Halloween 2009

My creative girl wanted to go trick or treating to raise money for Unicef. So she came up with the idea of a "One-Eyed, One-Horned, Flying Purple People Eater." I think the coolest thing I ever pretended to be was Raggedy Ann.

Sarah was a witch and was so happy to get cat's face painted on her cheeks. Love the cute grin she has on.

Rylee was a wolf. Later in the day he lost his ears as we trick or treated. We then told people he was a robber with a tail. He he

My good friend Melissa is getting baptized at the end of the month. It has been a great and sometimes frustrating adventure for her as she explores which church she wants to join. I have been so happy to be a part of the adventure. I thought it was especially fitting that she chose to be a missionary for halloween. She looks so happy. The gospel is a great gift:)

The last picture is the silliest. They hold a Boo Bash at the high school with games, treats, activities, and a haunted house. This is a game where you eat a doughnut off a string. Rylee, Jainey, and Sarah had a blast. Maybe I should feed them vegetables with this method?

Scott and Cameron celebrated birthdays in October. Scott is now 47 and Cameron is 13. Three teenagers at the Emery house. AAAHHH!

All I want for Christmas is my FOUR front teeth. And while your at it, can you get me the two missing on the bottom also. She is so cute!

Here are the teen-agers. Can't you just feel their personalities coming off the screen at you. They are so great. I love being their mom:)

Sarah and Rylee love to share this chair to watch movies. I like it when they collaborate to do fun things instead of clobbering each other.

We Survived The Swine Flu

I guess there's nothing that clears your schedule quite as fast as the whole family getting sick. Our family had the swine flu and it took weeks to get everyone through the worst of the symptoms. We are on the mend now and I am determined that we will get the flu vaccine so we don't have to do another month or two of sickness this winter.
I was surprised, though, that it wasn't as dire as I thought it would be. We had lots of headaches, fevers, aches and pains, congestion and severe exhaustion but then things would get better. As I look back at the whole episode, I realize the wisdom of the statement "The absence of pain is bliss." How very true that is. When everyone was finally well and we could go to church, go out in the sunshine, play with neighbor kids, etc it felt so wonderful.
I guess the bottom line of this post is to remind myself and others to appreciate health and happiness. It is such a tender mercy and a blessing from God.