Halloween

Ok I know it's after Christmas and I'm just now posting Halloween, but I tried to post this sucker three times before Christmas and it kept kicking me out every time I tried to rearrange the pics. So here it is and I didn't try messing w/the pics this time which is why they look weird if they do. Halloween was really fun this year. Christopher was dressed as NASCAR driver Tony Stewart, who is apparently really whiny. No really, people made comments all night and apparently not many people are fond of him. But it was better then the Jeff Gordon costume we could have gotten!! LOL! We started off stopping by Nana's (Christopher's step-grandma) office. Then we met at Michael's parents house to show the kids off to them and then went to St. Joseph's tent-or-treat. Of course they all racked up the candy. But it didn't even end there. We then went to my mom & dad's to show them off and finish off the night by actually trick-or-treating around their neighborhood. Their next door neighbors Paul & Jamie hooked their four wheeler up to a trailer filled with hay and a bunch of people from the neighborhood rode the hayride through the neighborhood, stopping every few feet to run up to the houses, get their loot, and run back to the trailer. It really was the way to trick-or-treat. We had a lot of fun but were sooo tired at the end of the night. At least the rain held off!

The Dilemna of Shingles

Let me just say that there will be no pictures to accompany this blog. Trust me when I say I look horrible and feel worse. Who would have thought at 31 years of age I would have shingles. But here I sit, off work since Wednesday morning with yucky blistery bumps on my forehead, the corner of my eye, and the top of my head. Thankfully I went to the doctor Wednesday and caught it before it got worse. Lord, if it was much worse than this I don't know what I'd do! But I started a seven day round of huge horse pills so hopefully this will clear up by Monday, at least enough that I won't be in such pain or look like a huge freak when I go back to work. My office manager, as I was leaving for the doctor Wednesday morning before I knew what this was, stated I could possibly be becoming a unicorn...ha! And did you know that nausea is part of it too? Ugh! All this from having chicken pox when I was younger. The doctor said that one of the causes of shingles is stress, but I sure didn't think I was THAT stressed out about anything. Anyway, hopefully next time I blog it will be a much more pleasant subject! I'm going to go lay down now.

My Letter to Christopher on Election Night

Christopher,

It's 10:52 p.m., Tuesday night, November 4, 2008. You are lying next to me in my bed, sleeping soundly as the world around you changes tremendously. Tonight, America's first African-American president has been elected. I want you to be able to look back and know what was going on, what it all meant, and how your world is changing. Mommy is not a very political person. I didn't keep up with all of the issues very well. Many things were said about Barack Obama. I don't know how much of it was true or how much was a lie. Just this morning you told me that you were "not picking Barack Obama" because a teacher told you that "he wants to make mommies and daddies poor". All I know is that we are all in God's hands and that God has chosen, through the people of America, to place Barack Obama as our leader. As Proverbs 8:15-16 says "By me kings reign and rulers make laws that are just; by me princes govern and all nobles who rule on earth". Many emotions run through my mind right now. Fear, anxiety, sadness. Someday you will read this and understand why. But something else finds its way into my heart as well. Hope. Hope that no matter who our president is, no matter what happens on this earth, in my life time or in your life time, God is in control. Someday you will read this. Remember that tonight history was made. Remember to always pray for your nation. Remember that if you have surrendered your precious life to Jesus, nothing can pluck you from his hand (Romans 8:38-39). I love you and I pray that Barack Obama will lead our nation with integrity and most of all by God's will.

Love,

Mommy

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" Romans 8:28-32

Pumpkin Patch 2008

On October 24th Christopher and I went with his class on a field trip to the Pumpkin Patch. This particular patch was really neat. We rode the bus and when we got there there were several different "stations". There was an old fashioned school house, an Indian women with teepees and all her tools and animal skins, an old cabin, a nature walk, a hayride, and several other things. The kids got to look at all of the things and hear about how school used to be, how the Indians lived, etc. They even got to pan for gems. And of course they got to pick out a pumpkin at the end. Christopher said his favorite parts of the day were the hayride, digging for dinosaurs, and getting to pick out his pumpkin. Picking out his pumpkin was of course the moment he had been waiting for all day. The kids and parents got to eat our sack lunches at some picnic tables outside. It was an absolutely beautiful day! We had a blast and as you can see the day really wore Christopher out!

Christopher's Big 0-6

I was so excited for Christopher's birthday this year because I was actually able to give him a birthday party at our house. I haven't been able to do that since his first birthday because the places we've lived have been so small. It was a fun day but very noisy & chaotic! He opened presents then we had cake & ice cream. It worked out nice because all the kids sat on the back porch & ate so no messes! Christopher's birthday theme, in case you can't tell from the pics, was John Deere. I got him a green & yellow cement truck pinata. Now that was hilarious to watch. Anyway, I think he really had a great time and since it was Daddy's weekend, Mommy got to crash after everyone left!

Brave Dr. Johnson

So One of the doctors I work for, Dr. Johnson, invited those of us with kids to come over to her house one evening in October to have dinner and decorate Halloween gingerbread houses. Boy she was a brave woman; I think she said in her blog that there were 13 kids there! We all had a blast though. Dr. J made the most delicious chicken tortilla soup and yummy "mummy" dogs that the kids just ate up. Then we all proceeded with the decorating. It got pretty messy! But the kids had so much fun. Can you tell Christopher kept licking the icing off his fingers lol! I'm so glad I got a picture of Christopher's house b/c when I tried to pick it up and put it back in it's box for us to take home & set out, I broke it! :( And only after I did this did I realize that I never even had to pick the house up in the first place-the cardboard inside the box came out so that all you had to do was set the house on it and then gently set it all back in the box. Duh. Oh well...at least we have the pictures and the memories! Thanks Dr. J!