October began with Anna’s 4th grade sharing their Grandparent’s Day song at a Friday assembly for the parents.  Look for Anna towards the middle front, directly behind the tallest 4th-grade student.  

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of taking pictures of our beautiful sky. 

In October I discovered a crazy, easy skillet meal that I’ve since made several times.  October, the month we moved, was very, very busy and I often was scrounging up dinner with whatever we had so I had more time to work.  On this night, I found a kielbasa and green beans in the freezer, along with a potato in the pantry and a carrot in the frig.  I sprinkled some “21 Seasoning” from Trader Joe’s over everything and, voila! 

More recently, I’ve used all frozen ingredients to make a similar meal: frozen, cooked cubed chicken, french fries, sliced carrots coins in fun colors, and green beans.  I don’t always cook like this, but some nights, it’s quite helpful to have a stash of ingredients in the freezer that will come together in no time.  

James preparing his drum set for moving. 

We moved on October 15th – six months – to the day – from starting our house hunt.  The kids were on fall break that week which was perfect.  These are the only two pictures I took on moving day.  We loved our Wheatgrass house and have so many, many happy memories there.  

We’re so thankful for how God orchestrated the timing of our move – having the ability to have painting and flooring finished in the new house before moving in.  The move itself went well.  We were exhausted but so thankful to be in.

In the first week or so, Anna started painting some yellow accessories to go with her new purple bedroom.  

In the fall, I loved watching the sunrise from different windows in the new house.  So beautiful. 

And we can spot our favorite mountain from some windows too. 

In late October, Anna and her friend, Emmy Jo, entered their school’s talent show with a dance they created together.  They practiced hard and did such a great job.  

One of our favorite family night activities now is playing pool together.  The finished basement makes all the difference and we’re so thankful for this space. 

We celebrated our 17th anniversary on September 5th!

Even though Kenny is no longer working for Young Life, he continued to head up their softball team this past fall and enjoyed playing again.  While watching him play, I might have spent more time watching the beautiful sunset. 

Anna continues to work hard in ballet class every week. 

We spent one evening at a nearby carnival and the kids rode their first ferris wheel!

Anna playing Barbies

My parents came out in mid-September for Grandparent’s Day at Anna’s school, and to help us with some house projects and cleaning.  They were such a huge help and we greatly appreciated them helping us cross items off our long to-do list.  

We closed on the new house that same week and the next weekend we put our house on the market.  We had fourteen showings in two days and were under contract by the end of the second day.  Things moved so quickly and we were beyond grateful.  While the kids were in school I continued to pack, and Kenny worked every day and managed contractors on the new house.  It was a busy, stressful time but looking back we’re amazed at how God worked out the timing of it all. 

To catch up on our fall happenings, I decided to work month by month.  So, here’s what we were up to last August!  

Riding scooters in the rain

In mid-August, Pap-pap came to visit!  We really enjoyed our time with him.  

A few days later, a good friend of ours who lives in the neighborhood we were eyeing near the kids’ schools, called to let us know her neighbor’s house just went on the market.  We scheduled a showing immediately and she offered to visit with the neighbors and shamelessly talk up our family.  We were one of only two showings that weekend and the only offer on the house which was amazing.  Of the thirty to forty houses we’d looked at, most had many showings and many offers.  This felt like a miracle and we believe God put a bubble around this house and saved it just for us.  We went under contract within a couple of days; about four months after we started looking at houses.  We were so, so thankful for God’s provision for us.