A Happy Halloween!

We had a wonderful evening. I'm not into the blood and gore part of Halloween, but I do love to see all the little ones dressed up! This year, Trey was a monkey, complete with a real banana and all. Anna Grace was a cute lil' pumpkin for her very first Halloween. They were adorable! I'm telling you, adorable! I know, I say this as their mother, but everyone thought so! I let them spend the day in their costumes. They wore them everywhere, around the house, to the store to buy our last minute candy, and in the front yard as we played with our neighbors' children in their costumes. I even took them up to the hospital, to see their daddy. Yes, Hugh had to work, but there will be other Halloweens. Besides, I'm sure all the crazies were out in full force. There was standing room only in the E.R., when we went through to see Hugh. Mark and Datha, our neighbors, had calling hours for someone from their church who had passed. So, Anna Grace and I sat on their porch and passed out candy, while Trey played with Mikayla, Ben and Owen between our two front yards. Mikayla (8) was an ice cream cone, Ben (6) was a fireman, and Owen (3) was a cowboy for Halloween. Alot of the the kids' friends and parents came by and our street was a buzz with trick or treaters for at least two hours. We saw a prince and princess, butterflies, doctors, cheerleaders, a kangaroo and a turtle. There were a couple witches and ninjas and even a little boy who told us he was Bon Jovi. When Mark and Datha came home, we all went trick or treating together, through out our neighborhood. The kids were so excited. They kept running up the street ahead of us. They couldn't wait to see what the next house had to offer. Trey wanted to share something from his bag with everyone who gave him a treat. (Bless him!) He was also very excited about getting to walk in the road. When we play in the front yard, he knows that he is not allowed passed the driveway. I think he told every house we visited that "we go in the woawd!" The kids asked to go by Miss Anne's house. Miss Anne is the neighborhood "grandmother." She is a spry seventy-five year old lady, who walks her dog, Tippy, everyday. She comes by to visit, share recipes and let the kids pet Tippy. She also drops off a bag of freshly baked cookies every now and then for the kids. She is so Sweet! We pretty much wrapped up the night with her house. We had so much fun. It reminded me of when I was little. My mom and dad always made the holidays special. Every holiday. I have memories of my mom making my Halloween costumes and painting my face. We had parties, and cupcakes, with streamers and music. Later, when she had her day care, she and my dad did the same for each of the children they took care of. But, it is because of them that I anticipate the holidays with wonder, a child like wonder, even today.