"We got snubbed by the Candy Corn Witch!"

Yes, Halloween here in Alvarado is always interesting and fun! We were blessed with a driveway full of grandparents this year....Grammy, Poppy, Gran, Papa, Paw Paw, Grandma Sarah, Nana Geri and Papaw Mike all showed to join in the festivities this year. We had 3 firemen, a ballerina princess and Daphne from Scooby Doo. The kids had soooo much fun. We started with Mummy Dogs and french fries for supper with bloodshot eyeball cupcakes and witch hands for dessert for the kids (lasagna, salad and bread sticks for the grownups). We couldn't keep the kids off the costume and flashlight idea any longer so they got dressed up and ran around the yard/driveway in their costumes until sunset. The kids were accompanied by Poppy, PawPaw, Papaw Mike, Kevin and the daddies for trick or treating while Papa, the grandmas and mamas stayed to hand out candy! The kiddos had a great time handing out candy to the other trick or treaters after their "buckets got heavy" and we had a great time watching! Mandy went home with Grammy for her sleepover and Kyler is on a HUGE sugar high...What a neat tradition to have such a large family close by to enjoy these things with.

Kyler's Fall Party...

So, with the starting of pre-school and teaching and parent conferences I am learning a lot about my own children! Especially Kyler right now....Tuesday night as I was tucking him into bed he told me that he had to dress up like a cowboy for school and his teacher stapled a note to his back pack reminding us not to forget his party donation. Yes, as I was tucking him in to bed! I have one of "those children"...the ones who wait until the last minute to tell me what he needs for school. Thank goodness he only has school twice a week so I have time to deal with it (for now). Something to work on! Luckily, a cowboy hat was on his Christmas list and i had already bought it so he got it early so I didn't have to hunt one down! His boots from last year are fitting for the time being and we were set...WHEW! The party was a hit and we got the proofs for his pictures in. He still hasn't received a color change and is doing great in school. I guilted Grandma Cindy into making sure to get pictures of him in his gear for all of us to see since she was LATE this morning. For anyone who knows me knows that I HATE being LATE! But I pulled it off walking in with 2 minutes before the first bell...

Gran and Papa's Halloween Carnival

Gran and Papa's neighborhood has a Halloween carnival every year with a costume contest and games. This is an annual fun gathering for all the cousins! Everyone gathered at Gran and Papa's house, played and got costumes on to head to the carnival. This year was only a little different because Kyler got overheated in his costume and couldn't make it to his costume contest because he was sick! Poor baby. The rest had fun playing games and strutting/strolling around in their costumes. None of our gorgeous kiddos won the costume contest although they should have! Everyone got enough tickets for a prize and we were off to the house to cook hamburgers on the grill, eat and start Gran's barber shop! Yes, all the boys got their haircut and were GOOD too! All in all a good day just wish Kyler had been feeling better.

Harman Halloween Party

Last night was the annual Harman Halloween Party. The kids had a blast on the hayride that Uncle Chris pulled with PaPaw Fred's John Deere tractor and Daddy (costume Wino) helped them make pumpkin faces. It was a lot of fun. Mandy got a huge kick out of her vampire teeth that came in her goody bag...

Changing the Oil...

Kyler helped Poppy and Daddy change the oil in both our vehicles Saturday in between soccer and the Harman's Halloween Party! What a great helper! While the boys were doing their thing, Grammy and Mandy were having a blast playing with ponies, babies and dancing!

Beautiful Babies

Not really babies anymore but my babies always! Aren't they beautiful? This is a captured moment of them snuggling on each other yesterday after Mandy came back from her sleepover.

Mandy is home!

Mandy just got home from her first sleepover with Megan and from what I hear it was a hit! The girls apparently played and played and Mandy was the last to fall asleep...SUPRISE! Thanks to Aunt Erica for having her, next time we will have Megan over here and give you some rest! Check out Megan's blog (link on side) and look at the CUTE pictures of the girls.

Pin the nose on the Pumpkin...

