Just another "secular" holiday??

(the following insert was added at 1:30pm)
I did a little Internet research and found many informative sites on the origins of Halloween. There are over 3.5 million hits for that search though. I narrowed mine down to Catholic, Christian origins of Halloween and found an interesting article at the following site:
http://www.carm.net/questions/halloween.htm
Remember that it is just a site and I do not endorse nor necessarily agree with everything the author says. I did find it interesting and it answered some of my questions.

I have wrestled around with this question ever since I can remember. As a kid we didn't "celebrate" Halloween in the typical secular manner. My parents would host a "Halleluiah Night" for the entire family instead. Which consisted of dressing up in biblical fashion and playing all kinds of kid friendly games. I never once remember feeling odd about that. In fact, most of my childhood friends at one point asked if they could skip out on their "trick-or-treating" to join our family centered activities. I guess you'd have to ask my parents what their specific reasons and philosophy were on the celebration of Halloween but I figure that it went something like this..."we don't see any reason to celebrate with the world in glorifying a devil centered holiday," you have to imagine that said in the very authoritarian voice of my father.


To call Halloween a "holiday" is a mistake. All Saints Day, November 1st, is a true holiday...or Holy Day. But Halloween is not. I don't claim to know or understand it's true origins or meanings. It really isn't important to me. I am not afraid that my children will learn from someone else to "value" Halloween in a negative way. In our house it is what it is. A day that we all get to dress up and pretend to be something which we are not. And the added bonus is that people might actually give you candy for doing so!


You won't find ghosts and grave stones lining my yard and you won't see my kids in "devilish" costumes. We have many friends on both sides of the Halloween fence. Some who do as my family did, some who completely disregard it, some who go all out with the ghoul and gore of it all. I guess it's a matter of choosing what is right for your family and faith. I don't feel in anyway that we are glorifying the devil. BUT if at some point my children become "socialized" enough into thinking that Halloween has meaning outside of what we have taught them, we wouldn't hesitate to change our routine. Change is good. Maybe next year we'll try something new.

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK?

Spooktacular??

Here's the gang! Shane & Dawn got into the spirit and dressed up as well. Never to old to have some fun! Shane was Jack Sparrow, Andrew is Eeyore, Dawn is an Ice Princess, Nic is St. Michael, Evie Jo is a geisha girl, Jacob is a Werewolf, Elaina is the Little Mermaid, Olivia is a 50's girl, and Katie Bug is a Lady Bug.
All smiles as they prepare to go to the festivities! We don't get to see Jacob very often so any time with him is treasured! Nic and Jake picked up right where they'd left off and had a great weekend of bonding.
The sock hop meets Koasoki! Evie Jo won "Most Colorful" in the costume contest this year. Way to go Evie Jo!! Olivia and Evie spend every minute together playing. They are "bestest" friends.

Sugar & Spice...yeah right!

The day that Olivia Mary was born heaven must have been running short on the sugar and spice. She obviously didn't get the memo about little girls being as sweet as candy. If she did she is voluntarily ignoring it!

Today is a school day, not something that she claims to be particularly fond of, although, I think it's just an act. She did not get a bath last night so I told her dad that she needed to take a shower. I have heard hogs squeal less when being butchered. That was not the way she wanted to start her day apparently. So she boldly proclaimed her disgust to her daddy. I was in our room listening, half annoyed and half humored. It was so ridiculous and yet so understandable.

Haven't you ever been in an annoying situation and just wish that you could scream because of the sheer stupidity of it?

Haven't you ever felt such frustration with a seemingly easy task that you'd like to throw it across the room?

Haven't you ever been required to do something that you absolutely did not want to do and wish you could openly express your displeasure?

If you answered no to all of the above then I am going to check Olivia and myself into an anger management class. I think we've all been there. In a moment when we just need to let out our frustration, anger, tiredness...etc.

The difference is that as a four year old there are times when it is somewhat acceptable to do so. No, she didn't need to carry on like a maniac this morning but perhaps, as a female, she was just feeling emotional and didn't know in what other way to express it. As a grown woman there aren't many instances when screaming and yelling are considered acceptable forms of stress release. So I guess I will just stick to my gallon and half of coffee each day and my nightly glass of wine.

