I can’t believe on Thursday we’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving. Fall has flown by. For me, fall seems to officially start the first weekend in October. September is still pretty warm here in Virginia, but October seems to bring the crisp air that I associate with fall. A few years ago, my mom and I began a tradition of walking the mall in Washington D.C. the first Saturday in October each year. This year, my sister and friend Keri joined us. It was a wonderful night.
Half of October, John and I spent in Taiwan. You can read our trip here, here, and here.
The weekend after John and I got back from Taiwan, John and I went on a scenic helicopter ride out near the Shenandoah Mountains. It was beautiful, and it was fun for me to see how much John enjoyed it. He said it was one of the coolest things he’s done.
Two weeks ago, we headed back to Iowa for John’s Grandma’s funeral. Grandma June had been sick for a few months. She passed away peacefully. The funeral was wonderful. It was a Catholic Mass funeral. As I sat and sang the hymns and listened to the Priest, I felt such a great sense of gratitude for Jesus Christ and his ability to overcome death. I believe that through Jesus Christ we can return and see God again and we can live with our families forever.





Progress on the house has continued to plug along. Here are some pictures in the various stages we’ve seen our soon-to-be home. A week ago, when we stopped by for a visit, the cabinets and countertops had been installed. It was so exciting to see. On the drive home, I couldn’t stop staring at the pictures. Last Saturday, we also bought a washer and dryer. This was a much less exciting experience, but it really made us feel like true “adults.” Yesterday we stopped by and the driveway had been poured, the wood floors laid, and the backsplash installed.

