House of Horne

I’ve done other posts on using your children’s art to enhance your home. While I’m really just beginning to learn how to do this, I am already so pleased with my very humble results. I don’t know much about art in general, but I know enough to realize that looking at these little creations around our house makes me very happy.

A couple of weeks ago, Meredith posted regarding holiday decorations, posing the question as to how much “stuff” we keep stored year after year to pull out for seasonal decorations. Until recently, I didn’t have too much stored away for seasonal decor except for the Christmas decorations. But little by little I am pulling a few things together for some of the other seasons of the year which lend themselves to pretty touches in our home.

This year I enjoyed decorating for fall. A few pumpkins here, a smattering of cinnamon sticks and potpourri there. But my favorite “new” decoration this fall is this funny little turkey that my sweet Jonathan did back when he was about three and a half years old. A quick trip to Hobby Lobby for a great frame and a custom mat, and I have preserved my little guy’s “art” for many a Thanksgiving to come…

Update from Jay, 9:40 p.m.
Dad took Mom home from the hospital around 5:30 p.m. For the most part, she has been sleeping ever since. We are thankful that all has gone so well today. Once again, thanks for your prayers.

Update from Jay, 2:24 p.m.
We just spoke to the doctor. Everything went well, and there were pictures to prove it. At this point, it is a waiting game to see when Mom has recovered enough to stand. At that point, she is free to leave. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

Update from Jay, 1:58 p.m.
Dad and I were just admitted to see Mom in recovery. She’s alive and well, though still quite groggy. Haven’t spoken to the doctor yet, as he is tied up in another surgery at the moment.

Update from Jay, 12:00 p.m.
Mom went in a little over an hour ago. The doctor told me to expect about an hour per procedure. Turns out Medical City provides guest wifi in the waiting rooms, so I’ll provide an update when she’s in recovery.

Today, we are praying for our sweet Grammy Ruth, who is as we speak undergoing surgery to hopefully deal with the issues associated with her Meniere’s disease. Jay’s Mom has been suffering with this debilitating disease for almost two years now, and our prayer and hope is that today’s procedure will be effective in removing the symptoms and attacks she has experienced as a result. In addition to the labyrinthectomy which she is undergoing to hopefully help correct the problems which stimulate the vertigo attacks, Mom will also be receiving what we are referring to as a “bionic ear” to help with the almost complete hearing loss in her right ear. You can read more about this here. She is really excited about the blessing of hopefully regaining hearing in that bad ear. We are truly amazed at the levels of today’s medical technology, and thankful that help exists for some of the trials she has experienced.
As I hear news from Jay I will try to post updates here as to the surgery’s outcome and Mom’s recovery. For now, say a prayer for Ruth if you will…thank you!

This year the three older kids decided to dress up for Halloween as Superheroes, so little Josiah went along with the theme. Very cool of him, though I am sure he had not a clue as to what a Superman was. This was really his first year to actively trick-r-treat, even though we’ve always taken him along for the outing. It took him only about three houses before he caught onto the fact that every time he ran up a front walk to an open door, the nice adult inside plopped candy inside his plastic pumpkin. Wow, did he ever like this!! It was such fun to watch him run with his little red cape trailing along behind him…

We trick-r-treated with a horde of other families from our neighborhood who gather early each year to traverse the streets all together. After an hour and a half of serious trick-r-treating, we returned home to share candy from our house with the older kids who make the rounds a bit later in the evening. Before the night was over, I had to post a few quick pictures here (mostly for the benefit of some family members whom I know will be checking in for peeks at this year’s costumes!).

Here’s the group altogether, our mighty little superheroes:

Our Lovely SuperGirl:

The Clever and Very Dramatic Spiderman (he stayed in character ALL night!):

Dashing Little Blue-Eyed Batman:

And the cutest Baby Superman I’ve ever seen:

Happy Halloween, Everyone. Boo to you!!