What a hectic past 2 months it has been. I am soooo sorry to those of you that have been checking and haven't seen anything new. As with most of you, I'm sure, it has been a tremendously BUSY Holiday season. My holidays (The word holiday is based on the words holy and day -, holidays originally represented special religious days.) include both Thanksgiving AND CHRISTmas.
So Keenan got over his bout of pneumonia. No more than 2 weeks later I had Robert in the doc’s office with the same. So, he was given AB’s, cough meds and an excuse from work. We had planned on leaving to go to his Dad’s house the Sunday before Thanksgiving as soon as we got out of church. Well….. that didn’t happen. Since he had been sick and we weren’t sure who else might get it, we held off til Tuesday. The ONLY reason we went was that my FIL insisted. The man is getting up there in age and we all know it. He has been ill lately as well and I was petrified we’d infect him with SOMEthing and put the man on his death bed. Good thing he’s a stubborn old git! So we leave Tuesday morning, drive 6 hours to get there and I find out that we are driving ANOTHER 1.5 hours to someone else’s house on Thanksgiving. So, NO ONE could have told me this BEFORE??? I was not happy. So we drive the 3 hour round trip to someone else’s house for Thanksgiving dinner, then we pack up and leave Saturday morning to drive another 5 hours home. All in all, a good trip, but I was thoroughly exhausted as it was from taking care of all my sickies.
Oh but it gets better! Robert had his annual meeting and CHRISTmas party on December 8th. In Virginia. So once again, we hop in the car Wednesday morning, drive a few hours to Asheville, NC to drop the kids off with the IL’s (who were wonderfully gracious enough to meet us there. They live an hour East of Knoxville.). We then proceed onward (is this where I say ho?) to Virginia. Norfolk area to be exact. Beautiful to go on thru and see all the huge ships and all the Navy stuff. And of course the water and harbours. Now keep in mind we live in NE GA. So we had a blast in VA, don’t get me wrong. We were put up in a GORGEOUS KING suite. We were on the 21st floor, if I remember correctly. We had a partial view of the harbour. And a view of one of the building side murals. I had a nice share of Bailey’s whilst at the party. Nummy. Then we leave. We overslept. Left about 8am Friday morning. "Darling" hubby, being typical male (LOL) refused to stop and ask for directions until finally an hour later he tired of my incessant laughter and nagging and finally realised we were STILL in the same city. So technically our voyage started at 9am. 7pm we finally reach TN (the IL’s house) to pick up aforementioned hoodlums. Then another 5 hours home (sweet sweet home!!!!). 12:15 am….. Get the car unpacked, the kiddos off to bed, we finally crash about 2am. Robert has to work the next morning, Saturday evening the boys went caroling with the church and so our life returned to SOME semblance of normalcy. Except the month of December is ANYTHING but normal.
I told Robert, I REFUSE to drive anywhere more than 50 miles anymore that month. December 17th was to be the annual family gathering at Robert’s Grandmother’s house. She is right at the 50 mile mark from us (the family lucked out- LOL). So we get up that morning, get ready, run a couple of errands, then the calls from Robert’s work begin. By the time it was an hour from us leaving I was stressed, not having even wanted to go this year after the past couple months, felt a headache coming on and could see Robert getting more and more stressed and angry. I FINALLY talked him into us not going. So I call his Mom and luckily she was still about a half-hour from leaving. So I race to get my shoes and all the gifts we had for the party and drive the 20 minutes to her house to load everything in her car. Come to find out, the gift I bought for one of the children (we draw names each year, since we have 3 kids, we get 3 names and buy 3 gifts), a Transformer Energon Gun for a child named GARRETT, was gender-incorrect. OOPS. Everyone I have asked has thought of Garret as a boy’s name. So I thought as well. It’s not like I’ve been in that family since the child was born, and even less like most of them even keep in touch with us. Yes, you’ve guessed it. Robert is the black sheep of the family… *sigh*
Now we were also invited to his sister’s house the next day (Sunday the 18th) and I put my foot down. I said no. If we go we get NOTHING for CHRISTmas accomplished. Now he had rec’d his bonus check on the 8th whilst we were in VA. The party was originally set for the following Thursday (the 15th). They found out at the last minute that they could not reserve the hotel that day so they changed the date to the 8th and had already had the checks printed for the 15th. ERGH! So instead of getting the shopping done the weekend of the 10th, it was postponed till the weekend of the 17th. Had we gone to all these invites, everyone would have been giftless. Well half of them anyway as I had managed to get a few gifts here and there.
