Trick or Treat!

Yay for kids all decked out in adorable costumes! We did our traditional soup dinner before heading out to collect candy. Both sets of our parents came over, as did my brother, Andy, and Nathan's grandma. It was just the right amount of coolness to make trick-or-treating fun. Afterwards, the kids came in to sort their candy and enjoy a nice cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows. How did your evening turn out?

Enjoying chili and potato soup

Jacob with his pumpkin

Emmaline with hers

And, here's Ellie

Getting candy from Mr. Tod

And from Ms. Cathy

Grandma, Emmaline, and Mimi

Happy Halloween!

Carving Pumpkins

This has to be one of my least favorite parts of Halloween. I would be completely happy just having a few nice pumpkins sitting on the front porch, sans the carved faces. I hate the way pumpkin goop feels and the way it dries on my skin and makes me itch. However, because I love my children, I will indulge them in this yearly tradition because it makes them happy.

Clearly, this is NOT my child, as I hate the feel of pumpkin guts!

Emmaline does it my way with a spoon

Jacob thought it was fun to wear it on his hand as a giant fist

Jacob's "Angry Bird" pumpkin

Emmaline's "Green Pig"

Ellie went the traditional route

AWANA Trunk or Treat

The kids had truck or treat at AWANA tonight. It was fun dressing up and collecting LOTS of candy. And, it was a good trial run for the real thing next week. Normally, this event is held outside, but due to the impending rain, they opted to move it indoors. The kids loved roaming the church halls with their friends as they filled their bags with sugary goodness.

Haz-mat Suit Jacob

Pumpkin Fairy Gabrielle

Pumpkin Fairy Emmaline

Getting candy from Papaw

Checking out his loot

So many choices!

Emmy was more interested in this dog, than in her candy

Cubbies Parent's Night

It was Parent's Night at AWANA for Emmaline's Cubbies group, so I went and spent the evening with her. It was fun to see her in action!

Game Time

Coloring

Eating a snack

I really enjoyed the evening, but this part really got to me. Since it was Parent's Night, they had cookies for the kids and parents to enjoy during snack time. The leaders told the kids that if they wanted another cookie, they should ask for one. When Emmy finished her cookie, she signed "cookie", but no one paid attention to her, so while everyone else got another cookie, she did not. I know this wasn't intentional, but it still made me sad that she was overlooked.

(Edited to add: Since this night, I've talked with her Cubbies leaders and we've made a few changes to help Emmaline get the most out of AWANA. She now has a buddy (a teenager from the church) that sticks with her the entire evening and pays attention to her to make sure that she doesn't get overlooked when she does sign something. I am so appreciative of their willingness to include and modify things for Emmaline to make her feel part of the group.)

Reading a story with Mrs. Cathy