Huge Halloween Bummer

We finally managed to carve them today.  

We've had a wonderful weekend.  After an icky-dreary-rainy-blah week, we got a full weekend of sunshine and Matt.

I focused on sleeping in and taking the mornings S.L.O.W., because THAT is what I miss the most during the week.  

Beautiful days mean outdoor work around here.

Well...they carved pumpkins, while I carved the tree.  :)

Yep...I got permission to trim my low-hanging tree limbs.  So, one tree at a time, Sweet Jesus.  I trimmed 2 of the 6 that need it.  Of course, I may have gotten more done, but I HAD to spend about an extra 2 hours per tree removing leaves and cutting the remnants down into fire fuel that we will, likely, burn in one night.  It will be a FUN night, thought.  I mean, it would probably be more cost effective to just buy myself some cheap firewood at the store, but, THEN, I wouldn't be Kristen Ingalls Wilder, would I?  

I may live in the suburbs, but I like to do as much self-sufficiency as I can.  And THAT means using the resources around me, like FREE fuel for the fire pit.  For awhile, I thought of myself as Rico deWilde on Life Below Zero, just...a lot warmer and closer to people...and on a slightly smaller scale.  

Evan asked for Venom.  Matt insisted he choose something simple...so I described Venom as simply as he could be described.  😬  We are ALL happy with the result.  Good enough.

Actually, as I thought of Rico felling huge trees out in the wilderness all on his own, I realized it might be a lot quicker (and easier on my hands) to wack through the early leaf growth with my clippers, instead of pulling each out, individually, with my hands.

Huge success!!  Thank you, Rico!  I cleaned those limbs in half the time it took me the day before.

I was pretty proud of myself heading inside. I braced myself for the exhausting, fast-paced night of fun for the kids.  Unfortunately, the huge Halloween bummer is that Evan got sick just before and he never recovered.  Poor guy has to miss out on one of the most fun holidays of the year.  (Big, gigantic frowny face.)

These boys planned out coordinated costumes with NO help from their moms.  Venom and Carnage.  So stinking cute!! I love their school!!

Fortunately, he is taking it AMAZINGLY well.  His attitude is due, in part, to the fact that his school had an amazing "Trunk or Treat" and a haunted house, made and run by the eighth grade, on Friday.  Evan came home with enough candy and celebration to carry him through the disappointment of tonight, and he is happy, just as long as I am sitting with him in my bed.

In fact, he made it very clear this morning how important these times are to him.  He had sneaked into my bed just as I woke up, and when I went to get up, he protested, passionately, "You are the jewel of the cuddle.  You keep it alive."  

So, basically, all I have to do is show up, and we are good.  That works for me.  (BTW...my kid is going to be a writer.  Poetry or horror, I'm still not sure, but...how can he NOT be a writer?!!)

At least the school Halloween celebrations were a blast!!  Grateful.

It's not always easy, and I could name a few traumas, tragedies, and disappointments we've had along the way.  Instead, we'll just take what we get and be grateful.

For me, that currently means, gratefully, sitting outside to greet trick-or-treaters so that none of us have to listen to Jesse bark like a lunatic every time one comes to the door. (Brief cuddle hiatus.  Daddy is filling in for me.)  I am grateful to see so many adorable (teen to toddler!!) kids having fun out here...even though my own little dearest is missing out.  I am also grateful for that warmer climate we talked about earlier, because I am bundled just enough that I don't even feel cold.  Peace in the house.  Handing out candy in comfort.  And...don't even think it slipped past me that this is probably the first relaxed Halloween I've spent in the last 19 years.  So, not really feeling sad about that.  I can turn off my light and be done whenever I want.  I'll take it.

When you hang out with the principal after school...💕💕

I hope your Halloween wasn't bummed out with illness, but if it was, I hope you, too, took it like a champ.  Personally, I am trying to stay focused on the moment and not even beginning to think about the week that is about to crash my homemaking party.

Ah well...I will know it's worth it when I am in the midst of my work, because working with precious people is what I do.  Who could ask for more?

This kid, though!  She was Agatha from Wandavision.  But the amazing thing is the cape she wore.  My Aunt Joyce made it for me in Junior High, when I went as Maid Marian.  😱  Can you believe it has survived all these years?!!  Precious.

Happy Halloween, my friends!! I hope you have a blessed week ahead.