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"a portrait of each of my children, once each week, in 2018."

Cruz: I know I'm showing off your Halloween costume a day early, but you had your Halloween piano recital on Sunday afternoon and were the cutest Harry Potter.  Dyan wanted all her students to share the words of their songs with the audience, so you had not only been mastering playing your song the past few weeks, but also singing it.  Come to find out, you were the only one who actually sang it, and my heart beat fast watching you in front of that crowd singing all my yourself.  We were so proud of you!  You lost your finger placement during the song and struggled to figure it out.  Watching you up there in front of all those people as you did your very best to get back on track was SO HARD for me! I could tell you were upset and I just wanted to fix it.  You were bummed afterwards, and I can hardly take it when your lips straighten and your eyes fill with tears.  I know I share all the good stuff on this blog, but these moments are good, too, bud.  They show us that sometimes, we're not always going to get it right, and how we learn and grow from all of it is what matters the most.  You are the sweetest of boys, and I couldn't love you more if I tried!

Mila: You had your own pre-Halloween fun yesterday, invited to your first EVER friend party, a costume tea party, at Makena's house.  You have watched your big brother go to birthday party after birthday party for some time and it was finally your turn to go!  I loved that the first thing you did after I showed you the invitation was construct a little handmade art for her.  You made a pair of the cutest witches brooms out of paper and was adamant that we find a gift bag for you to put them in.  I talked you into wearing last year's kitty costume and was glad I did.  You sipped lots of hot cocoa, made slime, and decorated cookies with all your closest girlfriends.  You had a ball and definitely brought your energy and joy to that festive little tea party.  

Good Things of Fall

No way is it November this week.  Seriously, where did our October go?!  When I look back at all the pictures that fill my folder, though, I'm reminded that it was a month filled with lots of rain, lots of activities, and a whole lot of good things sandwiched in between.  

747. A Friday morning to myself, with a fire, my journal, and my little book of Hygge.  I was unable to travel with my IF girls to Dallas for IF:Lead this year and after hosting a little pity party for myself, I turned it into a rare opportunity to relax and reflect.  It was all pretty good for my soul.  

748. Reading nook hangs with my girl, playing Guess Who and discussing all kinds of important things, like Halloween costumes and the latest lessons from Tom and Tabby.  

749. Those Iowa sunsets out our back window.  

750. Friday night movie nights.  A cupboard that now contains all the fixings for a popcorn bar, and the way our love seat feels like a cocoon when it's reclined and used as a bed.  

751. Soccer games that end in a downpour, parents huddled up in shelter houses, discussing new shows to watch on Netflix and pizza parties at Tony's to celebrate a fun little team.  

752. Fall books by the fire to warm up after getting soaked at the soccer game.  A rare Saturday night at home, complete with chicken spaghetti, marble tours that occupied them for hours, and Scratch cupcakes for dessert.  

753. These two are peas in a pod lately.  Best of friends.  He lets her use his shoulder as a pillow and she makes him laugh like no one else can.  Man, they make my heart leap right out of my chest sometimes.

754. Fall gatherings under our roof.  A marriage small group Bible study that's been challenging and fun.  A night at Singlespeed to watch our favorite Brad and Kate and see some of our favorite people.  

755. Cruz's first football season.  His super sweet coaches.  Cruz's big touchdown runs and all the improvement he made on defense.  He was a flag grabbing machine by the end of the season!

756. And little miss independent at dance this season.  She's in two, back-to-back classes, both 45 minutes long, a long time for a 4 year old to stay engaged.  But she loves it, and always strides in with her purple hippo backpack strapped on her back, telling me, "It's okay, Mom, you can go run errands or something."  I don't know why she's always looking for a reason to get rid of me!  

757. Beau's cousin, Lizzie, and her friend, Carrie stayed with us for a few days last week as they're making their way across the country with their sights set on Australia in not-so-distant future.  We were honored they wanted to camp out here for a few days and loved having them.  They were so sweet with the kids, taking Mila downtown for a girls' day, meeting Cruz for lunch at school, and doing lots of french braids and losing in lots of games of Mario.  Last Sunday, Rob, Jill, and Olivia came to spend the day here.  We had brunch at Singlespeed, watched football at our house afterwards, and even tasted our first snowflakes!   

758. Pumpkin patch shenanigans.  I guess we'll carve them... ;)