Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Alert!

Please read Todd's blog on Prayer!

www.receptors.blogspot.com

Christmas Break

Well, Christmas frenzy is in full swing and we've been having a fun time. The kids got out of school for the holidays last Friday and the first of our family "Christmases" was Saturday in Ennis. The gang was all there and it was good to hang with the family. We're too far to really spend a lot of time with Todd's family so every chance we get is extra nice. All the kids were good and the food was extra delicious. Hooray for Mexican Christmas food!



Sunday Lori Morris was in town and she and her Michael and his sister came to church with us at Axxess and then to lunch. It was really fun to see her again. She was part of our youth group in Montgomery and graduated a while back. She's been in West Africa the last few months working at a children's home. Her hair is all done in braids and none of our kids recognized her. How fun is that?

Today Todd started his job!!!! He's working temp for Verizon and I think he'll really enjoy it. I hope he does anyway. It's an 8-5 job and it's the first one he's ever had. I guess we'll see how the rest of the world lives, eh?

Tomorrow is our 14th anniversary and Todd's mom is coming up from Ennis to keep the kids for us. She'll probably spend the night but we won't be out too late since Todd has to work the next day....YAY for work! I'll take the inconveniences any time over the alternative.

We'll have Christmas next weekend with my folks and then the next weekend in Snyder. Meanwhile I'm assembling Legos by the thousands. That's only a slight exageration. The Milenium Falcon Josiah got was 985 pieces and the Grievous Wheel Bike was....I don't know, around 60 or so. I've finally learned my lesson and started super glueing all non-moving pieces together. It cuts down on interchangeability but it also cuts down on broken pieces, temper tantrums over dropped parts and sore feet from stepping on tiny pieces. The Falcon took me longer than I anticipated. I started Sunday night, worked almost all day Monday and finished up this morning. Josiah could be a real slave driver if I let him. Every time I walked away from the pieces he hunted me down, "You're still working Mom. It's not finished yet. Get back there, Mom. You have to finish." etc., etc. I learned to ignore him to do things like cook meals and bathe. I think we'll stick with smaller sets from now on.


The fighting has finally started. The boys are at each other non-stop today. I may have to get creative....darn it. It's cold and rainy so anything out of doors is out of the question. Blek. I guess curling up with a good book and ignoring them isn't going to work either. Listen to me. Whining already. And this is only the 2nd day of the first week! This may get rough folks. I may have to put a whine ban on the blog site to spare you all. O.K. I promise not to whine about my kids being home this Christmas break from now on. Really.

A Family Christmas Photo Posted by Picasa

Christmas Smiles. Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Psyche.

We thought Todd was going to start a job today. He was going to Verizon on a temp' assignment for their corporate office, helping with their phone book somehow. We got a call yesterday from the lady at the temp office (a.k.a Todd's sister-in-law) letting him know that Verizon was unprepared for him to start yet, the job won't start now until the 20th or so, which doesn't help with Christmas at all. He already told the folks he substitute teaches for that he'd be unavailable so he'll have to go back and start with them again. sigh. I'm sure it could get more frustrating somehow, but I'm hoping it doesn't.

Meanwhile, you should read Todd's blog on robbing banks. It is hilarious! I think it is worth noting that I once had a youth minister who turned to robbing banks....for real! The main difference being that he had left the church in disgrace and (obviously) was not of the same moral character as Todd. Anyway. Read Todd's blog, and then read his blog about Christmas. Todd Rocks!!!

Sunday, December 11, 2005

My Bad.

It's totally and completely 100% my fault. They are baby dwarf hamsters and they were free. They were at Petco when we went to get mice for the snake. They were with the animals up for adoption. They are the teeniest, tiniest, cutest little rodents I've ever seen, shorter than my thumb and not much wider and I couldn't resist. We already have cage, food and some bedding so they really cost nothing. I held them both for 15 minutes or more and neither one even tried to nip me. I am mortified at myself but.... Posted by Picasa

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Ice Jumping

Yes, that white stuff on the tramp is ice. They are jumping in it, sliding through it, rolling on it and bouncing it. They won't play outside when it's 50 degrees but 29 degrees and I can't keep 'em inside. They snuck out without coats this last time. All I want for Christmas is pneumonia. Posted by Picasa

Snow!

