Randomness

So, in an effort to try and get completely caught up this post is going to be filled with lots of random topics.  Ready, set, go!

I got a job!  I interviewed at the end of July, about 4 days before I left for Myrtle and got the official offer call on 95 South.  I had started stressing out about not having a job offer and as the summer progressed, I started to really not want an offer until the kids were back in school.  At that point, I just wanted to enjoy the summer with them.  Well, God's timing is so perfect.  He gave me the offer when I needed it, when I was feeling frustrated and down AND gave me the start date of early September.  Such a blessing!  This isn't just a job; this is an absolute answer to prayer on many levels.  The exact position, location and shift that I had wanted.  So, as of tonight, my orientation is officially over and I'm on my own.  I'm feeling more and more comfortable everyday, but still feel like there is SOOO  much to learn.  The rumor that it takes a good year on the floor as a nurse to feel totally comfortable is going to be completely true.  Please keep me in your prayers as I try to navigate through this new career.  Balancing the demands of being a full time night shift nurse and raising a young family is going to be difficult - but I am so in love with this job that I feel like it will all be worth it.  :)

Sienna started her very first year of CCD or Catholic religious education this September.  They meet once a week for an hour and begin to learn the details of the Catholic faith.  No shock here, but Sienna is really enjoying it.  Last week, they studied a saint and had to perform a skit to teach everyone about their saint.  Sienna's role in the play was a nurse.  ;)  Next year will be her first holy communion and I can't believe it!  I actually remember my first holy communion very well, so I'm hoping to create some great memories for her too!

Noah and I joined Hudson on a field trip in early October to the Loudoun Heritage Museum for a fun filled learning experience about apples!  (I actually did the same exact trip with Sienna two years ago!)  Hudson did fabulous and surprisingly, so did Noah.  Siblings were allowed to participate and I was skeptical about how Noah would do.  But he shocked me and waited in line, sat patiently and even participated in the apple relay race.  :)  It was really such a fun day with my boys. 

Over the summer, Scott got us tickets for a Navy football game against Indiana.  It happened to be their homecoming and a beautiful day for a game.  The best thing about visiting the Navy stadium is that they have a hill on one endzone that you can buy general admission tickets for.  That's where we sat and it couldn't have been better for the kids.  Not having to confine them in seats for 3 hours was awesome!  They were able to get an up and close view of the game and also able to get up and move around a lot.  Win - win.  We will definitely be doing more of this in the future.  Annapolis is such a beautiful town and we reallllllly want our kids to go to The Naval Academy, so we have to start them young.  :)

So we totally missed the boat on the whole pumpkin patch thing this year.  We are usually really good at taking the kids every fall, but we kinda lost track of time this year and had to take them to a somewhat wonky version on the Sunday before halloween.  I know, parents of the year.  Our kids loved this little   pumpkin patch and were so happy going down the tunnel slide, posing for pictures on the hay stacks and jumping on the moonbounce.  Next year, we will take them to a fancy one twice to make up for it. 

Our Halloween celebrations kicked off with a parade and party at Hudson's preschool.  All the kids were adorable and of course, Noah had to dress up too!  They started off by parading outside, then we had treats and crafts inside.  :)

Scott and I took Spiderman, Merida (from Brave) and the Red Power Ranger out for a night of trick or treating this Halloween!  They were so in to it and it was super cute and fun for us to experience it all through their eyes.  Noah was all about the candy and we even caught him saying "one more!" at a few houses.  They all had such a great time and got a ton of candy that I'm eating most of.  Ugh.  This where it all starts...from Halloween to Easter, there's candy everywhere in your house!  Anyways, the munchkins loved passing out candy, too, and often were fighting over whose turn it was to answer the door!