Halloween Haze

Once again a crazy making week produces fun results.  I wasn't into Halloween that much this  year but we all love to dress up.  Nearly last minute, inspiration finally hit!

We somehow decided Birdy would be Lil Red Riding Hood and S would be the werewolf. Oldest decided to be a 50's Greaser and baby K would be a froggy. How to implement everything on a limited budget? Heck--on NO budget?

I dug through my fabric stash & searched google images for inspiration.(first pic on the left) I found the sweetest LRH costume and was determined to recreate it to the best of my ability. I started with the cape, not to hard to manage. I had some cheap faux velvet.  Then the skirt, I had some thin red corduroy. We pulled out a white button up shirt left over from a few Christmases ago.  I went to my favorite Ribbon Store to stock up on some eyelet lace trim for less than $4. Found a bit of black velvet in the stash for the vest look up top. No basket but we scored a free trickRtreat bucket from Michael's Arts n Crafts Store.  I attached the white fabric apron to the skirt and made it a tie on wrap skirt.  It ended up a wee bit too big, but you'd never know.

Here was the finished product: 

That was the best shot we got--it was sunny and hot, but she looked great.  This pic was taken early, the ribbon in front actually went up much higher up on the shirt.

Our werewolf was having a hard time deciding how he wanted his werewolf to dress.  He finally decided he wanted to focus more on face makeup. I have a professional theatrical make up kit. He did want furry hands though. (I had some black furry fabric in the stash) Oldest got the brilliant idea to make the furry gloves fingerless. He actually sewed them once I pieced them together. (it was a family affair!)

He then wore a Tshirt, ripped jeans, a suit jacket he had and his regular converse.

DH ended up doing S's make up and it came out fabulous!!! Thank goodness cause I never did that well in my theater make up class.

Later we painted his nails (claws) black.  Oldest was able to pull his costume together with a basic white T, a pair of blue jeans, and his black converse.  We added the appropriate touches like cuffed jeans, a black leather jacket some uncle had given him, a crayon box folded up into the sleeves of his T to represent 'cigs' along with a white crayon by his ear.  I did have to help him do his hair. heehee.  I especially loved the curl we did in the middle of his forehead.

{pic to be added}

Baby K, well he was just the cutest frog EVER!!! I crocheted him a green froggy head beanie.  He didn't really own any green clothing except a onesie and that just wouldn't do for an Autumn night.  We found a green pair of leggings on clearance @ Target for less than $2 and a green long sleeve shirt with a green frog looking monster on the front with the words FEED ME for $4. So his total costume cost was $6!!

I did not have a chance to whip out anything for myself.  I ended up feeling almost fluish anyway.  We spent the evening w/ friends, which was nice cause the Wife made some delicious chicken soup and chili.  We carved pumpkins, the kiddos decorated cup cakes, trickRtreated and played.

I am still impressed that for 4 kids & 5 costumes (DH was working but he was a werewolf too), we spent under $10! 

I missed him

Last night lil fella slept in his own bed for the first time...only for the first half of the night though.

Then I think he was punishing me for it the rest of the night because although I took him back into bed w/ me, he did not sleep well @ all.  I don't even know why I put him in his bed...guess cause it was in our room staring @ me for the past 6 mos? Or maybe it's cause baby rolls all over the bed & ends up sideways & I am afraid he will get smothered by a blanket? Or maybe it's simply cause *I* feel so squished on the end (ahem *edge*) of the bed.

I must admit I really could not get to sleep w/o him near me, wierd I know. Sometimes he has woken up and I see him simply put his hand on me and go back to sleep.

I have not been ECing any more during the night...which may or may not contribute to him waking up more. I am not sure. I have just been too tired so I just nurse him...but somehow I think he sleeps better (less restlessness)  if I *do* take him potty.

O! and hey! I finally got him to eat avacado today...I simply had to cut it into chunks NOT mash it up. He took quite a few bites that way. Yay.

This morning...

