It's a puppy party!

When the little girls got there they received collars and puppy ears and puppy noses. This is Victoria. She came as a black labrador.
Our first game was "take the puppy out to potty." I know I could have made it slightly easier by pinning the tail on the puppy but... It was my first idea...



Next, we had lunch. They ate out of their own personal doggy bowls. Their dog chow was cut up hotdogs and ketchup. also, string cheese pieces and pretzel chunks. And, water, of course!

We ended with a bone hunt. They searched the house for bones and some crabby patties that they had to carry one at a time back to their bowl. Then we handed out stuffed puppies to take home. Instead of cake we just had superman ice cream in dog bowls. Then they all received doggy bags with treats in them to take home, as well.

It was a great party. They were really into being cute little puppies and only had to be quieted a few times when the barking got too loud.:)

The gym

Like I said, I've got ideas...

Right now I have a 2 week pass to Gold's Gym. My friend Diane and her husband got a membership recently there so I decided it would be nice to have the same gym as someone else so I have someone to workout with every now and then. Is it necessary to go to a gym? For me, definitely! Chelan and I had a gym membership in Abilene together and it was awesome. I always went, my kids had a fun place to play, and I didn't have to figure out how to be healthier amidst my children and there ever-so-present needs. Working out at home is like phone calling, for me. There are other things yelling way louder. And whenever I start pilates or step or anything, that's when Izzy is incapable of doing her own thing. "You could walk," you might suggest. If I lived in Texas still! Walking in cold weather doesn't really inspire me. Or rain or snow.

Will I be buying my own membership? I've not given up fighting for it... My jeans are getting tighter. I'm tired of the belly bulge. I'm ready to head to size-six-ville. It's been a long time!

Go team!

Oh, and ask Ben how running is going...

BIRTHDAYS!

Today is Izzy's birthday! She is four. On Sunday was Aiden's birthday! He is now six years old.
With family having been at our house we opted for a weekend filled with nothing. We have scheduled their parties for this coming weekend. Izzy will be having a puppy party and Aiden will be having a scary party with a war. (Let me tell you, Ben is really proud of that one. Not.) So far, for Izzy's, we've thought of having a hunt for bones for the little puppies. We have puppy plates and napkins. And we still have more to think of. For Aiden's we will have a scary pinata with all of them dressed up in something scary. Aiden will dress up as Jack Sparrow. We have Pirates of the Caribbean plates and napkins. We have yet to decide what this war will look like without any one getting sad or hurt. We are off to the Dollar Tree later for some inspiration. We are also going to play pin the Spiderman on the Web. We will report with pictures, battle wounds, and a few puppy treats.

Blah, blah, blah

I'll admit, I'm holding back. There are days when I think of, like, three different things to write about. Then, I think, "You just posted yesterday. You can't give 'em more yet! No one's probably even read yesterday's since you haven't written in two weeks!" My heart says, "Be creative, let loose." But my laundry says, "Yoohoo, excuse me... fold me..."

So, one thing I've been meaning to tell you is that Aiden lost his first tooth. Of course, he's my second child and so I didn't even get a picture of it... Well, aren't I the tooth fairy? Yes, but I'm a nice tooth fairy who paid profoundly for the first prized tooth and left it under the pillow so he could still take it to school and show his class. Then, my nephew touched the little box it was in and so now it's somewhere in my room... No picture. I'll probably find it soon but maybe his other front tooth will be out by then. It's so close.

Emma got a second tooth pulled and it went much better than the first. This dentist had a tv on the ceiling and laughing gas! She even got to pick the movie to watch. High School Musical, of course. There was a little pain at times but at least they cared and were careful. I did love the moment when she asked if they were going to pull her tooth yet and they had already done it! Score for the dentist.

Izzy and Aiden have been to the dentist now to get there teeth cleaned and this was there first time. Aiden has had an appointment before but he was barely 4 and not ready for anything except the counting of the teeth. He will have to go in and get some fillings but, thankfully, Izzy has a healthy mouth. She was fantastic and very proud that she got picture taken of her teeth. I told the kids I should have brought my camera because their hygienist gave them permission to play with the chair. So, when she came back with the x-rays, Izzy said, "My mom forgot her camera. Can she have those pictures of my teeth?" It was funny and fun. And it happened to be the very same place that Emma had her awful experience. You never know what you're gonna get!

