Happy Halloween!

Gracious, it's been a long time since I blogged! Well, things have changed a bit around here since then, but first, we'll do the fun stuff.

Last Saturday was the Halloween Spooktacular at church and it was a blast! They started off with a baked potato dinner, with all the toppings. YUM! It was so crowded in the gym, that it took like 10 minutes of wandering to find seats! There were some really awesome desserts too. Here is Jilly eating an eyeball! It was actually red velvet cake, covered in white chocolate and painted to look like an eyeball. She loved it!

There were games for all of the kids to play too. We didn't end up going to the Spook Alley, but that's probably for the best, because I know other kids got scared in there. We did the cupcake walk, bean bag toss, and here she is at the Fishing Pond.

After that it was time to bundle up and go outside for the Trunk or Treat. Jilly got quite a bit of candy, though she refused to say "Trick or Treat". Jason stayed warm in his snow suit, and was happy in the wrap with me. He even fell asleep while we were walking around! (I love his expression ;-))

It was a really fun night! Jilly was a very cute University of Texas Cheerleader. Daddy dressed up in his UT shirt and was her coach. Jason wore a t-shirt that said "Little Monster" on it, and Mommy was a mama. ;-)

Then yesterday we had a Halloween Party & Potluck for Playgroup (say that 5 times fast!). Here are my cute kiddos together.

There were cookies to frost. Jilly tried but didn't quite get how to do it.

So this was easier.

Jason was happy once I put him in the wrap and eventually fell asleep in there. This is what I see when I look down, while he's in there. :-)

After the cookies were "frosted" and devoured, this is what we were left with.

There were also foam pumpkins to assemble and decorate. Here is Jilly's. I put on the mouth and eyes, but she did the leaf and nose. There had been some glitter on there at one point, but it got rubbed off.

She was also given a super cool Halloween pencil, with ghosts on it, and used it to try and erase her pumpkin! ;-)

We had a very fun time at the party. :-D

Now for our changes. A week ago today, Steve was laid off from his job. We are now embarking on this exciting new journey through unemployment. It's been pretty scary to try and figure how we're going to make it. But we've been amazed at the massive amount of support we've been given. People ask us what they can do, and we've mostly been saying, "Prayers and job leads." We know there are lots of prayers directed our way and we are so grateful for them! We've also had friends and family buy clothes for our kids, offer wipes and diapers, food, and whatever else we need. We are so blessed by a wonderful family, ward and friends. We're not sure how long this will last or where it will eventually lead us, but we do know that we'll be taken care of in the meantime. I feel confident that is really a good thing and will lead us to a better opportunity. The job was really hard on Steve too; emotionally, mentally and physically draining. In every sense, except for 'dollars in the bank account' this is a GOOD thing! We'll figure out how to make it.

For now, I have let my boss know I can work as many hours as he'd like me to. There aren't that many hours to go around currently, because of the season, but I'll take anything I can get. Also, my mom just opened a brand new clinic, so I've been able to do some work for her in getting it set up and running. One of the best things about Steve being unemployed- he is home all the time and we have the car during the day!!! That means we can go to things like Playgroup without having to get rides off other people. I can do some grocery shopping during the day. And I don't have to stress that Steve won't get home from work on time for me to leave for my shift. We love having Steve around so much more. We're all sleeping better, eating better and happier for it. Too bad he can't stay home AND make money. ;-)

We have had such an outpouring of blessings already. We are truly grateful for all of the service that we have received. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!