My oldest is in 11th grade & will be 17 in Jan. (arg! I can't believe it myself! boohoo...wahwah! lol)  He has been prayed over, blessed & received many prophetic words, this past year and a half especially. They have a tendency to focus on his gift of wisdom, in comparison to his age. I have no doubt God has great plans for his life, as He does for each of us, but many children are never told or encouraged in that way.

Well this morning at church, he was spoken over and blessed in a different way.  We had guest worshipers. The women leading is from the Chumash tribe of Native Americans and the rest of her team is Native American as well.  First a man came in dancing and his native dress was like that of a bird, an eagle I think. He had feathers, like wings along his arms. I immediately felt moved to tears watching him. I can't really say why.

After more music and dancing the leader, Ruth, called up Pastor David to offer him gifts and some prophetic words. Then she felt led to call up a *youth*.  Pastor David chose Ernie, my oldest. She and her team offered him gifts as well and spoke prophetic and encouraging words to him individually and in general as a representative of the next generation.

It was so amazing to watch this all happen.  I felt so humbled and so blessed.

They gave the pastor a blanket and also my son a blanket. It had a picture of wolves on it. Ruth shared that she felt the wolves were like the youth. Wolves tend to have a bad reputation in the wilderness but they are respected animals by the Native Americans. They said that it has been said that when little Native American children would wander away from the village, wolves would lead them home.

One of their team, another pastor, said even when E goes out into the world, he will always be able to find his way home & he will always have a home to return to. Another woman gave him one of her hand crafted instruments.  It was a stick, a thick branch really, that was split half way down the middle to make a clapping sound.  She had engraved: Joy of the Lord, on it. She told him that she cared about the youth.

They also asked him what he was sensing or feeling and he said that he feels sometimes that people look at him and think: you're 'just' a kid, but that he *does* have something to offer.  They agreed with him and spoke more encouraging words to him about being a leader of the future, that maybe they would be listening to him leading one day, that they want to learn from him...

It was so neat & such a blessing to watch this unfold. This verse came to mind...as my heart was moved.

Luke 2:19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 

Later he gave her a piece of prophetic art he did during the service and she understood it immediately. S gave her one too. He showed it to me first but all I saw in it was colored scribble scrabble and musical notes. When she showed it to me I could then see the scribble scrabble was actually giant hearts on the page.  Even I knew exactly what it meant for her and she did too. She was very touched and blessed by the pictures she received and our children.

I am so consistently amazed and blessed by my children. I want to be such a better mother to them.

Long Term Investments

It's no secret that we are living in a very fast paced, technologically advanced age.  Our kids have no idea what it is to wait to purchase an album when they can get any song in virtually seconds, online. Saving up to buy something? Why? With instant credit.

How impatient do we get when our DSL takes a more than a few seconds to upload a page. We can be contacted at any given moment via cell phone, instant messages, instant email, instant pictures, instant updates.....most everything is immediate & if it is *not*...Yikes!

I'm not writing anything new or that you don't already know.

However, this is all man's timing. Our technology and pace of life may have changed but the truth is God's has not. A tree takes the same amount of time to mature today, as it did 2000 years ago. A baby still takes about 9 months to fully mature to birth. Flowers are not produced instantaneously, they must all start from seeds. Fruit still grows on trees.

God has not changed his timing. We are under His concept of time, not ours.  We can get so rushed sometimes and feel frustrated when we do not see instant results; in ministry, in our personal lives, relationships, in answers. Right? Are we expecting instant messages form God? How hard is it for us to pray and WAIT for an answer? How long are we willing to wait, if we even do.

John the Baptist, I have decided, is my Biblical hero. I love everything I have read about him from the Bible. But I think more of his mother. Elizabeth and Mary both were humbled and blessed to give birth to John and the Messiah himself.

Promises were given to them, about the children they carried in their womb but how long before their mission was actually fulfilled. We know Christ did not begin his ministry until he was 30 years old. 3 years later he was dead. How long Mary herself, had to wait, and I imagine, pray over her child, to see his mission and purpose fulfilled.