What a man, what a mighty good man

Chad teaches Confirmation at our parish. Just as he did before we moved. He has always had a passion to be involved with the youth of our church. For obvious reasons, we both can't be gone on Wednesday nights. So I have volunteered, willingly, to stay home while he does the spiritual teaching of our faith. More than once he has asked that I take his class. For outward reasons it may seem sensible that I teach instead of Chad. I did go to school to be a teacher, I too love to work with youth, I am already at home all day with our kids so the break would be nice, not to mention Chad's desire to spend more time with our kids. So why don't I do it?

My reason is simple. He is needed. Certainly I could do it and I would enjoy it as well. But his example of faith and service, through teaching, is a lesson that not only his students need to see but other men of our churches need to see as well. Stewardship, using our gifts to better the church. So often the "teaching" is left to the women, the moms. But what an example to these sophomore young men. Of course, there are perks to his job. Last night he got to ride 45 miles with a van full of teenage girls. I know that he struggles with the sacrifice it means for his family, he wants to be a good dad and a good Christian. I hope that he realizes that he is both. Our children and those that he teaches are blessed to have an example of self-less love.

Flashback!

This is a flashback to Halloween past!
Katharine is Eeyore, Elaina is the crying Dragon, Evie Jo is Pocohontus, Olivia is the "bee-oo-tiful" Fairy Princess, and Nic is Darth Vader! This was taken last year at Clark's annual "Spooktacular". We've kind of adopted it as a tradition in our home to head Northwest to Grandpa and Grandma's and take part in the festivities. A costume contest being just one of the many activities of the afternoon. Last year we went on a Hayride at night. I was 3 days over-due with Andrew and I was hoping the jostling of the ride would induce labor...not the case.

I am smack dab in the middle of preparing the kids' outfits for this upcoming Halloween. We don't put a huge emphasis on it but we do think that it is a fun opportunity to get out, dress up, spend time with relatives, and get our annual sugar intake covered in one night!
I refuse to buy a new costume each year for the kids. We instead take bits and pieces from home and buy the small accessories that make the outfit. Nicholas has asked to be St. Michael the Archangel. Sounds great to me. I think it appealed to him due to the weapon which he would carry. Katharine will be a Katy-bug the Lady-Bug. Andrew will take his turn in the Eeyore outfit that each of his siblings have worn before him. That just leaves Olivia. She is undecided. Everything is either too "scratchy", her complaint, or too skimpy, my complaint. So we are working on her yet!

Taking a little time...

I have a list on my refrigerator of sympathy cards that need to be purchased and mailed. A mother, a father, and a newborn baby...sometimes we get so caught up in petty day to day annoyances and frustrations that we forget the beauty all around us. Beauty that, just like this maple, will soon be gone.
I've put off sending out one particular card because for the life of me I can't think of what I could possibly say to someone who carried her child for eight months only to find out she wouldn't be welcoming him into the world in happiness. There aren't words. I can only hope that whatever I manage to write somehow conveys the deep sorrow that I feel for her and her family.
Don't waste today feeling bad about how you've been wronged. Trust me, that's how I woke up feeling. But today I am going to set that aside, it will always be there tomorrow, and see the beauty God's given us in everything.

"It's just a virus"-I hate that sentence!

This is not how I wanted to start my week. After a busy weekend of "craft showing" I came back to a sick baby boy. Andrew started running a fever on Saturday and at the same time quit eating. He has had colds and viruses before but he somehow always maintains his happy demeanor. Sunday he was UNHAPPY. He moaned, cried, fussed, and could not be put down. He absolutely went bonkers if I walked away from him. He tugged at his ears and was flaming hot so I assumed that he had an ear infection. I called the clinic this morning at 8:12am, right after I'd gotten the two oldest out the door with dad for school. Kate was still snoozing away in bed. They said I could get in at 8:20am. Instead of admitting the impossible I took on the challenge. I had to dress myself, Andrew and wake up sleeping beauty and throw her into some clothing as well! We arrived, in much disarray, at the clinic at 8:25am. It actually worked out quite well. Instead of arriving at the scheduled time and then waiting another 25 minutes we walked right on back. That's the good news. The bad news is, Andrew did not have any "fixable" illnesses. His ears were clear, his chest sounded fine. I even let them prick his chubby little finger to check his white blood cell count. He's okay..."IT'S JUST A VIRUS!" I hate that sentence!
So, we'll go back to what we know best and what works best. PRAYER! This morning, after a very sleepless night, Nicholas, Olivia, dad and I gathered around Andrew and prayed for him. Nicholas offered up his own special prayer that "his baby brother's fever would go away and he would be a normal temperature". God always hears the prayers of children and we will trust that He will answer according to His will this time too!

