Halloween

Before you read this, just let me say, I have nothing against Halloween and I'm not trying to offend anyone by writing this.  It's just one of those things where you have to decide one way or the other, and since Halloween is today, I just thought I'd share what we've decided.  I don't really think there's a right or wrong decision, just a decision.  And here's ours.

Halloween.  It's a fun holiday, right?  Dressing up in costumes, trick-or-treating, decorating with spiders, ghosts and witches.  There are alot of fun things associated with Halloween, and kids love it.  I mean, what kid doesn't want to put on a costume and travel around the neighborhood collecting enough candy to last the rest of the year? (although I'm sure for most kids it doesn't last nearly that long)

Everything I've said so far were my thoughts on Halloween up until this year.  I've always thought of it as a fun, no harm done, kind of holiday.  The equivalent of going on a Easter egg hunt for Easter, or getting presents from Santa on Christmas.  Just a fun thing for kids to do.

But this is the first year we've had a child old enough to participate in the holiday.  Caleb was only 4 months old last Halloween, so yes ... I did dress him in his little "my first Halloween" pumpkin outfit, but trick-or-treating wasn't really an option last year.  And he's still not old enough to know what's going on, but we needed to decide, as a family, how we were going to handle Halloween.

I dressed up, when I was a kid, for Halloween.  I went trick-or-treating around my neighborhood.  We also went to a Halloween carnival at the church I attended as a kid.  It was alot of fun.  Costumes, candy and games.  What's not to like?

My husband, on the other hand, wasn't comfortable with the holiday in general and didn't particularly want our children to participate in it.  I fought him on it.  Hard.  Our poor kids wouldn't get to trick-or-treat, or wear fun costumes or anything.  I brought it up several times over the last month, and every time his response was the same.  So he asked me to do some research on it.  Find out where Halloween came from, why it's celebrated, why the costumes and candy, why should we celebrate?

So I did.

And I can honestly say, I'm fine with our children not participating in Halloween.  Now, there are alot of fall carnivals (including the costumes and candy) and our church has a fall picnic with hayrides, cake walks and that sort of thing, and really, they're very similar to a Halloween celebration, minus the ghosts and goblins.  

Is there anything wrong with dressing up in costumes? Of course not.  Is there anything wrong with collecting a years supply of candy in one evening?  Certainly not, sounds good to me, actually :)  And  there's nothing at all wrong with celebrating Halloween however your family sees fit.  In my opinion, its a matter of personal conviction, and for our family this is what we decided ... we're gonna pass on Halloween.

But just so you know, while Caleb won't be trick-or-treating this year, he does have a frog costume that I will proudly dress him in and snap lots of little froggie pictures!

Pumpkin Pickin'

One of our fall traditions, if you can call it that after only one year, is to go to a local pumpkin patch and pick out some fall decor.  We took Caleb to this pumpkin patch last year, remember??

It's crazy how little he is, isn't it??  I almost don't remember him being this small.

Anyways, we had alot of fun.  Caleb was thrilled with all the pumpkins or "balls" as he called them.  It was quite a struggle to keep him from throwing all the pumpkins and busting them open as that was the ONE thing he desperately wanted to do.

He never managed to pick this one up, although not for lack of trying.  It probably weighed as much as he does, but after a ride out to the pumpkin patch ...

He found one just his size ...

So our little punkin' found himself a little pumpkin, and so the fall tradition continues.

Let's Play Catch Up

Ok, I know it has been SO long since I've written anything on this blog.  So let's play catch up.

Caleb.  What can I say about this sweet boy?  He is now 16 months old and getting so big.  He's very fast and getting into everything these days.  His new favorite things are his boots and ketchup.  When he goes to get his shoes in the morning, he always picks his rubber rain boots.  Sometimes he brings them to me while he's still in his pajamas and insists on putting them on.  The boy loves his boots.  And ketchup.  He will eat ketchup on anything, and if he has eaten all of his food, he'll use his fingers and eat just plain ole' ketchup.  Sound tasty?

Yea, I didn't think so.

Ethan.  Also getting so big.  I'm 30 weeks pregnant now.  Time has flown, and we have so much do to before he gets here.  Things have been going smoothly, which is always nice.  I did fail my gestational diabetes screening and had to go back for a 3 hour screening, but my blood sugar levels were fine so no problems there.

Charles.  He's been out of town alot lately.  A few fun, and alot of business trips all happened to fall into the same 6 week period this year.  He's still got 2 or 3 more before things settle down, but at least he's getting them all out of the way before all the busyness of the holidays begins.  We're also gearing up for a new business venture that will be starting at the beginning of the year, but more on that later.

