Wednesday Ramble

I've decided that every Wednesday can't be about something weird. Why? Well, some weeks I don't get out of the house much, and I don't want to write about how weird I am every week. Instead, I'll try just blogging on something, and it will probably achieve the same effect anyway.

I've heard about people blogging every day of November about something for which they are grateful. It being the 2nd of November already, it might be technically too late, but I think I'll try to include something at least when I do post.

Today, I'm thankful for electricity and heat. Fall is beautiful, but it's really cold outside. I'm so grateful to be able to stay inside and warm. And I'm so grateful for a warm bed. It's so comfortable and lovely in there.

Monday, as you probably know, was Halloween. I know a lot of people get upset by the holiday and think that we shouldn't celebrate it and then, by way of protest, they celebrate Reformation Day. You know, I think this is just one of those subjects on which we won't always agree. I don't think there's anything wrong in kids dressing up (as non-scary things, of course) and trick-or-treating, since all that means anymore is getting candy. Dressing up is fun and kids can exercise their creative talents (or lack thereof, coming from someone who was a cheerleader for 6 years in a row). And I love candy.

Anyway, this isn't about whether or not one should celebrate anything on October 31. This is just a review of some events. The camp (where Caleb works and we live) has a Family Harvest Celebration and churches, families, or other groups can sign up to decorate a cabin and pass out candy from there. Then kids come and trick-or-treat at the cabins. They can also go on a hayride, see a puppet show, get hot cider and doughnuts, and visit a campfire. It's a really fun evening, and this year my family decorated a cabin.

We chose a garden theme, mainly because we have a lot of supplies to decorate that way and I have a box of scarves and big skirts that instantly makes anything look decorated the way you want it to be. We dressed up as gardeners and it's a shame I don't have a picture of my dad, because while my mom and sister used eyeliner to make freckles, he had a goatee and mustache.

All the other cabin decorators did the inside of the cabin, and next year we plan on that. We were so cold by the end of the night. Chloe and I both ended up wearing one of the skirts from the decor, plus I had on a shawl. I had brought some extra warm things, also, so my mom had a green beanie and Chloe had an ear band. We still had fun, though.

At the end of the night, we took our decorations down, planned a little how it might look next year (inside!), and then they came back to our apartment for hot chocolate and cookies. Now, you should understand that our apartment had been a mess (I had a rough week last week and did barely any cleaning) and I had spent the entire day scrubbing, cleaning, vacuuming, and even dusting. (I rarely dust.) I thought I was company ready.

Cue my mom and my sister into the living room. Chloe immediately sees something pretty and rushes to look at it... her Christmas present. I pull a "Woah! Hold on! Look at this!", shove something else in her hands, shove her out of the room, and shove her present under some other things. They come back in and my mom looks at a frame that's sitting in a bin. "Oh, that's pretty," she says. "Oh... that's part of your Christmas present," I say. "Oops," she says. "It's my fault for leaving it out. I guess we may as well find out if you actually like it, since you've seen it."

No one will be very surprised on Christmas, although I'm hoping that my sister didn't actually figure out what the object was, only that it was pretty and probably for her.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Love and Warmth,
LeahJoy