Amazing Love

My parents celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary this week. Thirty-five years of “togetherness”. Thirty-five years of struggling, balancing, holding, straining, crying, laughing, challenging, embracing…loving. I remember seeing it all.
I saw my parents love, a love that didn’t mean smiles and joy for every moment, love that didn’t mean pleasing one another and those around them with every action, love that didn’t mean “finding themselves” in their own interests, love that didn’t mean separation from reality into fantasy. No. Their love is more. It is a love that survived tough beginnings, overcame impossible situations, encouraged change, exchanged bad habits for healthy ones, self-seeking pastimes replaced with family and couple time that built foundations for a lifetime of memories.
I remember the moments of laughter, joy, praise, and peace. I also remember the moments of questioning…. Did we have to be different? Couldn’t we just be? Did our lives have to be lived out loud? My parent’s opinion, based on their calling from God, was YES! A life lived quietly was a faith lived quietly. Being a Latunski, the “out loud” part of living came naturally. My mom obviously had to adapt.
What did “living out loud,” mean in our home? It meant being counter-cultural. It meant talking AND walking the faith we were taught. Lots of families teach their children that it is important to be good, kind, generous individuals. But the exceptions are those parents that actually model it. We didn’t talk about going to nursing homes and praying with the residents…we did it. We didn’t talk about inviting the downcast and lonely to dinner…we celebrated Thanksgiving with them. We didn’t say, “we’ll pray for you” and then forget…we stopped right there and prayed with the person in need.
As a child this wasn’t a trait that I always admired in my parents. I often fought with guilt because I knew that what my parents did was the right thing but I was a teenager who just wanted to blend in and be unnoticed. I am so thankful that they never let our lives be un-noticeable. I am so thankful that they lived each moment in a way that spoke of the faith they possessed. My parents didn’t just preach to us about how to live…although my dad did do plenty of preaching, they walked it daily. Knowing that the friends they gained in the process would always be a bright light diminishing any they had lost along the way.
Life lessons aren’t learned in a moment, for any of us. They are learned when we are forced to walk the same paths as those that came before us and we look back and realize that the view they possessed was much more than we could have understood.
Chad and I are now that couple…raising our children and trying to live our lives centered on the faith we profess. So often in the discouraging moments I draw strength from memories of my own childhood. As we fight the influences of the popular culture in our home, I often smile thinking about the parents that had me color a lettuce head instead of a witch or jack-o-lantern at Halloween, or asked me to consider returning the Cabbage Patch doll that I received for Christmas. In that moment, I was confused. In this moment of raising my own children, I am strengthened. I understand.

I am so thankful that I was not allowed to blend in; I am so thankful that I wasn’t allowed to become un-noticeable. I am so glad that two individuals who understood their role of marriage raised me. Thirty-five years later and I am taking notes from my mom and dad. I am pleased that it isn’t a perfection list. I am pleased that it is real. Real life lived by two inspiring people who became one.

Can't figure it out!!!

I did not intend for those photos to come through as something I posted. I am hoping to figure out a way to put a picture up on my profile but I am utterly confused!! The sad thing is that I will have to break down and ask Chad for help if I am going to ever figure this out and it was my full intention NEVER to mention this site to him at all. That way I could share my "thoughts" without him ever knowing. Is that evil? As if any man would sit down and read a BLOG anyway. To them it must be a total waste of good internet time when there are so many great sports sites to access!!!
Anyway, I'll figure it soon...I pray! Until then I'll just write!

Okay, so it's not the most recent picture of Chad and me, I think it was taken at Easter, but Nic is not yet trained in the fine art of photography so there aren't too many pictures of mom and dad together!

Getting Started

I have absolutely no idea what I am doing but I am going to give this BLOGGER thing a try. It's not like I have something better to do. I can hear Andrew banging the pots and pans together even now. That's good child entertainment! This will definitely be a work in progress and a learning experience. I will figure it out even if it takes FOREVER. Until then, stick with me and I'll do my best to put a smile on your face or bring a tear to your eye!