October was full (actually, really full as I look back at my calendar), but its pace felt just right. We had time for movie night each Friday, for playdates and playing outside, for an impromptu hot dog and fire pit dinner with friends, for crafting Halloween costumes and walking to soccer and celebrating birthdays and TTT and volunteering at school each week. I try not to take any of it for granted, because it is all precious to me – and though it doesn’t feel like I’m fighting for it in the moment, I know we stacked many decisions on top of one another to get to this place. In this month of gratitude, I am grateful.

On my calendar:
— Voting, always.
— Thanksgiving in Virginia with John’s side of the family!
— Beginning my 2025 PowerSheets. I chose Aloe!

What I’m loving right now:
— Clothing swaps! Every few months the ladies of my church community group do a clothing/home items/toy swap and it is the best! I left the last one with two new-to-me pairs of jeans, a real boon to my wallet.
— Speaking of jeans: In addition to the CG jeans, I bought this pair after trying them on in store. I feel like they’re a very wearable pair of wide-leg jeans if you, like me, have been hesitant to branch out from skinnies!
— I’m surprised I’ve never mentioned this before, but this carpet spray is a dream for getting stains out of rugs and all kinds of upholstery. I just ordered another bottle.

As a reminder, you can find allll the things I’ve loved over the last few years neatly organized right here!

Last month on The Connected Family:
— Why we still read aloud to our third grader | It may be as much as for her as it is for me
— Our favorite family read alouds, part two | 15 recommendations that will enchant and inspire
— How we handle allowance, part one | The philosophical underpinnings
— How we handle allowance, part two | All the details
— Spooky stats | A hearty reminder of why this work matters

What I read in August:
— The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey | Just trying to keep up with my oldest reader! I’m always grateful when she wants to share something she’s read and loved with me.
— The Pursuit of God | Reading this one as part of a book club at church! Written in 1948, with scripture quoted in KJV, I think I’d have missed a lot of its depth without the chance to discuss it with others.
— The Outlaw Noble Salt | Loved loved loved this one! It’s a sweepingly romantic tale that explores an alternative ending for America’s most famous outlaw – a happy one, to boot. I found it fascinating how the author turned the idea of an outlaw inside out, making him the most steady and trustworthy character in the book. You’ll fall a little bit in love with him and be glad you did. Still thinking about this one weeks later!
— The Tech-Wise Family | Re-reading an old favorite! I first read this little number in 2018, towards the beginning of our family’s life, and credit it with shaping and encouraging our bent toward digital minimalism. It holds up!

My reading list for 2024! I’m 14 / 24 so far. Two months to go and I hope to read 3-4 more from my list!

Revisiting my October goals:
Edit Sheptember, Volume 6
Create our family Halloween costumes (Done! See them here!)
Refinish the dining room table (Yes! I used a semigloss finish and it is now soooo much easier to wipe clean!!)
Finish TCF content planning for the rest of the year
Finish writing the TCF course (I did not finish but made major progress! Over six hours, I wrote all of lessons two and three and about half of lesson four. There will likely be five lessons total!)
Send care packages to our favorite college students
List items that have been accumulating on Buy Nothing
Make a Christmas decor plan
Choose our new china salad plates (I didn’t have time to make it to Replacements but ordered and returned two sample plates… so a little progress!)
Read chapters 13 and 14 of Outlive

November goals:
— Edit Sheptember, Volume 6
— Design and order our Christmas card and newsletter
— Finalize china salad plate choice
— Sell the gray table to make room in our loft
— Read chapters 13 and 14 of Outlive
— Paint the kids’ book ornaments. This was such an unexpected delight last year and I’m so eager to get started! I have June’s and Shep’s books picked out but I’m still debating Annie’s… there are just so many picture books we love!

As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2024 goals!

I’d love to hear: if you had to pick one book for each of your kids (or for yourself!) to sum up the year, what would you choose?!

P.S. Gift guides are coming! I am planning the following posts, but open to your requests: gifts for Em, stocking stuffers for kids and grown-ups, and what we’re actually giving our kids this Christmas. I’m also considering an updated post on some of John’s clothing favorites, since the original was a hit but is now three years old!

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