Halloween Fun

I am big fan of holidays for the sheer fun of them all -- and Halloween topping the cutest day of the year chart with all the kids dressed up!  I saw a baby dressed as a ketchup packet, a Kung Fu Panda, lots of cute princesses and bugs!  And more Mario/Lugi's than I have seen since the 80's - ha!   I got to go to the pumpkin patch with Chloe, Kaleah, and Jacqueline.  Made 'ghost' cookies with both Chloe and Zack.  Trunk or treated with Lynda and Sikes. Took Mr. Nicoda a couple of pumpkins.  Visited a nursing home with the cutest bumble bee and ladybug!  And passed out candy with the cutest pumpkin/skeleton Phil.  :) 

Bunnies!

Oh, you want me to look at the camera....how about right instead?  :) 

More hiding from the camera...

Chloe found corn in the pumpkin patch field -- it was free!

Kaleah -- I like to think that she is glaring at Jacqueline and thinking, 'really, Mom? it's 70 outside!' 

Lynda -- just a little excited with all the kids and the chance for candy!

Sikes cheering on their bouncing ladybug!

Ok, so she wasn't really bouncing -- but she sat and giggled a lot.  :)

Lynda had the hang of the bouncy house though. 

My favorite costume of the day...

Ghost car -- and the owners were dressed a Ghost Busters -- super cute!

Mr. Phil -- the classic stare and smile...right after the flash.  Ha! 

Nicoda's flowers and pumpkins!

22 Weeks

Well -- more than half done and I'm ready!  :)  Okay, so not ready persay as having everything ready, but ready in that my body just doesn't appreciate being pregnant.  Mr. Cupcake will help me forget all my pregnancy woes after he comes, I'm sure, but right now I have A.W.F.U.L. back aches and side pain.  But worse than my physical discomfort, was how emotional I got when I hit 20 weeks.  20 weeks is the crossover from a miscarriage to a stillbirth determination -- and a stillborn is buried.  I know that the actual weeks changing don't really change anything, but just the thought of Cupcake having to be buried is suffocating.  Not very positive thinking either...   But Praise God because He knows what we are thinking and going through and sends people to minster to use in that spot.  I go to a prenatal prayer group and last week one of the prayer partners told me something that really altered my thinking and stress.  She reminded me how much God loves this baby.  God is letting me take care of this child, but ultimately the child is still His.  She went on to talk about how all of our life experiences shape the cross we carry and mentioned that Nicoda dying and my pregnancy stress are part of my cross.  But the blessing is that our crosses mold us and better us.  I can't explain why it made me feel so much better, but am SO thankful that it did.  Nicoda dying, this pregnancy stress, none of it is too big for God to handle.  God can take my sorrow and turn it into joy -- He can bring new life and is bringing it right now. 

So sorry that you had to read all of that just to get to this one picture!  Ha!  I pray that God is blessing you today -- that you know that all the things in your life (good and bad) are shaping your testimony, your story of how God is using you.  Alles Gute!  Blessings!

Yeah for cropping, so that not everyone can see that
I have a baby bump in front and behind!  Ha!  :)