Wednesday!

Good news!

As of last night... the Halloween costumes are DONE! 

This probably doesn't thrill you the way it does me. But I am glad that they're done and that we have a few days to spare. Trunk-Or-Treat is on Friday. And that's obviously the debut of the costumes. 

You may be wondering what they're going to be... stay tuned. Here are some hints! 

M has continued her "food" costume trend. (See Nerds Gummy Cluster, Nothing Bundt Cake, Mac and Cheese, Grapes) The thing about dressing as food... is it's just fun. It's not scary. It's recognizable. It's an excellent option. 

C has continued his trend of dressing as his special interests. (See Walrus. Penguin. Vector.) Luckily for all of us, this year, even if he's not completely recognizable... the costume still makes sense. 

Happy Wednesday! 

Tuesday!

Well... look here, what happened yesterday as I waited for my kids at youth choir. 

(Some people would go home. Other people who are cheap, because, hello, gas prices and one income currently, bring a book and their sunglasses and just read for an hour and a half. Don't worry, I finished my book, then used the Armor All wipes I keep in my car to clean the front half of the car with the rest of the 20 minutes I had left.)

But look what God put out just for me. 

And I googled later; scientifically speaking, this isn't all that unusual near sunset when there are ice crystals way high up in the atmosphere. But too bad science. It was obviously a burning bush moment. Just God reminding me he keeps his promises and He is good. 

You can go ahead and disagree, but I'll disagree with you right back! 

On this bright and sunny Tuesday, let me tell you a few things making me happy. 

#1 My Social Algorithm has me figured out. Look at this shirt they dropped for me. 

#2 Brand New Socks. 

Is there anything as satisfying as putting on a brand new pair of socks? Not really. It's one of those small luxuries; if I ever won the lottery, I would buy like, a year's worth of new socks. 

For my birthday, my parents got me a few pairs of Bombas, and it's just now sock season. So I got to put on brand new socks this morning. I didn't even know that they had fish on them until I put them on. 

It's actually so annoying that Bombas are so much better than literally any other sock I have ever worn, including the Target knockoff Bombas with little hexagons too. 

The material, the cush, the fact that they hold up wash after wash. They are a superior sock. And thankfully, they give a pair of socks away when you purchase one. Hopefully that's actually true. It does make the price easier to bear. 

#3 The fact that 3 different people sent this to me... makes me unspeakably happy. 

Also... that is the Wilderness Lodge at Disney in the background, which is one of my favorite resorts, so... that also makes me happy.

So happy Tuesday, everyone. 

Monday!

October is really flying by. I figured life might slow down but alas, there really is no such thing. 

I would love to tell you that I am patiently waiting for what is next. But that's a lie. God and I have had some words. SOME WORDS. I promise you (and Him) that I trust this plan is ultimately for His good and our good. 

It's the waiting on the plan that I am deeply frustrated by. Why has it been two full months of dashed hopes and disappointments? 

The reality is that I will never really know. It's just what we get when we trust. 

Husband and C went to another String Art class for me while I had to work an event. This was the class I was excited about. I think the thumbs-down, boo ghost is so funny!! 

Every year, one of our October traditions is watching Curious George Boofest. And in one of the songs, it says, "Gimme some of that pie." Well, Friday was a day off from school due to conferences, so I had time to bake a pie. 

I went thematic with it. 

It was a very tasty pie, and I believe it enhanced the viewing. 

And truly, I don't know that I have much more to add to the blog today. But it feels weird to not check in, you know? 

An Overdue Recap

Sorry friends for disappearing! Wish I was telling you that we have an excellent update for the job situation over here, but we are still just waiting for God's plan to unfold and trusting Him to give us our daily bread. He hasn't failed yet. 

But I have just been really busy! So going way back to when things started getting busy: there was a pet blessing for the Feast of St. Francis. 

We got the school pictures of the children (and me) back. My favorite thing is that for the first time ever they made the parish staff a composite picture of us like we are a class. And it makes me laug so much!

Pictures of the children were ordered and are already in the hallway of my parents house in their little frames. My mom has us 3 kids in the stairwell. And small C said once "Well where is MY frame?" So my mom added a frame to the top of the stairs. And that's good because I don't order the actual physical prints. 

The new 100 years of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade book was released and no one was more excited than this kid. 

This kid got a Halloween Mini Magnatiles Set and she was very happy with that. Both of them got things for their favorite holiday!

It was also a school fundraiser at Chick-Fil-A. We have moved to a "no-spending" anything extra mode. But we also wanted to support the school and so we took the kids and got each kid a kid's meal so they could feel like they took part. M won a cow from spinning the wheel. 

