I can’t believe this day is here-day 31 of the Write 31 Days blogging challenge.  It hasn’t been easy for me to write every day, since I have to do it at nighttime after I get the kids in bed and I am usually exhausted at that point.  I feel like I didn’t do a great job writing for that reason, since I didn’t have the time to really work through my thoughts or think about good topics.  I’m pretty proud of myself, though, for just getting my writer’s juices flowing.  I can definitely tell that I am more motivated to write now, which was my goal in taking on this challenge.

This month has been awesome.  Our new batch of chickens started laying eggs. I’m so happy not to have to buy eggs at the grocery store anymore!

We got to do all of the fall things:  make applesauce and apple pies and apple butter, go to the state fair and pumpkin farms with our friends, and take many, many hayrides. Seriously, I don’t care to take any more hayrides.

Then Halloween, of course. We have so much fun with the kids.  They have such great imaginations and they love dressing up all year long, not just at Halloween.  To them, Halloween is an excuse to wear their costumes out of the house and get some candy!

For me personally, one great thing about October was that I finally hit my stride in our homeschool.  I feel like I have a good understanding of our new curriculum and we’re on a good daily schedule, which is a huge relief since it took me awhile to get a handle on things.

I feel like this quote sums up my feelings about October:

“October, baptize me with leaves! Swaddle me in corduroy and nurse me with split pea soup. October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins. O autumn! O teakettle! O grace!”-Rainbow Rowell

A friend of mine posted some pictures on Facebook today, and the caption along with one of the pictures said something like “I’m living the life I once prayed for.”

This is so true for me.  I vividly remember my middle school self sitting on my bedroom floor, my back against my white iron daybed, holding my Bible in my lap.  It was a white KJV, and I had a hard time understanding what I was reading.  It was always clear to me, though, that I would be ok.  That my prayers for a nice life one day with a good husband and kids and a home would all be answered.  I just knew it in my heart, and I know now that God was with me every step of the way.

Now here I am, living the life I prayed for 25 years ago, and now I find myself often wondering, “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14b, ESV) I know that these words were spoken to Esther when she was faced with saving the Jewish race, but I can’t help but feel that God also means them for me.

The reminder that I am living the days that I once prayed for gives me new perspective.  The mundane days full of teaching and cleaning and cooking and laundry don’t seem so unimportant.  God put me right here where I am for a specific purpose and this is my “such a time.”

Can you guys believe that October is almost over? Time is passing so quickly.  It’s FREEZING outside and the the wind is blowing all night, and I know when I look out the window in the morning the trees will have lost a lot of their leaves.

Tonight was my church’s trunk-or-treat, one of my favorite events each fall.  It grows bigger every year, and tonight was no exception despite the cold and wind.

This little festival is so much fun.  We have hayrides and hotdogs and cake walks and face painting, and a lot more.  The kids love it, and always come home with buckets full of candy.

What I love most about it is seeing my church come together to put on this event.  We’ve been through some difficult times over the last couple of months, and everyone joining together and working hard side-by-side to serve our community was definitely an answer to prayer-prayer for unity and forgiveness, and that we will not lose sight of our ultimate goal: to show Jesus’ love to everyone we can.

I’m going now to continue a Halloween tradition with Jason.  We always spend the days leading up to Halloween watching scary movies.  Usually we watch the Halloween movies, but this year decided to binge-watch Stranger Things on Netflix.  Ya’ll, it is SCARY! I’m scared already just thinking about it….

Jason and I just got back from a wedding.  This was our second wedding this month, and both were pretty, out-doorsy, vintage-style weddings.  Very beautiful and each special and original in their own ways.  The cool thing about weddings now is that they’re so personalized and there are so many neat little details.

We talked a little about what we would do differently if we were to have another wedding.  We got married 15 years ago, and our style has definitely changed since then.

There isn’t much I would change, but one thing I would approach differently is the music.  I don’t know why, but in 2002 I had something against group line dances, so I told the DJ not to play anything like that if it was requested.  He did play a couple of songs like that and they were fun, and if I were to do it over again I would be more relaxed about that.

Jason would change the food at our wedding.  At the wedding we went to tonight, the food was exactly what the bride and groom wanted, and it was great! Jason says that he would have a big milk dispenser and lots of ice cream.  Hahaha!  Now, the food at our wedding was great, but it was really fancy.  I would maybe tone it down a bit and save my mom a little money.

Other than those things, I can’t really think of anything major I would change. Of course styles of clothing have changed and I would go in a different direction with my dress, but I would keep our flowers and my bridesmaid’s dresses and things like that the same.

Oh, another thing I would change is our wedding would definitely be over by 7:30 so all of the old people like us could be home by 8:00!

The 5 best things about Fridays:

5-Closing the blinds and then the curtains in my bedroom so not a bit of light can get in and wake me up in the morning, because I can sleep as late as I want on Saturday.

4-Not having to nag the kids about picking up their clothes or their toys, because I know it can just wait until tomorrow when they have to clean their rooms.

3-Looking forward to drinking an extra cup of coffee while I’m cooking bacon on Saturday morning, then….

2-eating all of the bacon I cooked while I was drinking my coffee.

1-The afternoons.  After science, we do things with friends, or sometimes come home and watch a movie or take a nap, or just do whatever we want to do without any pressure.

Pretty sure it is obvious that I’m happy that it’s Friday! I hope you all have a great weekend.