So, it's October

Okay it's officially October and yes, I realize it's been another long stretch of me not blogging. Surprisingly (more to me than anyone else) I have actually been pretty busy! Not that I couldn't have made time to blog, but just because it was one of those things that didn't get done. But lately I've been thinking about how much I love hearing about what my family is up to (seriously, why don't you all blog and post on Instagram every day?! ;) ), and I had a moment where I realized I was doing the hypocrite rock (Scripture Scouts reference!) and not posting myself.

So, here it is, a WORD POST. Yeah, no pictures, unless I get adventurous and decide it's worth it to download all the pictures from my phone.

What have the Cooks been up to? I'm more of a bullet point kind of gal, a lister, if you will:

- Tom started school! This is his second to last semester of his undergrad program, and he is so excited about it! As am I. The last few semesters have been H-A-R-D because of a combination of difficult classes+crazy schedule+big job responsibilities. While he is still busy this semester, the classes are easier (at least up to this point), so we're grateful for that.

- Tom's job started! He is working as the Lead Wellness Coach for the Biggest Winner program here at BYU-Idaho. I absolutely love watching Tom be involved with this program, it holds such a special place in his heart. Consequently, it holds a special place in my heart too. We had the opening ceremonies last weekend and it was so exciting to see all these students/faculty about to embark on a life-changing journey towards wellness. This is Tom's dream, to help people make changes in their lives for the better, and I have to say he does a very good job doing it. I'm so proud of the amazing work he and the other BW employees/interns are doing.

- My job continues! I don't know if I mentioned it, but I (THANKFULLY FINALLY GRATEFULLY) secured an incredible job working from home in July. It was perfect, I started right as my other job ended (since I graduated). Some weeks I work more than others, but the past few I've been working a lot in an attempt to get everything set up and running mostly on it's own before baby comes and I am a little bit unable to do a lot of things. I love what I do! I'm working as a...well what do I call myself? I'm supposed to come up with a title for myself, suggestions are welcome. I work for a guy in Washington D.C. who owns/co-owns several different companies. He's a brilliant man and it's a privilege to work with him and the other employees! I mostly do organizational/email/phone calls work, but recently I've been doing some H.R. and accounting work as well. I really do love this job!

- I am officially 35 weeks pregnant! And boy do I feel it. I know, I know, "you're so small!". Yes, I still am "small", comparatively speaking. But for my body, this feels very different and often times uncomfortable! Our little man is quite the mover and groover, who gets hiccups at least 2/3 times a day. I continue to be very very blessed with this pregnancy - I exercise every day still, and have had very few problems. A few days of constant heartburn isn't a joy, but I'll take it. Yes, I get up at least once a night to pee, I usually have severe Restless Leg Syndrome, and emotionally I have been allllll over the place. But I'm not throwing up, my baby is healthy and measuring right on track, so I'd say that things are pretty dang good. I'm getting more and more anxious/nervous for the delivery; I hear it hurts pretty bad. I guess we'll have to find out.

- I (and by that I mean we) have recommitted to budgeting! This is hard for me. I like being organized and making spreadsheets and stuff but keeping them up is difficult, especially when sometimes it's very discouraging to see low numbers. Or negative numbers. But this has helped me see that WE ARE NOT ALONE. I have such a strong testimony that Heavenly Father is not only aware, but really cares about my finances, of all things. Not because money is important, but because He knows how things work down here, and He is set on our success. I don't know how we have made it this far without being way further in the hole, and if that's not a testimony of His love, I don't know what is. We are oh so blessed.

- Last month was National Preparedness month! I worked somewhat-diligently on updating our 72 hour kits and getting food storage started. It's a process, but I definitely need to work more on this. It was a very spiritual experience for me to work on that, to try to prepare our family for the unknown. Logic says it's a good idea, plus President Thomas S. Monson (who we get to hear from this weekend at General Conference!) addressed the topic in last month's First Presidency Message of the Ensign. Very powerful words that moved me to action. Maybe I should read them again!

- My sisters are awesome. I seriously have the greatest family (both mine and Tom's!), and am so blessed to have such great women in my life. I have been thinking about them a lot lately, about how as we get older we each have our own lives, but the busier/further apart (geographically) we get, the more I ache to be close to them! The Andersen girls are doing some really fun things that I'm way excited about to stay more connected. That's not the purpose, but it's a definite bonus. One of those things is....I'm not sure what to call it. A De-Junk fest? We're each cleaning out our wardrobes to contain 50 items and 10 pairs of shoes and seeing if we can live on that for 3 months. Simplify is the name of the game. We're also doing a book club! This month is "The Gift From The Sea", which I actually read after hearing about it from 71 Toes/Dripping With Passion (two sister bloggers who belong to another incredible family) and LOVED. This is a great book! Feel free to read along, should you feel so inclined.

- Tom and I are trying to prepare ourselves for moving. This is a big move! Of course it's not happening until April, but our situation is such that a little preparation would be in our best interest. Since it's still far away we can't exactly look for jobs yet, but we have two great cities to choose from (Dallas or San Antonio) and NO CLUE which one to pick. Our plan is to move to one of these cities and live and work there for a year so that Tom can get residency, then apply to graduate school. One is in Dallas (UTSW) and the other in San Antonio (UTSA). We may end up having to move again depending on which school he gets accepted to and which one we choose, and that's okay. It's exciting to look at what our future might look like! It's also very scary to look at the cost of renting a UHaul, I mean really?!

Well that should probably do it for now. To those who actually read this far, I applaud you. I might even reward you with a post with pictures in the next few days. I'm sure we'll have plenty after our fun-packed weekend ahead!