Fall is Here!

So September kind of flew by faster than I thought it would, and fall came right after. I have been enjoying babysitting the kids and they bring me a lot of entertainment. I have gotten kisses for my bruises and told that I have to get married because they are pretty sure it's illegal to not be. They are not always good, but luckily I get another day to try all over again. September also brought about the end of my business, of which I am not too upset to lose. God has taken care of me this far, and the four months have brought various blessings in which I hadn't even thought I would encounter. I was able to sell about half of my pieces to various consignment stores and the rest went to the house of the family I sit for. Cleaning the space out was a lot of work considering it was so small though. I cleaned the windows inside and out which involved a ladder, half a bottle of Windex, a couple hours (there was a lot) and many bruises for my efforts..of course which got kissed as mentioned above. But it is all settled and now I thankfully only have one rent payment to worry about instead of two.

I have been enjoying getting together once a week for small group with the women at my church. Listening to their views on the book we are reading is very interesting and I get to learn a lot about how people think differently even though we are all reading the exact same thing. In many ways it is like our own little book club. And the church has been so helpful with me this month also. They gave me two big bags full of groceries, and I have had women make me stew, potato casserole and chocolate desserts. Despite those yummy treats, I have managed to fit into some pants that Ive had for over a year...most likely from all of the walking I do. I try to walk as much as I can to the store, library and post office which is relaxing and gets me out and about. Anyways, my church family has been a great help to me since I have been away from friends and family all this time.

Yes, for many of you know that it was my birthday a few days ago and I want to say THANK YOU for all of your cards, texts, calls and kind thoughts. It was my first birthday ever by myself and it was harder than I thought it would be. I did have to sit that day, so I took myself out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant and ordered something spicy of course! It was very good and I had like 3 different waiters ask if everything was fine. I wonder if my face was red from the hot sauce lol. Afterwards I watched a movie and read, but was asleep by 10pm because I was so tired. The next day was worse I think because being alone caught up with me, but I eventually humbled myself and got over my sadness. There are many more people out there who go through worse everyday. Now though, I am 25 and still reluctant to call myself an adult despite the fact that I am closer to 30 than 20. I sometimes think I will always feel 16.

Outside the leaves have all changed, and many are already falling. The only colors on the trees here are gold/yellow, which I guess means there are no maple trees (which are the ones I believe make the red colors). It is very pretty and changes the look of the mountains. I have tried taking pictures but it doesn't ever seem to capture the true beauty of it. I guess if you are really curious you will have to come out here and see it for yourself! The weather has stayed fairly warm also, and I have yet to turn on my heat. I am going to try to wait until the last moment to do that, as I am waiting for winter but not ready for it. It has only snowed twice in the mountains so far, so the cold is staying at bay for now. The river has also gone way down so that you could probably even cross it by foot.

Other than that, class is about halfway through and I will be glad when it's over. Only a few courses more to go and then I will definitely be done for awhile. The library is like my second home and I am here most days of the week. They have free wifi (so I save $50/month on internet), a place to do homework, and all the free books and movies I could get. I have been working through the author John Sandford and he writes a lot of thriller/mystery novels based in the mid-west/Wisconsin area. I sometimes wonder what life would be like if I had stayed in Ohio, especially with the various things going on there right now, but I know that I am exactly where I'm supposed to be. The future seems to change each month that I'm here and I hope to keep moving along with the changes! Love and miss you all XOXO