Elizabeth, how long she waited (and possibly given up hope) to have a child of her own and then to see his purpose fulfilled. Which then fulfilled their own very purpose..to raise up these men.

It can be easy to feel discouraged when we are not seeing immediate results. I challenge myself and anyone else who may read this to take time to wait. Wait for the investment pay off. Obedient children aren't born, they are raised. You don't wake up and run a marathon in one day. You must train for it.

The same goes for ministry or answers to prayer. Keep on keeping on. I believe the results of most of our efforts pay out in years. Don't stop praying. Don't give up. Don't stop training. Personally, I am beginning to see results of a vision I was given over 10 years ago! I can barely believe it myself. I didn't even believe it was possible when I first got the idea but it's happening. And it's quite possible if I had stayed the course from the beginning, it may have happened even sooner.

Remember, everything you do for the kingdom, is a LONG TERM INVESTMENT. The return may not and probably won't be immediate. But it will be everlasting.

Blessing in everyday life

I browsed a craft fair at the local park today. So many wonderfully talented crafters. One really stood out.  She made aprons (full and half) from ties. Her work was fabulous and pretty.  While at her booth, I complimented and commented on her wonderful work. I asked her if she had an ETSY shop and encouraged her to get one.

As I was chit-chatting with her it occurred to me that the compliments and business well wishes I was giving her were blessings.  We use blessings at church, offer blessings to others in prayers but what an epiphany to use blessings in every day interactions.  I had told her I hoped her business did very well and she sold a lot of items. Duh!  I had just blessed her.

I wondered how powerful it could be if we blessed others, *all* the time, in our everyday interactions, not just while 'doing church'.  If we represent the 'church' and Christ, we can access all our spiritual gifts and use them, most definitely, outside of church! We may need to alter our language a bit to not scare people, but a nice word of encouragement and well wishes work just as well if intended to show Christ's love with sincerity.

We could offer blessings to local businesses we patronize in our community.  Let them know we sincerely hope their business does well and prospers.  Sincerely wish them well.  Don't we want that? Don't we want people to be prosperous? I think we do. :)

Go bless a stranger today!

Hell Week!

You know, that week for football players right before the season officially starts? That's pretty much how it was last week. My poor babe! He screamed & cried & kicked *every* time I would put him down, even if just to change his diaper.

When he woke up one day w/ tons of mucous running out of his nose & no longer fussing, I realized, he must've been having a sinus headache all that time!  Sheesh! Finally I had my babe back! I was worried there for a minute.

He's got 4 teeth now too. How fast huh? He's got his upper two & his lower front two. I can't believe it myself. I was looking forward to getting a few shots w/ just his first front two. Before they were all the way in, the top two were coming through.  He's such a cutie though, I won't mind too much.

He doesn't want to eat baby food! Then it dawned on me, maybe he wants real *feeling* chunky soft food, right? I gave him a small spoon tip worth of rice & beans. O! The look on his face! He did not like the texture of the rice & he stuck his tongue out & spit it out immediately.  I've been letting him gnaw & chew on chewy breads like bagels..but I read that grains aren't really too good for them at this age...so I don't know what to feed him besides continued nursing.

All he will really take is bananas!

First illness...

My poor babe!  He's had quite a fever now for the past few days. Today I noticed a rash too so it could be Roseola. Poor little guy is obviously not feeling good.  He's not really crying just making whiny noises and it's just so sad.

I've been giving him tylenol and it seems to help for awhile.  Otherwise, today, all he wants to do is 'pretend' to nurse.  The good thing is that he is sleeping a bit better.  Of course all I want to do is hold and snuggle him and make it all better...but alas, there are so many things to do plus I'm not feeling too great myself. {sigh}

It's unusal but I've been able to just lay him down in the bed and he will sort of roll over half way and go to sleep. I know the rest is good for him. The nursing is also the best thing too so I've cut back all 'real' foods for now.

Our House...

