5 Reasons Why October is the Best Month.

Is there some sort of rule for how long one must wait before writing a new post? A week? Two weeks? A month (heaven forbid)? I can't help it. The response of my friends to my last posts was so overwhelmingly sweet that I felt a HUGE rush of excitement. When that died down, more and more ideas filled my head as to how I could get another rush like that. So, I don't care what the rules about posting are, I'm just gonna do... *someone raps on the door*... um, will you excuse me for a moment?

  "knock, knock"

who's there?

"police"

(oh, hehe, this is going to be good!) Police who?

"Blog Police... we need to talk to you about the 'posting three times in one week' rule."

umm... Ali's not here right now, but if you leave your name and number, she'll be sure to get back to you as soon as possible... ... ... beep.

Oh boy, sorry about that... Where was I? Oh, right. Though my brain was swarmed with ideas as to what my new post could be about, I finally settled on this one. So, without further ado, here it is, the one, the only, "5 Reasons Why October is the Best Month". 

FIVE.   Autumn. Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking. Autumn doesn't start in October, it starts in September! Yes, but no other month is spent FULLY SUBMERGED in the beauty Autumn as October. By the time November comes around, it's too cold and the leaves are mostly all gone (from what I remember of the years before).  In October, not only do the nights get chili, but most of the days are filled with brisk autumn air as well. Which means every day, every HOUR can be filled with warm things! (See #3.) 

FOUR. Layers. With the brisk autumn air comes the necessity for warmer clothes. Now, Ali LaMar would've taken this opportunity to go to the local thrift store and buy every old grandpa sweater off the racks to use as my wardrobe for this season and the next. Ali Everett, however, has a husband who also serves part-time as her fashion guru. As it turns out, frumpy sweaters with odd patterns and a faint smell of "old" (don't even pretend not to know what that smells like) just doesn't "do it" for him. Shocking, right...? Not even a little. So that leaves me with a closet full of ugly, old, too-big sweaters, and a body that longs to be warm. What's a girl to do? The answer, my friends, was found on THIS page via Pinterest. 

Cue, the scissors

With a little snip here and a little snap there, that closet full of sweaters was turned into the most fabulous collection of leg-warmers and scarves the world has ever seen! Wahooey!

THREE. Warm things. They say a picture's worth a thousand words...

        
            Hot Chocolate -->
                         

<-- Apple Cider



          



      Pumpkin Spice Latte  -->
             

                                                    ...'Nough said

James, Rachel and Zach 

TWO. Pumpkins. Pumpkin everything. Pumpkin patches, pumpkin carving, pumpkin pie, babies dressed as pumpkins... Pumpkin pumpkin PUMPKIN!! James and I got to go to a pumpkin patch with his (and now my) sister and her friend. We ate good food, drank good cider, went through a not-quite-so-good corn maze (or was it just that we were bad maze walkers?), and at the end of the day, went home with a pumpkin for each of us (thanks a lot, Rachel!)!!  

poor guy...

A few days later, I made a plan for carving my pumpkin. The plan was so elaborate, it took three sheets of paper to draw it all out. The plan was for the pumpkin to turn out looking like a fox with three layers of shading, and texture so well done, you would've thought it was a real fox. The result of my 2 hours of work, however, was more like a mangled wolf/bear that took more than a bit of imagination to see (if you can see it at all!).

So, what do I have to show for what is now my moldy, withered wolf/bear pumpkin? Just these: 

Pumpkin seeds are the most delicious type of seed on the planet, and I was determined to make them -just like my mom did- for my family. Many people try to ruin them by using all different kind of seasonings, but listen to me. SIMPLE (as in, soak them in salt water overnight, bake them in an oiled pan and put salt and pepper on them when they're done) is the way to go. 

ONE. Reason number one is my newest and best reason for celebrating October as the best month, because October 14th (though I hadn't been aware of it for almost my entire life) is the BEST day of the year. Yes, that is the day that my dear Mr. Everett was born. Yes, there are two Mr. Everett's who were born on that day, but let me, for a moment, talk about MY very own Mr. Everett.

Look at this handsome man... oh boy!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I never knew there were men like James before I actually met him. My heart longed to settle for less, but then I was brought to this person - a man who was something even MORE that what I could've imagined. He is hard-working, gentle, funny, a good friend a great musician, and so much more! His fa1th in the L0rd is something that -before I met him- I hadn't experienced in any other man in our generation. I am so thankful to call him my leader, best friend, band-mate, and dearest (earthly) love. It is for all these reasons and more that October 14th is my favorite day of the year, and, in conclusion, why October is the best month. 

              Happy October, everyone. 

Here are a couple more very special people who share a birthday month with James:

My sister, friend and maid-of-honor, Anna.
(I knew I'd get a complaint about this post
if she wasn't a part of the reason I love
October! You're welcome, Anna.)  

The only picture of us getting along ;)

One of my sweet nieces,
 Finely Jo

Happy Birthday month.