Monday, November 03, 2014

A 50's Girl and Some Guy from Star Wars

Last Friday was the highlight of the school year for my kids. Field day got married to Halloween and they were quite a pair!


I volunteered to bring the ice chest for Annabeth's class and that meant I was also the Cooler Dragger. Let me just tell you, that thing was heavy with 24 kids' hard plastic water bottles inside. I will not be the sucker who volunteers for that job next year. It was fun to be with her class though. One kid asked me if I was Annabeth's mom and when I told him yes he whispered, "Whoa..."

Annabeth got to be the line leader for the first segment of field day, which meant she and another kid got to hold the class spirit sign together. As it turns out, it's easy to feel entitled to the sign and the first spot in line all day long when you've started the day with such a privilege. I kept having to *encourage* my daughter to take her hands off the sign but she was not really feeling my authority while on the school grounds. I may or may not have threatened to "take her to the bathroom" if she didn't give the other kids a chance, to which she may or may not have responded, "I can't go to the bathroom." What a wonderful parenting moment. 

It was great seeing her enjoy field day with her friends. This was a two hour shindig for the kids and they were thoroughly exhausted before it was over. I worried we might have a long night ahead but Annabeth proved me wrong. Here she is with one of her friend-since-birth, Ellison.


Curtis came to the school for Jackson's field day and I went home and took a nap and some Tylenol.

That evening we had a few friends come over for pizza and trick-or-treating. I am bad about having people over to our house but this is one night of the year when I really like to do it. Our little part of our neighborhood is pretty fun on Halloween. Everyone has front porches and a lot of folks sit outside and pass out candy rather than answer the door. The houses aren't on big lots so it makes the trick-or-treating very efficient for the kids. Normally I station one of my friend's teenagers at my house to pass out candy but this year I decided to man the porch myself. The dads took the kids out and everyone did great. A few of my girlfriends stopped by and we got to chat in between visits from little Elsas and Annas, Uncle Si's and Harry Potters.

One of the things we handed out was little tubes of M&M's from Feed My Starving Children. The kids can fill up the tubes with quarters and send them in to FMSC. The money feeds 63 children. I didn't have that many tubes so I tried to save them for the tweens. When I explained what it was, they acted really interested in doing it. I was actually pretty surprised! It was very encouraging and I hope to do something like it again next year. 

I took pics of the kids when they tried on their costumes for the first time because it's much easier to get good ones at dress rehearsal than at showtime. Jackson was some guy from Star Wars named Boba Fett. I don't even know. It lit up though and he loved it. Next year he's not getting anything with a helmet because he couldn't walk around in it. 



Here's Annabeth in her poodle skirt. No, I did not make this. Thank you, Etsy. 




She immediately started dancing and twirling like you do when you're a girl.



Here they are on the actual night. 


The candy crew. 




Dad/Uncle/Big Brother chaperones. I hate that this is blurry.



Here's Abey after making her rounds. By the way, I bribed her with $5 to get her to wear the glasses. She said it would be an additional $5 if I wanted her to wear makeup. I passed on that one. 




Here she is with Rory Jane, who was an amazing pink ninja.




Maybe it's corny to carve a cross in your pumpkin but I don't care. I was praying that people would sense peace and light when they stepped onto our property. 




Liz and I were the candy ladies. 




All the kids congregated in the living room to go through their candy bags.




They each paid me a Dots tax. I ended up with a lot more than this. 



When the sugar rush began, the mamas escaped to the back patio.




I served hot tea with Wavy Lays and ranch dip. Somehow it worked. Cheers! 



And this is the pic by which I will remember Halloween of 2014. 




19 comments:

Sarah said...

Love the kids costumes! Annabeth is too cute! That is one big bag of candy she has! :) I remember the name Boba Fett from the original Star Wars but didn't remember the costume. I was wondering what the boys went as...I knew about the girls. :) great pics, thanks for sharing!

Ashley Beth said...

Adorable! I was out of town for Halloween this year and my husband sent me a pic of the pumpkins he and the kids carved--a cross, a heart, & a happy face. Not cheesy at all & I do think it brings peace and light. Thanks for sharing!

Monica said...

This makes me happy on so many levels. One, we do not do Halloween. Largely, because I am lazy. It's sad, but true. Next year, I may consider buying costumes for my children. And, I am buying M&Ms in little tubes so my kiddos can begin putting quarters in them to bless others...the possibilities are endless!

Laura Darling said...

They look great in their costumes! Annabeth sounds like she is a riot! Love her moneymaking attempt!

Heleadsme16 said...

Adorable!! I love the cross! I want to set my kurig on the porch for adults who need coffee next year! Also, I love the feed my children M&Ms tube! Post/tweet next year what site you order from and I bet a bunch of us will be reminded to order some too! Blessings, I love your blog, your gentile spirit comes right thru the screen and encourages me!

Anonymous said...

Sweet. Your kids are adorable.

I feel you on the helmet... on church Trunk Or Treat night nobody would keep their ninja turtle masks on... including myself. I much preferred the kids' non-masked outfits of LIVE with Kelly & Michael for actual Halloween night (although the fact that I didn't personally have to dress up for that may have something to do with my preference).

I think I'm revealing the state of my upbringing with the shock that occurred when you confessed to not really knowing Boba Fett. *insert surprised emoticons here*. (He's a bounty hunter).

Love Feed my Starving Children! What a great idea. My 8 yo & I helped pack for them a couple months ago along with some of our college students. I also love the practicality of M&M canisters... I used to use them as individual dose formula containers... because I'm clumsy and I always still spilled formula everywhere with the 3 compartment things. :-p.

I spill things, and I ramble...

Love the blessing of time with friends. Happy fall.

Paula said...