This is just how things go in our house:

Baby is not feeling good and feels very hot to the touch when he awakes in the middle of the night. I get up to find our handy digital ear thermometer. I finally find it only to realize that my dd had been playing with it and it now stuck on Celsius.  Which means nothing to me, right?

It only has 2 buttons and between those 2 buttons I can not figure out how to get it back to Fahrenheit! Very frustrating in the middle of the night.  I am so tired and annoyed that I am tempted to wake up my 7 year old daughter *just* to tell her not to play with the thermometer anymore.

My husband wakes up and I let him know the situation.  He suggests I just get on the laptop and look up the manual online.  Which is the same ridiculous thought I had earlier. Naturally I do this.  It requires resetting the router all the way in the living room, finding the power plug to the laptop that can't hold a charge and locating the laptop itself.

Reformatting the thermometer was simple. Good. I take baby's temperature and it reads 96 degrees! arg! I take mine to double check and mine is only 94 degrees! It obviously has issues. All that time spent was apparently useless! After all that I attempt to go back to sleep. {sigh}

Someday I will be organized and my home will be uncluttered.  A girl can dream, can't she?

3? Are you kidding me?

Baby has 3, count them, 3 teeth! I thought it would take longer. whew! For cutting in so many, he certainly hasn't been very fussy.

Last night though he broke out in a fever and slept very fitfully. I do not know why. The digital ear thermomenter we have was of no use either. It wouldn't read his temp as anything over 96 degrees and it kept reading *my* temp as 94!!!

I've been giving him a few fooods here an there. He loves banans but they seem to give him a stomach ache. He refuses to open his mouth for hard boiled egg yolk. I even mixed it with lots of coconut oil and sweet potatoes once. Yesterday he had pomegranite applesauce. High in antioxidants low on baby friendliness. It was a crack up. He'd take it in but then make these sour faces that were so funny.

I steamed and mashed carrots for him. Except for being mush, I thought they tasted deliscious. Apparently he does not agree. I am trying to start him off healthy but he seems to not be having any of it. I know breastmilk is the most nutritious thing for him right now anyway so I guess there really is no rush.

I have  a group I meet with every other Thursday night, so even though I don't want to rush him, I want him to have something available to hold him off when I am not here for those few hours.

And even though I am enjoying the bit of 'freedom' (which really isn't an accurate word), I am saddened by how quickly he is growing. I think I normally do a good job of savoring the moments...but this time has flew by.

I guess NOT!

Pomegranite Applesauce going *in*....

...but not so well received!

17 years!

I can hardly believe it myself. I've been having  a personally trying time this past week, so our anniversary wasn't anything particularly exciting...

But it is exciting to think we are so close to the 20 year mark! I am looking forward to some 'breakthrough' & hoping for positive changes to come our way...so I imagine for our next few anniversary's, we will be in a much better position to celebrate.

We went to Disneyland, of course, but this time we took the whole family.  Usually we spend the day alone together celebrating.  It was quite anti-climactic. We could barely get out of the house. We discovered we had a flat tire & that needed to get fixed before we could go anywhere. That must be our 3rd or 4th flat in just about as many months!!! Seriously!

Then it was *really* crowded.  We went on ONE ride? The kids went on one too...but we saw the fireworks which was nice.

They had them themed for Halloween. The one ride we went on was Space Mountain.  It was extra dark & they had fresh new graphics for Halloween. It was pretty scary looking. It was this flaming, ghostly, demonic looking *thing* that is trying to grab you through out the ride. It's simply projected on the walls but it's not a face you want to go to bed thinking of.  (or have your little ones thinking of)

We spent our time waiting for the fireworks talking with this guy we met & his teenage daughter. That was probably the highlight of the evening. (I'm such an extrovert! I'm always so energized after visiting w/ people.)  We wanted to see Fantasmic but it was just too crowded. We are thinking we might go back some evening this week just to watch it so we can see the big dragon. lol

I did have a fun time gathering a bunch of old pix of DH & myself & putting them all in one album on my Facebook. It was a nice short trip down memory lane. I even started with our wedding picture...we were so young.... :-D