Happy Halloween

Can you believe this is the ONLY picture of the 3 kids we took tonight? We were major slackers. But here are Belle, Captain America and Scooby Doo! It was another fun night of getting way too much candy. It ended up being chilly but the kids went without coats, anyway. Samuel wasn't into walking this year but all 3 kids were thrilled with the variety of candy. Their dentist appointments are in a few days so we'll have to watch that! :)

Carving Pumpkins

We had the "fun" annual tradition of carving pumpkins tonight. It always sounds like fun until we realize how much work it is. :) Our pumpkins this year came from Aunt Lisa's garden and from the twins' field trip to the pumpkin patch so that was fun! We had enough pumpkins for us all. Hunter and Lily decided to try drawing a face this year instead of using a stencil or picture. It was fun to see what they came up with. Samuel had tons of fun poking the pen into his pumpkin and it actually looks really pretty lit up! :)

Halloween Preview

Hunter and Lily's Kindergarten class is doing a "Storybook Day" tomorrow--they choose a character from a book and dress up, have a parade at school and do a little party in the afternoon. Honestly, my kids already had Halloween costumes picked out so we just found a book to go with that. Anyway, I am excited because I asked if I could come and Mrs. Yount said yes. :) Tonight, we tried on the costumes over the planned school clothes to make sure it all worked out and we had them pose with their chosen book. They look so cute! It should be a fun afternoon for them.

Crazy Hair Night

Hunter and Lily have "Crazy Hair Night" at AWANAS tonight. I didn't know if they'd be willing to color their hair but they were both excited about it. Lily has one red pigtail and one green pigtail--the red didn't show up well in the picture, though. Hunter has a bullseye (his Dad's idea) with red and blue. I am sure they will have a great time!

This Is The Day

Here's a rundown of my day so far. It's only 11:41 am so who knows what else is in store?

-Lily is now fine at drop off for the most part so Hunter has decided to take over. This has only happened this week but it's been horrible. The teacher literally grabbed his arm and dragged him away from me today. How am I supposed to go through the rest of my day after starting my morning like that?

-Samuel refused to walk at school this morning. I try to carry him because morning isn't his best time but he's getting heavy, my tummy is getting big and this morning I had to pick up 10 lbs of burger and a giant Manwich can for the sloppy joes I am making for an upcoming event. It's uncomfortable to let your child have a major melt down with the principal standing by. Thankfully, I ran into a Mom-friend who helped me.

-We started using winter coats today. Brrr! Samuel has a hand-me-down from Hunter but hates it. He says it hurts. I plan on cutting the tag out to see if that helps. In the meantime, he fights me to get it on and cries the whole time he wears it.

-We went to a playdate. Actually, it was a momdate but we both have 2.5 year olds so it all works. Samuel whined and cried the last half of the morning, hit his head toward the end to set off a major crying time and then threw a major fit when it was time to go. He did not wear his coat or shoes so he was cold and his teeth were chattering but I chalked it up to "natural consequences". Really, I was just tired of fighting w/the kid. He then screamed the whole way home. And it's 10 minutes or so--a lifetime when you have to listen to screaming.

-Finally, on the way home, I decided to go crazy and drive the speed limit. Apparently, no one has seen this done. So, the guy behind me rode as close as he could to me while gesturing me along. He finally passed me giving me the finger (or as Brian says, he told me I was #1). It was the straw that broke the camel's back. I am done for the day!!!!

UPDATE: Good news! It's only been a half hour since I posted the first part but I got an encouraging email from Hunter's teacher and I found this on my couch:

The day is looking up already!

