Changing with the leaves

It's strange how quickly fall arrives in Utah. It comes all of the sudden. This past Friday it was 95 degrees then by today it's 30 degrees cooler and you are in a sweater. I love everything about this season. I love the color changes in the leaves and the way the wind blows in over the mountains. I love the afternoon rains and the end of the season fruits and vegetables. I love the way my house smells after baking all sorts of fall goodies. I even love how every year around this time I have a goal to crochet a scarf and with in a month I say "Dammit, I hate crocheting." But I love that I have that goal every year.

Fall reminds me of home, in all its many forms. It reminds me of memories of high school and first loves. It reminds me of family and gatherings around the dinner table to celebrate what we're grateful for and what we love. It reminds me of the first fall I had with Erik, burying ourselves in leaves on BYU campus. It's a sentimental time of year, watching the year coming to a close.

We've had a lot of fun this past summer, getting ready for the arrival of Magnolia, going on a few more adventures before our lives would forever be changed. We also learned a lot. Like how to manage our money better, how to garden better and we even realized that our lives, were in fact, not over after having Magnolia.

The stresses have been high, balancing life between a newborn and Erik working two jobs, going to school and juggling an internship. But as time passes it seems we are getting the hang of this little by little and even though we are unsure what will happen in the future it's not as scary as I thought it would be.

Most people mark their new beginnings on January first, a few mark them in the spring. It doesn't really matter when you make new goals or when you make changes, as long as you do it. For me personally, I find renewal each year when the leaves turn orange.