I carved a cross, too. =)

Parker said...

Aww, I have a Rorie! She is now 14. Always fun to see a kiddo who shares the name...it doesn't happen too often. Mine is Rorie Mills.

todell said...

Looks like a ton of fun!

Lydia said...

My son, who is just a few months older than Jackson, went as Jango Fett, also from Star Wars. I had the same response as you. I had (and still have) no clue who that is. I just hope he isn't some horribly awful character. I'm glad to know I'm not alone in being clueless! I'm also sad that we've hit the age where his costume choice is totally unfamiliar to me. What happened to Thomas the train/Batman/Elmo costumes?! I guess they aren't cool when you're a just turned 9 year old boy... Looks like you all had a fun night!

J said...

I really think my 5 yr old daughter and almost 8 yr old son would be BFFs with your two. Especially the girls. Hilarious.

Blessing of Adoption welcomes you said...

The last picture made me laugh out loud- My husband, who is sitting on the couch by me, turned and goes 'what?'...I went on to explain the picture to him.
What a cute post and a great idea putting the cross on a pumpkin!

Unknown said...

Oh my goodness, I adore the poodle skirt and blue glasses! And of course I relate to Jackson's BF costume, having had boys...way cool, you two!! And, I am so glad your two got to have Halloween just like we did in the 50's, poodle skirt and all! :)

I also love the jack-o-lantern with the cross carved in it...reminds me of the "Christians are like pumpkins" poem I used with the treat-filled plastic mini-pumpkins that I made for my very adult "Children Of The Day" Bible study participants. After the "yuck" was cleaned out (candy eaten) they replaced it with a small LED light! In case someone has never seen the poem here is a link:

https://sewpraylove.wordpress.com/2014/10/31/christians-are-like-pumpkins/

I took one of the pumpkins to my granddaughter who is only 22 months, but she loved carrying around the little lighted pumpkin like a purse! (And she did the same with her treat bag on Halloween night) And, no, she didn't get to eat any candy that was in hers...yet! ;)

Now... on to the next holiday! Whoa! I see your Mom and Dad are ready for Christmas!!!

I am SO way behind here! ;)

Emily said...

Jango Fett is the father of Boba Fett. :) Boba was from the original trilogy, and Jango was introduced in the more recent "prequels".

Emily said...

I absolutely love reading your blog. You write so beautifully and honestly. This post was particularly funny! :) Now, I normally do not read through the comments, but for some reason I did tonight. Can I just say what a huge kick I got out of the sweet person who is encouraged by your gentile spirit? I'm sure she meant gentle, but still, I appreciate a good giggle over a typo. :)

Dionna said...

I like the cross in your pumpkin and think it's great ya'll sit on your front porches!

Unknown said...

Hi Amanda! Not sure if you are even still checking comments to your blog but I follow you on Twitter and couldn't fit it all in so thought I try email in case you get it:-).

Have been following you for years!

I have never connected with you but The Lord laid it on my heart today to reach out to you. You have been such an inspiration to me over the years. I am 39 but I feel like we are living such parallel lives. Your honesty and openness has touched me to my core. So often, I have lived in shame, everyone thinking I had it all together but no one really knowing the struggles. Your insight has opened my eyes to the freedom that I have been searching for!

I am also a minister's wife and find it hard to be honest with people. I thought, no one wants to hear a preacher preach when his wife is falling apart. But I will never forgot one of your tweets "we thought we were going to minister our of our abundance but we are ministering our of our brokenness"...or something like that. It was life changing for me to think that I can use the brokenness to help others. Thank you!

I also have 4 kiddos and love them to pieces but never thought I had an anger problem or insecurity problem. Your vulnerability about these issues has helped me to understand I am not alone. Thank you for putting yourself out there to bless and encourage others.

What made me write today was your tweet about how hard pregnancy is. I totally get it and agree with the comments on twitter about age and # of babies. But, I also believe God has a hand in it. I struggled for several years over if we were "done" or not. Does God want us to have more kids and it was on my mind for 3 years. Several major health issues and all I could think of was I wanted one more. (My kiddos are kinda yours ages...11, 9, 7 and then our finale 2.5:-)) Finally, I did get pregnant with #4 (after a 4 year gap that was supposed to be 2). I had been trying to figure out God's will for our family...did He put a comma or a period after our (now) 7 year old? Well...God put an EXCLAMATION POINT on our family after our miracle baby! It was SUCH a hard pregnancy that I knew beyond a shadow of doubt that it was to be my last child! I am actually now thankful for it or I think I would have always wondered "one more"? That little one brings more joy into our world that I could have imagined but I do not wonder anymore. She is 2.5 now. I'm not saying God is telling you that you are done but just wanted to share my experience!

Anyway - just wanted to share my heart and tell you how much I love you and pray for you and your sweet family often! God has used you in immeasurable ways in my life and I just wanted to you know it!

Also - thank you for sharing your mom with us! She opened my eyes to love God's Word in a way I never imagined. Please don't ever feel badly about the time she spends with you and your family. She needs that and you all need that...not that I know her:-). But, I know my mom and my sister and I need our together time!

I pray I will be able to come from Michigan to the Siesta Celebration in January. Hope to be able to meet you - totally understand if you can't be there with your sweet little one coming!

Blessings to you today! You are being used by God in mighty ways...even to strangers in Michigan!

Love you -
Crystal Frank

Garry said...

This makes me happy on so many levels. One, we do not do Halloween. Largely, because I am lazy. It's sad, but true. Next year, I may consider buying costumes for my children. And, I am buying M&Ms in little tubes so my kiddos can begin putting quarters in them to bless others...the possibilities are endless!

Debbie said...

I miss your blogs. Your heart is beautiful and your messages...needed.

Deb