Sickness

Last night in the chaos of Hunter and Lily arriving home from AWANAS, I noticed that Samuel felt warm. Sure enough, his temperature was up. Hunter and Lily were so cute about it. I can't remember what they were going on about but I told them all we could do is pray he gets better soon. They both wanted to pray right away and got down on the floor with their faces in the ground, popped their heads up to look at each other and said, "1, 2, 3" and back down to the ground. I have no idea where this came from. Included in Hunter's prayer were these words, "Thank You for not killing a baby lamb today.". Obviously, the sacrifice lesson really stuck with them. :)

Anyway, Samuel's temps have been all over today but that's just like his cousin's recent illness so I think that must be what it is. I have a lot to be thankful for, though, so let me share:

1. I have sat around most the day and not felt guilty. My little guy wants his Mommy around! I have been doing such a good job keeping up around the house lately that I feel okay with this day off. Although, I did take yesterday off, too, and that was just because I was tired. I feel like I have an illness but Brian says it's called pregnancy.

2. I read magazines today while I sat next to Samuel on the couch. It was either that or watch Dora, Diego or Mickey. I won't repeat what a certain friend said about having to watch Dora but, trust me, it isn't pleasant to be forced to do so for that long!

3. In reading magazines, I was inspired to think of fun ideas for birthday treats and motivated to scrapbook. I am so far behind and my scrapbook room is a disaster but I love it. I have never been an art person but I really enjoy doing something creative that is for me (and my kids).

4. Hunter and Lily were so wonderful today! They played together without a problem--making a mess but not hanging around me or the TV all day. It was nice to not feel stressed about the healthy children in the house!

Sacrifice

Hunter and Lily have Bible time and chapel at school and then Sunday school and Awanas at church so they have been learning just tons of stuff about the Bible and God. They have made so many comments lately--some funny and some thoughtful. Nichole told me to record this one--she said she's writing it down for herself.

L: If you do something bad, you have to stack hay up and kill a baby lamb.

Mom (completely taken aback!!): Well, that was before Jesus died on the cross for us.

H: Yeah, those villagers were happy He was on the cross but it makes me sad.

**********************
They also have been talking about wicked people (I think because of learning about Noah in school) but when they talk about what happens to wicked people, they say: "Duh, duh, duh". Great sound effects. They make me laugh!

Fearless by Max Lucado

This book speaks to the heart of what holds most people back: fear. The author addresses fear in numerous different areas and even ends with the one healthy fear we can have, fear of God. I had not read a Max Lucado book in quite awhile and I forgot how much I enjoy them. I find his books to be easy to read but full of great insight. I really enjoyed this book on fear and, specifically, how he broke each chapter down to a different fear. That was unlike any book on fear/anxiety/doubt that I had read or looked at. There is even a chapter on fearing for your children--how relevant to this mom. This was the type of book that made me scribble notes as I read. I would definitely recommend it to anyone--especially in this day where it seems logical to fear for thousands of reasons--swine flu, anyone? As the author states in his book, “When Christ is great, our fears are not.”

Thanks to the Henleys

My sister brought over some old toys they were getting rid of--something for everyone. Samuel is really into Diego and "Ora" right now so he had it made. He hid from Andrea and got mad after I took a picture but once I left him alone, he played for a long time! :)

Hunter got Captain America--his new obsession.
And Lily now has a pretty horse with lots of pink stuff. :) She used to have one of these horses but it broke because they kept sitting on it so we'll see if this one lasts longer!

They have stayed busy and Brian has had football on so I nodded off for awhile without being disturbed. It was so nice. :)

I can't believe it's October. I feel like time is going to fly and this baby will be born before I know it. He is so active--moves more than he's still, I think. I don't know if that's a bad sign for when he's out and about or not?! :) The twins had Grandparents Day at school and enjoyed showing off. They seem to really like being Sparks for Awanas this year. Samuel has gotten to really enjoy Sunday mornings--he did cry today but he has been going cheerfully and always has something to share when we pick him up. Today he told us that he had goldfish and played with 2 girls. :) So cute! Brian and I have been going to a Sunday school class on parenting and it's been really fun. Our table is great and the videos we watch are really good, I think (by Dr. Leman). They go above and beyond the usual and really talk more about changing yourself rather than focusing on how to change your child. As he said today, I think authoritarian parenting is so common in the church and it's good to hear something new. Anyway, that is what's happening here as we enter October.