Halloween 2009

Halloween this year was very special because every young cousin in Jason's family trick-or-treated together. We met at the bank downtown a little before 5 and took pictures. It was hard to get everyone to smile and look at the camera all at the same time. This is the best shot I got.

As all the family walked downtown, they looked a lot like a traveling caravan.

The youngest kids (Colston - fisherman, Sydney - ladybug, and Rocco-Indian) were pulled in wagons. The older cousins (Drew-nerd, Chloe-zombie, and JJ - twister) just walked.

Rocco had it made! There was a slight drizzle that night, so I held the umbrella over him. Daddy pulled him, that is until the cousins wanted to help out. Chloe pulled Rocco, and JJ took his candy bag to all of the houses. He just sat back on his soft pillows and ate candy. It was quite cool that evening...check out his toboggan, Indian look.

The leaves were absolutely beautiful. Jason and I paused to have our picture made downtown under the prettiest tree. I loved the orange covered ground below us.

After we trick or treated downtown, Rocco and I quickly headed up to see my family. My niece experienced her first Halloween. She's just 8 months old. Daelyn was the cutest little fairy. All Rocco had to say was, "Boo!" and she would just cackle. They play so well together. I think they're the cutest pair.

Trunk or Treat

Rocco came to my school this afternoon for the annual Trunk or Treat. This is the third year he has come. It's a neat event where the students' parents park their cars in front of the elementary school and decorate their trunks with treats. Most of the kids dressed up today for the big event. I went as Lucille Ball. Some of the other teachers participated, too. Here is Autumn as a tough, biker girl. Many kids didn't know who I was; one kid thought I was Amelia Bedelia, but the adults definitely knew. The red hair, large spoon and medicine bottle I carried around with me was the clue that helped them most. VITAMETAVEGAMIN!
This year Carolyn brought little man in his costume. He is an Indian this year, but if you ask him what he is dressed as, he'll tell you, "India."Rocco loaded up on candy at this year's trunk or treat. He didn't stay very long because it was nap time. . . and just like his mama he gets cranky when he is tired. Tomorrow is one last chance for him to dress up again. We're supposed to Trick or Treat with Drew and Sydney. It's not like he needs any more candy though.

3 years and 7 months old

Our sweet Rocco is a little package of big giggles. It doesn't take much to get him tickled. To begin with there's no place he's not ticklish. The best spot to get him is under his chin. He's caught on now, but I used to say, "Look up, Rocco." When he did I'd kiss him under the chin. He'd get so weak from being goosed that he could barely ask me to stop for laughing so hard. If you want him to laugh without tickling him, just say the word "bootie." That gets him going, too.

The latest thing this month has been his rhyming. It begins early in the morning and goes all day long. If you were listening to us in the morning, you'd hear...


Mama: "Get up, pup!"
Rocco: "No bo."
Mama: "You can't sleep, peep."
Rocco: "Sleep all day, lay."

And on and on the nonsense words go. It doesn't matter if they make sense; they only have to rhyme. In fact, one of his new favorite books for us to read to him is Toad on the Road. "They are low on gas and need a fill up. At the store, they add the bill up." And from there we have to stop reading the book for a minute while Rocco rolls over on his side, laughing so hard he can hardly breathe, and finally regains his composure. He laughed so hard the other day just because I told him that mama wore pajamas but didn't kiss llamas.

Disney's CARS are still his favorite toys, but I'm glad to say that he decided this month that he liked his trains again. That's a very good thing considering we spent a lot of money on his videos, trains, and tracks. It was kind of sad just seeing them sitting around not being played with. At least for now Thomas is back in business.

His imagination is certainly not limited. While playing at nana and granddaddy's during the day, he'll often gather his trucks and pretend to have a parade. On other days they'll have a party. He also has his trains and trucks talk to one another. He'll change the pitch of his voice and go, "Oh, no...Henry says.....What you doing?....says Thomas." Another activity he likes to do while playing is to write "important messages" (as he calls them). We have a small cardboard mailbox. He'll take a notepad, scribble on it, place some stickers on it, and tell you that he has a message for you.

One thing he does often is say, "Help me. I'm 'bout to fall." He could be sitting on the floor and tell you this. I don't know where he got this, but I guess it is his way of getting attention...not that he is lacking any.

CANDY!! That's what gets Rocco excited. Several times a day, he'll ask for it. Of course he has to rhyme when he does so. "Gum mum?" he'll say.

