September 1st
Teeter totter....

First of all, Health insurance! Today marks our first full day of coverage-not only medical, but dental, vision, a little life insurance...the whole enchilada...like "real" people! It's been a long time coming and for the first time in a long time our premiums are not out of control. We have all been really healthy, which is always good, but our premiums ALWAYS exceeded our needs, which has just turned out to be really expensive all the way around.
It turns out that this insurance timing is really great news for Quinn. My mild-mannered boy who very rarely gets upset, managed to get a little worked up and kicked a hole in the wall. Couldn't pick ANY wall down in the unfinished basement...oh no. Had to choose the wall in the entry way. The beautiful faux finished wall that is going to involve not only new sheet rock, but re-doing the wood work and somehow re-painting and matching the faux. Luckily, we did it all ourselves originally, but still. This brings two questions immediately to my mind. 1-Where can I be so that I'm not home when Brian walks in and notices the damage? (I'm kidding--Brian won't hurt him, but he may get mad enough that Quinn would rather he did.) Question #2- Gotta wonder just how long it's going to take us to get to this major project when neither one of us are home at the same time any more?

Time for another "up and down"...
I LOVE the fall and there is enough of a hint of it in the air lately, that it makes me almost giddy! I love the warm days and the cool evenings, I love harvesting the garden, canning the homemade salsa and putting the yard "to bed" for the winter. I absolutely LOVE the changing of the leaves, the rain storms before they turn to snow, Halloween, Thanksgiving...all of it!
It makes me excited for the upcoming changes that this season brings. The bad side of this? Again...WHEN am I going to can the salsa and tomatoes? And I wonder if my neighbors will mind if I'm "putting the yard to bed" at 3:00 am? (which I think is when I'm going to manage to find the extra time.)

Today was my first day away from the Young Women Resource Room--I've been released. It's been a wonderful 3 1/2 years, but I'm super sad about it! It's been a wonderful experience and a choice time to serve with the General YW Presidency and Board and the other Service Missionaries that I have come to love dearly. Today as I worked the job that I enjoy and I'm thankful to have, my thoughts still turned to my time there and the void I felt not putting on my dress, pinning on my missionary tag and driving to Salt Lake.

For now, I'm going to focus on the things I love about this upcoming season and maybe I'll see if therapy is covered under my insurance--pretty sure I could use a little of that. Probably the sooner the better....