Painting Masks...

Pumpkins!

Halloween Party at Aunt Kelly's

Aunt Kelly had us over last night for a fabulous Halloween party! All the Gouldings were there plus Mrs. Christy, Mr. Steven and Brianna. OH the fun! As always Aunt Kelly was the hostess with the mostest! We ate pizza and cupcakes, drew pictures on our pumpkins for the daddies to carve, painted masks and played pin the nose on the pumpkin. I know a lot but the kids (and parents) LOVED every minute. Aunt Kelly cleverly had the kids draw a number for which pumpkin would be theirs so there wouldn't me any arguments and it worked perfectly! I will do a post for each activity since, you know me, I am indecisive and want to show off the wonderful pictures of all the kids and daddies!

Congratulations Jason and April!!!

At 8:45 this morning, our friends Jason and April (who are like part of our family) welcomed their first bundle of joy into our lives! She was 8 lbs 13 oz and she and Mama are both doing well. I will add a picture as soon as we get one!

Congratulations Jill!

Big news tonight, my cousin Jill is officially engaged! Congratulations girl! We love you!

Newest Goulding

Kyle's cousin Kristine and her husband Michael just had their second baby, a boy named Dayne. Holidays when all the Gouldings are together just got bigger! Congratulations Kristine!

6 Phases of Teaching

This was sent by a co worker of mine, just in the nick of time! I just wish I could find a way to include the animated pictures that go with these! For now use your imagination...

Phase 1

You are listening to jazz -- Your first day at work is great. Your fellow teachers are wonderful, your classroom is cute, you love your students, and your principal is the best!


Phase 2

You are listening to pop music -- After a while you are so busy that you are not sure if you're coming or going anymore.


Phase 3

You are listening to heavy metal -- This is what you feel like after ONE month.


Phase 4

You are listening to hip hop -- You become bloated due to stress, you're gaining weight due to lack of exercise because you are so tired and have so much school work to do when you get home, you feel sluggish and suffer from constipation. Your fellow teachers are too cheerful for your liking and the walls of your classroom are closing in. You have started thinking 'WHATEVER' about your principal.


Phase 5

You are listening to GANGSTA RAP -- After more time passes, your eyes start to twitch, you forget what a 'good hair day' feels like as you just fall out of bed and load up on caffeine.


Phase 6

You are listening to the voices in your head -- You have locked your classroom door to keep people out, You wonder WHY you are even here in the first place and WHY did I become a teacher!

Good Looking Crew for Church!

Dance Videos

Founder's day festival

After the dance performances we checked out the festival with Grammy and Poppy to see all the local happenings. While on the walk we ran into Aunt Erica again and the kids were enjoying talking to her and getting some of the free candy her mom's club was handing out. Mandy immediately started looking for Megan who was still at home but we ran into her later down the walk of booths just in time to go on the bounce slide before we went home. The girls had a great time running while holding hands and only had one spill...pretty amazing for two two year olds! All in all a good morning.

Founder's Day Dance Recital

This morning was Mandy's fall dance performance "on stage"! I was unsure of what to expect since she did well in the spring but she chose only her favorite parts to dance...the only dance she did in it's entirety was when there was no one there to take pictures or video. Today I was a proud Mama! She did both dances (except for her curtseys in the ballet. She had so much fun that she did a little star pose at the end of her tap! Too cute. Atleast now I know she is having fun with it! Her tap routine was "Look at me" and her ballet was "Little teapot". Grammy and Poppy came to watch and pick up some important things Grammy needed for her trip to see Chris. We ran into Aunt Erica before the dance and she was able to help get video since once again our ancient video camera wasn't working...I guess it is time for us to replace it. Thanks Aunt Erica! I will add the videos as soon as she gets a chance to get on her computer.

