Thank You & Getting ready for Halloween!

I just want to take a minute to thank everyone who left beautiful comments and sent sweet e-mails regarding the passing of my grandmother. It has been a tough week, and I am finally getting back into life. Please continue to keep my Pop in your prayers as he will most certainly need the strength to carry on without my Gram. I'm pretty sure we have convinced him to go to Virginia with my aunt. She doesn't work outside the home, and he will have someone to take care of him, keep him company, and help put some meat on his bones (she is an awesome cook). Of course, we will miss him dearly here in PA, but I do believe that it is what is best for him right now.

October is here and that means that Halloween is not far behind. It's hard for me to believe that it is that time again. It seems that every year, I am a bit behind in getting Ryan's Halloween costume. You see...he is quite picky. He has rules when it comes to costumes.

1. No masks.
2. No face paint.
3. Nothing scary.

Okay, so this just about rules out almost every costume that I can think of. Imagine the horror of trying to find something that he will wear. Let's see, we have been:

1. Tigger (2000)--my choice...he was not even 1 years old at that time
2. Mickey Mouse (2001)--he still had no say!
3. Spongebob (2002)--he'd be that every year if it were up to him
4. Jimmy Neutron (2003)--don't even ask???
5. Spiderman (2004)--I don't even remember him liking spiderman...and what made him wear that mask???
6. The Human Torch (2005)--you know, the superhero guy
7. A frog (2006)--what else can I say about that?
8. A Hot Dog (2007)--what a hoot that was!

Hard to believe that he has already seen 8 Halloweens! Where does the time go? As I type this post, I just decided that I am going to do a mini album with all of his Halloween pictures. Keep in mind that the earlier pictures are terrible quality. But, it is the memories that matter most.

Here's a layout that was published in Creating Keepsakes magazine. It was for the Becky Higgins Sketch back in 2006. Not only has Ryan changed so much, but look at how my scrapping style has changed! It is fun to look back on my old layouts, though, and see the difference!

Oh, and here is a picture of the costume that Ryan picked this year. He was determined to be a bug. Well, after an endless Internet search and too many dollars later, he picked this from Pottery Barn Kids:

Of course, Ryan is much older than this boy, but they did actually have this costume in a size 7-8, so we went with it! So, what are your kids being this year? I'd love to know. It's such a fun time of year, and I so enjoy seeing what all of the kids will be!