A Haunted Halloween

I love Halloween. I just love holidays in general. If you read this blog frequently, you probably have deduced that already. Here are photos of our recent festivities.

• I wanted fun napkins, so I hand cut napkins and used a Sharpie to make a mouth and eyes. The "Wicked Punch" in the background is orange soda and orange sherbet.
• Hallie had so much fun helping with this cake. She mixed the batter, helped spread frosting and put on pumpkins and worms.
• Our annual Halloween meal: Feet of Meat (meatloaf)- Chris just like to call it "bloody stump" Snake Potatoes Ghost Crescents and plain old Green Beans
• Jack-o-Lantern Cheeseburgers for Tuesday night
• Mummy Dogs, Monster Mouths, and Blood Orange Salad for Monday
• And I had to throw in pictures of my cute kids.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

My Great Treasure

Would you like to see one of my most treasured pictures of all?



This is Grandma and Grandpa Skaggs with two-week-old baby Hallie.

In early 2006, doctors discovered a large tumor in my grandfather's bladder. In June of that year, he went in to have the tumor removed. After several hours, the doctors reported that Grandpa was recovering but that they did not remove the tumor. It was too large and it would have been unsafe. When my Mom gave me that phone call my life changed forever. I knew it meant Grandpa's time on earth was very limited. I can recall vividly the grief I felt that day. I remember what it felt like to be six months pregnant and to ball up in a fetal position on the couch just sobbing. It was one of the hardest days of my life.

One week later, I flew from Idaho to California and visited Grandpa who was recovering from surgery in the hospital. The things I most remember from that visit are 1.) how many times he told me I looked beautiful, 2.) how many times he asked other people "Doesn't Michelle look beautiful?" 3.) How proud he was that I was awarded a full-paid scholarship for my last semester of college 4.) How he asked other people if they had heard about my scholarship 5.) his frail shoulders under his hospital gown 6.) and what an honor it was to spoon ice chips into his mouth.

The summer progressed and so did my pregnancy. I couldn't attend our family reunion that August because I was too pregnant to travel that far. On September 21, our little Hallie was born. The following day was the last day my Grandpa climbed the stairs in his home. He made the journey upstairs to add Hallie Laine's name to our family history files. My parents informed me that his health was rapidly declining and encouraged me to visit when possible. At first, we were planning to come down for Thanksgiving. But Chris and I felt strongly that we needed to fly home right away. That was one of the best decisions we've ever made. Hallie was just two weeks old when she took her first plane ride.

The treasured picture is from Hallie's baby blessing. Our family gathered in my grandparent's living room. In a standard baby blessing, men stand in a circle and hold the baby. But in this case, dining room chairs were placed in a circle and the men sat to accommodate Grandpa in his wheel chair.

The last day I saw my grandfather was that Monday. We chatted in the living room as he sat as comfortably as possible in a wing back chair. After a time, he grew weary and retired to the bedroom. I didn't know if he would sleep right away and I didn't know if I could see him before he left, so I stood up and gave him a quick hug. As I pulled away from the hug I could tell he was in pain. The cancer by that time was deep in his leg bone. Yet he didn't utter a word of complaint and did everything to hide it from his face.

Several minutes later, when Grandpa was settled in his bed, he called for our little family. Chris and I scooted into the room with Hallie in her infant seat. We spent twenty minutes engaging in the most beautiful dialogue. I told Grandpa that he was one of my best friends. I told him I would miss him for my entire life. I told him what an honor it was to grow up so close to him and to sit next to him in church and hold his hand. He told me that he wished Grandma was in the room to hear all those beautiful things because they were even more beautiful when shared with a spouse. I told him how thankful I was that he wrote such a beautifully detailed autobiography-- that some nights I stayed up late reading it because it was like I could hear his voice across the miles. He told me how much he loved me and how proud he was of me and he said beautiful things about Chris. He loved Chris. I kissed him and hugged him continuously. I left the room feeling refreshed. I knew it was the last time I would see him. And even though it was much too soon, I had closure. He was still lucid and bright, loving and dignified. And he stayed that way until the last breath.