The last thing I'll mention is the fact that he likes to cross his eyes. I'll tell him not to, but he just laughs and does it again. He claims that Aunt Tonya taught him this, but she denies it. It's really cute when he does this, but I tell him he's gonna get stuck that way. At least that's what my mom always told me.

Pumpkin Carving and Painting

Fall festvities were held at Papa and Mawmaw's house today. After eating Sunday dinner with all the cousins, aunts, and uncles, we decorated Halloween bags.

Those bags were used to hold all the miniature pumpkins the kids would find later. Each year they hunt them just like they hunt Easter eggs in the spring. Once all the "prize" pumpkins were found, they painted little pumpkins. This photo was taken this year.

He's grown and changed so much just since last year at our pumpkin painting. Drew is the artist in our family; he did a creative clown pumpkin.

Allison and Colston did a great job, too. This was the first year that Colston could really get involved in the painting fun. He just turned two.

Normally the adults spend a lot of time carving fancy pumpkins. This year Chris and I were the only ones who carved.

Poor Tonya had the flu and most of the men snuck outside to avoid having to do the hard work that they normally do. Last year I guess Jason learned his lesson after I had him carve an intricate spider. Ben took an hour or more carving a Georgia Bulldog pumpkin last year, too.

Two years in a row carving something like that was just too much for them. At any rate, we all had fun. I just love this shot of Rocco and his cousin Colston. They are just a year and a half apart in age.

Even the youngest of them all, 11 month old baby Sydney, got in on some of the action. Her latest thing is pretending to talk on the phone. Here she is with her nana.

All the kids went home with 5 or 6 goody bags each. We have plenty of candy to last us at least until Valentine's Day.

By the end of our gathering, our pumpkin went from this plain orange giant...

to this creepy mummy!

Pumpkin Fun

We haven't yet made it to a pumpkin patch; it has been so chilly and wet. Those two combinations don't go well with Rocco's cold. We have managed to have some fall fun, though. On Monday night, Rocco decorated some pumpkin cookies with his first cousin, Daelyn.

She enjoyed the eating part better than the decorating one.

That was fine with Rocco. He preferred decorating and squishing icing out of the tube over eating them. I guess you could say the two kids made a great pair.
What made it extra special was that Rocco's mimi and grandnana were there to help. Fun memories!

Our Best Family Vacation Yet

Cancun was absolutely wonderful. Rocco said it well today when he told Carolyn, "Rocco, mommy, and daddy sad because they left Cancun." Here's just a few of the highlights of our 7 day stay in beautiful Mexico (Oct 3 - 10th).

1. The breathtaking ocean view from our balcony, warm weather, refreshing breeze, white sand, and turquoise water

2. Making sand castles and searching for sea shells.
3. Taking to time to share the sunset as a family on the sky top of our resort. Time and time again I was amazed at our awesome God; He is such an amazing artist. His creation truly declares his majesty.

4. Three hot tubs, one personal jacuzzi, six swimming pools, and one large ocean. Not to mention all day with nothing on the agenda except relax next to all those water choices and get tanned.

Rocco was swimming by himself by about the third day. He actually let go of us and kicked all by himself with his life vest on.

5. Grill by the pool, four restaurants on site, 24 hour room service, and many friendly faces willing to serve you. Every 15 minutes there were ladies asking what we wanted to drink as we laid by the pool. I think Rocco and I tried every non-alcoholic daiquiri on the menu (lime, banana, pina colada, strawberry, banana monkey, etc.) Jason always stuck with his favorite: strawberry. Andres was our favorite waiter. He not only took care of us every morning at breakfast, he made sure we had plenty of fresh milk for Rocco's naps and bedtime bottles.

6. Eat, play, sleep. Eat, play, sleep. We could get used to that schedule. Rocco's favorite spot to relax was in this hammock we found at a nearby resort right on the beach. I thought I'd never get him out of it. He loved swinging in it and would just laugh and laugh. Later he tried to convince me that he needed to fall asleep in the hammock. I believe he would have had I let him. I think I napped every day with Rocco except the day I got a facial. Even in our room we had a great time playing around. Getting up to our room was part of the adventure. Rocco insisted on pushing our elevator buttons. By the end of the week he was asking me to get out of the elevator so that he could ride it all by himself. I don't think so! Jason even came up with a new nickname for Rocco as we all played around...Big Dawg. Rocco really liked that.

7. Nightly entertainment right there at the resort. A movie and Mon. night football were shown on a 4 story screen by the pool. One night they had a fire show where people danced with hot, blazing sticks. My personal favorite was the Mexican show. One of the singers invited me up on stage to dance with him and the Mariachis. They had trumpets, bass, violins, and guitars. Later, dancers came out in beautiful dresses and bright costumes. The hour long show was very entertaining.

