October

 

The weather has been beautiful.  Autumn is always lovely around here, but I think it has been especially beautiful this month.  The first weekend of October we watched General Conference.  Emma did very well playing with puzzles on the floor while we all listened.  Between sessions on Saturday we went to our local pumpkin patch:

Emma enjoyed the train ride and duck races.

My new nephew Michael Thomas was born on the 11th.  He seems like a very mellow baby.

Other than that, I helped out with a Halloween party with some of my friends.  I made 30 pumpkin play-doh ball, put them in bags, put a jack-0--lantern face on them, and tied the bags with green yarn to hand out to kids there. 

Our ward’s primary program was last Sunday and the kids did great!

We went to see Jenny Oaks Baker in concert at Benaroya Hall.  I handed out my first snack bag that I put together for people begging for money on the streets downtown.  A man asked for money, and I asked if he would like a snack.  His eyes lit up and said, “Yes!” It felt so good to give him something that he could use and not ignore him.

Ben had jury duty for two days.  It was neat hearing how they selected the juries for the different trials he was called for.  Fortunately he wasn’t selected.  One of the trials was estimated to go for 7 weeks!

I had to pull Emma out of preschool one day this month.  In the morning, Emma complained about her ear hurting.  She didn’t have a fever, and I wasn’t sure I should take it seriously, but I should have.  An hour after I dropped off at preschool, the school called and said that she was saying that her ear hurt.  I picked Emma up and took her to the doctor right away.  The doctor found a big ball of wax in Emma’s ear.  It was disgusting!  After that Emma felt fine.  So I’m cleaning out those ears more regularly. 

Interestingly, the other time we had to go to the doctor for an appointment other than her regular check-up was related to the ear as well.  When she was around 8 months, Ben and I found a tick in the lobe of her ear!

Overall, this week has been a good month.  I find I have more time to read and cooking has become more fun.  Last February Ben and I committed to having our house clean by the end of Friday before sitting down to enjoy a movie or TV show, and it’s made a huge difference.  We’re eating better and we’re going to bed earlier.  And Emma is playing more by herself.  It’s really fun listening in on her make-believe stories.  I wonder where some of it comes from.  (Dolls flying, for example.)