Ha-a-a-appy Ha-a-allowe-e-e-e-en!

We have been having a wonderful time during this Halloween/All Saint's Day season:

On Saturday the 27th, the kids in our neighborhood had a costume parade. This was such a sweet activity. The older kids in the neighborhood met at one house and cheered as all the little kids walked by. Other neighbors watched and waved out their windows or off of their front porches. After the "parade" we went back to the neighborhood pavilion and had spooky cookies and juice.

Trunk or Treat was at our church on Sunday evening(the 28th). The kids loved it and I enjoyed looking at all of the ideas on the trunks. There was a disco with a twirling, lit-up disco ball ("Dancing Praise to God" sort of theme), "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" (very well done); Scooby Doo and the Mystery Machine(this one cracked me up), Pirates with a great Pirate ship (E was a little hesitant of this one---he did not understand how that mean, ugly pirate knew his name), Little Red Riding Hood with the wolf...and sooooo many more. Everything looked wonderful and the kids enjoyed seeing the different trunks. I am sorry that I do not have pictures of those trunks, just know that the trunks were that good. There were also games and jump-o-lenes, a hot dog supper and a music group that came to sing. The kids dressed up and our little neighbor went with us. We also invited other neighbors and met them there.

Of course, we also did trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. Since there were no classes Wednesday night at church, we stayed and fellowshipped with the neighbors. :) All of the candy that we got at the trunk or treat went into our trick-or-treating bowl with two more bags of candy and was given all away. But, for all you grandparents out there who may be feeling sorry that our children's candy was gone by the end of the night, our bowl is now filled back up because of all the treats they received from walking around the neighborhood. We went to maybe 15--20 houses. The neighbors are very generous in their handing out of candy. D-D really liked getting her bucket filled---I think that she was amazed that people were handing out candy, and LOTS of it. She had a hard time leaving each house, wanting to keep digging through the candy bowls. Some candy she handed back saying, "I doan like dis one." Of course those sweet people would look for something she did like...I mean, how can anyone refuse a cute little fairy, right? Well, at least now we are very aware of the etiquette/manners needing to be worked on during this year.

M-G is dressed up as a witch, E is supposed to be Batman, and D-D is Tinkerbell. E, much like last year, just wore part of his costume on Halloween night. He had on his Batman mask and cape, but a Superman shirt. The neighbors were very confused on what to call him. Z wore a BOO shirt and handed out candy with his dad. He is wearing the same outfit E wore on his first Halloween.

Z had his mole examined on his face, and the doctor said what we thought would be said..."Yep, that's a mole. Keep an eye on it." So, we will keep our eye on it. Z's dermatologist said that this mole will grow as he grows and we may later want to have some cosmetic surgery done, but right now is not the time for it. The mole is really very close to his eye.

As soon as we were done walking a small portion of our neighborhood, D-D immediately went inside to check things out:

Multiplying Rabbits

They are multiplying like rabbits!!!!! NO~~~I am not talking about children---though in this house that DOES seem very close to the truth. I am talking about what I discovered last night while brushing my teeth (this in itself is noteworthy--not because I am anywhere near being unhygienic, but so often I wake up to so many "fires" that by the end of the day I cannot remember if I ever did brushed my teeth or put on deodorant or even if I ever used the bathroom!!).

So, I am looking in the mirror, scrubbing my teeth pretty vigorously, when I notice something shiny in my hair. Whatever it is, it keeps catching and reflecting the light when I turn my head at certain angles. Thinking I somehow got some glitter in my hair at Trunk or Treat or a flake of metal chipped off of my barrette, I lean forward to pull it out and discover...Aaaaaaack!!! It is not a small piece of metal, glitter, or that Halloween hair coloring stuff, but...

it's a gray hair.


No, not really gray---more like (gulp, deep breath)
silvery-white!!!

I'M ONLY 33---I--I--I mean, umm, uh, ahem!

I'M ONLY 29!!!!!!

And there is not just one (though I plucked it out really fast)!! It seemed like for every one of those white/silver hairs, I found three more!!!!! Oh, MAN!!!! Fortunately, at least right now, they are hard to see...they just look like really blonde hairs.

Does this gray color multiply as fast as rabbits? Hmmm, just don't go looking too closely at my hair. :)

I guess I also need to stay away from those bright, revealing lights, too.

Trying to Catch Our Breath

October is our busiest month for birthdays, activities, and all around good times. Perhaps that is the reason that this is only the third blog for this month!!!

