Halloween, Kyle, and Wisdom Teeth

The 3 things in this title sum up the major life events of the VM Family the past 3 weeks.  

 Even though I keep checking in with the kids to see if they feel too old for our church's little Harvest Party, they continue to assure me they are not!  They started planning their costumes in September!  Fun for each girl this year was Delia having her friend Kate along for the party, and Ella walking away with another "Best Costume" prize in her age group!

Since our youth pastor likes to hold the Harvest Party on a weekend, for the second time now we've actually been home on the night of the 31st and could do a little trick-or-treating.  I must admit that when it comes to this Halloween tradition, I can take it or leave it.  But, as I was strolling around in the dark with my excited girls, crunching leaves under my feet, bundled in a puffy, warm vest and surrounded by swarms of other kids in costumes, it did strike me as a perfectly lovely fall moment.  And coming home, putting the kids to bed after a long school day, and diving into that candy bowl with a book and a puppy by your side is pretty fantastic too! :)

 I had fun putting this little collage together of the girls' costumes through the years.  I do love their creativity and passion for dressing up!  I think the stoplight and Stanley Cup are still my favorites.  Which ones are yours?

The next weekend we had Kyle visiting!  Once again, clients brought him to the Bay Area and he was able to make a weekend with us out of his travels.  We learned that when Kyle visits a new place, some of the first things he like to check out are 1. the book stores, 2. the churches, and 3. the coffee shops.  Since the weekend he visited was totally rainy, we made plans to show Kyle some these favorite things in a new-to-us area: Stanford University.  It was the perfect, gorgeous, fall day.  We spent an hour browsing this wonderful old bookshop.  We strolled all around the university and visited the golden-mosaiced church in Stanford's Quad, and we stopped for some coffee.

This weekend has not had costumes, candy, or family visitors...it's been consumed with much-needed oral surgery and its ensuing recovery for me.  I put off getting my wisdom teeth out for way too long and finally had to endure this procedure this week.  It has actually gone really well.  The discomfort, swelling, pain, and fatigue are not unexpected and I have nothing to complain about.  My family, Dave especially, has taken the best care of me!  I'm so thankful to have such a tender, nurturing husband, who was so sweet and helpful when I was at my most weak and disoriented.  The precious pileup of loved ones pictured below has also embraced a long weekend of rest with me--  indulging me in multiple meals of soup and a monster Lord of the Rings movie marathon!