Another Great Halloween Costume

Boo-Humbug. We aren't big into Halloween. I hate parting with hard-earned dollars to pay for senseless costumes to celebrate a "holiday" that represents things I detest. But it is a big deal in our community and at the kids' school, where they spend half of the day in class, and half of the day parading in their costumes and partying. So I try to think of some creative do-it-yourself-with-what-you-have-on-hand costumes. Each year it seems to get harder, as each time it's a little more creative. Last year, I dressed the boys up as "Joe the Plumber," since he was so popular this time last year. This year, I had so much going on in my life personally, Halloween costumes were at the bottom of my list of concerns. But I'm really pleased with the outcome.

I found a cardboard box and cut off the flaps and colored them and laced them together with twine for a very last-minute butterfly costume for Rosalind. (The boys even liked that one!)

For Julien and Tristan, I found long-sleeved shirts from Enoch's dresser, and made them tuck the shirts into their sweat pants. I blew up an assortment of balloons of differing sizes (leftover from Rosalind's birthday festivities). We put smaller ones in the arms, but large at the top, and then all along their backs to represent "bulging muscles." Then I used a marker and some freezer paper to draw up letters and numbers that look like team uniforms, with the name of their P.E. teacher in big letters to tape to their backs. (I wish I had better tape to attach these; they came off too easily.)

The proud teacher, showing off his A students.

The result was a HIT! All the teachers thought it was so funny; especially the P.E. teacher, who seems to have no lack of self-esteem, and a great sense of humor. I kidded with him that we expect the boys to get straight A's in P.E. class now--and I'm pretty sure they will.

Tristan, getting quite used to the muscle-man look, flexes for the camera. Below, Rosalind loved dancing with Julien's classmates in a game of "freeze dancing."

(SIGH!) Now what will we have to do to top that next year?

Birthday Girl

It's hard to believe that three years ago we were blessed with the pinkest little blessing we've ever received.

Now our little girl isn't so little anymore. She fits right in with her brother's classes at school (with only an occasional social faux-pas). If I can get my act together and start doing some "home-school pre-school" as we like to call it, I am convinced she could be reading soon; she's so bright.

Here she is wearing her most-favored pink "sparkle-y dress"

Unfortunately, she's also VERY LOUD. Well, you have to be when you want to be heard in our house. Talking is a competition it seems, and everyone wants to be the first to be heard and the one to have the last word.

But I digress. This post is about our beautiful, smart, and lively little girl, and her birthday. Well, nothing can express the joy of the celebration quite like pictures. So here we go:

Getting ready for the "Strawberry Snake Cakes"

"R" "heart" "3"

Up close, you can see how they look like snakes. (The cakes, not the people.)

The birthday girl is having a blast playing with her new toys, wearing new birthday clothes.

Future homemaker in the making!

Up Days, Down Days, and Birthdays

It's been an interesting couple of weeks. During the same weekend that I recently miscarried, Enoch was sick with the flu, and Tristan had some sort of viral infection that included a trip to Children's Hospital Of Philadelphia on Sunday. (He's fine by the way.) Monday I had blood work done, Tuesday Tristan saw his doctor, Wednesday I cut my thumb with a bread knife and had to get three stitches. Thursday I did more blood work, and Friday saw my doctor to check out my thumb. Then by Saturday Rosalind and Brendan were getting fevers and sniffles, and Tuesday was Rosalind's third birthday. Wednesday I finally got caught up folding all the laundry. Now it's Thursday, and I got my stitches out, and got caught up on my dishes. Hopefully I'll get photos from Rosalind's birthday posted soon; I just wanted to give the overall view of the last two weeks, roughly. And I mean roughly. We're hanging in there. The Lord is good and gracious, and ever-sustaining us. Thanks to all of you for your words of encouragement and your prayers.

Unexpected News

We were hoping to share happy and exciting news around Christmas time; news of our expectation of another baby due in early June. But instead we have the sad news of announcing a miscarriage, and the expectation to one day meet the child we never knew who is safe in the arms of our sovereign Lord. Lately, this passage from Psalms has been a comfort to me, and I'll share it with you.

Psalm 139 (New American Standard Bible)

God's Omnipresence and Omniscience.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

¹O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
²You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
³You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
⁴Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O LORD, You know it all.
⁵You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
⁷Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
⁹If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
¹⁰Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
¹¹If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,"
¹²Even the darkness is not dark to You,
And the night is as bright as the day
Darkness and light are alike to You.
¹³For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother's womb.
¹⁴I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
¹⁶Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
¹⁷How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand
When I awake, I am still with You.
¹⁹O that You would slay the wicked, O God;
Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.
²⁰For they speak against You wickedly,
And Your enemies take Your name in vain.
²¹Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
²²I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
²⁴And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.

Columbus Day Hay Ride

Here's some more fun photos of our fun day at the farm in New Jersey. The kids were off from school, but Enoch wasn't. So we went back for more fun: a hayride to a pee-wee sized pumpkin patch, and a cider donut and apple cider to drink at the end. We had a great time, and next year the kids hope to get to go through the corn maze as well.

Apple Picking Day

Last weekend we went to our new favorite farm in New Jersey to pick apples and pumpkins and have another fun family outing. The weather was breezy but warm, and the apples were ripe for the picking. A good time was had by all. We had so much fun in fact, that the kids convinced us to come back on Monday for the Columbus Day holiday to enjoy a pumpkin hayride and perhaps a corn maze. That's for the next post. Now on to pictures.

(Who needs a ladder when you have one of these?)

Sweet faces enjoying sweet apples

This one was loaded! More fruit than tree almost!

This one doesn't look as impressive, but it was also abundant with apples.

Showing off the bounty.

Pumpkin Patch Pictures:

Even though it's a homely gourd, Rosalind loved it enough to bring it home.

Afterwards, while Daddy weighed and paid, we played in the hay!

Brief Update

I was hoping to update the blog with photos of our long weekend. We went apple and pumpkin picking in New Jersey on Saturday, and then I went back with the kids on Columbus Day and we went on a hayride and got more pumpkins and apples. Today I was planning to go to my Tuesday morning ladies' Bible study, but after taking the older kids to school, we weren't home five minutes when Brendan started to vomit. So those plans are scratched, along with a couple of others. But stay tuned for new photos hopefully soon, and pray we don't all get whatever the baby's got. Thanks!

Big Shoes to Fill

I snapped these two photos just the other day as we were getting ready to eat breakfast. I just couldn't resist.