Post # 80

Well, October is coming to a close and it still is breathtaking outside! The leaves are hanging on to their brilliant color, the air is crisp but not too cold, the sun shines most of the time, and my mom made a pumpkin roll cake!! Now I'm getting ready for November and the wonderful Thanksgiving festivities that come with it. I don't know of too many things going on in November other than a wedding of two friends (Candice and Brian) and the preparation to visit MN on December 1st!

Last weekend I visited my friend Victoria in Philadelphia. I was so excited to go on a train since I really enjoyed doing that in Europe, and was pleased to meet two German tourists at the train station. We chatted in German while an Amish guy listened in and gave his two cents here and there. The journey was beautiful with all of the colorful trees, Amish farms, and quaint towns. Vic and I had a wonderful time exploring the city and meandering around. We went to a homeless outreach in Love park which was challenging but good. I'm very aware that evangelizing does not come very naturally to me. It was nice to pray with people and give them some pizza. If nothing else, they at least got to sleep with a full belly. All in all, it was wonderful to be in a city, to experience new things, and to spend time with a lovely friend.

Purtty purtty pumpkins!

On Sunday I carved pumpkins with two of my favorite munchkins and my lovely sister. The boys' attention span may have been a bit short, but I still enjoyed every bit of it!

I also had a really great weekend with my good friend Victoria in Philadelphia. Those pictures will hopefully come in a later post.

short and sweet

3 cheers for beautiful leaves! hip hip! hurrah!

October is soon over and I can't believe it. Time is flying by, while at the same time I'm wishing for it to go faster. I haven't been extremely fond of what I'm currently doing with my life, and mostly that is to blame on a lack of trust in God. Because my focus is not fixed on Him, I then decide to pick apart my own life, and I become so self-absorbed it's disgusting. So, now I've identified the problem and am taking small steps to fix it. One of the steps include joining a small group that doesn't perfectly fit my fancy of what small groups should be like. I'm trying to forget my preconceived ideas and my selfish desires, and do something just because I believe God wants me to. I'm actually getting pretty excited about it as well. I think God is going to use those times to change some things in my heart. I'm so bad at embracing weakness, so it's a good thing I have an understanding and wise boyfriend who prays for me and reminds me of the truth. Woo hoo!

This weekend I'm going to visit a dear friend of mine in Philly. I'm excited to see what her life looks like over there, and also to join her in a homeless outreach going on in Love park. It's going to be a good weekend. Oh, and I also get to ride a train, which sounds so awesome since I miss long rides on public transportation in Europe.

The month I love

It's October and I've done a really poor job of updating my blog about the celebration! It was a little anti climactic due to the fact that I worked like a dog the first week or so of October. It was hard seeing the celebration on the horizon. But here we are, October 13th, and I think it's shaping up to be a lovely month. I've learned to search for the little moments and be content with what I've got and the situation I'm in. I've spent a lot of time with my nephew Colton and had a few fun days with a good friend Debbie. To enjoy some time outside, my dad and I went geocaching the other day and it was a lot of fun. Here are a few pictures to show how October is going so far.

we had just finished making coconut curry pumpkin soup!

car rides with blue skies and fields of gold

long walks with the little one