Another Happy Halloween

We had a nice, sunny day for Halloween this year.

Ben dressed up as a barbarian warrior, Janae as a masquerader, Alaina as Cinderella, and Eric as Spider Man.

Janae's pose, inspired by The Selection.

Ben made his own helmet and ax. 

Alaina wanted to be Cinderella so she could incorporate her hamster, Max, into her costume. (Unfortunately, Max bit her this morning when we were taking pictures, and her thumb was sore all day!)

After school we stopped by Grandma and Grandpa's. My mom had made both Janae and Alaina's costumes--in just a couple of days, miraculously!--and Grandma and Grandpa's house has always been one of our favorite Halloween stops. After spending a few minutes there, we headed home to get ready for the big night.

Jason had invited his sister, Shannon, over for our annual Halloween dinner of mummy hot dogs and skeleton veggies. She and Jason went out trick or treating with Janae, Alaina and Eric while I took Ben to a friend's house and then gave out candy at home.

Our adventurers came back a couple of hours later, having had a great time speaking in British accents at people's doors and collecting a pretty impressive pile of candy.

Definitely a happy Halloween all around :)

It’s Gone

On Friday Jason had arranged for me to drop off our van at our mechanic’s house—which is across the street from where we used to live, near my mom and dad’s.

When I got there, I was shocked to see that our old house was ... gone.  More accurately, it was in the process of being demolished.

When we were living there, our landlords had decided to sell the house. We wished we could have bought it, because we really loved it there—it was a short walk from Grandma and Grandpa’s and close to the school; it had a huge backyard and beautiful woodwork inside.

Anyway, it was sold for what seemed like a fortune at the time and then rented out again. We have watched it go downhill over the past four and a half years as the renters have neglected the yard, but our kids have always dreamed of moving back there.

A re-zoning sign went up on the front lawn several months ago, indicating that someone had proposed a new development for that area—but the sign had been there so long we wondered if anything would ever become of it.

Anyway, on Friday it looked as though a bomb had gone off, and it was kind of sad to see the house destroyed. According to our old neighbor, it took only an hour and a half to come down. The owners are planning to put up two new houses, so it will be interesting to watch those go up over the next little while.

But a piece of our history is definitely gone!

One Year Ago Today

When I drove Janae to her violin lesson this afternoon, I realized it was exactly a year ago today that I sat at the park down the road from her teacher’s house, not knowing I had kidney stones, not knowing that I had sepsis, not knowing I would soon be in the ICU or having emergency surgery.

I was in so much pain, watching Eric and Alaina (and Alaina’s friend Winnie) use branches to sweep leaves under this giant tree, praying I could make it home with all these kids who were relying on me.

Today, though, I went for a walk during Janae’s lesson and just felt grateful to be healthy and well.

I read that people who survive sepsis often don’t make it through the next year, and I know I’m very fortunate not to have had any lasting effects. But I do think about the experience often, and especially when we drive past this park.

It is a good reminder to me to appreciate the life I have.