3rd Annual Haynes Fall Festival

We are blessed with a nice group of American & Western friends here. A few years ago, I was upset that we weren't doing more fellowship things together and a friend of mine encouraged me to DO something about it! So, I did. And the Haynes Fall Festival (Redeeming Halloween Party) was born! This was our 3rd year doing it and it was the best year yet! We had 59 people here!

It's a night focused on the kiddos, of course! But I'm sure the adults have just as much fun as the kids do! We start the night out with pumpkin cookie decorating for the kiddos. I set out the undecorated cookies, icing in 4 colors, and lots of candy decorations and let the kids get creative!

After cookie decorating - and eating - the kids do their trick-or-treating. We do it like I did at my church growing up...each kid has to say a Bible verse to get a piece of candy! Scripture memory & candy - WIN WIN! 

After that, everyone heads outside to play games. Brad is in charge of the games. He had Pin the Tail on the Camel, a Candy Walk, Bobbing for Apples, and 2 Ball Toss games. Thankfully, the weather is finally dropping into the high 80s, so it felt wonderful outside! 

After games, we come inside and eat all the yummy goodies that everyone's brought. It's a Halloween pot-luck! Heavy appetizers and desserts, our favorites! Check out these super cute fruit treats that my friend Brooke made...

Everyone takes their time eating and kids playing outside and just fellowshipping. The past 2 years, most everyone leaves after eating, but this year, everyone hung around. It was great! The last activity of the night is for the kiddos to take over the living room and watch Room on the Broom. It's the cutest, non-annoying, non-scary Halloween show. We watch it every year! (Brad seemed to be enjoying it, too!) It's a great way to c-a-l-m d-o-w-n after a night of candy and games.

Will spent the night playing with his best friend, Emma. Both of them were a bit overwhelmed by the large number of people, so they played in Will's room mostly. And then I found them under the table! Emma is 14 and she's amazing! Will LOVES her! He says her name so sweetly!

I'm sad I didn't take more pictures. Lucy was dressed as SuperGirl, but was a bit under the weather. She ran a fever the day before and then all morning the day of the Festival. It broke and she was able to participate, but she wasn't 100% and the fever came back later that night and yesterday. 

The greatest blessing of the night was all the help I had! I was kinda dreading the whole evening, just because hosting is hard work and I remember last year I was on my feet the whole night and exhausted by the end of it all. But once again, our amazing friends, that are more like family over here, stepped up and I had SO MUCH HELP! I was basically the director of the event, but didn't have to do hardly any of the grunt work! Friends came early and helped decorate. Friends manned the cookie decorating. Friends manned the food table intake and setup. Friends & Brad did all the games. And then Friends stayed a cleaned up THE WHOLE THING! I didn't do a thing! From washing all the dishes, to taking down all the decorations and cleaning up all the trash. Wow. I was so blessed! And so relaxed! And my ankles didn't swell up to the size of elephant's feet. And my back didn't hurt. And Baby Boy was super happy! And so was Mama!

Happy Halloween! And Happy Reformation Day! :) 

Now...on to November!