This beautiful month.

Oh, how I love this month. October is simply beautiful.

Maryland is really a very pretty place. It has actually felt like fall here lately (super cold earlier this week), and the leaves are starting to change. We had our Fall Festival at school today. We spent all day hanging outside at the park. That also means jeans day. Awesome. :)

Another fun fall thing . . . we got to go apple-picking last weekend! It was fun, and we have lots of delicious apples that we hand-picked ourselves! So cool. Bonus: Brent was able to reach higher in the trees where most people can't reach . . . where the apples are bigger, more ripe, and more abundant! We even had people make a few comments about the advantage he had, haha. I was lucky to pick a few now and then, because at the height of lots of the kids that come through. :) Oh well, it was fun. And we picked out pumpkins! Pictures so soon of our lovely fall apartment. We had some delicious homemade apple pie too!

However, my favorite part of October so far? Part of my family is here! My grandparents and brother, Steven, are here right now! They flew in last night, hung out with me at the park for awhile today, and now we have the weekend to enjoy! We kicked off the weekend with dinner at "Medieval Times," which Brent has been to but I have not. Tons of fun! We cheered for the blue knight (Colts color? Yes, indeed). It has been so great to see family and show them our apartment, town, etc. I'll share more later!

Another quick update: Brent and I joined a lifegroup at church this week! We met some great people and are looking forward to getting to know them and grow in our faith. We're going through a series called Faith, Hope, and Luck by Andy Stanley. It's about moving our faith away from being "circumstantial" and into a solid, unwavering faith, no matter what our circumstances. I am really looking forward to this time to take a serious look at my faith and how much I really trust God, no matter my circumstances. For sure, a place I can grow. I'll keep you updated. :)

For now, I am planted on the couch watching the OSU game on ESPN! This is 2 weeks in a row that I've seen the OSU game since they have been on "off" nights. Fantastic! Makes me so proud to be an OSU alum. My husband was generous enough to give up Halo for awhile to let me watch the game. He's the best. :)

Well, I'm off to cheer for the Pokes! I'll leave you with the focus verse from our bible study, Hebrews 4:14: Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.

Keep in mind that as Christians, we have something unique from everyone else: we have a living God who conquered death and gives us a living and constant hope to cling to and trust. I'm trying to let that change my perspective of my daily circumstances this week.

Have a fabulous weekend, everyone! Love and miss ya'll (speaking of "ya'll," remind me to tell you a story next time).

[hugsfromMD]