In the meantime, I found that the food in our freezer had defrosted and it has taken us til a couple days ago to finally realise it is actually a casualty. At first we thought Keenan had been playing with the knob (the temp set button is on the side of the freezer and he’s been caught touching it before, HOWEVER it’s a PAIN to turn so I never thought he’d be able to turn it). Come to find out, it wasn’t the midget, it was freezer death! LOL
So I spend the 18th thru the 23rd or so wrapping and boxing, bagging and tag-removing. Menus are finalised, house is spotless-ified. FIL and his wife are expected in CHRISTmas Eve after dinner-ish. We go to my parents house Eve for some finger foods and to get a few minutes away (yep, my Mum & Dad kept the kids whilst we went and perused a bit). Go home, a little bit later the IL’s show up. Happy reunion and P’ingTL for His travel mercies.
CHRISTmas morning, we are up and attem (7am)! Kids & adults open gifts, we have brek, off to church (10:30am) for a LOVELY service. Come home (12:15), get punkin pie in oven, then get bird in oven. Start preparing to feed a frenzy (LOL). About 1, my parents show up, bearing LOTS of pressies. About 3 MIL and her hubby show up, bearing LOTS of pressies. About 4 we all open gifts. Lots of them. All the while I am still baking and making, cutting, dicing, etc, etc. We all sit to eat at about 5:30-6. It was so nice to have my dear Dad-in-law to say the blessing. He is aging and I dread the day we get the call. I cherish each moment with him, as I know Robert does as well. I bawl each time they leave. I’m in tears now typing this thinking about it. But anyway, we had turkey, mashed taters, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet tater casserole, rolls, brussel sprouts, corn, green beans, gravy. Dessert was pumpkin pie, oatmeal raisin cookies and Nestle Tollhouse Pie (cool whip available but optional). Drinks included sweet tea, Dr. Pepper, pepsi, water, crockpot hot cocoa and beer *rolls eyes*. Fabulous dinner. We finally get everyone out of the house by 9:30 (except FIL and SMIL since they are leaving Monday morning), after a round of ebay, playing with the kids’ new toys and general fellowship.
Monday morning, we see the IL’s off about 10:30 or so. We spend the day relaxing, yet doing a few little odds-n-ends to find places for new things. Tuesday Robert went back to work and I began watching a friend’s boy. I watched him Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (Wednesday of which he stayed the night as well). Friday was a lazy-ish day. Well it was supposed to be. I got a TON accomplished.
New Year’s Eve was spent putzing around the house. Around 12M the guys a couple doors up set off fireworks (as they do each NY’s and 4th of July). 12:05, the Elders were in bed and DH and I followed just minutes after.
And amidst all this prayers are needed. FIL was in the hospital with diverticulitis. He’s looking at possible surgery this month. DH’s boss put in her resignation. Her last day was 12-31-05. I wish her well. She was a sweet woman. Robert has begun to look for another job. We are not sure where he stands with his current company. Next week his new boss and his boss’s boss will be in town to discuss options. And Robert's Mom is still unable to find employment. And it is VERY hard for her to prove age discrimination.
Now yesterday. Sweet sweet Monday (never thought I’d say that about a Monday). As I take a big sigh of relief, I want to wish all of you and yours, a VERY happy, joyous, prosperous and most of all BLESSED new year. May this year be better than the last and may your blessings be abundant. I will post pics soon of the past couple months. God be with you all. HUGS!