There's more to say so I promise I will be back soon to share!

"Hello? Is anybody out there?"

Sorry, guys. I am alive. A couple weeks ago we started preparing for Andy and Yannick's arrival from The Swiss Land and then they got here and then we were busy being together and things of that sort all the while our internet on our destop went hay wire and is not yet fixed. I feel alienated form the world, in a sense, and don't even know the weather forecast! (I don't really gather my weather info from the tv anymore...) I can't google, I can't blog, I can't email. You know, all that sort of thing.

Well, how 'bout we use this valuable time for something useful. I would like some input.

I am in charge of a women's retreat next year and the theme is "Survivor". These are women of many ages so keep that in mind with your crazy ideas. I thought of hidden "immunity items" that win you a prize. I thought of asking everyone to bring a "luxury item" to share with the group. I thought of only trying to incorporate food items that they would encounter or have provided for them. Tiki torches outside, a definite must! What else?

"MAX!"

Sometimes I'm not very patient. Do you know who the perfect example of patience is? "Jesus", you may think. He is a good example, don't get me wrong but, honestly, did he ever have children? Can you really test patience accurately? I'm not so sure. The greatest example of patience for me is Ruby. You know, on Max and Ruby? Granted, she's not the mom but, seriously, if my kids even had her patience this would be the most pleasant house in the world. She is so freaking patient, it's amazing. Max does things over and over and over again and she softly teaches him and explains what she would like his actions to be and rarely, if ever, gets frustrated. A-maz-ing! I know I could have put something from You-tube on here but I 'm not set up yet and I don't have time. So check 'em out.

The Dentist

It's days like today that make children afraid of the dentist for the rest of their lives!

Emma had had quite a bit of pain which resulted in an emergency room visit this weekend. She has had jaw pain a lot and grinds her teeth at night and we were having a difficult time getting the pain to subside at all. We also knew she had a tooth decaying but she didn't think it was coming from her tooth. The doctor prescribed penicillin just in case it was the tooth and we made a dentist appointment for this morning.

She has been extremely comfortable with the dentist until now. She's had fillings and been numbed and swore to me that she never got a shot... She even hoped she would get numbed today. Well, her cheek was swollen for the last day, proving infection in the tooth, and because of that infection she experienced extra pain today. She was in pain through all the numbing and kept feeling pain, so they'd give her more Novocain. Then they start wiggling it and getting it loose and she's in pain and saying, "Ow,ow,ow,ow." and THEN they start the pulling and she's yelling, "Ow,ow,OW,OW,OW!" and I'm sitting there with Izzy on my lap feeling completely horrible and Emma's crying and ... then she's still crying. Then we see the huge tooth and she's still crying and we wait and she's still crying. Then we're finally back home and she's still delicate and moaning and crying. SAD!

She's better and optimistic now. She's excited about all her special foods to eat and activities and movies. And we're pretty sure the tooth fairy pays big for bravery and pain!

Evil eye

Ben's in Africa

Don't forget to check Ben's blog as he updates it during his trip. www.kabiye-kaptive.blogspot.com
There's also a link on the side...

Family night at the Soc Hop

We planned on going to the soc hop at Emma and Aiden's school together on Friday before Ben left for Africa. Unfortunately, Izzy had a fever all day that day so she and Ben stayed at the house and had root beer floats, instead.








Emma's friend, Cimone, moved to California today so we crammed in as much time together as we could. She came to the soc hop with us. It was her very best friend here.













This was one of the times Aiden had fun during the evening. Most of the time he was crying about something or just grumpy. He was happier thinking about dancing at the soc hop than he was while we were there...

Here's Emma doing the limbo. She didn't win.:)















This was the only picture I could get Aiden to stay in. That was his face the whole time. Unless he was crying.


We had pizza and pop and root beer floats. They did a cake walk. Emma won. Not Aiden... They bought some raffle tickets to win a huge basket of stuff. We were in the wrong room when they called the winners... Maybe we won, maybe we didn't.

It wasn't the family event we planned on with some of the family at home, but Emma and Cimone had fun. The funny thing is, Aiden said he had fun when we got home!

Not, like, grafiti...

I've been "tagged." Tara "tagged" me and now all of you can learn more about the contents of my deepest thoughts and emotions.

