We opted this year to participate in two very different late October festivities: Reformation Day and Halloween.

Reformation Day commemorates the day that Martin Luther posted his 95 theses at the door of the church in Wittenburg in 1517.  He likely never imagined the immense impact that the relatively commonplace action would have on the whole of Christendom for centuries to come.  We took the opportunity to gather with a couple other families and give thanks for God’s use of Luther and others in that time to recover some key truths about salvation, the Bible, and God’s gracious gospel.  We enjoyed a driveway campfire with s’mores, campfire potatoes, hot dogs, hymn singing, and a brief reading about the key events leading up to and following Luther’s action in Wittenburg.

But the lure of candy was too much for our family (mostly the children) to resist, so we stopped by this afternoon at a local church’s “Harvest Festival” celebration to play some games and take in some loot.  The girls, unsurprisingly, opted to dress up as princesses.  The boys took a suggestion from Lois and were garbed in army uniforms purchased at a surplus store.

At the boys’ request and to their delight, I even picked up Army fatigues at the surplus store and donned a uniform to match them.  For the record, I’ve never served in the military… but I’m quite sure, based on looks I was getting, that a number of people (obviously, civilians) were pondering whether I was in costume or actually was military personnel.  This was even more so later in the evening when we went out to eat at a restaurant that had a “costumed kids eat free” deal, but I was one of only a couple adults in the packed restaurant in costume.  Several people were apparently staring and trying to figure out whether I was actually “for real.”  Thankfully, no one spoke up and thanked me for “my service” (that would’ve left me horrified and both parties embarrassed!).

Looking at the below photo, I’m not surprised at people’s confusion.  I’d have been confused myself (notwithstanding the glaring absence of any patches indicating rank, branch, etc.)!

We’re back from a fun-filled week in Hawaii.  We were blessed by the warm and loving hospitality of our friends stationed with the U.S. Pacific Fleet command in Honolulu and also benefited from their access to numerous beaches and facilities.

Here are a few photos to give you a flavor of our time there:

Happy family excited as we await takeoff this morning to Honolulu!

When meaningful posts are hard to write,  we fall back to photos of our adorable children.

And in the long tradition of previous years (see here, here, and here), I got another cool custom t-shirt.  Bonus points to readers who pick up on (and leave a comment regarding) the not-so-subtle message hidden in plain sight:

We had dinner with some friends, and afterwards the children explored the office a bit.  One of our friends assisted in helping them to explore the inside of a storage cabinet!

Any suggestions for a good caption?

Lois and I stayed up late last night entertaining and in conversation.  The kids went to bed promptly at their bedtime, in spite of company being over.

This morning, we slept in; and though we heard the occasional chatter from the children all waking up, figured they were simply playing quietly by themselves.

But, no… there was a conspiracy going on.

At around 9:30 am, one of our girls stepped into our room and announced breakfast in bed (for both of us)!

She was followed shortly thereafter by her eldest brother, carrying a tray of hot tea, pancakes and even a lovely couple flowers from our front yard for presentation!!!

I snapped this photo from my phone which was by our bed.  We are so blessed.