I'm not sure why, but Rocco liked the old men. I thought he would be scared of them, but he just enjoyed their act too much.

8. Shopping. We didn't do much of it, but we did manage to visit the nearby market and buy some souvenirs. Rocco sported a large sombrero but convinced me that I didn't really have to buy him one. He had no intentions of wearing it again. The mall was very nice, but very expensive too. We settled for some pictures there.

This trip was such a blessing to our family. I am thankful God allowed us this wonderful opportunity to get away from the hustle and bustle of our hectic schedules and just spend time with one another. Of all the beauty surrounding us and the relaxing atmosphere we were submersed in, my favorite part was just being with my family.

Fall Break and A Visit to an Orphanage

Fall Break turned out to be our best family vacation we've had together thus far. Rocco and I flew down to meet Jason in Cancun, Mexico on Saturday, October 3rd. He had been there since Wednesday doing some mission work. My parents took us to the airport. Although this was my my sixth time flying, I was apprehensive. I'm not a fan of being in an airplane. I usually take a pill to help me chill out, but since I was responsible for Rocco, I figured I needed to be fully alert for the entire trip. God really helped me to relax, and it was great for both little man and me. He even began clapping once we got in our seats (the very last row on the plane). We played CARS dominos, had a Sprite and fry party with our small dishes, chewed gum, and took a short nap to pass the 3 hour flight. Before I knew it, we had landed in sunny Cancun! Jason met us there; he was joined by his missionary friend and interpreter, Marissio.

Before our actual vacation began on Sunday, Marissio took the three of us to a nearby orphanage. The kids were very inquisitive and cordial. We were able to give the kids gifts; as soon as we brought out the bags they flocked to us quickly. All were very appreciative of their gifts, and as soon as they showed their gratitude they all scattered to their own corner to begin quickly uncovering their treats. What an unforgettable experience! To see Rocco give back to the orphans after he himself was once the receiver of such gifts was so inspiring. We bought mostly new items, but Rocco also picked out some toys from his playroom before we left our home that he wanted to give them. It touched my heart to see him play with the kids there. There were less than 15 kids present, and most of them were elementary or middle school aged children. The youngest one was Rocco's age. They quickly became playmates. This little boy liked gum as much as Rocco. In fact, he opened all 5 pieces and chewed it in one big wad. It was neat seeing the girls wear their jewelry and boys put on their John Deere or GA Bulldog hats. I particularly got a big kick out of the kids sharing with their pet dog. I hope he didn't get sick from all the sugar in that Tootsie Pop.

I was deeply touched by the pastor and his wife who ran the orphanage. They were both very appreciative and inviting. I could quickly tell they were hard workers and dedicated to the children. I found out that the man had fought hard and won with the courts to gain rights of one of the children there who had been in an abusive situation. He took them in, gave them love and hope, ensured their education, and now sees that they are in church each week.

When we first arrived at the orphanage his wife was helping a boy get the garage sale organized. They were getting ready with hopes that people would stop by to look at their goods. Any money made would go to buy things the kids needed at the orphanage. The lady was so proud of some sheets that a nearby hotel had donated to the orphanage. Most of us would have thrown them out because they had holes in them. She explained to us how she could repair them and turn the king size sheets into twin sized ones for the kids' beds. That alone was very humbling to me.

Both she and her husband were sweating in the humid weather and lived with no air conditioner. They depended on the tropical breeze to cool them. Neither wore fancy clothes or seemed to have any materials that were valuable. I don't even think they owned a car. They were rich in love. You could sense the care, concern, and sacrifice they had for those kids. Perhaps they are rich in what so many in our world are lacking. Love. Spending time with someone in need. Taking the time to care. Fulfilling a purpose, something meaningful for the Kingdom of God. A calling so high, so important, and even though they may go unnoticed. . . . I know that God sees their faithfulness. They will be greatly rewarded one day for helping the fatherless as the scriptures tells us to. They were such an inspiration to me.

Honestly I was looking forward to getting to go to the orphanage more than I was the beach. (And I'll have to do another post for just our great time at the beach). Looking back it is hard to believe that while so many are enjoying tropical paradise vacations, as we would later ourselves do that week, just down the road others are barely getting by. It was a wake-up call to me that I need to do so much more. James 1:27 rang loud and clear in my mind.

I hope this short post somehow gave you a glimpse into their world and that you, too, will be inspired to do something to help the orphans.