Trunk or Treat

Our neighbors invited us to their church for "Trunk or Treat." Church members decorate the trunk of their cars and hand out candy. It was a really neat idea. EJ, aka "Nemo," didn't understand the taking candy part of the evening, but he loved the atmosphere, especially the minivan with clowns and balloons.

His Nemo costume was a hit. Several of the kids (and some parents too) yelled, "There's Nemo!!!" It was really sweet. And, as you can imagine, EJ was clueless to the attention. :-)

The pictures include "Nemo" and me at the clown/balloon minivan, Nemo and Eric next to the larger-than-life spider truck, Eric showing Nemo how to take candy from the Wizard of Oz crew, Nemo and his new pirate girlfriend, and our sweet neighbors who invited us.

It was a fun night for all and by the way...Eric and I ate the candy on the way home...thanks NEMO!!! :-)

Our Little Pumpkin

I know this will sound strange, but I took this picture today at the grocery store. When I saw the pumpkins and hay I grabbed my camera and let EJ loose. I felt dumb at first but everyone who walked by said what a good idea it was....and how cute he is. :-) Someday he won't be willing to participate in these little adventures of mine so I better do it while I can.

Nemo Newman

This year E.J. is going to be Nemo for Halloween. He loves the movie so it's quite appropriate. We have a fun week of activities ahead!

Tricia's Weekend Visit

Tricia came for the weekend and we had a great time. We took a wonderful walk to see the fall leaves, played hide and seek while in Halloween costume, and played with ALL the toys possible!!

It was hard to say goodbye at the airport...literally! E.J. kept running back to the security checkpoint to see her off as she made her way through security. I finally had to pick him up and carry him away. It was obvious he didn't want her to leave!

We miss you already, T!!!

Kari's Wedding

A couple weeks ago, EJ and I attended Kari's wedding. She was a beautiful bride and the celebration was really fun!

You can see the family shot, EJ with Eric's uncle Tim (who Eric was adamant that EJ meet, as he has looked up to him his entire life), the bride and groom, and EJ, Grandma and me looking at the wildlife at the reception.

First Former Player headed to the World Series

Tonight, Tampa Bay beat the Red Sox for the ALCS Championship and they are on their way to the World Series. Ben Zobrist, a former DBU player, is a utility player on the team. It's the first time a former player of Eric's (and a former student of mine) will play in the series. We are so excited for Ben and his family!!

You can see a neat article about him at http://www.challies.com/archives/interviews/an-interview-with-ben-zobrist.php.


Picture from the article on challies.com.

Dancing Vegetables

Today we went to "God Made You Special: Veggie Tales Live." I thought for sure EJ would love it but he spent the first half super-glued to me. He came around after intermission and kept pointing to the larger than life dancing vegetables. I think the turning point was the Veggie Tales lightwand we got at intermission. He LOVES it and yes, I did get bonked in the head with it. The show was really fun and it made me excited for all the great things we get to do with EJ as he grows up.

A better day

Thankfully, today was better. EJ is still battling the pneumonia but he kept his food down and was finally able to play a little. The day started at a chilly 38 degrees but it warmed up to be a perfect fall day. We spent some time this afternoon outside getting fresh air and we found a caterpillar! EJ was so intrigued by it and I let him touch and hold it. It was a stretch for me but having a son means I will get over the "icky" bug thing real quick! I was even able to capture a picture of the little fella climbing on a leaf for you to see.

Forsberg and I made up after the cake/hot chocolate episode and I even got a neat shot of him this afternoon. His German Shepherd girlfriend, Heidi, was diagnosed with cancer and the prognosis is not good. Forsberg is a cancer survivor so we know how hard road that is. Our thoughts and prayers are with Heidi and her mom, Katy.

Thanks for the encouraging and funny posts and emails today. Life is so much better with good friends!!! I'm off to watch Grey's and The Office. Have a good one!

Calgon: Take Me Away!

I've never tried Calgon but now I fully understand their long-lived advertising campaign. EJ is is still battling the pneumonia and today he didn't want to be out of my arms. I will never complain about that because I love our cuddle time but it was a bit difficult when I walked into the living room and found Forsberg and the hot chocolate packet that he emptied on the CARPET and licked deep into the fibers. It was a HUGE mess. Normally, I would have been frusterated but I was beyond mad because Monday night I made a chocolate cake (because chocolate cake makes you feel better when you are sick :-) and yesterday Forsberg jumped up on the counter, knocked it down and ate the WHOLE thing while I was upstairs. And of course, he made a huge, sticky mess in the kitchen. I have been battling a cold/flu so just bending over makes my eyes want to pop out of my head. The LAST thing I wanted to do this week is clean MY CAKE off the floor and get hot chocolate out of the carpet.

Once I got the carpet clean, I got EJ's bath ready. When I took his pants off I found that he had pooped out of his diaper and it was all over his leg and clothes. I couldn't smell it beforehand because my nose is so stuffed up. So, I got that mess cleaned up and I laughed and literally had the thought, "Well at least nothing else can go wrong." That just tempted fate because after the bath, fresh diaper and pjs, I gave EJ his bottle and was rocking him. A few final minutes of cuddling and prayers before bed and he proceeded to throw up the entire bottle and what was left from dinner all over me. At that point I knew better than to say that was all that could happen!!!

Fortunately, God was looking out for me and gave two of my sweet friends the time and energy to bless us today. When hearing of our illness from Eric at Bible study this morning, Tracy brought the biggest batch of chicken noodle soup that she made from scratch. Then after a quick conversation with Kelly this afternoon, she brought dinner and chocolate cupcakes over. So, yes, my dog has been unruly and my kid pooped and threw up all over me but we are so blessed and are working our way back to good health. I must go now...my cupcake is waiting!

Please pray for EJ. A chest x-ray today revealed he has pneumonia. He is in pretty good spirits but he doesn't have an appetite and has a nasty cough.
Thanks for your healing prayers!
Melissa