Happy (Belated) Halloween!

We started Halloween trick-or-treating on the square with Brookelyn's first grade class.  All the kiddos looked adorable, and Brookelyn had a ton of fun! 

So many choices!

As we passed this pillar Brookelyn hopped up on it, posed, and told me to take her picture!

Such a cute little witch-fairy!

 That evening we started trick-or-treating early.  Daddy came with us--he just stayed by the curb to stay away from all the germs.  Look at the cutest little trick-or-treaters ever!!

After about an hour and a half, the little witch-fairy and scary skeleton were ready to head home and hand out candy (well--and eat some too)!

Both kids agreed it was the BEST HALLOWEEN EVER!!

Catching Up...on A LOT of Changes at the Bates' House

Wow--it has been a CRAZY couple of months since I last posted.  The long of the short of it is:

1. Allen has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and he is KICKING MAJOR BUTT as he just finished his second of twelve chemo treatments.  When I think of someone with CANcer on chemo, I don't think of this:

But that is Allen for you--an overachiever in ALL aspects of the word! He has been running almost every morning and not just jogging--running at a pace faster than our training pace! I cannot begin to express how proud I am of how he has taken on this challenge with the most amazing attitude and determination.  We are ALL-EN! You can follow his journey on the new blog we started: teamall-en.blogspot.com!

2. We are pregnant.  Yes, you read that correctly, and no it truly has not sunk in yet even though we are already 14 weeks along.  Here is the little peanut that shocked the pants off of us:

Here are the kiddos' reactions when we told them:

They are SO excited, and it has been a blessing in that the baby has given the kids something positive to focus on.  Braedyn kisses my belly EVERY day, and reminds me that if it is a girl he will only help out "a little bit."

Well, I think those two tidbits are enough of a shocker for one post, much less one lifetime.  We are wading through daily life as a pregnant mommy and a CANcer fighting phenom.  It is a daily challenge, but we are up to it!  We are willing to do whatever it takes to have Allen cured and a healthy baby in the Spring.  There is a grand plan out there for our family, and while the events that have unfolded certainly weren't in our plan, everything will turn out just as He has planned.