Better to be over the hill, than buried under it! Here’s to 40 years.

“I can’t remember all the times I tried to tell myself to hold on to these moments as they pass.”

Welcome to “Moments” here on JoyFoodSunshine. This is when I pause my usual recipe content, and take time to share our family’s favorite moments from the month!

Here are some highlights from October 2025! I turned 40 so I have a lot to say this month! 🙂

Recipes I’m Making on Repeat

Here are some recipes I made this month! Click on the photo or title to go to the recipe!

Instagram Highlight

Check out my birthday brownie reel if you haven’t seen it yet!

Things I’m Loving: 40 years Edition

In honor of entering a new decade, here are my favorite things for October. As you’d expect, they include all the things that a 40 year old would love – comfy jeans, cozy sweaters, heels that are actually comfortable, the softest pants ever, you get my drift. Comfort and Coze (new word) reign supreme in my life currently.

You can find my favorite things for home, beauty, etc. in my Shopmy storefront or my amazon storefront.

• The softest pants ever. Got these, wear them on repeat. 12/10 recommend.
• their hair every day)!
• I can’t write a 40th birthday post without mentioning a Vitamix. Literally could not live without it. The Explorian model and the new X5 Blender are both great options at different price points. I have both and there is no difference in the quality of blends.
• Metal & Silicone Straws. I use one of these every single day and have for so many years. I buy new ones every so often just because, and for $10 you really can’t go wrong.
• These jeans I am so picky about my jeans and these are surprisingly comfortable and cute. I’ve been wearing them with heels.
• Speaking of heels – these are my absolute favorite heels of all time. They are SO comfortable I never even hesitate to put them on. 10/10 recommend.
• Favorite Fall Sweater. I’m going on two years wearing this and I love it. I love wearing it over dressing in the fall.
• Oribe Gold Lust Shampoo and Conditioner. I’ve taken my hair care more seriously lately. I have been using this shampoo and conditioner and it has made a huge difference. It’s definitely a great gift to give to someone who appreciates the finer things (and doesn’t wash

NEW October Recipes!

Here’s a recap of the brand new recipes I shared this month.

• How to Make Pumpkin Puree – use up your pumpkins and make this!
• Pumpkin coffee cake – fall breakfast bliss.
• Pie Crust cookies. For all the leftover pie crust after your pie baking!
• Pumpkin Snickerdoodles. A fall twist on the classic.
• Pumpkin Bread Pudding. So incredibly delicious and cozy.
• How to make a Charcuterie Board – we’ve been doing “charcuterie Sundays” so I’m sharing all my tips on making a great board!
• Double Chocolate Pumpkin Bread. the name says it all!
• Pumpkin Mac & Chese. A sneaky veggie that you can’t even detect in everyone’s favorite cheesy side dish.
• Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate. Sensing a theme? This one is GOOD and so easy!

Life & Faith – Turning 40!

This birthday was wonderful. Ritch and the kids made me feel so special. We enjoyed a rainy day in the mountains and they showered me with so many good things. It was a blessing to just be with my family and have such a wonderful day together.

The day after my birthday, I flew to Connecticut with one of my oldest and dearest friends to see the New England fall colors, which was a bucket list item for me. Since we both have 6 kids, this trip required a lot of planning and two amazing husbands, and I’m so grateful we were able to make it happen.

Getting to spend this time with Ariel was the most incredible gift. I think of Romans 1 whenever I think of her, “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—  that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.” Throughout our 25 years of friendship, my soul is always strengthened when we’re together, I love her so much.

40 year lessons

I wrote out these 5 lessons I wish I embraced when I was much younger. I hope these can bless other younger women out there reading this!

♥️Pain is never wasted. Healers can only help others heal because they are fluent in the hurt. Every trial, betrayal, loss or heartache I have endured has allowed me to love others well from their rock bottom all the way back.

♥️My boundaries will disappoint people. No one is entitled to my time. These years with my kids will come and go faster than I’d prefer. I will unapologetically, without explanation, fiercely protect our family’s time.

♥️Breaking cycles requires humility. “I’m sorry” is the most powerful phrase you can speak to your children and spouse. To provide enduring, unconditional, safe love requires admitting you are wrong – over and over again.

♥️Intuition is a gift – listen to it. Discernment protects. It screams, “these people or places are NOT safe – do not trust them” and the best choice is always to listen.

♥️God wants authentic faith. Not some sterilized version where I white knuckle my way through life and never say what I’m really feeling. I have felt unseen by God, I have stood pleading for His defense only to be met with more attacks. I have felt like He doesn’t love me and I have even been angry with Him. But in all these moments when I have gone to Him – raw and real, telling him what He already knows, He has been patient and loved me through them all. He wants to make our hearts whole in Him, and even if the healing is slow – it’s thorough.

Life & Faith: Proverbs 31

I spent a lot of time recently studying the Proverbs 31 woman. (My husband preached an awesome sermon on it). I have been greatly encouraged by diving deep into this passage because the proverbs 31 woman is a force to be reckoned with.

She provides for her family, she buys real estate, she makes goods and sells them, she is a wise investor of money and time, she’s physically and emotionally strong, she’s generous, charitable, kind, wise, diligent, resilient, beautiful, and disciplined. She loves and fears the Lord.

What struck me most about the Proverbs 31 woman is that she is so busy living out God’s will in her life that she doesn’t have time for anything else.

When we, as Christian women, are busy doing what God loves, there is no time for us to engage in things the enemy loves.

Gossip? You won’t find it on her lips – she speaks with wisdom and faithfulness.

Bitterness? She fears the Lord so there’s no place for bitterness in her heart.

Idleness? It doesn’t seem like she has one idle minute in her day, she takes her responsibilities seriously.

Selfishness? This woman pours herself out for her family, her employees and the poor.

Fear? Not in her heart, she can laugh at the days to come.

Tearing others down? Her entire life is dedicated to building up her family and those around her. She builds, not destroys.

Yes, the incredible (albeit aspirational) Proverbs 31 woman works hard with purpose, and has no time for such things or desire to partake in them.

So as I embark on my next 40 years of life, this is my prayer. That I remain focused on the things of God – generosity, kindness, grace, wisdom, diligence, resilience, beauty and love for Jesus. That I can recognize the things that are not of Him and refuse to let them take up residence in my heart and mind.

Snapshots

October was beautiful! We hiked so much – almost daily some weeks!

Z did a presentation on his guitar and played it for his class and my heart melted into a puddle.

My (not so) little pumpkins.

B and I went on a date to Communal – which is my favorite restaurant in Utah! It’s not close to our house, and she has been wanting to try it for years!

A friend put on a homeschool homecoming dance at our church and it was epic! The team did an incredible job, our church looked absolutely beautiful and the kids had the best time!

Halloween was an absolute blast. Bethany dressed up as a Lorax character with her friends, Gabe was a Jedi, Z was a dinosaur Jedi and the girls were K-Pop characters!

We had the best time trick-or-treating and hanging out with friends.

There were some absolutely epic sunrises and sunsets this month.

Phew! If you made it this far please leave a comment and let me know how your October was!