Pumpkins, Fun at St C's

Tonight, a gaggle of us gathered to watch "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" at St C's.  I especially enjoy nights like our outdoor movie nights because they allow me to come to church as "just" daddy.  I'm grateful for those in our congregation who organize and lead these evenings so well.

So it was that at 6:25 p.m., Annie and I grabbed our carved pumpkins and headed up to the church.  Annie was a Tigger to Jude's Pooh Bear.  Jude, Rebekah, and Debbie (Bek's mom) came up a while later.

We were greeted by all sorts of fun characters.  Harry Potter.  Captain America.  A Creeper.  Jason.  Martha Washington.  A hobbit.  A bumble bee.  A black cat.  A mysterious man with a cloak and a wild mustache.  And this surprising character, who left me at a loss for words.  

He's too young to be a priest, but MAN is he good looking.

Some of the characters we encountered:

Also, the pumpkin showing was stellar:

After placing votes for best costumes and pumpkins, we settled in for the show.  A fun night all around.  A highlight for me was the neighbors who dropped in to share an evening with their children.

Annie's first popcorn!  She was digging the night.

A great time with friends and open to strangers.  That's a remarkable and even holy thing, I think.  And I'm sure we'll do it again.  Like 'The Great Pumpkin' itself, nights like this one simply never get old.

Nosferatu a blustery pumpkin morning

Today is Friday, which means Daddy/Annie adventures.  Today is also the day before "The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" viewing at St Christopher's, with costumes, pumpkins, and prizes.  Finally, today is the day after the night that saw a cold-front move in, which means today is the first day of fall that has actually felt like fall.

Put it all together and, clearly, of all the adventures open to us on this Friday, one was as irresistibly compelling to us as leaf piles are to Linus Van Pelt: we set out to carve another pumpkin.



Disclaimer: I like to think of myself as pretty handy with the pumpkin saw.  It has been humbling, therefore, to discover these photos of a good friend's recent pumpkins.  (You may need to be logged into facebook to access these links).  Annie and I are thus inclined to dial down the hyperbole with respect to the pumpkin we're about to share with you.  Yes, we're proud of it, but no, this is not the greatest and best pumpkin in the world.  This is just a Tribute.

I'm looking at you, J-Scroggz

                                       Mi amiga:

 

                                         The setup:

You'll notice the fire, a tweak made possible by the lower temps this a.m.  We stopped every few minutes to look for sticks, debris, to keep it going.  A fun wrinkle.

                                         The initial carve-out:

                                         The fine detailing:

                                         The chimney:

                                         The test-run:

 

                                          The black-out:

The face is of Nosferatu, an early German vampire figure, featured in the 1922 silent film of the same name.

The weird-kinda-cool picture resulting from an unsteady camera hand:

The End.

The Dance of the 'Just Because' (Annie's 1st Pumpkin!)

I don't know how old I was when I carved this pumpkin with Grandpa.  (Probably more honest to say that he carved it with me.)

But through the years, pumpkins have become meditative acts of patience, discipline, and peace to me.  A gift to be able to waste so much time in silence.  In cooler weather, no less.  Pumpkins don't require their carvers to justify the time they spend with them alone.  Like any true discipline, the internal, impatient objections of the artist grow quieter with practice.  They grow silent and, at some point, forget the background sense of guilt or self-indulgence altogether.  The act becomes a craft to savor.  A privilege to enjoy.

Today was not as silent, but just as special.  Annie's first pumpkin.  We left nothing out, but made sure to keep it short.  Enjoying the process, learning the steps.  But just learning the steps.  A whole lot of fun.  And whether it's with pumpkins or poppies or prairies, I hope she remembers on other days the dance of the "just because."

Belated Jude Pics

From his first 3 weeks...

Annie's New Hobby

Some of you have wondered how Annie is responding to the addition of Jude.  As of this writing, I can report that she is remarkably herself, both reaching out to her new brother in love and enjoying one on one time with Bek and me.

Still, things are different, roles are in flux, and in the midst of the family's creative tension, it appears that Annie has taken up some new hobbies.  Here are a few pics we caught of Annie in the days following Jude's birth.

Introducing Jude Robert!

Lots of new and exciting things happening around the Melton house since the arrival of little Jude.  As you can imagine, we're on our toes a lot.  Here are just a few photos of the family in action since Jude entered our lives eight and one half days ago: