37. Coraline
37
Coraline
“Come on boys, make sure to grab your bags!” I shout from the porch.
I look down at my left hand and the diamond that sits on my ring finger. I still feel like I'm dreaming and that someone is going to pinch me and wake me up. God has continued to bless me and my family and it just doesn’t feel real.
Harrison zooms past me and stands by the steps on the porch.
“How does my wig look mom?” He says as he strikes his best pirate pose.
Harrison is wearing a long, curly, black wig with a maroon pirate hat on top. He has matching pirate style pants on with long white socks and black shoes. He’s even wearing a fake mustache, which shocked me, and has a fake pirate hook on his hand.
“I love it! You look perfect! How’s my dress?” I twirl around in a circle and then curtsy.
I’m wearing a light blue dress with a matching bow tied around my middle. I have my hair curled and pulled halfway up with another bow.
“Shiver me timbers! You look good, ya scallywag!”Harrison has been practicing his pirate voice all month.
“What’s going on out here?” Michael gasps dramatically.
He comes out on the porch and lands in a 'spider-man' pose.
He’s wearing a green t-shirt that’s long enough to be a short dress with matching green leggings. He reaches up to straighten his angular green cap and pats it to make sure that the red feather is still in place. Then he pulls out his small, toy dagger.
“Mom! Get away from him before he guts you like a fish!” We all three break out into laughter and the boys pretend to fight with their pirate hook and dagger.
The weather this time of year is hit or miss, but today it’s sixty degrees out and very pleasant. I know that as soon as the sun goes down it will drop down into the forties so I made sure to pack extra jackets and a blanket in my backpack.
After I break up the fake fight, the three of us climb on our bikes and ride over to Jesse’s lakeside “mansion”. It’s not really a mansion, but I joke with him and call it one because it’s too big for one man and a dog.
We just got engaged the other day and like any excited couple to-be-wed, we’ve been discussing wedding ideas and where we’re going to live. It only made sense for us to move into his house after the wedding.
If I could pick the perfect house for my family, it would be his. I know Jesse helped to design and build it a few years ago and it’s just so cool to me how God knew that it would be ours one day. I firmly believe that God had us in mind when he helped Jesse design it.
Jesse's sitting on the porch in his costume with Lucy at his feet. He has on a blue and white striped t-shirt, a red toboggan, matching blue pants and tan sandals.
Lucy's wearing a white lace bonnet—I'm so proud of her for keeping it on.
We’re going trick-or-treating at Camp Willowbrooke as a family. The kids wanted to wear matching costumes, which is something we’ve never been able to do before.
We picked out our costumes from one of our favorite movies, ' Peter Pan '. The kids' trick-or-treat bags have a quote from the movie on it with an outline of all the characters flying in the sky.
Granna and Pappy are camping out on the campground with Gemma, so we will for sure stop by and visit with them after trick-or-treating. They wouldn’t tell us their theme and have been keeping their decorations covered with sheets so we couldn't spy on them on our evening bike rides.
I was tempted to stay with them overnight but Harrison is in school now and is still adjusting. I’m also still working on trusting Granna with my kids again. I know and understand that she in no way shape or form meant for my kids to be in harm's way, but I’m just not ready yet. I have forgiven her and we did talk things out but I just need more time.
“You guys look awesome! Especially you, Wendy Darling .” Jesse says with a wink.
“Are you ready, Dad?” Michael asks.
“Yep! Let’s roll.” He grabs Lucy’s leash and he mounts his bicycle to join us.
By the end of the summer Michael was able to ride a bike without training wheels, thanks to Jesse’s help. I'm so proud of them.
I’m also thankful that God made room in Jesse’s heart for a son that was not his own blood. He loves him just as fiercely as he does Harrison.
Jesse rides his bike in front of us with Lucy trotting along beside him. The boys follow next, side by side, and I ride at the tail end. I like to have eyes on all four of them at all times even though we’re just going two minutes down the road.
The color of the leaves on the trees and the aroma of all the campfires from the campsite warms my heart. I can’t help but to admire God's wonderful creation and the beauty of it.
The season of autumn reminds me that death can be cold and dreary, but it can also be warm and beautiful too. The leaves on the trees are pretty in color because they're dying and moving on to the next part of their story.
But, when spring comes around in a few months, we are blessed with new life and it will begin again. This is also true in my own journey with Christianity. I was so sinful that I felt like I was dead inside. Then, Jesus came into my life and everything feels new and promising.
We had an uneventful bike ride, no one got hurt and we were able to just enjoy each-others company and the scenery. I couldn’t ask for anything more.
As we approached the entrance to Camp Willowbrooke, I developed butterflies in my stomach. I’m excited and nervous at the same time. I have to keep reminding myself that God is in control and Nash and Keri are in jail.
The entrance of the campground by the Camp Willowbrooke sign is decorated with fodder shocks, two life size scarecrows, and various shades of mums. There’s also a big orange sign that has been recently staked in the ground that reads; “Enter if you dare and trick-or-treaters beware. Goblins and ghouls run amuck on All Hallows’ eve. Good luck!”
We ride down the first familiar loop of the campground and start to scope out the costumes and campsites. We see a few other families with their kids out and unloading from their vehicles. The sun is just now starting to set and I know that this campground will be completely full when it’s dark.
Granna and Pappy are at site seven so they're not too far away. The kids trick or treat at site number one which is where Pamela Collins and her family are staying.
Pamela has on a giant blonde, curly wig and a vibrant, pink jumpsuit that’s covered in silver jewels and rhinestones. The jumpsuit is long sleeved and has a v cut front. When she raises her arms she has strings of rhinestones hanging off of them. Pamela also has on silver cowboy boots and a matching hot pink cowboy hat. She honestly looks like she just stepped out from a Nashville bachelorette party and I love it. Pamela even has a speaker playing " Jolene" a nd her little dog has on a pink vest to match along with her.
“Good evenin’ folks.” Pamela says in her best country accent. “Happy Halloween!”
“Happy Halloween!” Jesse and I reply at the same time. “You look fantastic!” I add.
“Thank you doll baby," she winks at me. "Come here boys! I’ve got all kinds of candy and you’re more than welcome to some. That is, if you know the magic words.” She crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow.
I hope I’m as cool as she is when I’m in my seventies. I mean seriously where does this woman get her energy from?
“Trick-or-treat!” The boys say at the same time. Pamela gives them a handful of candy from her large, bedazzled candy bowl and then we are on our way.
We hit spot two, three, and four which are each decorated with typical Halloween inflatable blow ups and skeleton decor.
When we reached spot five my mouth drops open.
Henry and Mira Jacobs are dressed up like Marty McFly and Doc Brown ! They transformed a car into looking almost identical to the one from the 'Back to the Future' movies.
“Jesse! Do you see what I see?” I say while raising my eyebrows and smiling. He’s totally going to freak out. Henry and Mira had also covered their decorations up all week so we didn’t know what they were building.
“That. Is. The. Coolest. Thing. I’ve. Ever. Seen. In. My. Entire. Life.” He came to a complete stop and was absolutely mesmerized. 'Back to the Future' is one of Jesse’s comfort movies that he watches all the time. He was literally stuck in his tracks and couldn’t stop gaping at their campsite.
“I’ve got to get a picture of this. Go stand by them!” I take out my phone to grab a few quick pictures. Jesse was acting like a little school girl, it was hilarious.
We finally made it to Granna and Pappy’s campsite, and Michael squealed in pure delight.
They had transformed their entire site into a Mario Kart world.
Pappy stood proudly in a red t-shirt and blue jean overalls, a red cap perched on his head—he was Mario, through and through. Granna looked absolutely regal in a pink ball gown, a blonde wig cascading down her shoulders, and a crown resting perfectly on top. Princess Peach had entered the chat.
Gemma was rocking a Luigi costume—green t-shirt, blue overalls, and a comically large fake mustache that kept sliding down her face.
And Goose? Goose was a green shell . He somehow had a little turtle shell harnessed to his back, waddling around like he was waiting to be launched.
When Lucy spotted him, she calmly walked over, circled once, and plopped down beside him like it was the most normal thing in the world.
“ THIS IS AWESOME! ” Harrison yells at the top of his lungs.
Without another word, he takes off sprinting toward the campsite.
Granna and Pappy had gone all out . They spray-painted huge PVC pipes bright green to look like warp tunnels, and scattered fun little props from the game all around the site. The golf cart? Transformed into Bowser’s racing car, complete with spikes and flames down the sides.
But the real showstopper?
A towering replica of Princess Peach’s castle—at least two feet taller than me. The roof is painted pink with red flags fluttering from the turrets. It looks like it came straight out of the game.
“How did you guys do all of this? This is amazing!” I said, still in total awe.
When Jesse told me everyone went all out for Halloween, I didn’t realize he meant this kind of all out. I can’t imagine how the judges are supposed to pick just one winner—we’re only at site seven, and there are at least thirty more to go.
Granna smiled and took my hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“We have two little grandsons that mean the world to us. When you’re motivated, you can do anything you set your mind to,” she said, her eyes twinkling.
“And we had a little help from Gemma,” she added, dropping her voice just enough to make it feel like a secret. “Charlie owed her a favor, so he pitched in and helped your grandfather.”
My eyebrows shot up. Interesting.
Harrison and Michael were beaming, practically bouncing with excitement.
“Mom, this is the best Halloween ever! ” Harrison shouted.