Several weeks later, I called him on a Thursday night. His voice was cracked and hoarse. But I got to tell him I loved him and how much I loved being a mother. And he told me he loved me. Friday night he drifted into an unconscious state and on Sunday morning we received the call. That was three years ago yesterday.

When we received Hallie's first birthday card from Grandma Skaggs it said "Happy Birthday Hallie! I am so happy Grandpa got to meet you!" I cried with both sadness and joy.

And here we are three years later. At first, I would think of him and cry. It wasn't just tender-- it was a gaping, aching wound kind of tender. Now, I still feel sadness but it is much easier. More than any other feeling, I feel gratitude. How was I so lucky to be born in to such a family? How was I so privileged to get such wonderful grandparents? How was I so lucky to have them at every high school performance? How was I so lucky to get a good farewell with him-- to say everything I needed to say? How am I so blessed to know that he will be my grandfather forever and that I will see him again someday. What a gift.

Hallie just saw me crying and asked what's wrong. I told her I was thinking of my grandpa. She gently stroked my arm and said in a slow, tender way "Oh Mom, do you miss your grandpa?" Grandpa would have loved that.

Annual Pumpkin Patch Pictures

Last Saturday we made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. This year, we tried a new location, Wishing Star Farms. At the farm, Hallie rode a horse, petted every farm animal imaginable, and went on a choo-choo train (twice). We were able to take a hay ride as a family. The pictures make it look really cold. It was more windy than anything. We learned that Claire does not tolerate wind. But, as long as she was tucked away in Daddy's coat, she was a happy snuggle bug. She even fell asleep.
Our family picture complete with one worried pumpkin and one sleeping pumpkin

on the train ride

safe in Daddy's jacket

in hay bliss

patting her hay bale best friend

on the hay ride

the pig patiently waits for the restroom

feeding the horse

feeding the goat

I thought the pig would eat her

precious

in the barn

I love this picture-- we look so happy. But check out my death grip on her sweater.

safe on Daddy's shoulders

before Claire ditched me for Daddy

six months

Well folks, our baby is six-months-old. I can't believe she is halfway to one year! Now that she eats solids, Claire snoozes from about 6 pm until 6 am-- finally sleeping through the night! Although, when she wakes up in the morning, she must fear starvation because she screams at the top of her lungs. Her favorite food is multi-grain cereal and she likes fresh mashed bananas. Otherwise, baby food is all the same to her. Claire loves to roll around the room and is very proud of that independence. She can sit up in the tripod position but quickly crashes to the ground if distracted. At church on Sunday she grew fussy and started crying. I was pacing the halls with her when Daddy recognized her cry from behind closed doors. He came out and held her and she immediately calmed down and rested on his shoulder. She loves to rest on Daddy's shoulder. Even though Claire can get worked up like any baby, she is easy to distract and she calms down right away. She tries to communicate through her made-up language that sounds like a garbled radio. If you acknowledge her with the customary greeting of "kkkkk" in her language, she gets a kick out of it and throws you a big smile. Hallie is Claire's personal court jester. All is quiet in the car and then Hallie makes wierd noises and faces and before you know it Claire is cracking up. Claire is a cuddle bug and a joy to have in our lives. We love you Clairey girl. Congratulations on one half year in the world!

Spooky

Even though we have been a sick house, we didn't let that keep us from experiencing fall. Hallie and I have been baking and crafting and the weather has been beautiful. We have gorgeous trees in our neighbor's backyard that make our views incredible.

decorating our sugar cookies

pumpkins and candles . . . two favorites!

We baked pumpkin white chocolate chip drop cookies together (some of my white chocolate chips were green). These taste like pumpkin pie and are so soft.

Hallie and I made spiders (we cut and painted old egg cartons). Hallie made one for each family member. These are the Hallie and Claire spiders.

We made "witch hands. "

Our annual haunted houses. Hallie insisted that she put her candy "in" her house and not "on" her house. I did it on a smaller scale than previous years and it was much easier. But, let's not talk about all the black sprinkles I had to sweep up.

