I can't remember the last time I had so much fun carving jack-o-lanterns. Mike and I put on "The Addams Family" while we carved our pumpkins. Mike's is on the left, mine's on the right. (The flowers in the middle are Mike's surprise for me today after work. Isn't he the best? The picture just can't do them justice.) As good as the pumpkins looked just sitting there on the table...

...they looked even better when the lights were out! We noticed when we took the pictures that the light from the jack-o-lanters was reflected off the table.

And so we took this hauntingly, wonderfully creepy one of Mike's. Between the gorgeous flowers Mike surprised me with and the perfect pumpkin carving night, I've made this discovery: holidays are better when you're married!

Mike vs. the Terrible Barn Kitten

Mike and I have started a fun Halloween tradition. Every night, we've watched a different Halloween-themed movie. We started with "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and have moved on to "Young Frankenstein," "Monster House," "Monsters Inc," "How to Train Your Dragon," and "Pirates of the Caribbean." And of course, the quintessential Halloween show: "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."

Mike hadn't seen GPCB before and was a little disappointed (spoiler alert!) that the Great Pumpkin never appeared. So we found our own sincere, hypocrisy-free pumpkin patch so that we can wait for the Great Pumpkin on our own this Saturday.

Not really. We were just there to pick our own pumpkins so that we could carve them for Halloween.

Before we wandered out to pick our pumpkins, a fuzzy barn kitten latched onto Mike. Literally. It seriously melted my heart, it was so cute.

It wasn't so cute to Mike when the kitty refused to budge.

You know that spot in your back that when it itches it's impossible to reach? The kitten knew about that spot, too, and nestled in there for the long haul.

Supportive wife that I am, I sat back and laughed and took pictures until it was apparent that Mike was going to dislocate a shoulder trying to get that kitten off. Mike was a really good sport about it, though. The kitten was, after all, very cute. (Incidentally, for those of you who know my feelings about pets, this has in no way changed them.)

After fending off the fearsome kitty (which continued to taunt us with its cuteness), we wandered into the pumpkin patch. Mike posed as the Singing Scarecrow...

...while I blew him some pumpkin kisses.

As for the patch, it may or may not be full of sincerity, but it was full of mud. I doubt we'll be back on Halloween Eve with a blanket and a heart full of hope to see the Great Pumpkin.

Ashford University, Class of 2012

I've been thinking a lot lately about what a blessing education is. I have always loved learning. When I was at BYU, I had a personal registration tradition. I would watch movies with the telephone held protectively in my lap all evening, snarling ferociously at anyone who dared approach. The minute the clock hit 12:01, I was on the open phone lines signing up for a new semester of classes. And I took nerdish delight braving the BYU Bookstore lines to buy $1200 worth of brand new textbooks, which I would sell back for 48 cents at the end of the semester. I miss "my" study spot in the library (2nd floor, southeast corner, back behind the old atlases).

When I met Mike a year ago, he had a great job in banking. This wonderful man quit his job so that he could move up to DuPont to be with me. He looked around for a job here, but nothing felt quite right. In the back of his mind, he'd always wanted to go back to school. He's put a lot of thought into it and he decided to pursue a degree in social work. He registered for and was accepted into Ashford University's online program to get a bachelor's in sociology!

I am so proud of Mike! It takes serious effort and faith to start over in a completely different field. His desire to serve the community and provide for our family has led him to a career where I can see him being a tremendous influence for good. Every action he does is driven by a desire to serve, which makes me love him and also makes him perfect as a social worker.

As he's been taking his first class this week, which is about adult development, I see that same love of learning in him. I love coming home from work and hearing about what he's read that day. When I see how excited he is, it makes me so nostalgic for school. It also intensifies the desire I've always had to pass that love of learning and knowledge to our children. What a great example they'll have in Mike!
Way to go, honey! Big kiss!!!

What's in a name?

When William Shakespeare penned that insightful question over 400 years ago, he couldn’t have foreseen the number of hoops through which a person would have to jump in order to get their name changed in the year 2010. To get my name changed from “Stacey” to “Clark” financially, professionally, and militarily has required epic endurance and tenacity.

Here is my saga (so far) that began in July of this year:

1. Filled out required name change form, took it with my marriage certificate to the ID office. Was told I have to go through my clinic’s Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC).
2. Took form to NCOIC. Was told that he doesn’t take care of name change and I need to go to company secretary.
3. Went to company secretary. Was told that NCOIC should take care of it. I stood there, raised my eyebrow, and asked him to call the NCOIC.
4. Secretary opted to accept name change form and submit it.
5. Two weeks later…attempted to get new ID card. Was told that the central office has not changed my name and I’ll have to wait.
6. One month later…attempted to get new ID. Although the name was changed with the army in central command, it was not changed on their computer system. ID not given.
7. Called computer system. Was told that they cannot change my name without a new Army ID.
8. Went to ID office. Was told that without it changed on their computer system, I cannot get a new ID.
9. Stood there, raised my eyebrow, and called the central computer office. Offered IT people the option to get Army Command involved. Name successfully changed on computer.
10. New ID with “Michelle Stacey Clark” awarded.
11. Went back to use my computer/email. Neither system recognized “Michelle Stacey Clark” and my new ID.
12. Today…I visit hospital computer gurus. They are playing solitaire and eating Doritos. Their computer keys are permanently stained orange. Their pants do not fit. I am reminded of a “would you rather” question my sister asked me, “Would you rather have Dorito fingers or Oreo mouth for the rest of your life?” I am now forced to re-evaluate my answer.
13. Explain problem, request solution.
14. The three of them clarify for me that their only job is to reset passwords. They give me an email to write to request solution.
15. Unable to send email. Computer and email system do not recognize new name but old one is no longer in service.
16. Bang head against wall.
17. Repeat #16

Later, I was looking at images online to use for a handout during my Young Women’s lesson and came across this:

I imagine that some little town had one name, and then the citizens decided to change it to another and submitted paperwork to some government agency that requested that they send it to another government agency and so on until they finally gave up. I, however, will not give up. The end of Shakespeare’s quote is that “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Maybe so, but I love my new last name and the fact that I’ve had to fight to hard to get it changed just makes it that much more precious to me.

Besides, if I discover a disease, “Clark’s syndrome” sounds a lot better than “Stacey’s syndrome.”