8 things I'm passionate about:
1. My children. I love experiencing each moment I can with them. Watching them. Listening to them.
2. My husband. I love being near him. I can't get over him.
3. Learning who Jesus is. I want more than an "elementary age boyfriend" relationship. (Did you ever forget what your boyfriend looked like? I did.)
4. Changing who I am in Jesus. Allowing myself to be transformed into something better.
5. Worship. Being part of it. Writing music. Dreaming.
6. Finding people to love. As in friends. Finding relationships to sustain me.
7. Serving my family by maintaining our home and teaching my children how to be responsible for themselves.
8. Serving along side the community of believers at Sterling Drive Church of Christ. Learning how to be different and make an impact in our community. Changing Bellingham.

8 things I want to do before I die:
How shallow is this? 1. Go to Disneyland with my family.
2. Witness my children grow up and have families.
3. The music God lays on my heart to speak to others in this world.
4. Exercise daily.
5. Not have to worry about what I spend on my groceries so I can make the most healthiest and greatest meals ever.
6. Serve on a mission trip together with my family before they leave home.
7. Have a great garden.
8.Travel with my husband.

8 things I say often:
1. (this is a sound) clicking my tongue twice.
2. son of a ... :l
3. Izzy says I say "no" and "yes" all the time.
4. "Aiden, what did I just ask you to do?"
5. "No, I'm sorry. You have the wrong number."
6. I kiss my family a lot. That counts. It says a lot!

8 artists I never tire of listening to:
1. James Taylor
2. Norah Jones
3. Crosby, Stills and Nash
4. Casting Crowns
5. U2
6. Go Fish ( acapella kids group that's phenomenal)
7. Ask Ben who I listen to all the time. It's all on his ipod. I can't remember there names...
8. Brandi Carlisle

8 TV shows you love:
1. Lost
2. Survivor
3. The Office
4. The Bachelor
5. Desperate Housewives
6. Iron Chef
7. American Idol
8. Friday Night Lights

8 things that attract me to my friends:
1. They like me.
2. They're humorous. (Different than funny.)
3. common interests
4. good listener
5. Like to have fun
6. Don't need to be entertained.
7. strong personalities (obviously not all the time!)
8. They take on a part of pursuing relationship.

8 Things I learned in 2007:
1. There are blessings all around me. Wherever I am.
2. Texas is no big deal but the people there are fantastic!
3. My anal tendencies really are a hobby.
4. Life is fragile.
5. I'll always be thrown curve balls as long as I'm alive.
6. To shop for my kids' clothes a the thrift store always!
7. I can't remember...

I'm tagging :
Julia
Cheryl
Ashtin
Marta
Chelan

Things are lookin' up!

I went to the doctor today and will be fine for the next while. God was merciful and this has been the least amount of pain I have experienced thus far. I walked myself into the clinic and out today instead of needing a wheel chair... I am happy. I am thankful. And tomorrow I get to sing on the worship team which is always a plus and Ike will be up here leading worship for us. Life keeps going, we just roll with the punches.

Some things suck!

Would you guys pray for me over the next couple of days? Without going into great detail, I keep having to go into the hospital for the same thing-for the last 9 years. It sucks and I'm tired of it. I was hoping it would be over, permanently or for a long time, but I only made it a year. The next few days are going to suck.

That's it.

Bring on the snow!

We've been having snowfall off and on during the last week. It's been very cold but there hasn't been any accumulation until yesterday. It started before dark and we ended up with four to five inches! The kids had a two hour late start which meant Aiden wouldn't have school. I got Aiden and Izzy bundled up so they could play outside. They asked for stuff to make a snowman and, thanks to my mom, I have a snowman kit in the coat closet just waiting to be used! They were out there for a little bit and then came in asking for help. Being the great mom I am, I budled up and we made a great snowman together. They were done being cold by the time I grabbed the camera so we have no account of there presence... But they DID help! A lot! No lies.

It was fun! And when Ben gets home tomorrow he'll get to see some snow, even if the rest is melted by then.:)

Ohhhh, Africa...

If you weren't quick enough to catch my funny post, you better read it.

