in the sun against my tree...

The burning bush is in full flame and the grass has turned to wheat...

Russet mums line my windows...

When I look out the picture window, I see a lot less green and a lot more gold...

A pumpkin has taken up residence in my sun porch...

When I look up at the lovely ash tree in my backyard, I see...rich  hues of gold...

But here's proof that the life and beauty of summer have not completely left us yet...

Kitties

For lack of better material (i.e. nothing exciting or blog-worthy happened this week), and because our beloved cat Sam is having some major health problems that have us scared for his little life, I am leaving you with some kitty shots.

First, here is a filler picture so they will extend down below the text...
This was our Christmas tree last year...we definitely decided it's the ugliest/most lopsided one so far..

 Ooh, looks like I have to put one more filler picture in...let's see, well here's my favorite shot from a photo shoot I did last week...stay tuned, and perhaps more to come on that

Sam

Sawyer (yes, from Lost :)

Crafty, crafty

Fall is officially here. Our friend Mr. Scarecrow has resumed his annual post at the foot of our tree...always such a cheerful face to come home to. 

And our bountiful harvest welcome sign is once more looking lovely against the red backdrop of our front door.

 I have been quite a busy bee today. Ok, well it doesn't sound like I did that much, but it certainly took enough time. There is this blog that I love following. Amanda, the author, is so generous in sharing her tips and secrets on cooking, crafting, photography and much more. Today I made a cover for my camera strap...thanks to Amanda's lovely step-by-step instructions.

The finished product was perhaps not quite as cute as hers, but I still am happy with it. It's definitely way more fun and feminine than it was!

 As long as I had all the sewing stuff strewn across the entire dining room, I decided to try my hand at something I've seen being sold on etsy. I decorated this cute onesie with some hand-picked fabric.

And of course, an essential in infant fashion: The Ruffle-butt.

What more could a baby girl want out of life?

Perhaps a sleek, majestic black panther to regally stare unabashedly down his nose at you...

More on food...

Well, I had a marvelous day of cooking and baking. Thanks again to Amanda for inspiring me to try a new recipe for dinner.

Mmm...anything that has garlic and cream in equal, generous proportions is sure to be scrumptious.

The finished product tasted roughly 5x better than it looks.

It was quite a whirlwind in the kitchen, because in between steps, I was trying my hand at biscotti for the first time. Definitely not a good multi-tasker. I over-cooked the chicken and burnt the bottoms of the biscotti...sigh. They still didn't taste half-bad.

The finished product picture above...drizzled in white chocolate. Yummy! Here's the recipe (just a random google search result).

Oh, I almost forgot to show you...when I ran out to my garden to get basil for the pasta, I was greeted by my roses and clematis, still going strong despite being late in the season. What troopers.