October was a crazy one

I've hardly had a chance to think about blogging, but luckily I started writing 5-minute journal entrees on an app called Day One. It's a good thing, because a lot has happened in October.

The month started out with a weekend General Conference, 2 days filled with inspiring talks by apostles, prophets, and church leaders. My big take away: Wake up! Stop assuming spiritual things will just "happen", and start being intentional about holy things. Heavenly Father has blessed me with so much this past year; I need to do better about showing my gratitude through obedience.

We have done lots of fun things this month:

• I made a sensory bin for Grace and filled it with rice and some toys. She loves it! And I will gladly take it as a major Mom-win!
• We painted a wall in our living room (in the redecoration efforts, it was looking a little rough). 
• We went to a pumpkin patch as a family. 
• I baked WAY too many cookies this month.  (Delicious, but deadly for any healthy goals)
• We bought a swing for Madelyn since she loves being held ALL THE TIME. Now she snoozes happily in her swing and I can interact with Grace.
• We hung out with family: painting pumpkins and decorating sugar cookies, exploring the Museum of Natural Curiosity, going to baby blessings, playing at the park, and attending Halloween parties.

But October has also brought quite a few tough moments along with the cold:

• Andrew didn't get a job he had interviewed for. What's worse, the person who did get it seems very undeserving and under-qualified compared to Andrew. This was a hard pill for me to swallow since Andrew works so hard and yet cannot seem to catch a break when it comes to bettering his work situation. We just keep telling ourselves to have faith that Heavenly Father will open doors for him at the right time.
• Grace has been getting her molars and it has caused her to be miserable. She had a fever this last weekend and was grumpy for days. I don't blame her, but it is exhausting to deal with as a parent. Luckily, I think we are passed the worst of it, and as I write this at almost 11am she is still asleep. Poor girl. 
• And finally, Andrew's dad passed away this month. It wasn't a surprise as he has been fighting esophageal cancer for the past year. And yet, it was a surprise. Randy was admitted into the hospital on a Thursday. We all went to visit him, sensing that this could be close to the end. He was able to meet Madelyn and spend some quality time with his own children. In the next few days, he actually seemed to be getting better, but on Sunday we got the call that he had suffered a heart attack. When we got to the hospital, he was already gone. His passing has brought on many mixed emotions, but I think the most prominent feeling Andrew has experienced is peace. He feels so much peace about how his father passed away: surrounded by family in those final days, leaving on a spiritual high note in his life, passing away without pain. It's exactly how everyone dreams of leaving this world, and I am grateful that we were able to make a few precious memories with Randy in this past year.