I've added two more blogs to my list. One is Andrew and Aimee Jo's Uganda blog and the other is that of my dear husband. He is a little disappointed in himself for giving in but he swears it is only to communicate while he's on his trip to Togo, Africa with his brothers. I'm very excited for him. He's gotten all his shots and is applying for his visa. He'll go to Switzerland first to meet up with Andy and then the two of them will head to Togo together. They're going to have such a great time. They'll get to hang out with Tracey and the boys and, I think, the three of them (Brian, Ben and Andy) are going on Safari together. Ben will be gone two weeks in February. We'll miss him but we'll be having fun of our own, too!

Anal

I love being anal. Maybe it's even close to obsessive/compulsive... Really it's like a hobby! I love a clean sheet of paper. Don't fold it! IF you fold it you should only fold it in one direction, and you know which direction that is, and you better have a book to put it in so it doesn't get wrinkly. Then when you get home, assuming you did that out of desperation, you would recopy it into a neat notebook so that you can find the information when needed!

I don't like using two different pens on the same paper. I may have piles on my counter but they're straightened and square with the tiles. I haven' t done it in this house yet, but, I have organized my closet by sleeve length and color. (the first, then the second.) If you scrapbook with me, don't ask my honest opinion! I can always find something that doesn't suit me. It tortures me to look at my first scrapbooks.

I have a hard time being a good mom. I'd rather show them the right way to do it than have them learn by trial and error. It's hard to let them help me cook. I do actually do both of those things but I have to try hard. I also am better about always having to be right. I actually like letting my kids say something completely untrue and leaving it alone. Like, "This isn't the way to the church!" I just say, "okay." Or, "Those aren't your pants, they're dads." "Okay" (But what are they really saying?)

It's kind of funny, though, because I'm not like Bree on Desperate Housewives who irons her pillow cases and who's house is spotless. It's more of an ebb and flow. I can't keep up on my laundry for anything! BUT, when I put clothes away, I re-sort their drawers and take out things that are old or don't fit. I like things organized and want a spot for everything. I'm perfectly fine with throwing things away. I have a tub for saving special things of the kids' (papers and such), but if it starts getting full I'll go through and throw other less important things away. Both Ben and I love a spotless house but do we always do what it takes to maintain it? Not necessarily. That's why I just like to say being anal is my hobby! Is there anything anal you'd like to share that I would appreciate? Julia? Cheryl?

We have seen his glory!

Sorry I didn't post immediately, but Malak exists and we know all about him!!!

Tara and Eric got there referral on Monday, the 21st, and are awaiting a court date to be granted custody of Malak Kidu Silvestri.

We are all so thankful that their waiting is nearing an end and hope to meet that precious baby very soon.

Thank you, God!

Baby, come home!

Pray for Malak, today. He needs his mommy and daddy and they need him...

Open your hearts and your minds...

In Aiden's stocking Santa brought a small little case filled with words for creating poetry. My brother, Ryan, and I took upon ourselves to create three pieces for future enjoyment. Open your eyes and take in such eloquence, such deliciousness.

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Amen and Amen.

They're right!

Caffe Vanilla Frappuccino

Smooth and sweet, you fit in to almost any crowd. No one would suspect you of being a coffee tweaker!

What Flavor Frappuccino Are You?

Check it out!

First cruise down and check out some pictures from Christmas at the Woods house.

Then, check out the new blog I started that's just my photography pics. I only have the most recent shoot on there but I will continue to add to it. There's a link now on the side for Jen's Photography.

Christmas Pix

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

I'm thinking about the part of the song that goes like this...(In a loud, beautiful, yet obnoxious voice) "Rejoice, Rejoice..."

Tomorrow school starts back up again. It's a good thing.

I'm not saying this in a "Oh, my goodness, when will they ever go back to school" way. It's a "this has been pleasant and enjoyable but I'd like my routine back" way.

Sorry it's been so long since I posted. I guess I was spending quality time with my children, my husband, my family, and other close friends...

