This week has been a heavy week and while I have so much I want to say today on the terrorism that struck Israel a week ago today, I also like to keep my blog as a safe place where people can escape for a bit. So today I will do my best not to bring the mood down, so to speak. I have expressed my concerns and my anger and my heartbreak on my social media sites (Instagram and Facebook) so you can read there if you would like to know my feelings.

For now, though, I’m going to ask what tea or coffee you are drinking this week. Or if it isn’t coffee or tea, what’s the warm or cold drink you’re reaching for as you read, write, or just hang out with others?

Earlier in the week I was drinking my old reliable of peppermint tea but today I am sipping hot cocoa with cocoa powder in lactose-free milk and maple syrup as the sweetener.

The warmth of my drink is needed right now as our temperatures have dropped significantly in the last week. Not winter temperatures just yet, but we are getting there.

A blogger friend commented on one of my posts that they are looking forward to my fall photos this year. I winced a bit when I read that because I have not taken many fall photos this year and our leaves are almost gone. I’m going to try to make up for not taking many and get some close-ups of the leaves we will have on the trees this week.

For now, I have a few of the leaves Little Miss and I have been picking up as we walk to our car or around the house. I’ve also added in a photo of the bacon pancakes I tried to make for the kids, as well as a view from my parents and the tree in our backyard.

This past week was somewhat routine. I was glued to the news and crying a lot but we also made time for homeschooling (though not all I wanted to do) and visiting with a former pastor and his wife who visited my parents yesterday.

My parents had offered this pastor, his wife, and their three daughters a place to stay more than 20 years ago when the pastor was sort of pushed out of the church that we were attending. It was an awkward time and sometimes I am surprised that I continued to go to that church for many years after that mess.

He was criticized for not bringing in enough new members/money and stepped down. Unsure of their next steps he and his wife were offered to stay in the house I grew up in by my parents. They spent three years there and yesterday they were able to thank my parents for the shelter they gave them from the storm.

They were also able to update them on their lives and the lives of their daughters and now grandchildren. They live three hours away and the woman had a hip replacement this summer so it was extremely nice of them to make the trip all the way up to see my parents.

This is the second former pastor of the church to make a special effort to see my parents in a month. No one from the current church family has contacted them to check on them or to see why they stopped attending the church and that’s been very disappointing, but sadly predictable in this day and age.

I didn’t mean the above statement to be as negative as it sounded – it’s just the way it is right now and it’s sad, but visiting with those former pastors and their wives really uplifted my parents’ spirits and I am grateful to them for making my parents feel special.

This weekend we are taking it easy other than attending a fundraising event for a local charity organization. That will be later this evening and the introvert in me is screaming at me to stay home, but the wife in me says I should actually attend an event with my husband for once since he has to go to so many for work and I rarely join him. I’m not a social person,, but he’s also working at these events so I don’t like to distract him. Tonight should be fun but after that, I am hiding away for the rest of the weekend and into next week.

I do have one homeschool event to possibly attend Monday but the next week is fairly clear for any major events, thankfully. I am really looking forward to being home and taking our time for schoolwork and making soup and whatever else we can do when it is too cold or snowy to go anywhere. Hopefully, I will also take some time to capture some photos before all the leaves fall off the trees.

How was your week last week and what are you looking forward to next week? Let me know in the comments.

Also, don’t forget to share one of your favorite blog posts from the week on the Weekend Traffic Jam blog link which you can find here: