Blessing

I spent lots of time in November thinking of my blessings.  I am so grateful for the things I have and enjoy in my life.

Speaking of blessings, we had the opportunity to bless Ellie in October.  For those who aren't familiar with this term:  in our Church, men have the Priesthood, which is the power of God here on earth.  It's the same power that Jesus Christ used to perform miracles when he was living on the earth 2000 years ago.  Garrett has the Priesthood, and when babies are born in LDS (Mormon) families, the father gives the baby a special blessing to start their lives.  Traditionally these blessings are held during Church on Sundays; however, that's not the rule, so our family usually opts to do it at home.  That way, we can do it on our own schedule and invite people who may not be able to attend otherwise.

Ellie's blessing was such a wonderful experience!  My parents came from Pennsylvania, and Garrett's parents were here as well.  We also had some good friends here from Church, and several good friends from school were in attendance as well.

We started by singing "Families Can Be Together Forever", then had a prayer.  Garrett took a few minutes to talk about the Priesthood and explain to our friends what he would be doing.  Then, Ellie was blessed by Garrett, with our fathers and our Bishop in the circle with him.

We also framed some copies of the "Proclamation to the Family", which we gave to our friends who aren't members of our Church.  We are so thankful that they could come and share that special time with us.

One of the neatest things about the day was that Ellie was able to wear a very special dress.  It was handmade in the 1800s by one of my ancestors on my Grandma Siebach's side.  I am so thankful that she let us borrow it for the occasion.

Baby blessings are so neat - they make me really think about what a blessing children are, and what a great responsibility it is to raise them righteously.  I feel in awe that my Heavenly Father has entrusted me to raise two of his precious daughters here on earth.

Gratitude

I am so blessed.

Halloween

Oh, did I forget the "Happy"? Darn.

For a Halloween Grinch such as myself, I sure got pretty involved with Halloween this year. It was a labor of love, if I do say so.

Or a Trick. (no treat here)

I had the pleasure of helping my mother-in-law with a six-year-old birthday party on Friday night. There were seven guests (Emily Post would be proud) and boy oh boy... no words can really describe the chaos. Five-and-six-year-olds, you know.

This Grinch spent the day making mini BBQ hot dogs bloody toes, open faced quesadillas with three cheeses candy corn sandwiches, mini bagels mummy sandwiches, string cheese witch fingers, and a graveyard scene cake. We played pumpkin punch (punching a pumpkin (helium) balloon which was weighed down with a canned good), spider ring toss, and enjoyed swinging a wooden bat at a pinata. Yes, we gave hyped up six-year-olds a wooden bat.

And, in the spirit of trying-to-be-a-good-parent, I was enthusiastic enough to borrow (at the last minute) Rylan's old dragon costume for Abby to wear trunk-or-treating tonight (so un-crafty of me... no regrets). She was sweaty before I even started to put it on her. Welcome to Savannah, would you like some humidity and 85 degree weather?

Maybe next year I will be a better mom and plan my kids' outfits in advance. Maybe they will even coordinate. But probably not.... sorry girls.

Not really.

The witch fingers aren't shown, but they were string cheese with half an olive on the top to look like a fingernail, and little cuts made in the middle to look like a knuckle.

If I have to hear "Ghostbusters" or "Monster Mash" one more time, so help me...

Carved

Garrett prides himself in carving a great pumpkin every year. Here's his 2009 production:

Halloween Grinch

"Do you like Halloween, Hannah?" Garrett's 5-year-old brother asked me over the weekend. I wondered if I should break the truth to him.

There are few things I hate. Very few. Sure, I dislike a fair amount of things, just like anyone else, but "hate" is reserved for special things, like pork & beans (gag) and maroon walls. And Halloween.

Yes, I hate Halloween. I think it's obnoxious - kids go door to door and beg for candy? I don't even LIKE candy (chocolate, yes. Candy, no). I just don't understand why people love it so much... really, someone please enlighten me. Plus I can't ever really think of anything to dress Abby up as (Last year she was Little Red Riding Hood and that was cute, but this year I'm drawing a blank. To be honest I'm not even thinking about it that much). I don't like witches, goblins, spooky things. They just don't appeal to me.

Garrett, on the other hand, loves Halloween. He likes to think of ways to scare the kids that come to our door, and he LOVES carving pumpkins (I actually like that part too. I don't ever carve a pumpkin, but I like seeing what Garrett comes up with). Garrett is like a kid when Halloween rolls around.

And Rylan (Garrett's little brother) is obsessed with Halloween - more than anyone I've ever met. It falls near his birthday, so the two are pretty much related every year. That's why I hesitated to tell him about my true feelings for Halloween-I don't want him to take it personally. The whole time he was here visiting, all he talked about were ghosts, and his upcoming party which is Halloween themed.

I'm not a complete hater. Things I do love right now: autumn. leaves changing colors and falling to the ground. apple cider and doughnuts. hay rides. scarecrows. corn mazes (ok, I've never been to one, but I've always wanted to!). pumpkins. mums. chili cook-offs (but not the cornbread...ugh). Cool, crisp weather. Sweaters and scarves. Apple picking.

So, don't feel too bad for my kids. Sure, their mom isn't into Halloween but I think Garrett's enthusiasm will make up for it. Now, about those costumes... any ideas?

Most things...

Most things are a bit more fun when you have a little helper.

1998

Wow, these were the days, weren't they? My apologies to everyone in this photo, but the opportunity to post it just couldn't be passed up. Here's the real question, though - who's hiding behind Cara??

**Image stolen from Ali's flickr page... hope that's ok! :)