october begins

my favorite month is here.

i am determined to eek out as much goodness from october as possible.  most of it outdoors.  i LOVE this time of year.

this first weekend brought us time in the potager.  and a blister from apple tree pruning.  before you say "fun! apple trees!" - they produce NO fruit.  just blisters.  i used to love them.  they are espaliered and all.  but now they just take more work than i have time to give.  i think they will be leaving the potager next year.  which will give the grape vines more room to spread.  that is fun. 

you can actually see the paths now.  weed-ville has been removed.

after church saturday night, the students from our home fellowship joined us for a bonfire.  the gooey marshmallows were devoured.  i heart chilly fall nights around the firepit.

i spent lots of time scrubbing and cleaning.  the kitchen, the indoor fireplace, and the porch were the targets.  as you can see, i had help.

from this jumbled pile, you can have a sneak peak of our porch makeover.  i promise a put together shot or two on thursday.

sunday nights have become pizza + movie nights.  we borrowed the lion king.  i added lots of black olives to my slices.  gooey brownies for dessert.  simple pleasures, folks.

another big part of this weekend was that luca spent friday night and all day saturday with his grandparents.  my honest description?  it felt like we were on vacation.  the increased sense of calm to the home was measurable.  i still struggle with appropriately describing life with a special needs child and the effect it has on our family.  recently, this blog came my way.  what comfort  to read and feel known.  like this?  aside from the allergy issues, i could have written it.  including the weird al reference.  i sing that to my kiddos almost every meal.  and although we have several differences due to homeschooling, so much of this post felt like our life.   please know i appreciate your continued prayers.  thank you for the love and support.

let's end on a bit of random.  after the weekly grocery shopping run with papi, gia came home with this sticker.  hilarious to me.  but, then again, i am amused by unusual things

are you an october lover like me?  how did you ring in the new month?