Holy Halloween!

Halloween is on Sunday this year, which presented our family with a dilemma.  We love to carve pumpkins and trick-or-treat, but we also feel it's really important to keep the Sabbath holy by drawing closer to God and inviting others to do the same.

After a lot of discussion, our family decided to try celebrating this holiday in a holy way.  For example, we agreed to carve cheerful pumpkins, not scary ones.

Joy took that idea one step further by carving an image of Angel Moroni, blowing his trumpet to proclaim the Gospel and welcome Jesus Christ at His Second Coming.

We also agreed that the kids could go trick-or-treating if they wanted to, but any treats they collected tonight would be donated to military personnel serving overseas. 

The three older kids opted to go trick-or-treating for charity this evening.  Joy never got around to making the Ahsoka costume she envisioned at the beginning of October, so at the last minute she dressed up as Rusnak, a Jedi padawan in a story I once made up to tell the kids in the car.  Joy's pillows fell off after the second house she visited, so she brought them home and went trick-or-treating as "The nice big sister who made her brothers' costumes."

While Daddy took kids trick-or-treating, I stayed home to hand out treats and connect with our neighbors.  I dressed as an angel, and played the Tabernacle choir full blast through our open windows.  I didn't realize that the lock-screen image of Jesus on Daddy's computer was peeking over my shoulder, but I suppose that was a fitting addition to the whole scene.

Todd didn't feel like trick-or-treating for candy he couldn't eat, so he stayed on the porch with me and read fun books about being a good friend on Halloween.  After we gave out our last treat and turned off our lights, I reflected that this has been my favorite Halloween ever.  I've always loved the creativity and generosity of this holiday, and celebrating it with a focus on serving and uplifting others made me feel even happier this year.

Happy Holy Halloween!

Trunk or Treating on a Dark and Drizzly Night

 It's Trunk-or-Treat time, folks!

Here's Anna the Baker posing with her brothers, Red Bomber and Yellow Bomber.

I thought it was cool that so many adults dressed up too.  I wore a fun mask, but after seeing my friends dressed as Cleopatra and Ms. Frizzle, I think I may try something more elaborate next year.

After the games, I took a picture of Anna . . .

. . . and Daniel (sans Red Bomber head) at the photo booth . . .

. . . then we headed out into the drizzly night to trunk or treat.  I handed out our family's treats whilst sitting in our van's trunk, so the hatch could shield me from the elements.

Then the kids went home and traded candy, because the only thing better than a big haul of treats is a big haul of your FAVORITE treats!

New Door, Old Frame

When Daddy told his boss that he'd helped put in a new door and frame last week, the boss said it's much easier to leave the old frame alone and just replace the door.

Daddy thought that sounded like a project he could tackle on his own, so he tried that approach with our broken pantry door today.

This is what our pantry looks like on the inside.  Feast your eyes.  But don't try to eat anything--this ain't Wonka Vision, people.

Meanwhile, here's Daddy out in the garage, drilling a hole for a doorknob.

Now we have not one but two non-flimsy doors!  Yay!  And don't worry--the trim will match after it's painted next month.

A Very Festive Bus

Every school day in October, our bus driver has added a new Halloween decoration to his bus.  Another mini pumpkin by the windshield, another spider decal on the door, another string of lights.

This week, he even added eyes and teeth!

He likes to decorate himself too.  This morning, he drove up wearing a jack-o-lantern mask and hoody.

Speaking of festive fun, I went to Todd's school this afternoon to watch their annual costume parade.

We didn't think Todd's Yellow costume would survive a bus ride, so he just put on his favorite Halloween shirt and a cape from our dress-up bin.  The cape looks rather dramatic on a windy day, don't you think?

A Yellow Costume

 For most of October . . .

. . . our basement floor has looked like this . . .

. . . because Joy offered to make Todd a Yellow costume for Halloween.  Cheerful little Yellow is Todd's favorite character in the video game Super Bomberman R.  

Yellow says, "Thanks, Big Sis!"

Pumpkin Math

This morning I visited a certain second-grade classroom . . .

. . . to help the students with pumpkin math.

Especially this second grader!  Todd was happy to help me measure the pumpkin and count the ribs, but he didn't want to touch the slimy stuff inside to count the seeds. Fortunately, the girls at his table were happy to help with that! 

Small Town Democracy

After dinner this evening, I headed over to the high school . . .

. . . to attend a town meeting, where any registered voter in town can come vote on this quarter's ballot items.

I went partly to learn about the issues and cast my vote on them, but also because I find the meetings fascinating.  After the town officers announce and explain an article . . .

. . . any voter in the audience can walk up to the microphone to voice their opinion or even propose amendments.  As we were discussing one particularly contentious topic tonight, the crowd groaned a little when someone proposed a fourth or fifth amendment for us all to debate and vote on.  No one yelled for the person to sit down though.  I get the sense that people here respect the process and each other, and they're committed to letting everyone have their say, even if they disagree.  I like that about our town.