Updates

We are still waiting on the results of yesterdays lung biopsy but there were only 4 spots and they are (according to the sonogram) only surface deep. From what I am hearing that is a good sign. With the latest news and without those results here is his plan of action. Chris will have one week of inpatient chemo, then he will have to go in once a week for 3 months and then once every two weeks until May. The doctors are encouraging Joy to return to work after he returns home to help things feel "normal". Their idea if that is too hard is to take the day he has chemo off to be with him for that. I don't know yet what they will decide but it has to be one of the toughest decisions of her life. Please keep praying for them...it is helping. They are feeling our love.

More News

This morning we received word that Chris's Cancer is in his lymph nodes and fatty tissue of his abdomen. We are still waiting on the biopsy of his lungs to know what we dealing with there. Please keep you prayers coming for him and his family, I know they need our strength right now.

Update on Chris

I just heard that Chris's results on his kidney are in and it is a Wilm's Tumor. These are cancerous and best case scenario (how terrible to say) 2-3 weeks of chemo and he will be done. However, if it is a more aggressive form of Wilm's then he will need a longer chemo treatment and radiation. They are going to do a biopsy on his lungs to find out what is going on with the spots on his lungs. He has pneumonia in one of his lungs from the surgery and the doctors said they are not that concerned with it since it is a normal reaction to his type of surgery. Please keep them in your prayers.

Grammy's Day

Yesterday Grammy called and wanted to know if it would be okay to take the kids to the zoo today since she was off work for a "holiday". I wonder why grandparents ask these things sometimes since there is NO WAY I would deny that kind of day to them or the kids. Well, there was a little worry last night at the news of rain (where did that come from?) but mother nature pulled through with a break in the rain perfect for a day at the zoo, not too hot and not raining. From what I hear the animals were active and they almost had the place to themselves! I heard stories about the mama tiger as soon as I walked in the door. Thank you Grammy for a special day, the kiddos are still talking about it!

Prayer Shawl Ministry

At our church in town they have a special ministry where if you know someone who needs prayer you can request a prayer shawl and they will have it at the prayer rail in the front of the church and at specified times in service they invite members of the church to come pray over it for the person needing prayers. I can only imagine the special heart of the person who created this special ministry and the people who hand make these shawls. Thanks to Aunt Kelly who thought to ask Reverend Gene how we could get one for Chris after I lost the bid at the church auction for the Angel Quilt made by the children of the church. What a special friend to think for you when you can't think straight. We love you Kelly and we love the wonderful people of our church who are actively praying for our family and Chris in this time of need for prayer and for making these special heart warming shawls.

Lord's Acre

The Lord's Acre is a special event at our church to raise money for missions in and out of our community. They have a little store of hand made things and really cute christian items as well as penny candy. Aunt Kelly, Austin, Alex, Gage, Grammy, Kyler, Mandy and I loaded up after soccer, lunch with Gran and Papa and naps to head out to play and support our church. Grammy gave the kids some change from the bottom of her purse and they stocked up their little bags on penny candy. I got each of us a Lord's Acre t-shirt and a cute clipboard for at school. Thank you Granny and Graddy for my birthday money it paid for a fantastic afternoon at the church. The kids got to play in the bounce houses and the big kids even helped them to race through against each other. So cool how the big kids had almost as much fun helping the little kids as they did playing themselves. Then our local angel Mrs. Terri got them all on the antique fire truck for pictures and honked the horn for them too! She is like magic with the kids...a true calling. Then we were off the BBQ dinner and it was good! The kids barely ate because they were having to much fun with the high school kids "babysitting" in the nursery area to eat. They would come out, grab a bite and head right back in. It was a lot of fun. Then off to the auction. I had my heart set on an Angel Quilt made by the Sunday school children's footprints with Kyler's name on it to send our love and prayers to Chris but was out bid by a grandparent whose grandchildren's names were on the quilt. Special love for Grandpa to pay $400 for that quilt. The quilt that had Austin and Alex's name on it went for $600. OUCH!! I was heart broken and quick thinking Aunt Kelly talked to our pastor about the prayer shawls. God love her for looking out for my heart. The kids were not ready to go when we left but they finally surrendered and slept HARD! All in all a fabulous afternoon.