We had a fantastic break. We started off our holiday with our Christmas "dinner" and play/ Christmas service the Sunday before Christmas at our church. It was great. Then we left from the building to drive straight to our good friends, Aaron and Chelan's, new house. Monday we headed to my parents house to spend Christmas with them and Ryan and Jessica. It's pretty special for my kids to have cousins to be with. India must "count" already because my kids actually said, "We want to stay here and play with our cousins!" Ben and I went to the Christmas Eve service at East County and Ben was able to see those who were there since he would be heading to Bellingham before the next Sunday. We had a great time being with our families. We were able to spend time with Ben's mom and Art. We got together with friends, too. Ben took the train back up to Bellingham Saturday and the lids and I traveled back on Sunday after attending East County. Aaron and Chelan caravaned back with me and they stayed at our house for New Years. We were very thankful they were able to do that. We took our first trip to Mt Baker. Although we all say we had a fun time, there were way more tears and coldness than smiles! We were playing in the snow for a total of about 45 minutes. Maybe. Then it was dark. It took longer than we expected to get to an open area for sledding so we drove for a total of about 4 hours and then only 45 minutes of playing/crying... There were wipe outs and frozen feet and faces and hands. There was getting bundled and unbundling and stripping and warming and starving people. Thank you Lord for good attitudes!

The rest of this week was spent being together, staying up later and sleeping in, a little. Our friends Brent and Lewis were able to give us a surprise visit and were at our house for two nights this weekend. It was so great to have them here and I know it meant so much to Ben. They were able to worship with us this morning and hear Ben preach.

(Just a side note: we know some really great people. We have been so blessed by the many, many people that God has brought into our lives. He always, always continues to surround us with amazing, caring, loving people. I am who I am because of all of you and so many others. To my Texas people and my Vancouver people and my Portland people and my Bellingham people and my scattered people, I am thankful for you. No one is more blessed than me to be a part of all of your lives.)

Well, life continues on tomorrow. Our good life. I am praying that God will continue to bless us this year with more than we could ask or imagine. Blessings on all of you.

Melakalikimaka!

Merry Christmas! Don't be a Grinch!

Good Morning!

Let me first say, we have a new rule. If you aren't responsible in picking up your things by the end of the day you don't get a quarter, which you would if you did, and you lose t.v. and computer the next day. Aiden lost t.v. and computer today. But who was up before everyone else and who has a t.v. in his room/our office? So when I got up their was a cartoon on. First, I forgot and was just getting his clothes out and helping him get dressed. Then it was time to eat. Sometimes we'll go to the living room t.v. and find their cartoon and record it using tivo so they can watch it later. I couldn't find the show he was watching. I went back to check on what channel it was on... 518? How did he get all the way up to the 500s? Wait a minute. That's a pay-per-view channel! When he said, "Move, I can't see the movie", he was serious. My kid just ordered a movie off pay-per-view! It's actually even chance that it would be something he would want to watch 'cause he can't read! My son cheated, bought a pay-per-view movie, and has to go to school and can't watch it! There's four dollars out the window. I'm taking back a Christmas present! Not really.

More snow for us!

Here's us having fun in the snow!

Non-Crappy Starring You! eCards on JibJab

Little doll dears

Two of my sweeties!

"Ladies and Gentlemen..."

Crazy Hair Day

We went all out for Crazy hair day at school today!

Talk to me

I was trying to post a cute picture but it's not working right now. Oh well. You'll just have to be lured into reading by my incredible insight and witty words.

Let's go with this instead:

Luke 10

Jesus Sends Out the Seventytwo

1After this the Lord appointed seventy-two^[a] others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

5"When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' 6If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. 7Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

8"When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. 9Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' 10But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.' 12I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

So this scripture is something that we're reading every week for the next year. You may ask why. We, as a church, have chosen to be a part of Partnership for Missional Church, which will help us discover who we are, what we are doing, what God is doing around us, and how we will chose to join him in what he is doing in our community. We are also reading this text over and over to live in the scripture instead of using scripture as a tool for our own means. It's foreign to me but we're doing it, none-the-less.

What sticks out to you from this passage?

Shiloh needs her mommy and daddy

Shiloh is the sweet baby of Jen and Filipe Nunes (A family that were missionaries in Portugal for several years). They have been in the process of adopting her from Guatemala for many months. They have had her precious picture since she was 2 weeks old and she is now 7 1/2 months. They have gone to see her and spent a week in Guatemala as a family. Shiloh is still in her orphanage just waiting to come home to them. There are several things holding up the process and (even though they have been trusting God all along) it is getting harder and harder for them to be without their child. Now with the political situation in Guatemala changing there is a very strong need to pray for this family. The new president is saying that he will stop all adoptions coming from their country, including ones that are already in process now (this would include Shiloh), at the beginning of the new year. At this point now it looks like Shiloh wont be home before then. This is a very discouraging and scary situation for the Nunes family.

