Fall Festival and Slideshow Below!

The girls had a blast celebrating with their friends (pics of their friends are cropped since I wasn't sure their mom would want them on the internet :) The Fall Festival was extremely well organized and there were just enough people there to make it fun, but not so many that it was crowded. They laughed their way through the cake walk, fishing for candy, the bounce house, the string maze, and a variety of other games, all the while collecting handfulls of candy. They came home and went to bed completely exhausted. All in all, I'd say it was a success!

Pumpkin Carving Party with pics above!

Two posts in one day. What is this blog coming to?! :) Well, the pumpkins from the pumpkin patch are officially carved. We draped the table with painter's plastic and proceeded to heap pumpkin guts into the middle of the table. It was disgusting...but so much fun! I even stuck my arm, sans gloves, all the way into my pumpkin. Admit it, you know you're proud of me!!! The girls picked their designs, drew them on their pumpkins with a Sharpie and then Cory and I carved them. Autumn chose shapes, Cayla made a ladybug, Cory designed a traditional spider and I went for a gigantic daisy. Every year we take the pumpkins to my in-laws to greet the candy seeking visitors. And this year that's where we'll be after we enjoy a Fall Festival at our friends' church. I love holidays. Well, really I love any chance to break from the norm, get together with friends, and eat delicious foods that only come around once a year. If only I could figure out a way to make Arbor Day a holiday!!!

Little Boxes of Chocolate Joy

You know one of the things I love about this time of year? Little boxes of candy. They're the perfect size to indulge in without wrecking your caloric intake for the week (well, they are if you only eat one or two boxes). It's also the only time of year when you can find such small sizes in many of the candies. My favorites are Junior Mints and Milky Ways, but pretty much if it's made of chocolate I'm willing to try it.

So if you're celebrating tomorrow evening by going around collecting candy, attending a party, or sharing a meal with friends, enjoy your fabulous mini-sized candies. If you're kicking back at home because you don't celebrate Halloween, at least indulge in a few pieces of candy so the rest of us don't have to get fat all by ourselves :)

A Stitch in Time

So, the patterns have been measured, cut, fitted and pinned. Now all I have to do is sew them together. The girls Halloween costumes that is! Don't get too excited. They're not going as anything too complicated, and providing they turn out halfway normal (the costumes, not the girls), maybe I'll post some pictures. The girls are going to a Fall Festival with some friends at their church. I know they're going to have a great time. I remember getting excited to go trick-or-treating, or to attend a party on Halloween, but it's even better being the mom and getting my kids all dressed up, and watching them have a blast. OK so that's it. Tomorrow I'll be sewing the costumes, so wish me luck. I'm gonna need it!

Shocked!

On Saturday evening a group of us from church were having a discussion when the subject of politics came up (imagine that!). Being a constant wearer of my McCain-Palin 2008 button, someone commented that if everyone came into the church sporting buttons, we'd see a fair amount of the 'other' button as well. I was shocked. Although I personally know of a couple people who are undecided in this election, I figured they were the rare exceptions. I guess I just sort of assumed that Christians were naturally going to vote Republican in this election. I just can't understand how people can be torn when one of the candidates is clearly pro-choice and the other is clearly pro-life. Of course I'm concerned about health care and the economy among other things, but the pro-life issues are generally the deal maker or breaker for me. So this morning in Sunday school while taking prayer requests, a man raised his hand and said that he and his wife would like prayer concerning their votes in the election. Again I was shocked. I guess for me it's a no-brainer and I sort of expected that it would be for others as well. So color me all kinds of surprised!!!!

Pray the Vote

With the future of this nation being decided in only 10 short days, I have decided to change the layout of my blog to represent my feelings. The verse at the top has changed as well as the colors and theme. This election has gotten me on my soap box more times than I can count. I've never had such a vested interest in politics as I have this year. Is it because I'm getting older? I don't think so. I see this as a pivotal election year. I am passionate about this election. I am passionate about my vote, and I am passionate about praying that God will receive the glory in this election no matter the outcome. If celebrities can 'Rock the Vote' then Christians need to 'Pray the Vote'. Are you praying about the election? The country? The future?

Here's the thing....

My niece Clare knows I love a quiz, questionnaire, or opportunity to blab on and on about myself, good or bad! So, she 'tagged' me with the task of telling 6 interesting things about myself, so here goes, although I'm not sure how interesting they are! 1) A normal thing: I hate sad movies. I refuse to watch a movie that has a sad ending, and will make me cry. Sometimes these movies sneak up on me, like "Steel Magnolias" which was touted as a comedy, but really wasn't. If I know beforehand that they're sad, I avoid them like the plague. 2) A reminiscent thing: When I was a kid I loved it when we went to the gas station because I secretly enjoyed the smell of gasoline. Mmmmm, petrol! Maybe that explains the loss of brain cells?! 3) A silly thing: I am the only person I know who can fold their tongue in half like a taco, and flip it over from side to side. Most people can do one, but not the other. I know, it's amazing! Don't hate me because I'm talented. I'd post pictures, but um....No! 4) A crazy thing: I have an unnatural obsession with acquiring bits of knowledge on every subject that I come across. I've even dubbed myself "the queen of useless trivia" because I always tend to know weird facts that most people could care less about. I have always admired people who speak with intelligence on any and every subject and I really want to be counted among their ranks. 5) A serious thing: Every night I pray with the girls, and many nights I audibly give praise to God for qualities like their beautiful spirits, sweet personalities, and the blessing I receive by being their mom and it ALWAYS makes my eyes sting with tears; everytime, without fail! 6) A sweet thing: I love it when Cory, the girls and I play dog pile on the living room floor. It usually results in me yelling that I can't breathe, or need to go to the bathroom....any ploy I can use to break free. I just seriously enjoy family time that gets us all together and lets us act silly. So, for those of you with a blog, 'tag' you're it, tell me about yourselves, and for those who don't blog, I'd love an e-mail filling me in all the details.