I love this time of year.

I love to be in my home and look out the windows at all the changes going on. I love the colors of the leaves as they change on the trees and then fall to the ground. I love the color of the nearly cloudless sky that seems to stretch on forever. I love the passed on harvest that neighbors share when they have had their fill and know that we were not able to have much of a garden (again, but hopefully next year will be better!) I love the smells of fall, especially the baking that goes on in our house. Something has really gotten into us and we have gone through over 25 pounds of flour in less than a month and the real baking days are still to come.

The snow we had has finally melted and the temperatures are warmer. I was lucky enough to get the leaves all raked and bagged on Saturday and clean up the garden. It was just in the nick of time as today (Tuesday) is overcast and gloomy.

With warm fall smells in the house and the little drizzly rain I want to just curl up on the sofa with a blanket, book and a cup of cocoa. Unfortunately, there is a list a mile long waiting for me to work on. The smells of fall and the desire to bring everyone in close around is such a comfort.

I love the relationships that are built as we all settle in for the winter. There can be many cold days when winter really sets in and I am hoping to have some family time that helps us all develop closer bonds. General Conference was such an inspiring time a couple of weeks ago. I continue to reflect on the words of our prophet and other general authorities and hope that I can begin to incoporate their counsel in our family.