Esther Raye

I have a niece who is very special.  When she was little Esther Raye would spent the night sometimes. She sat with us in church and would snuggle with me. Now that she is getting ready to graduate, it is fun to be able just to talk to her.  She is growing up to be a beautiful girl!

This weekend she is helping to earn some money for Riley Hospital. She had to raise some money, and then will work with classmates to make different pots tonight. They will auction those pots to earn more money for Riley.  I forgot how much they wanted to raise, but they are close to it. We went to visit her during “prison break” and the kids were fascinated with watching them work on the pottery wheels.

O LORD, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand. Isaiah 64:8 NAS

Raking Leaves

Today was another beautiful day! After quiet time, the kids went outside to play and were outside all afternoon.

We needed to clean the yard before the rain comes, so we raked a bunch of leaves and put things away for the winter.  The kids carried the leaves to the woods and made a HUGE leaf pile to play in.

Trick or Treat Winona Lake

Josh and Angie invited us to their house to go trick or treating and then have supper. Sam and Angelique were able to come too, so we had a family Halloween party! We ended up with one pirate, a princess pirate, a Tigger Pirate, two crayons, a princess, baby Tigger and a moose (Olive was in costume also).

We did not know what to expect for trick or treating.  The kids did their normal of bringing some of their candy to share with other kids before they went out “begging” for more. As we left, we could see a few children out. Angie had two places to try and we decided to try the island. Most houses had their lights out, but the houses that were giving out candy were very generous.  The kids brought home lots of candy, most of it chocolate. One place was making fresh popcorn to share along with a big piece of candy.

Sam took Megan and was teaching her how to go trick or treating. He was able to fill her little bag with good treats. (Megan said that she did not want any candy and let Uncle Sam have her candy 🙂 !)

When we got back to Josh’s house, we enjoyed warm cider and a wonderful chili dinner. We made caramel apples. Audrey really wanted one, but discovered she could not eat it on the stick because of her teeth.

What a wonderful evening with family!

Trick or Treat Main Street

The kids and I have gone trick or treating down Main Street in Goshen most every Halloween for the last five or so years.

Today we met Lilly and Beth with David and Rachel there.  It was fun talking to them and letting the kids have time together.

Megan went “begging for candy” for the first time this year too.  It was the kid’s idea to give her a bag and see who would fill it.  Surprise! People did give a newborn baby candy! Lilly was carrying her when someone gave her some Starbursts and Lilly said that “she prefers Skittles.”  The candy was changed to Skittles! 🙂 My favorite treat for her was when one man saw her and commented “muy bonita”.  I agree, she is very pretty.

We had a lot of fun!

Hayride and Bonfire

We decided to try the Oxbow Halloween Hayride and bonfire this year.  We were told it was a non scary, family, evening of fall fun.  Most of it was. We enjoyed the hayride, especially Adrian.  The bonfire was crowded, but the caramel apples were very good! It was a nice evening with family.

Naps

Adrian is outgrowing naps. He rarely naps anymore, but he is ready for bed at bedtime, usually falling asleep within minutes. The last few days; however, he read during quiet time, and then crashed at funny times.

The first day he fell asleep on the bean bag while Mark was reading out loud.  Yesterday, he fell asleep when he sat down to read by me for a few minutes!

Today’s Smile

I never know what to expect with my children.  Adrian came upstairs after playing by himself for awhile.  I had to laugh!  He had stuffed his shirt with two blankets!  After seeing me he decided that was not good –I think he thought “not big enough”, so he exchanged it for his Tigger stuffed animal. Looks pretty close to me!