Our weekend was full of pre-Halloween celebrations.  Grandma Helen’s Fall Party, carving jack-o-lanterns, roasting pumpkin seeds, going to the Schares’ Pumpkin Carving Party, touring the Haunted Trail in the darkest of the night (or maybe it was just 7:45 p.m.), and visiting Bloomsbury Farm complete with a bin of corn, pig races, pumpkin launching, haunted houses, and more.  Busy?  Slightly.  This is how you get your Halloween on.

But our weekend is not all fun and games.  No, we have our share of struggles at the Patterson house, just like you do.

Let me begin with one word.  COSTUMES.  Okay.  One more word.  MAXIM.

I forgot how Maxim sometimes struggles with clothing choices, which leads to a melt-down.  A melt-down complete with tears, crying, and stomping one’s feet.  (And you thought I was describing Maxim…)  Okay, so I didn’t cry and stamp my feet and shed tears, but my MOM VOICE did come out.  (And he may have cried a little, followed by some whining.)

Since Maxim was little, he has always been our easy-going, go with the flow child.  Nothing rattles him.  He’s pretty loving and I like to say that he’s a “mama’s boy”.  Yes, he is completely chill.  Until it comes to dressing himself and what clothes he is going to wear.

For years, I’ve saved all of Nate’s clothes.  Just waiting for them to fit Maxim.  Well.  If the t-shirt isn’t black, then throw it out with the bathwater.  If the jeans aren’t LOOSE, then FORGET IT.  And if the socks aren’t LONG BLACK SOCKS, then don’t even bring them within an arm’s length of Maxim.

Yes.  Maxim is very particular about his clothing.  Bless him.

You see, God is so good when He gives us our children.  He knows that we can only handle SO MUCH.  When I look at Nate and Maxim, I see two boys similar and yet so different.  One is more energetic, the other is more chill.  One is more content to look at five hundred books, the other would rather run around a track five hundred times.  One is perfectly content with wearing whatever you lay out for him, the other will use his best negotiating skills (or sometimes just whine) until he gets to pick the EXACT shirt that HE wants to wear.

So, Friday after school, the boys were to get their costumes on while I whipped up a batch of Halloween Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars.  (On that note, remember when I wrote about these in a recent post?  Chocolate Chip Bars)  Well.  I tweaked the recipe a little.  I used the Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip recipe on the back of the chocolate chips package.  BUT. I put the dough into a 9×13 pan.  Not a big jelly roll pan.  And then, I baked them for about 23 minutes.  THEY WERE DELICIOUS.  Much better and thicker and oh….so moist!

While the bars were baking, Nate got into his Chicago Bears football uniform.  With REAL football pads.  And real football pants.  Because we mean business around our house.  He was ready to go in about 45 seconds.  Dressed, smiling, and so pumped to be in uniform.  Or costume, whatever.

Maxim got his SWAT vest on, his SWAT hat, and all necessary accessories…Aviator sunglasses, a pouch, a grenade, his badge, a couple of guns, and a notepad and pen (for giving out tickets, which sounds like a policeman, but he is a SWAT guy, friends.  A SWAT guy.)  He was ready.  Except for his bottoms.  So, I got jeans out for him.

And. then. it. all. went. bad.  VERY.  BAD.

Apparently, when one tries to fit into jeans that are SUDDENLY TOO SNUG, one needs to whine, cry, and throw a fit.  Listen, friends.  I am not insensitive.  I get it.  I do the same thing when I try on a pair of tight jeans.  And I may even curse the five cookies that I ate the day before.  But Maxim was soooo upset.

So, I did what any good mom would do.  I got big brother’s hand-me-down jeans and gave Maxim the next size up.  This was better.

But then.  The KNEE PADS.  I had no idea that SWAT guys wear knee pads, but they came with the costume.  But THOSE KNEE PADS.  They were NOT working.  Okay.  I’m cool with that.  But Maxim had to get all upset about them first.  So, after a fifteen minute showdown between the costume, Maxim, and myself, we had ourselves a cute, little SWAT guy (minus the knee pads) ready to go to Grandma Helen’s Fall Party.

And I’m thankful that we had this go-around a week BEFORE Halloween.  We got all of the problems worked out and now, we know what pants and accessories will actually work for Maxim.

You see, we all are kind of like this.  We have something in our mind of how we want things to go.  Then, we try doing it, but it’s JUST NOT RIGHT.  It may be challenging, uncomfortable, and just plain NOT WHAT WE WERE EXPECTING.

So, we kick and whine and cry and want to give up.  (I can sooo relate.)  Had Maxim given up, then he would have missed out on the joys of the fall party.  He would have missed out on the joy of getting to be a SWAT guy and he wouldn’t have been able to play & arrest his cousins.  He would have missed out on the fun.

But I KNEW him.  I knew that we just needed to try a new, bigger pair of jeans.  Chuck the knee pads.  Hey.  SWAT guys are tough anyway, they don’t NEED knee pads.  I knew that Maxim needed encouragement and help to make this costume work.

And, friends…God is just like this.  He is that loving parent to us.  He knows when we are struggling.  When life is overwhelming.  When we are ready to chuck something because it’s too hard.  But if we give up, we may miss out on the joys that lie ahead.

When things get tough, ask God for His help.  He is ALWAYS rational.  Sometimes, we are not.  Ask Him to help you with that difficult boss.  To be more patient with your children.  To help you love your spouse more today.  To help you with managing your time.   Ask Him to help you find a job.  Help you with whatever you are battling.

One of my favorite verses is Luke 11:9 “And I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

We all want things to go better.  Ask for God’s help and it WILL be given to you.  Things will get better.

I’m so glad God is showing me how to parent and help our boys.  After they were dressed and the chocolate chip bars were baked, we drove to Grandma’s.  Our little SWAT guy and Chicago Bears football player had so much fun being in costume and we all enjoyed Grandma Helen’s Fall Party.

Grandma Helen’s Fall Party

More pictures of our fun weekend…

Drying pumpkin seeds…just waiting to roast them!

Having fun at the Schares’ Pumpkin Carving Party!

Enjoying the Haunted Trail!

Bloomsbury Farm Fun!

Daddy and Nate

I hope you are encouraged today!  Remember…just because the pants are too tight doesn’t mean they are the only option.

Not wanting to miss out on the joys of life because things are tough…I’m pressing on! ~ Angela