We had a Confirmation Retreat. 

And then all 46 of them got confirmed. 

And I am tired. I worked 3 weeks of my work hours in the last 2 weeks! So I do have time coming to me. Unfortunately, there's still more to do and I am not sure when precisely I will be taking that time. 

Last night Husband and I went to String Art Bat class. 

The kids hung out at the library while we were in there. And then we went to Culver's since we have some free scoop tickets. When it's 90 in October... it just seems right. 

The other EXCITING news is that all of his hard work paid off and C made the statewide OPUS choir. We are so proud of him!! He will be in a choir that day with 179 other boys in Iowa who love to sing, and I am so thrilled for him. 

M took the news particularly hard. She also auditioned. Never mind that C has spent the last 3 years auditioning and not making it. She will still get a day out of school for it. 

So we keep on keeping on over here.

Happy October Friday!

Oh hey there! It's Friday! In October! 

This week has been busy. But this week has also been insanely filled with joy. 

Here are some things that made me smile this week: 

Really, how blessed am I that this next one is true? 

Here is the one and only picture I have taken this week. And it was to show M her hair before she left. 

It has rained so, so much this week. Like Wednesday and Thursday, we got officially 3.57" of rain. Roads were closed because of flooding. It was crazy. I had to turn around on a road that closed dramatically and quickly. Today, thank goodness, the deluge has finally stopped, and it's cooler out today, so it feels like fall. 

M kicked a bunch of mushrooms out of the lawn at work. That is one of those truly satisfying nature experiences. Kicking mushrooms. Crunching a crispy leaf. 

My weekend mostly involves me working, but that's okay. We are taking things one day at a time and know that God's plans for us are great indeed! 

Happy October weekend, everyone! 

What's Up Wednesday

First of all... I have always kind of thought Dancing With the Stars was rigged, but now I am certain. Those judges were MEAN to Taylor. And overly nice to people who danced way, way, way worse. 

Carrie Ann especially never said one kind thing about him in 3 weeks. But gushed over the oaf that is Tyler Cameron, who last week lifted his partner and took his shirt off, and that was apparently considered dancing. 

All I am saying is you can critique and be kind at the same time. 

I don't believe for one single moment that his votes didn't come in higher than other people's. The fact that there is no transparency at all... rigged. "A combination of the judges' scores and the votes." For sure, it just equals "we are going to do what we want anyway." 

Guess I got my Tuesday nights back. 

Our school/parish has kicked off a capital campaign to add a "wing," if by wing they mean like 5 rooms. And air conditioning. 

To be clear, I am not opposed to such an addition. I just don't think it's as fancy as a "wing." 

All the kids got a little construction helmet. If you look really closely and you're amazingly talented, you can see Me, C, and M in this picture. 

Don't let the absolutely gorgeous blue sky fool you. That was an outlier in the world of dreary and rainy. Honestly, it's getting old. We've been in flood watches and warnings for weeks. Supposed to get 3 more inches of rain today. 

At least it's not $n@w. Because moving to Florida is looking even more interesting if that were the case. 

We are still taking things one day at a time. We still appreciate the prayers as we navigate all the things. 

Blesseds, Baked Goods, and Life

Well, hello from a world where Blessed Fulton Sheen is officially recognized as Blessed. 

A reminder that even in uncertain and hard times, God is good. I mean, how long have we been waiting for this? A really long time. 

So we can keep waiting as a family. It has been one month since Husband was let go from his job. It sucks really. One day I will probably write all about it. Today is not that day. 

And it's been really hard to just trust that God's plan is so much bigger than we realize. But He IS! And even with no good update to share, it's going to be alright. I know it. I feel it. I trust it. 

It's like hour to hour with the ups and downs. Moments of hope and disappointment. 

But since he hasn't gone to work... he has been baking. 

This week he made Chocolate Babka. 

And then he made Hamantaschen with peach filling. He made the filling himself too. 

Have you ever had Hamantaschen? SO freaking delicious. And yes, a few years ago I got him a Jewish Baker Cookbook that he had never opened. He clearly has done so now. 

On Wednesday night, my friends took me out to celebrate my birthday. Again. 

That giant cake came home with me too by the way so if you're looking for baked goods... we're the house. 

Yesterday, Husband made milk pull-apart bread. 

And then he made some Cane's sauce, hand-breaded chicken tenders, air-fried up some crinkles, and we had Raising Cane's at home. 

As it happens, today was ALSO the 6th grade bake sale, and M's class was in charge of bringing 2 dozen treats in, so we ALSO made s'mores bars. 

We are ready for the weekend! Praying next week brings positive news. Blessed Fulton Sheen, pray for us!