Happy Halloween 2010

Kids had a great time trick or treating. Macy already headed out to go to a Halloween party.... she left before I could get a picture of her in her great "Fly" costume. She made a gorgeous bug. Here is our Mime.... his sign says "Trick or treat" on one side and "Thank you" on the other. Our Vampire... with real clip on fangs and our poor hunter..... shot by a friend with very poor aim!! We walked all over town gathering goodies and the parents all enjoyed "checking" the treats for damaged goods. (Reese's peanut butter cups are most often of concern by the grown-ups in our house!) :)

Senior Swim Night

Dori had her final high school home swim meet. It was senior night so we all got introduced and Dori got to announce her personal quote "A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future and accepts you today just the way you are"



Future plan is to go to to college to become a speech language pathologist and favorite moment was Arts and Crafts gone bad (apparently swimmers are not good artists and have many mishaps with glitter!)






The whole family all got to stand with her. What a great looking group, huh?!! :)

Cornundrums

The corn maze included several picture that were riddles that needed to be solved (and also helped to see if you were in a new part of the maze or hopelessly circling the same area)

Here were some of our favorites.....

..... this is an easy one!



this one is a little harder....



this one was pretty hard!!




scroll down for answers....











pumpkin patch





sitting duck





hog wash





:)

Charley's Corn Maze in Pictures

Our family took a fun trip to the corn maze this week, a great fall activity.

Louie Crew

A pastor named Louie Crew came to visit our church a few weeks ago. This is an amazing and interesting guy. First of all he is a gay man that grew up as a southern Baptist and converted to Episcopalian, which is not that unusual. He has been partnered with the same man for 37 years, that’s pretty rare these days for any kind of partnership. The man he is partnered to is African American. And he grew up in Alabama in a time when inter-racial anything was frowned upon. All together, that makes him very unique in my eyes.

He is the first gay man I have ever heard say that he did not know if being an openly gay man was the right choice in God’s eyes. There was no way he was going to knock on the pearly gates and say, “Let me in God, I was a proud gay man and you know I was right to be so.” He said he will knock on that big, heavenly door and say, “Please God…. Be merciful.”

He also talked about visiting his Father in the hospital just before he died. His father was lying in the bed and Louie took his hand. Louie knew that his father was not happy about the gay issue and even less happy about the inter-racial relationship. He said, “Dad, I am sorry I was never the son you hoped I’d be.” His father sat up in bed with a sudden burst of energy and said, “Son, you are exactly who I want you to be and I love you very much.” Louie looked out at the audience and said, “…and that is just my earthly father, think of what my heavenly father will say!”

When Pepper and I had our picture taken with Louie he handed me his card and asked if I would send him a copy of the picture to his email. I did the next day and he sent me back a message, “How kind of you to send me this copy! I am flattered to be with you in it. I thoroughly enjoyed my time this weekend. Joy! Louie”

What a nice guy. I am glad I got a chance to meet him. ☺

A Morning Conversation...

While standing out waiting for Dill's bus this morning, he asked "Can you be artistic and still be good at Math, Reading and talking?"

Knowing Dill is very good at all three of those things and that his big brother has been doing lots of sketches for his art class lately, I thought he was asking me if I thought he was good at art too. I said, "Of course, you are very creative! I think you are great at Art!!"

He looked at me strangely and said, "There's a boy in my class that is really good at Math, he can read and he can talk... even though he sometimes uses the wrong words. My teacher says he is artistic anyway."

"Oh! You mean AUtistic!" I say, the dim light over my head getting a little brighter.

He looks at me frustrated as he heads out toward his waiting bus and says, "That's what I said Mom. How old are people when they can't hear correctly?"

Two conversations

A couple weekends ago Pete and I both took the Hunter's Safety Class. It was actually very informative and interesting. I learned a lot. We learned about the history of hunting, how firearms work, how to track and stalk, how to climb into a tree stand.... just to name a few things. Another thing I learned is that kids do not learn how to take notes (at least not before 7th grade) I watched Pete and other kids that sat around me and even when the instructors gave BLATANT hints like "THIS will be on the test!!" the kids did not write down what was said or highlight it in their book. I took it upon myself as a side mission to show Pete how to listen for things that were important to know from the lecture material. The other kids that sat around us started paying attention too.... and I must have done well. Everyone passed the final..... 98% or better! I really enjoyed getting to spend the whole weekend with Just Pete. One on one time with any of the kids seems to be a rare thing in our family. It was nice to do something I knew Pete was interested in. As a follow up, Pete and I went to Cabela's to have his bow checked over and to get his first hunting license for youth weekend. We stood in line waiting for his license and chatted about his upcoming trip with Uncle K. He was very excited about finally getting to go hunt. When it was our turn to step to the counter, Pete was ready. He had his wallet (he checked his back pocket every 3 minutes to make sure it was still there) and wore his serious, ready-to-hunt look. "Can I help you?" the lady at the counter asked. I quickly explained that it was our first time to get a license. She looked at Pete and said, "How old are you?" "twelve" "Did you take the hunter's safety class?" she asked. "yes" "Did they give you a certificate of completion?" "yes" "Do you have it with you?" "yes" (Pete stands there, waiting for the next question) "I need to see it" "Oh!" Finally he reaches into back pocket for wallet. She takes the certificate and begins typing. She makes sure she spelled the name correctly then says, "What is your address?" Pete turns to me and says, "Should I tell her?" :)

While standing out waiting for Dill's bus this morning, he asked "Can you be artistic and still be good at Math, Reading and talking?" Knowing Dill is very good at all three of those things and that his big brother has been doing lots of sketches for his art class lately, I thought he was asking me if I thought he was good at art too. I said, "Of course, you are very creative! I think you are great at Art!!" He looked at me strangely and said, "There's a boy in my class that is really good at Math, he can read and he can talk... even though he sometimes uses the wrong words. My teacher says he is artistic anyway." "Oh! You mean AUtistic!" I say, the dim light over my head getting a little brighter. He looks at me frustrated as he heads out toward his waiting bus and says, "That's what I said Mom. How old are people when they can't hear correctly?"