Halloween 08

Dane and Christian - Indiana

Maddy - Cat

Sammy - Monkey

Brandy - Mom

This Halloween was such a blast! The kids dressed in costumes around 2 pm, eagerly waiting to leave. The plan was to be at Auntie's house at 5 pm for pizza and doughnuts. Unfortunately, our car had a dead battery, so it took some time to get going. We ended up being a bit late, which made Christian very upset! Fortunately, the rest of the family was late as well, making us the first to arrive! Tehe, Wenzels are never on time.

Auntie Lo-Lo's house. Dane says the neighborhood reminds him of the Halloween Michael Myers movies, and it does! It's one of those rare 

neighborhoods where both kids and adults dress up to enjoy the spooky night. 

After everyone arrived and had their pizza and donuts, the grown-ups FINALLY said, "Yes, we can go now!" I went along for a few houses with our group of 15 but decided it was way too cold for Samuel and me to continue. BTW - No rain this time! The frozen kids returned at around 8:45 with their bags filled with a ton of candy! After sorting through it all, Ga-Ga (my mother-in-law) asked which kids wanted to go with her to Hardens Rd. At this point, Christian looked up at me with anticipating eyes. You see, every year Ga-Ga and Auntie Lo-Lo take the bigger kids back out for a second round of trick-or-treating to a neighborhood that gives full-sized candies. Extremely extroverted and can't stand to see the night end! Every year, I tell Christian, "Maybe next year." He asked me about this weeks ago, as he remembered my promises from the years before, so off Christian went with the big kids! Dane, Maddy, Sammy, and I stayed behind to watch scary movies (which ended up being cartoons after the kids started looking up at the TV).

YAWN! The older group got back around 9:30 pm! I'm sure they stayed out until the porch lights went off! Sammy and I very much wanted to get home and snuggle in bed!!! Next year, Sammy will toddle up to the doors with all the other kids.

Where do you find the time??? Coments PLEASE!

Since I started blogging, I've found myself reading others' daily blogs more often. I can't help but feel a tinge of "BLOG" envy. Where do you find the time to engage in all your crafts, budgeting, photography, blogging, and more? You all seem like Martha Stewarts, while I feel more like Roseanne Barr (I know I'm not that heavy, but seriously, Natalie, you're already fitting into pre-pregnancy clothes. I still haven't recovered from Maddy's pregnancy—I've got the Lloyd hips!). The only craft I've managed to complete in a LONG time is the Halloween decorations (see the bottom of the blog), and that was the most significant challenge ever! Sammy was crying for me to pick him up half the time, Dane was on the couch sick, and the mess from making the "spider egg" didn't get cleaned up until the next day!

I feel like I'm sprinting a marathon with no end in sight. Constantly picking up kids from school, attending doctor appointments for Sammy and me, cleaning (although my house always stays a mess!), homework, soccer practice, and games—AHH, the list never ends! My life is so hectic right now that I've even opted for a service called "Dream Dinners" to pre-make my dinners every month, so all I have to do is thaw and follow directions; otherwise, my family wouldn't eat :) I need comments on this one! What am I missing? And please don't tell me you get most of your stuff done after the kids go to bed at night! My head hits the pillow as soon as my kids are asleep (sometimes even sooner :) since Sammy wakes every couple of hours with tummy pains!

So, what is your secret? Comments, please... cousins, aunts, grandmas??

Halloween decorations!

This was a fun Halloween project! We made a spider nest out of a balloon and paper Meche' It's in our archway going from the living room to the kitchen. For this pic they had to stand on a chair. I'm small enough that I don't have to duck...but Dane always runs into the spider webs upon return from work. 

Points

This Sundays sermon was about how one gets into heaven. It went something like this:

The story is told of the lifelong Presbyterian who died and, upon arrival at the Pearly Gates, encountered St. Peter who said to him: "Listen, this is how it works. You need 100 points to get into heaven. You tell me about your life; I will give you a certain number of points for each incident, depending on how good it was, and when you reach 100 points, you're in."
"Okay," says the man with a certain relish. "I was married to the same woman for sixty years and never cheated on her, not even in my heart."
"Wonderful," says Peter, "three points."
"Three points? Well, I attended church all of my life, rarely missed a Sunday, tithed, was a Deacon, Trustee and Elder, and taught Sunday school--even Junior High Confirmation Class!"
"Terrific," says Peter, "one point."
"One point?" Okay, remember that meal for seniors that I not only helped begin, but continued to work at until my dying day?"
"Excellent," says Peter, "one point."
"Well, what about the homeless ministry I started and supported, not only with my money and by serving meals, but by actually staying over all night about once a month?"
"Fantastic," says Peter, "two more points."
"Two points? That's only seven points. At this rate, I'll never make it, save the grace and mercy of God."
"Bingo," says Peter, "100 points, come on in!"14
It's about humbly accepting the grace and mercy of God. The Pharisee stood before God in arrogance and pride, trusting in his work and demeaning others by comparison, and missed the reason for the law in the first place--lifesaving communion with God. The Tax collector stood before God in humility--knowing and declaring who he was, calling on God to be who God is--and found God's readiness to redeem and be reconciled. That is the power of humility.

My conclusion - it's not works that get you into heaven it's by knowing and believing in Jesus Christ that warrants us to be in his presence for all of eternity! See you there!

Daneo

Since I put up pics of our indoor cats, I thought I should also show you our outdoor dogs. Not sure I can find a pic of Lady, she is a mix of Caviler Spaniel and Brishion. She is basically Daneo's pet :) Now Daneo is my favorite dog of all the dogs I've ever owned. Yes he's huge, but he is the most gentle, sweet, and highly entertaining! You should see him gallop around the back yard when he is excited! I named him Daneo not only because he is a great dane, but because that's my hubby's nick name :)