This is a cute picture the girls and their friends had done at the fair this year.It's been quite awhile since I've had a minute to sit down and write. I cannot believe that we are already in the month of OCTOBER!! Where did this year go? When you grow up in Blackfoot, Idaho, it seems like once the Eastern Idaho State Fair has come and gone, fall will do the same...and quick. It's getting cold and the annual potato harvest, along with the two week Harvest Vacation break it brings, is also nearly over.
I LOVE fall. It is my favorite season of the year. I love coats...love walking along in the crunchy leaves...love the colors of autumn...and I love to bake comfort food perfect for a fall day. Just today I made chunky french toast served up Kneader's style with their homemade cinnamon syrup and hand-whipped heavy whipping cream with Mexican vanilla...yummmm. Now I'm baking peach crisp made from fresh Utah peaches (to be served with the left over whipping cream), and Cheesy Potato Soup with french bread for dinner. Later I'm thinking that my girls and I may make some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (my mom's recipe) to give away tomorrow night for family night. I may add that I have had a brief break from my dieting efforts, and will be back to being strict about my own eating habits on Tuesday...
but figure I may as well fit in a few of my favorites before the break is officially over :).
I've talked before about October at Gardner Village in Midvale, Utah. It is "BEWITCHING." I had tried to find out when the annual "Wee Witches Weekend" would be held, but couldn't find the details on the website. My sister, Sarah, and I went for a quick girl's day out around the Salt Lake area yesterday and since she'd claimed to have never seen the witches at Gardner Village, we popped by. I was sad for my sweet daughters when Sarah and I stumbled upon "Wee Witches Weekend!" However, the two of us did have an excellent time anyway.
Here is an image of us as the witches we are in the photo booth:
While we were there, we saw a father, mother, and three of their children walking about enjoying the festivities. When we told the older of the three girls how adorable her costume was, her dad told us that his wife had, in fact, made all of the girls costumes. These were not your average homemade Halloween costumes, they were resplendent! I should've taken a picture, but seriously...they were ADORABLE. She had also made brooms, witch brew pots with fake brew foam spilling out, and witch hats that were decked with feathers, sparkles, and more. In talking to her, we discovered that theses were only three of her SEVEN children. She was also pretty cute herself and told us that she and the gym were best friends. The icing on the cake of envy that was baking in my soul was that she had hired a photographer to follow them around the village to capture their day. I was like, "Who is this woman?!"
I had some time throughout the day to reflect upon all of the things that I wish I had time for. I know that I'm capable of creating costumes that could be comparably adorable and I would like to find more time to hit the gym. It occurred to me that I just have the overall desire to cultivate tons of talents, be involved in EVERYTHING, and I just wasn't feeling that I have it together in a way that would really be my ideal of perfection.
Then, this morning I was listening to conference. President
Monson's talk about service hit me particularly hard. I realized that it really doesn't matter if I hand make adorable Halloween costumes, if I ever fit into designer jeans that are a single digit, or if I only snap blurry photos of my darling girls as memories. This realization was compounded yesterday when the sweet owner of the Kneader's bakery performed a simple act of service by insisting we take a free jar of jam made from a recipe her grandma had perfected. It just made our day that someone we didn't even know wanted to show appreciation and pass along her joy. I realized that when I felt a little guilty for leaving tasks undone on my long "To Do" list to go on our little trip, the opportunity to spend time with my sister was what really mattered. I realized that although I often feel imperfect and unorganized, I am blessed to have been raised by a mother who taught me that it is important to perform small acts of service.
Today my goal is to pass that on to my girls.
Have I done any good in the world today?
That really needs to be my focus rather than some of the things that consume my thoughts.
Enjoy fall...