Man oh man is it cold here! We had a fun bit of winter hit us yesterday. The boys had school all day, though. When my driveway iced over I assumed schools would shut down early but they hung in all day long. We got mostly frozen rain/sleet but it still left white on the ground. My sweet little one, who's never seen snow, said, "Momma! There's sand everywhere! Can I go feel it?" He had fun. They all did, way after dark and long after I told them not to stay out any longer. It was just way too fun.
The sunny pictures are from this morning. The normal course of events around here is a freak storm followed by a quick thaw. Today, however, nothings going to be thawing. It's 18 degrees with a wind chill of 4. YIKES!
My little house is so warm! Despite the ice on the metal frames of our windows, there are no cold spots inside. Under my kitchen cabinets are warm! Near the windows it's warm! My floor's not even especially cold. I love this house! Posted by Picasa

Josiah in Concert.

Josiah was in his very first school program Monday night. He's been in church programs but never without somone sitting right beside him the whole time. He did this one all on his own! He knew every word and all the actions for all the songs. He was the loudest and most animated of all the kids and spent most of the concert staring up at the lights and swinging back and forth.....but he sang all the notes and did all the motions. I was so proud!!! Grandma and Grandpa and Granny all got to see it with us. Wish you could've been there. Posted by Picasa

Ike's been watching Speed Racer.

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Monday, December 05, 2005

George Washington

Hunter had a book report to do today. It had to be a biography and he got extra credit for Social Studies if it was a figure from the Revolutionary War. With the combined efforts of his two loving parents Hunter has a snappy outfit to go with the report. The clothes are marker on foam core and the hair is fusible batting and leftover fabric scraps. He "otta" be in pictures! I, personally, like the unsmiling look....just like George! Posted by Picasa

Isaac Tries on the Costume

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Friday, December 02, 2005

3rd Grade!

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5th Grade!

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Thursday, December 01, 2005

Yerbil

Well, our little friend Yerbil passed away today. He was a cute and sweet little gerbil and we will miss him....a little. We buried him in the back yard before dinner. Todd wants to replace him with a rat. Josiah wants to replace him with a mouse. Hunter wants a parakeet and I don't think Isaac has made up his mind. But the one who cleans all such cages and feeds all such rodentia does not want anything at all. I just want to clean out the cage and put it away for a while. Geraldine says I should get rid of the cage as quickly as possible so no one will be tempted to refill it. She is a wise woman, but Todd would just buy another cage. So far I've managed to lay down a firm "No." We'll see how long I can hold out. We still have a snake, a Beta fish and a cat. I think we're fairly well covered on the pet front.

Josiah was inexplicably sick in the night last night. He was fine this morning but I couldn't send him to school since he had so recently been sick. He has been strangely "off" all day today. He's much more like his old self, which is frustrating. He kept getting really upset about normal things, like the movie in the player, but didn't seem all that upset about Yerbil. That may have been because we knew it was coming and had tried to prepare him for it. Either way, I'm glad he's asleep now and hope he's feeling more like his "new self" tomorrow.

Todd has spent several days now aggressively looking for work...any work. He's applied at Target, Michael's, Dillard's, Starbuck's and a temp agency that hires fork lift drivers. For now he's looking for something that will be an after school job for supplementing his substitute teaching. I'm signed up to substitute at Heritage's preschool but they've yet to call me. Todd won't let me work nights, I've tried several times to convince him that it makes perfect sense. He just doesn't want me out after dark, which I suppose I'm grateful for. I do feel mightily useless at times.

But I baked some yummy cookies.