My weekly chalkboard menu. Here is this week. Last week's meals were spookier-- jack-o-lantern pizza and jack-o-lantern cheeseburgers. Too bad we were too sick to make them. This Sunday we are going to do our annual Halloween themed meal though.

Where we've been and what we've been up to

Have you heard about that little "piggy" pandemic? It came to stay at our home and gave Chris a fever for nine days. Yes, my poor husband, the man who washes his hands ten times a day and holds his breath when he hears a sneeze or cough, was stricken with the dreaded H1N1 virus. He started coughing Friday, October 9. Then the fever came on Saturday, October 10 and didn't leave until Monday the 19th. Poor, poor Chris. We worked so hard to keep him isolated in our bedroom. It was a lonely, achy existence over that week. Chris was lucky if he ate a slice of toast per day. He did consume lots of water, peppermint tea, and orange juice though. He slept more than he has since he was five months old and watched some favorite movies on our portable DVD player. Hallie and I got upper respiratory infections so we spent our time coughing and sneezing. I scrubbed the house and took care of my kids with a surgical mask and gloves on for several days. I was too busy to watch any news or go online. We did watch plenty of movies (cartoon ones) to get us through the long days.

Between all the trips up and down the stairs to check on the sick boy and all day with the girls with no reprieve, I was exhausted every night. I couldn't believe how hard it was to take care of my children with no help in the evening. I was dumbfounded by what single moms have to do. Two of my closest friends are single moms and all I could think was how they do this every single day. I also thought about all the military wives who do that while their husbands are away serving our country-- wow! It illustrates how much work Chris does around our home. He holds babies, changes diapers, entertains, snuggles, and encourages. He is the best partner and it was lonely without him to help me, talk to me, and laugh with me.

We experienced great blessings during this time. Three days into Chris' flu I had all the symptoms, my chest was tight and I was coughing continuously, my muscles and bones were aching, and my temperature was quickly rising. I knew I could not, would not let myself get the flu too. I couldn't imagine nursing an infant every three hours while I had influenza. I sat in bed and decided it just wouldn't happen, I would fight it. And somehow, I knew that because I made up my mind and I asked, I wouldn't have to endure it. Chris offered a blessing that I would not have any more symptoms and that the girls would not contract the virus. By the end of the day, my fever was down and the acheness had subsided. It was a miracle. You would have to be in my body to know how it felt. But I know that one morning I had the flu and the next morning I didn't. And it never touched my little girls.

Halfway through his illness, Chris walked into the garage for something and a squirrel surprised him. Chris had to coax him out from under the lawn mower and send him down the driveway. I kept thinking about two things-- National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (where a squirrel crashes the Griswold Family Christmas Eve) and whether or not Chris could give swine flu to a squirrel.

My mother-in-law is a nurse and was a lifesaver. Two days in a row she dropped off delicious dinners at our doorstep. Her packages had simmered soups, warm breads, roasted chicken, replenishing juices-- it was like manna from heaven. She even added thoughtful extras like candy corn, a cooking magazine, surgical masks and gloves, and hospital-duty cleaning wipes. What an angel.

Chris returned to work Tuesday. He is still very tired but is feeling better every day. Except for lingering coughs, Hallie and I are recovered. Little Claire got through the entire incident unscathed. Now, we just have to catch up on laundry. And I'll post pictures on our blog. So, that my friends, is where we've been and what we've been up to.

Tea Time

Several weeks ago Hallie was invited to her first tea party. Talia personally called Hallie over the phone and invited her to come. Shanda suggested the girls wear dresses. She also set up a darling table and tea. Hallie and I made tea sandwiches (pink strawberry cream cheese on bread cut with little flower and heart shapes) and star-shaped cheese to go with crackers. The girls were giddy about their party. When we arrived they were running around in circles. Before they started, Shanda gave them a quick lesson about how to serve and drink their tea. It was precious. We look forward to many more tea parties with Talia through the years.