So Keenan got over his bout of pneumonia. No more than 2 weeks later I had Robert in the doc’s office with the same. So, he was given AB’s, cough meds and an excuse from work. We had planned on leaving to go to his Dad’s house the Sunday before Thanksgiving as soon as we got out of church. Well….. that didn’t happen. Since he had been sick and we weren’t sure who else might get it, we held off til Tuesday. The ONLY reason we went was that my FIL insisted. The man is getting up there in age and we all know it. He has been ill lately as well and I was petrified we’d infect him with SOMEthing and put the man on his death bed. Good thing he’s a stubborn old git! So we leave Tuesday morning, drive 6 hours to get there and I find out that we are driving ANOTHER 1.5 hours to someone else’s house on Thanksgiving. So, NO ONE could have told me this BEFORE??? I was not happy. So we drive the 3 hour round trip to someone else’s house for Thanksgiving dinner, then we pack up and leave Saturday morning to drive another 5 hours home. All in all, a good trip, but I was thoroughly exhausted as it was from taking care of all my sickies.
Oh but it gets better! Robert had his annual meeting and CHRISTmas party on December 8th. In Virginia. So once again, we hop in the car Wednesday morning, drive a few hours to Asheville, NC to drop the kids off with the IL’s (who were wonderfully gracious enough to meet us there. They live an hour East of Knoxville.). We then proceed onward (is this where I say ho?) to Virginia. Norfolk area to be exact. Beautiful to go on thru and see all the huge ships and all the Navy stuff. And of course the water and harbours. Now keep in mind we live in NE GA. So we had a blast in VA, don’t get me wrong. We were put up in a GORGEOUS KING suite. We were on the 21st floor, if I remember correctly. We had a partial view of the harbour. And a view of one of the building side murals. I had a nice share of Bailey’s whilst at the party. Nummy. Then we leave. We overslept. Left about 8am Friday morning. "Darling" hubby, being typical male (LOL) refused to stop and ask for directions until finally an hour later he tired of my incessant laughter and nagging and finally realised we were STILL in the same city. So technically our voyage started at 9am. 7pm we finally reach TN (the IL’s house) to pick up aforementioned hoodlums. Then another 5 hours home (sweet sweet home!!!!). 12:15 am….. Get the car unpacked, the kiddos off to bed, we finally crash about 2am. Robert has to work the next morning, Saturday evening the boys went caroling with the church and so our life returned to SOME semblance of normalcy. Except the month of December is ANYTHING but normal.
I told Robert, I REFUSE to drive anywhere more than 50 miles anymore that month. December 17th was to be the annual family gathering at Robert’s Grandmother’s house. She is right at the 50 mile mark from us (the family lucked out- LOL). So we get up that morning, get ready, run a couple of errands, then the calls from Robert’s work begin. By the time it was an hour from us leaving I was stressed, not having even wanted to go this year after the past couple months, felt a headache coming on and could see Robert getting more and more stressed and angry. I FINALLY talked him into us not going. So I call his Mom and luckily she was still about a half-hour from leaving. So I race to get my shoes and all the gifts we had for the party and drive the 20 minutes to her house to load everything in her car. Come to find out, the gift I bought for one of the children (we draw names each year, since we have 3 kids, we get 3 names and buy 3 gifts), a Transformer Energon Gun for a child named GARRETT, was gender-incorrect. OOPS. Everyone I have asked has thought of Garret as a boy’s name. So I thought as well. It’s not like I’ve been in that family since the child was born, and even less like most of them even keep in touch with us. Yes, you’ve guessed it. Robert is the black sheep of the family… *sigh*
Now we were also invited to his sister’s house the next day (Sunday the 18th) and I put my foot down. I said no. If we go we get NOTHING for CHRISTmas accomplished. Now he had rec’d his bonus check on the 8th whilst we were in VA. The party was originally set for the following Thursday (the 15th). They found out at the last minute that they could not reserve the hotel that day so they changed the date to the 8th and had already had the checks printed for the 15th. ERGH! So instead of getting the shopping done the weekend of the 10th, it was postponed till the weekend of the 17th. Had we gone to all these invites, everyone would have been giftless. Well half of them anyway as I had managed to get a few gifts here and there.
