Halloween

Just a quick snippet of life today:

This will be the first year for pumpkins in our own house.. even if we're late carving them :) Since we always help at our church's "Harvest" (Halloween) Party, we won't even be home to pass out candy. That's ok though, we enjoy the harvest party immensely. Its safer than trick or treating and just as much fun, plus there's all sorts of games that make it family friendly. There's even a cardboard maze through parts of the building. Last year the youth group made it, this year our young adult group will be making it instead of meeting at our house for our usual Bible study.. fun fun.

Well, that's its for now. Have a safe and fun Halloween!

Harvest Party Was A Success!

Every year our church puts on an annual harvest party. Some years, it has been on halloween night, others it hasn't. This year it was. I'm not sure how and why it was started, but it is definitely a great alternative if you live in a community where you don't want your kids out on halloween night. It lasts for two hours, and is filled with games, candy, cider, donuts, and this year there was a cardboard maze and bounce house. It's also one of the largest outreach events our church puts on.

All in all it went great. There weren't any issues that came up, no one got hurt, and everything went smoothly. Quite a few of our youth groupers stepped up and ran the games in addition to setting them up before. I was very impressed at how many of them would volunteer their time at something like this while they could be out with their friends on halloween night. It definitely showed us some initiative and their desire to serve, which is very cool.

I didn't get many pictures because my camera battery died, but here are a few:

My sister and two of our cousins made this Sunday at youth group

Caleb was a carhartt model (he changed into clean clothes basically, because he got out of work just in time to make it there) and I was a make shift cowgirl 

Shenanigans.

Due to my lack of a scanner, this is a picture of a picture we had taken:

My sister, me, and Caleb

("A mess," "a cowgirl," and "a carhartt model")

Beginning of Fall

It is in fact the last day of September, and even though fall is my favorite, I have to say that I wish this summer would've been longer. It went way too fast for my liking. October brings Halloween and decorations, pumpkin lattes (mmm..), warm clothes, hot cider, blowing leaves, and lots of other fun stuff. It also brings many different kind of illnesses that are contagious, which I will catch at least one of. Oh wait, I already have... =[ Yesterday during class I found myself rather uncomfortable with lots of aches, a throbbing headache, a stuffed nose, and a sore throat. We also had to go out of town yesterday, so that wasn't fun. We went to one of our favorite restaurants, the Olive Garden, and I was so miserable that all I could eat was half a bowl of soup and half a breadstick. I called it pathetic. I did finally find some jeans that fit me though, so I was as happy as a sick girl could be. Anyway, I didn't go to work today, and by noon I found myself looking at my throat via flashlight in a mirror, only to find what I was hoping not to see... white blotches. Usually those mean strep for me, because I get it almost every year, so I started to call the doctors office. They were on lunch so I waited, and finally gave up because I knew their lunch was over, so I just went in. Luckily they were able to fit me in to see someone. The strep tests came back negative for now, but they're letting the cultures grow for a while longer. However, there are quite a few different things going around right now, and the doctor couldn't tell me which one I have. She gave me antibiotics and sent me home. You know, I really don't care what I have, I just want it to be gone - and not come back. So, after 48hrs I should be well on my way to feeling better, and hopefully up and going again, instead of sitting around the house all day. We'll see. And hopefully Caleb doesn't catch what I have. I doubt he will - he has an amazingly strong immune system! (Its just not fair..haha) Maybe I'm just too much of a germ freak...

Anyway, other than that the week has been pretty good. I got a B on that test I thought I failed, and we have the opportunity to retake it because a lot of the class did actually fail. I got to do a lot more office work at church this week, with making the newsletter and doing many other office things, and connecting with students. They are fantastic, and we're going to have a great year. I've also been trying to brainstorm some creative couples' halloween costumes for Caleb and I for the annual Harvest Party this year. Last year we went as Bob the Builder and his friend Wendy, so this year we're not sure. There are some pretty funny ones online, but they're also pretty expensive. I like inexpensive =] and it would also be nice to not have to buy them, and use whatever resources we already have. Please let me know if you have any suggestions!!!

Below are a few photos I took today. I just couldn't stay inside any longer, and I wanted to post a few pictures for the beginning of fall in west Michigan. Enjoy

The trees in a nearby state park 

The leaves that blew down in our yard during the windstorms yesterday and today 

Our North Breakwater Lighthouse at about 7pm on a windy day. Waves up over the breakwall, sun peaking through the clouds, dark water. Caleb's favorite quote for views like that is "This is why we live in Michigan."