This week was a mix of emotions.
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After all my preparations, we successfully hosted our church congregation at our house for bible study, worship service, and a potluck afterwards on Sunday. It went well! Of course it didn’t take long for the kids to start making a mess of the house again, but at least it has a good starting point from here on out.
It was a very emotional weekend for me. I suppose having everyone from church over was probably a good distraction from the overwhelming feelings of sadness I was experiencing, but it came in waves anyway. You see, Sunday, October 26th, was also my mom’s birthday…the first one without her. :(
You may remember that my mom passed away on March 28th of this year from lung cancer, just 6 short weeks after the diagnosis. It’s been a rough year. I tried so hard to push her birthday out of my mind that I even forgot to mail my sister’s birthday card, as she shares the same birthday with my mom. I can only imagine how hard it was for this year, too. She spent their birthday together with my mom in Arkansas just last year. I’m so glad she got to do that.
After everyone left, I talked to my sister on the phone, and we had a good cry together. I did a lot of crying on Saturday, too. I’m thankful for many things…that my mom is no longer suffering, that it didn’t go on for a long time, that she can finally be with my dad and brother again…but at the same time, I have such a deep sense of loss of her and of a part of myself along with her that no one else will ever replace.
Here are some photos.
My parent’s wedding picture on May 21, 1955.
My mom in her younger days.
Mom and I together in the early 80’s.
Mom and I together in the late 80’s.
This is the last photo of me and my mom, taken as we said goodbye on Sept. 3, 2013. It was the last time I saw her.
I will love you forever, mom! Rest in peace with Jesus. 
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By Tuesday, the weather briefly warmed up again, unseasonably so. So I picked Hayden up from school and headed off with the kids to Sonic for an afternoon slushie during Happy Hour.
Always a fun break from the day!
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On Halloween day, we set out to have some fun with friends. First, we met up with Gina Nall and her 2 kids at IHOP for some FREE scary face pancakes for the kids and a big breakfast for us. It was a good thing we ate plenty, because I never really got to eat again that day!
Then after a quick pit stop at my house, we all piled into my van to head over to the Hampton for some adventures. We went to the Goodwill Outlet there and did a little shopping, and then we went over to the nearby Bluebird Gap Farm for a few minutes so the kids could play on the playground.
They weren’t nearly ready to go when it was time to trek back to Virginia Beach to pick Hayden up from school. Our timing was perfect, and we were able to breeze right into the parking lot as Hayden came out. Then when we got back to our house, Gina and her kids left, and me and the kids grabbed our costumes and went off to Krispy Kreme for some free donuts!
Hayden grabbed the hats off the table on the way out, and being the crazy boy he is, he got in the van wearing 4 hats at once! So silly…
Since Hayden has made some friends at school now, and he’s too old to trick or treat, I thought it might be fun for him to get out and doing something different instead of staying home and passing out candy by himself, especially since almost no kids ever come down the dead end street where we live. So I suggested that he and his friends, Antonio and Ashley, meet up at the local bowling alley for Unlimited Pizza Bowl instead. He thought it sounded like a fun idea, so he arranged to meet a couple of his friends there.
They ended up bowling for hours and hours and stuffing their faces on unlimited pizza, and Steve went and picked Hayden up late that night. He had a blast!
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Meanwhile, I met up with my neighbor, Val, and her girls, and we headed out at dusk to take the kids trick-or-treating. Steve met up with us near the end when he finally made it home from work. Here the kids are as we were starting out our night.
They posed for some pictures in front of the best Halloween displays along the way.
When we got home, the kids poured out their combined haul for a closer look. They declared it a successful night!
I made a mental note to myself that now that I am working out again, I wasn’t even tired, much less sore, when we got home. I felt great! We sorted their candy into bags by category and put it all away after everybody picked out a few favorites. Then we went up to get hot baths and head off to bed. It dawned on me that Haylee’s only got 2 more years of this! (sniff, sniff…they are growing up too fast!)
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And that was our crazy week. What did your family do this week?
With one holiday down, now it’s time to think about getting ready for Thanksgiving and then Christmas. To me, it always seems like Halloween begins a season of holidays that passes so very fast. It’s like a blink, and it’s all over, and a new year has begun before you know it!
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