What they really desire is to have their daughter home and safe with them by Christmas time. For this to happen it is going to take a miracle. We need to all pray that God will answer the desires of their hearts and bring her home to them.


I know it's short notice, but on Wednesday the 21st (the day before Thanksgiving) we are going to do a prayer and fasting day. We are asking anyone who knows their family or who wants to petition God on behalf of this precious child and her family join us. If you have a blog or myspace please link to this post or cut and paste this request so that as many people as possible read this before Wednesday.

If you want to pray with us please do so. If you would like you can leave a note on my blog (http://www.jessicawoods.blogspot.com)

or Jen's (http://guatagirl.blogspot.com/) letting us know you are joining in or just write a note of encouragement for this family.

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers!

Jessica

Brenda Louise Woods

Today my mother turns 50. I haven't been around all those fifty years but I have been here more than half.

My Marme

Cuddling, hugging,
sitting together, reading a book
walking, talking,
standing in the kitchen, learning to cook

Teaching, learning,
sharing some deep thoughts
laughing, crying,
sneaking out and getting caught

Weddings, babies,
playing games at your house or mine
late nights, hospital visits,
talking on the phone , losing track of time

Mailing, driving,
living in the same state
friendship, my mother
No one could be as great!

I love you. Happy Birthday!

May God grant you with peace and comfort and may you dwell in the love that he has given you in us.

The Kid Times

Have you ever wished you had a different name.? I've even known of people who changed their name once they were allowed. Well, Izzy and I were walking down the bus stop to meet Aiden and Emma and I posed the question to her.
"Izzy, if you could change your name and pick a new name, what name would you pick?"
She replied, "Izzy with Dicky."
"What was that? You want your name to be Dicky?"
I couldn't stop giggling.
"Yep."


Emma chose Lizzy for her name and Aiden chose Harry Potter.


Emma is a pretty cool kid. She tries to wear cool stuff and she's funny and nice to her friends but I am still amazed sometimes because everyone seems to give her things. She has come home from school with pictures, of course, drawn by all her friends and then cute hair rubberbands, head bands of all sorts, pens, pencils, magnets, toys, candy and the list goes on. I feel like I am constantly asking her where she got such and such. Half the time I ask her if she asked them to give it to her. It's what she does to her siblings when I'm around so I can only imagine she does the exact same things when I'm not around. Sometimes I am amazed at the things she convinces her brother and sister to give her. And, mind you, no one is ever crying!
Let me take you on a slight detour and we'll come back around to this subject. Emma has a friend named "Tanya", we'll call her. Well, a while ago Tanya told Emma that she was moving. Emma was sad. Then she told Emma that she was moving the very next day. Emma continued to report to me her tragedy. Then she told Emma that she was moving next week. Then she told Emma she was moving Wednesday. Then she told Emma that she could come to our Harvest party. Then she told Emma that she had her own Harvest party. Then she told Emma her family was rich and she said if she could she is going to bring her a hundred dollars today.
How cool is that? I think she will. 'Cause everything Tanya says is true! How many kids do you know that get presents from their friends all the time and get 100 whoppin' dollars. Emma is awesome! Guess that means I'm awesome! Awesome!

Happy Haloweeeeeen!

Do any of you remember the particular voice of some sort of scary witch or something that screeched those words whenever you walked past at the mall? I do.

We had a Harvest party at our church on Wednesday and invited the neighborhood. it was good and we did have neighbors come. We had a bounce house, an apple cider press which made delicious cider, a maze, glow in the dark water game, trike races, bobbing for apples, fishing, corn toss, tractor racing(kind of like at the fair with the water shooting and the horses racing along a board...), pumpkin smashing, seed spitting, freshly fried doughnuts, finding candy ina whole bunch of hay, and some chili and corn bread for dinner. Did I forget to mention there was a friendly photographer at the front door taking pictures of everyone in front of a cute little barn scene?
Well, my kids were actually able to borrow costumes from friends . Aiden started off as a gorilla and ended up as spider man when he got too hot. Emma was a Barbie cheerleader. Izzy was an dancing elephant and then took off her tutu making her a plain ol' elephant. Ben and I were both farmers. Good times, rotten teeth!