Mandy's dad had his birthday on Oct 2, then D-D's was the 3rd, followed by Dana's birthday on the 7th and M-G's on the 14th. All of the birthdays were quiet little affairs, not much hoopla, but lots of thankfulness for the person being born for all of us to enjoy and be blessed by as well as be a blessing to. The end of this month sees us wishing Mandy's sister Keri a Happy Birthday on the 28th.

Z had his 2 month check up last week. He was about 2 ounces shy of being 14 pounds!!! He is also 1/4 inch shy of being two feet tall. Just yesterday I began pulling all of his 0-3 mo clothes from the hangers and his drawers. I cannot believe that he is already in 3-6 mo outfits---and pushing the seams on some of those!!!! While at his 2 month check-up I asked his dr about a bruise that has been above his eye since he has been born. After looking at it the pediatrician informed us that the bruise is REALLY NOT a bruise, but a mole. She has set up an appointment with a pediatric dermatologist. Since there is only one ped. dermatologist in the state, we will have to do a little bit of traveling to see this physician. Fortunately the travel will not be too long.

Z is laughing out loud right now, rolling over from his tummy to his back every once in a while, and is doing pretty good holding his body up when he is on his tummy. He can sing his ABCs, but can only go as far as Nehemiah when reciting the books of the Old Testament. We continue to work with him. Dana is thinking he is very promising in the arena of math and electronics---you should see how Z can take apart our computer and put it back together again!!!

All joking aside, Z is doing well and growing so very quickly. I know that we will blink and he will be playing football with his big brother, then we will blink again, and he will be playing football with his own little sons and daughters.

They are all growing quickly and growing more beautiful every day. What a blessing God has given us with these children. To trust us with all four for their upbringing!!! to love us enough to give them to us to raise in His ways!!!----it is a daunting and a humbling task! What treasures He has bestowed!!!

Psalm 66 : 16

"Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me." Ps. 66.16

Z had his cardiologist appointment today. We arrived at the children's hospital around 12:30 pm, found our way to the office through a huge maze of corridors and floors, signed in with the receptionist and were very soon shown into the room with an EKG machine. Z did wonderfully. All during the EKG reading, he smiled and even coo-ed. After this was done, the nurse weighed him (13 pounds, 2.8 ounces!!!!) and then instructed us to go back to the waiting room until the cardiologist could see us.

About 15 minutes (give or take) passed, and another nurse showed us into a room where she took a reading of the oxygen levels in his blood. The dr. soon came in and administered the echo cardiogram. After about 2 minutes or so of the physician looking at his heart, Z got tired of just laying there and decided to show everyone how well his lungs worked. In case any of you are wondering, his lungs work GREAT.

And then...the doctor told us what all he saw and the results of all the tests. Z is completely healed!!!! The holes in his heart have closed, the vein they were concerned about is now doing what it should do, his oxygen levels are normal (he made an A+ on that test), his breathing looks and sounds wonderful, and he is a very healthy little baby boy.

The doctor that we saw was a really nice man with a sweet, gentle and compassionate way about him---but we are so thankful that we will not have to see him again!!! And, I know that he is also thankful that the little life---our little baby---he saw today will not have to be in his office again.

Thank you, everyone, for your prayers concerning Baby Z. Now, it is our honor and joy to thank God for His provision and healing!!! How He blesses us with His grace and love!!!! And, thank you to any of you who will join us in this time of thanksgiving.

"Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His love endures forever."
Ps. 118 : 1

D-D's Golden Birthday

D-D's golden birthday. That is becoming the age of the day she was born: she turned 3 yrs old on October 3. Her birthday was a very relaxed affair. When Dana got home from work, we all sat around D-D and watched her open her gifts. After the gifts, we had supper and went to Bible class where her classmates sang Happy Birthday to her.


The next morning I finished decorating the cake, and Thursday night we had fun blowing out the candles and eating her cake after her birthday dinner.



Now when we ask D-D how old she is, she holds up 6 fingers...3 on each hand. She is even making us laugh by putting three fingers on each cheek and saying, "I'm theeeeee!!!" Though she has enjoyed being three for these past two days, she has not stopped wanting to be 6 like her sister. So, every once in a while she will say, "I'm not theee, I'm six...I'm M-G!!! I'm N-O-O-O-T theee!!!"



She did a good job blowing out the candles on her cake. Such a good job that we had to re-light them so we could get a picture of her blowing. We were all moving our mouths trying to help her blow, but she got the

flames out all by herself.