The 31 Days of Writing Challenge continues. It’s Day 17 of my 31 Days of Gratitude.

* * *

After a long, hard week the kids are off school today and I have no appointments, meeting or errands so I get to stay in the house the whole day! I am sooo grateful for that because I need a day off.

Besides catching up on housework, I promised the kids they could help me decorate for Halloween/Autumn. We dug out the decor boxes in the shed and made the home look fall festive. After reading about Bonnie’s Autumn in the Home blog hop and reading Amanda’s A Glimpse into our Home: Fall Edition, I was inspired to get my butt in gear and not do what I usually do every year – wait so long to decorate that I give up trying since the season is over. I’m also linking up with The Fisk Files for her Fall Decor Link-up. (Well if I can get this post done in time. There is literally less than an hour until the link-up closes. It depends on how many interruptions I have. ;-))

The front door of our house gets our scarecrow family, pumpkins and the wreath we bought when we first moved into our house nearly ten years ago!

The front door opens up to our entryway and living room. I was unsure about hanging the plastic leaves garland but the kids loved it, so it stayed.

We bought the Mickey Mouse jack-o-lantern years ago at Disneyland. (It is next to a family photo of us in Disneyland.) It went well with our favorite Peanut characters in costume.

This is the top of our entryway shoe shelf. Technically the turkey is Thanksgiving but I thought it was appropriate since October is my 31 days of gratitude. 😉

Our pumpkin guys near the front door.

This is about as “spooky” as the little guys can stand. (Even thought they watch watch scenes with Darth Maul with no problem.)

Our indoor scarecrow.

To the left of the entryway is our library/front room/my desk area. Above our bookshelves I added a few leaves to the decor what was already there.

Our cross and Charles Dickens collection with random leaves.

To the right of the front door is our little prayer table. It pretty much stays the same year round (except for Christmas).

In the family room, next to the dining table, we have a second prayer spot. We decorate this one according to the season.

We first put up the card with the boys names for Lent but it worked out so well we kept it up. The name on top is our prayer leader of the day. This helps minimize the brawls over who gets to say their intentions or lead prayer first. 😉

In the kitchen, I put away the blue and light colored bowls and bring out the bowls and plates with reds and golds.

I got these cute little Fall plates for the kids.

These are small touches but it really made a difference and added a coziness to the house. All we need is the smell of pumpkin donuts in the kitchen and we will be set! I’m grateful for the free day that allowed me to spend time with the kids in our home.   After the last few days of stress and busyness, it was a balm to my soul. For that, I am especially grateful.

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads, Letterboxd or Instagram. 😉

* * *

For more 31 Days of Gratitude, visit the home page here.