In the meantime, I found that the food in our freezer had defrosted and it has taken us til a couple days ago to finally realise it is actually a casualty. At first we thought Keenan had been playing with the knob (the temp set button is on the side of the freezer and he’s been caught touching it before, HOWEVER it’s a PAIN to turn so I never thought he’d be able to turn it). Come to find out, it wasn’t the midget, it was freezer death! LOL
So I spend the 18th thru the 23rd or so wrapping and boxing, bagging and tag-removing. Menus are finalised, house is spotless-ified. FIL and his wife are expected in CHRISTmas Eve after dinner-ish. We go to my parents house Eve for some finger foods and to get a few minutes away (yep, my Mum & Dad kept the kids whilst we went and perused a bit). Go home, a little bit later the IL’s show up. Happy reunion and P’ingTL for His travel mercies.
CHRISTmas morning, we are up and attem (7am)! Kids & adults open gifts, we have brek, off to church (10:30am) for a LOVELY service. Come home (12:15), get punkin pie in oven, then get bird in oven. Start preparing to feed a frenzy (LOL). About 1, my parents show up, bearing LOTS of pressies. About 3 MIL and her hubby show up, bearing LOTS of pressies. About 4 we all open gifts. Lots of them. All the while I am still baking and making, cutting, dicing, etc, etc. We all sit to eat at about 5:30-6. It was so nice to have my dear Dad-in-law to say the blessing. He is aging and I dread the day we get the call. I cherish each moment with him, as I know Robert does as well. I bawl each time they leave. I’m in tears now typing this thinking about it. But anyway, we had turkey, mashed taters, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet tater casserole, rolls, brussel sprouts, corn, green beans, gravy. Dessert was pumpkin pie, oatmeal raisin cookies and Nestle Tollhouse Pie (cool whip available but optional). Drinks included sweet tea, Dr. Pepper, pepsi, water, crockpot hot cocoa and beer *rolls eyes*. Fabulous dinner. We finally get everyone out of the house by 9:30 (except FIL and SMIL since they are leaving Monday morning), after a round of ebay, playing with the kids’ new toys and general fellowship.
Monday morning, we see the IL’s off about 10:30 or so. We spend the day relaxing, yet doing a few little odds-n-ends to find places for new things. Tuesday Robert went back to work and I began watching a friend’s boy. I watched him Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (Wednesday of which he stayed the night as well). Friday was a lazy-ish day. Well it was supposed to be. I got a TON accomplished.
New Year’s Eve was spent putzing around the house. Around 12M the guys a couple doors up set off fireworks (as they do each NY’s and 4th of July). 12:05, the Elders were in bed and DH and I followed just minutes after.
And amidst all this prayers are needed. FIL was in the hospital with diverticulitis. He’s looking at possible surgery this month. DH’s boss put in her resignation. Her last day was 12-31-05. I wish her well. She was a sweet woman. Robert has begun to look for another job. We are not sure where he stands with his current company. Next week his new boss and his boss’s boss will be in town to discuss options. And Robert's Mom is still unable to find employment. And it is VERY hard for her to prove age discrimination.
Now yesterday. Sweet sweet Monday (never thought I’d say that about a Monday). As I take a big sigh of relief, I want to wish all of you and yours, a VERY happy, joyous, prosperous and most of all BLESSED new year. May this year be better than the last and may your blessings be abundant. I will post pics soon of the past couple months. God be with you all. HUGS!
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