Trick or Treating

Waiting patiently to head out into the night:



Trick-or-Treating:



Emma enjoying a Lollipop along the way:



Once we got home, the kids dove into their candy. Emma particuliarly thought this was very funny! She had a huge smile on her face as she explored all the candy that Kaitlyn had kindly collected for her since the stroller couldn't get very close to most of the doors. At every house, she asked for "one for my sheep"....

Halloween Parade

The kids have had a great time this week celebrating Halloween.

Last Saturday we joined in the downtown parade and went trick-or-treating at some of the local shops and restaurants.

Little Red Riding Hood & the Big Bad Wolf:



Little Bo Peep & her Sheep:



The kids were mesmorized by one character they met:




And were so excited to meet another one:



JP says that this picture saves us from having to spend thousands of dollars to go to Disney ;) I disagree :)

Putting things into perspective.....

A member of my Moms Club received the devastating news last week that she only had between 2 weeks and 2 months to live. She was supposed to begin chemotherapy but learned that her liver cancer which was believed to have been contained and removed had spread to her kidneys, ovaries and lymph nodes. She is very weak and the cancer is too aggressive so chemotherapy is no longer an option. She is now home with a pain management program and Hospice. My heart has been breaking for her. Colleen has 2 small children, a 5 year old daughter and a 2 year old son. How does a mom say goodbye to her children??? To know that she won't see her daughter go off to kindergarten next year, she won't wish them a happy birthday ever again or see another Christmas. Colleen has been very kind to my family in the past- bringing us a meal when we needed one and handing down some clothes to Emma. I can vividly remember many times when I've bumped into Colleen around town, either sledding or at the pediatrician's office, and stopped to chat with her. Our kids have played together at playgroups. And now, at only 40 years old, her life is almost over and her children will be lucky if they even have memories of her when they grow up.

I wrote a grant request to the National Moms Club organization last night requesting money be given to the family to help her husband with living expenses so he can stay home and help his kids deal with the tremendous loss of their mom and to assist with grief counseling. But money cannot replace a mother's love and advice and smiles and hugs and kisses. It' s just not fair. I have tears streaming down my face as I write this. The thought of it breaks my heart.

Over the last few days, I have found myself dropping everything to play with Ethan, Kaitlyn and Kylie whenever they ask. Laundry and dishes can wait..... I'm sure I'll fall back into a routine of telling the kids to play on their while Mommy does her daily chores but right now I need to be by their sides because you just never know what life has in store for us. Every moment is precious. No mother should ever have to say goodbye to her babies.