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... ;)