Halloween Fun

Whatever happened to pretty princesses and cute hobos from the country? As usual, our girls did their best to have a great, spooky Halloween. Brad and I went over to the Schaubs for some yummy fry bread for dinner. There, we had a nice evening with couples in the ward just chatting and watching the cute kids come for candy. We went home and found Aly's group eating ice-cream....it's a tradition.....and they were hungry! Once again, they had fun party hopping. AND a harmless costume, which I appreciated.

Her friends included Justin, Brittany, her fellow bumble-bee, and Ashley

Then we get a call from Jacque, who is struggling with super glue...I'll let her tell that story...and I ask her to come home and show me her costume. Maybe that wasn't such a great idea. Maybe it's better NOT to know what young adults dream of being when they grow up. Maybe mothers just need to remember their sweet daughters in princess costumes...instead of this....

Remember the super glue??? I'll let her explain...or better yet? Just look for the missing eyebrows next time you see her!

It was a lot of fun seeing the super amazing costumes of all the cousins! Their moms are quite remarkable and I love them! My poor parents went thru 3 large bags of Costco candy, all the extra bags of candy in the house and then some donated from the grand-kids candy all to keep the 300+ kids happy that come to their house! Oh MY!!!!

A Blonde, a Brunette & a Red-head...

....go to San Diego for some girl fun over Fall break and they had a blast.

These three - Jessica, Lorraine and Aly - spent 4 days playing on the beach, eating bagels and all sorts of food, going to the zoo and stopping by the San Diego Temple. They made it back safe and in one piece...imagine that! Here is a quick glimpse of some of the fun they had

Back here at home...it was very quiet. No raucous parties, no funny jokes or one-liners texts from our youngest child. (Yes, Jacque is here, but she is deep into studies!!) How can we tell when she returns??
The shoes...it tells the whole story!

Music

Have you ever thought of how music has been part of your life? What moments can you remember that music has touched your life? Aly had her first HHS Choir concert and they ended the program with a song called The Music Makers. The words hit my soul. I thought of all the times I have listened to music and had my testimony strengthened. Every time I sing the hymn This is the Christ, my heart soars and I have a special witness to the divinity of my Savior. Or, how about the last conference as O, Divine Redeemer was sung? Did that not touch your heart??
Other Music moments that come to mind:

Listening to the Messiah, especially when my Mom has accompanied on the organ. Who can NOT say their heart is touched as the Hallelujah Chorus is sung?

Singing You Are My Sunshine to Jacque when she was a little girl. I would sing it, but change the words and she would always correct me...."Mom..the skies are gray, not purple!"

Singing the Carpenter's "Close to You" to my sweet baby boy as a lullaby.

Coming home as a teenager from the first showing of Saturday's Warrior and singing the songs all the way back to Tucson.

Going to LA with my mom and sister to see the Phantom of the Opera and LOVING the music. Other musicals as well!

Telling my daughters about Michael Buble for the first time. They were skeptical at first and now?? We all swoon at ALL his songs!! It's part of our Sunday-go-to-Grammy/Grampy's house-for-dinner routine!

Reading the hymns and listening to their message as I recuperated from Chemo.

Having favorite "cleaning" music every Saturday

Listening to Christmas music starting in November
And the list goes on and on. Here are the words to "We are the Music Makers"...

We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea breakers, and sitting by desolate streams.
World losers, world forsakers, on whom the pale moon gleams;
Yet, we are the movers and shakers of the world forever; it seems.
We are the music makers, and we are the makers of song;
Within our hearts a melody that beautifully rights all the wrong.
Our voices, united, offer a gift of love,
Touching every spirit with passion, and emotion;
We give you a song.
Sometimes your life holds sorrow, and life seems all in vain;
The healing power of music can ease the anguish and pain.
No matter what life holds for you, or what the past has been,
Throughout all eternity, music has no end, no end!
For we are the music makers and we are the makers of songs,
Within our hearts a melody that beautifully rights all wrong.
Our voices, united offer a gift of love,
Touching every spirit with passion and emotion,
We give you a song, a song,
We give you a song!

And here is where you can go to listen: HHS Choir

Happy Birthday Aaron!

Look at that smile! Not much has changed. His eyes still laugh. You can see the love in his eyes and as a Mom, I feel that love from this wonderful son each day. He has always been ultra protective of his sisters and loves to spend time with them...whenever he can. One of my favorite stories about his genuine care for his sisters? Jacque and Aly remember Aaron making up a menu for them to "choose" their dinner options from when he babysat for them.....many years ago.
He loves to cook...always has. When he was growing up, I could always count on Aaron to try out my new recipes and give me feedback. He was always asking: "What's for dinner? Trying something new??" I loved that about him. He still cooks and he still wants to know what we are having for dinner...and he is 2300 miles away!

Even tho he is far away, Aaron finds time to share his life with us. He has so many fun adventures in Vermont. He is still chasing fire-engines in all his "spare time". Not only does he call me often to see how I'm doing in school or just in general, he calls his grandparents often just to say "Hi". That's just the type of guy he is. I love his phone calls. They make me smile. They always start my day or end my day with something to laugh about. I feel blessed to have this son care so much about me and all of his family. That hasn't changed either. He has a real talent of knowing how to help others, taking time out of his busy day to make a difference and showing his love in everyday actions. Who else would feed those missionaries in Vermont??

He and Savannah are quite the traveling couple. Here they are at Niagara Falls, looking happy and in love...just the way it should be. They have alot of opportunities coming their way soon...we are so excited for them!! He is graduating in December and we hope he can find a job closer to family....I know...it has to be somewhere where it is cool! His course of study is something he absolutely loves....since he was a child. Can we all remember the handcuffs?? the fingerprint cards?? The little notebooks with 'ticket' citations? His love for details is now working for his benefit and giving him opportunities to work in a very interesting field.

This is one of my all time favorite pictures. You know the saying..."like father, like son"? Aaron has many of the same qualities as his father. The best quality, I think, is that he cares. He puts his family first. Oh...and he is a gadget/computer whiz!!

Poor Aaron didn't think I would remember his birthday. PSHHHHH!! He is our oldest and not a day goes by that I don't thank my Heavenly Father for such a caring son. His strength and love has been a source of strength to me. I am the lucky one! I feel blessed to call him my son.

LOVE YOU Aaron!!