And the last "new" thing to catch you up on.  I'm now using cloth diapers most of the time.  I know some, if not all, of you just read that and thought "oh gosh, she has lost her mind".  But it's something I considered before Caleb was born, just never got around to it.  And now that we have Ethan coming, and will have 2 in diapers, it seemed like the wisest choice for us.  You'd be amazed at all the different choices there are out there concerning cloth diapers ... it's not all cloth and pins anymore.  And it'll end up saving us alot of money, which is always a good thing in my book.  I'll write another post on the topic at some point and explain a bit more for those that might be interested.

That's all the catching up I have time for, for now.  But I'll try to get back into the swing of things.  I have lots to share.  Trips to the pumpkin patch, our thoughts on Halloween, and getting the house ready for 2 little ones under the age of 2, to name a few.

ROLLIN rollin ROLLIN rollin ROLLIN ON THE RIVA..... by Charles

I remember sitting in the living room on Sunday afternoons and reading specifically about Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn floating down the Mississippi river on their hand made raft. I never was much of a pirate fan, but I remember thinking of 'bad guys' as the guys on the river boat with Huck's dad.

Tomorrow morning I will set out on a 2.5 day trip floating on the mighty mississippi. We will camp on ground that has not been cleaned up and made for camping. We will be 'roughing' it for lack of a better phrase. To top it off our ship of choice will be a hand made canoe, I hope we don't run into Indian Joe!

On this the eve before my trip I can't help but share a few thoughts that have crossed my mind today. If you haven't noticed I tend to 'preach' on here a little bit, so go ahead and prepare yourself for a trip of your own, down a river in the mind of a crazy guy like me.

Mighty. Mighty Mississippi. A phrase that is probably founded on truth. Have you ever tried to stop running water? You have. I am quite sure that at some point you tried holding water in your hands and keeping it from leaking out between your fingers. Water moves where it wants to move and in most circumstances can not be stopped. New Orleans comes to my mind, she certainly knows about the will of water. Mighty. A word that demands respect. And as mighty as water is she too knows One Mightier. She has been told before to part and stand still as God sent His people through the sea. Can you imagine the faith that must have been involved for the Israelites as they crossed on dry ground. Just like me and you, they knew that water had a mind of her own. I can only imagine myself in that situation, but my imagination tells me I would say something like "hey Jo, you go first!" Don't forget the time that Jesus walked ON TOP OF THE WATER. Are you kidding me! We have an All Mighty Father who controls the will of the mightiest of waters, even the Mighty Mississippi. Take a moment and ponder trying to stop the Mississippi River...

Heraclitus, a greek philosopher, said "You could not step twice into the same river; for other waters are ever flowing on to you." I know, 'deep thoughts with Charles', I just quoted a philosopher. But really thinking about this quote hits home at this point in my life. I am commonly asked 'how are you' or 'how are things going' and my typical response as of late is 'I keep trying to slow life down, but it just keeps getting faster.' Alot like a rolling river. A river is most powerful at it's widest point, but it is fastest in the narrows. I feel like my life is in a narrow spot right now, due mainly to my own 'unwilling to quit anything' attitude, but time is indeed rushing over me. I am picturing struggling to get a breath versus laying on my back and floating down river. Mighty. Time is mighty! Controlling time, can you imagine it? Really, I can't. I can not imagine life without the constraints of time. It is a heavy burden that all mankind bears, for now. Only One commands time to do as He pleases. Only One God owns time. And thankfully, for now, he lets time do it's worst, but mainly it's best to us. We joke about older bodies, greying or losing hair, slipping minds and general wear and tear on our bodies, but the truth is time really hurts. I do ache. I am finding grey hair (Haven't started losing it yet Dad and Mike). It would be easy to think that time owns me or in other words that I am a slave to time. That is a lie, time owns no one. I am only owned by my Father and He calls time His slave. So just as He allows the "mighty mississippi" to roar, He also allows time to have her place in history. Just as He keeps me safe this weekend on the water, He keeps me safe through time. He won't slow it down either, because He knows me that well. He knows that my dependence would waiver if I felt like I could stand up in the current of time. He knows that my constant plea "HELP" is good for me. As hopeless and helpless as I would be trying to control the Mississippi river this weekend, that pales in comparison to the thought of me trying control life.

So my encouragement to you this weekend as I float down the river is...Thank God we are helpless. Thank God that He is All Mighty. Thank God that He controls mighty waters and mighty time with the breath of His voice. And while you thank Him, also ask Him to keep us safe this weekend and to remove all anxiety from those that love us. Our God is Mighty.

Charles