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Today's my birthday, and I kept busy today, certainly.  For one thing, I finished up the Harvest Hustle challenge on the iFit program this morning, completing a nice jog through Salem, Massachusetts.  Which is oddly enough a place I never really want to ever go.  The iFit programs are great because you tour these places and learn a bit of them, all while an instructor weaves in fitness tips about posture and endurance.  So yeah, I'm jogging now, and it's not too fast and not too far yet, but I'm still trying to do it.  I want to get better, so I'm going to keep expanding my territory so to speak.  Anyway, just in time, I finished the last part of the Harvest Hustle challenge and got my little virtual badge.  

Now I have three badges - two for this Harvest Hustle (walking and running), and then one with Big Foot. Not too bad for month's work - plus I finished the Egypt series.  Next up is the Everest Base Camp Trek, which started out pretty cool.  It'll be fun starting that ascent.

This morning, Mom made breakfast with Mandalorian waffles and Pumpkin King coffee.  Definitely an appropriate breakfast for this day.  Loved it!

So the other thing we got done today is related to Christmas - yes, we put up the first Christmas tree today!  I got the Star Wars Christmas tree up and completely lit and decorated with the tree skirt at the bottom, and it looks fantastic.  While doing that, Mom and I were listening to all kinds of vinyl Christmas records, including some new finds over the past year.  One gem that I really enjoyed was a Christmas album by the Judds.  Great stuff.  And the tree looks fantastic.  Proud of the way it came out.  One down, three to go!

Maddie had a fun day at school - she's created a ceramic ghost for fun, and there were some laughs at some students wearing funny costumes to school.  She had some creepy spider crafts this week too.

And there was time for some holiday gaming too!

But tonight was the big night, and Maddie was okay with sacrificing trick-or-treating tonight.  And I was too - the revival service was tonight, and that was going on at the same time.  We were wondering how many would show up given the attractive nature of free candy.  And wouldn't you know it?  The place was absolutely packed to overflow.  Huge crowds tonight.

To compensate for the lack of candy, Mom and I made a trip earlier today - we were out at Cracker Barrel and at Five Below, creating a bag that was filled with some of her favorite candies, and those candies you typically get on Halloween night.  We even got a few other things too - Maddie saw the bag and was happy to see the candy, and on top of that a Funko Pop Loki, and on top of that a squishmallow version of Zero, the dog from "Nightmare Before Christmas."  

We shut the lights off at the house, and didn't see the chaos of our neighborhood tonight, instead heading over to church for another remarkable revival service.

It was a big, big night.  So many people there.  God is good.  The service was amazing.  We were praying with Maddie tonight, talking about the broken curse of Galatians 3:13.  But the worship was just so much fun, with so many youth and kids there, jumping up and down singing and having a huge party.  It was wonderful, and a great way to celebrate my birthday.  There were a lot of people meeting me to wish me a happy birthday, and that was nice.

I got a few gifts too - a Thanksgiving t-shirt, a new book from Mom, and a few other items too, including a Jaws cooking apron and a Scooby Doo t-shirt too.  It was a really nice day.  God is good.  I'm still here.