Happy New Year...... almost.

The boys have been asking for three days if it is the day we go to California! Finally, today is the day. Their traveling backpacks are ready and will hopefulling keep them interested for the flights. Their clothes are packed so that they won't have a choice but to wear clothes (given a choice they wouldn't.) The Christmas presents for Grandma and Papa Bishop are packed.
Just a few last minutes details to toss into the bags and we are set. I'm a little nervous about this TIME of flight. It is the first time that I have flown in the evening and I just don't know whether they are going to stay awake or not; if NOT, are they going to behave and stay in their seats quietly... or are they going to act like nightmare, disobedient, spectacle creating children. I guess I'll find out because there is nothing that I can change about it right now. I know I'd try to fall asleep on the plane if given a choice, won't the bumpy landing wake me up?
I've already tried to talk to them about the rules at Grandma's house. I will go over the rules again. I'm trying to think ahead and believe that the reason why they get into so much is because it is an unfamilar environment and the adjustment period is what is annoying.... optimistic, sure. But the alternative is knowing they are just careless and choosing reckless, disobedient, disrespectful behavior. I'd rather look at the positive side until proven otherwise.

The New Year is just hours away. We will begin a fresh in our minds (nothing is truly totally fresh.) I hope to instill in my sons confidence in who they are as people and follower's of Christ. I hope to give them confidence in their skills, and acceptance in their weakness and how to seek out balance in friends (and eventually spouses) that are strong where they are weak. My sincere wish that Caleb will be reading by the time school ends, although it's like trying to get a grasshopper to sit still and focus. And little Joshy is the "test-o-matic", a true second child who is testing all rules and boundaries for weakened resolve. I'm going to have to keep my eye on him and follow through on all consquences with that guy. It's hard to believe that I have a come up on 6 year old, and by the time school starts again, I'll have a 4 year old.

Time has just whipped by. All the baby stages are GONE for these two. I forgot to mention that Joshy has got about month of dry nights. He is a "Big boy" now without accidents at night! I'm proud of him. I don't know if it is an absence of urge, because I can't say that he is actually getting up in the middle of the night either. (Which makes me be ready for backsliding in the back of my mind.) But he is dry and he is so excited to wear just underwear! He darn near cries if I even ask him to wear a pull-up. So sucess until further notice!

Caleb told me that I should get a job the other day. He said I could keep the job I have now and just have 2 jobs. I asked him what that job would be. He said that I should deliever newspapers on my bike, and that those newspapers should have news that Jesus is alive on them so that everyone will know. Good thought towards the end of the conversation, however, I did have to have the talk about all the "jobs" that mommy actually already has...Hmmmm.

The New Year will begin for us in California, and I'm hoping to see a little sun while we are there. Then it can snow again all it wants once we are back. (I would like a safe arrival back home, but then snow snow snow). I never get tired of it. It's always so bright and peaceful to look at. And that's about all I do is look at it.

Happy New Year. TTFN.

It's the dawn of a new week!

I have narrowed all my to-do's down to one priority in the next two and half days. Packing for California. Of course, packing requires processing laundry which requires putting away what I'm not packing. And to pack, I have to get the suitcases down. Normally, I get anxious and try to clean the whole house and get it show perfect and get tons of other things done too. Not this time. I just want to throw clothes into a bag and go. That theory seems to be what the kids already think the visit involves, so why make it more complicated. They are so excited. I told them again on Sunday that we are going to California and they were jumping around, hugged me and Mike, and squealed out thank-yous. They were told when we are getting on the plane; the excitement seems to have melted all their memory because the boys keep asking over and over when we are going. I hope that California hasn't erradicated Christmas as fast as they have here, because it will be neat for the boys to see it all lit up and festive.

Well, contrary to our usual pattern of lingering as long as possible in the holiday enjoyment and beauty, we took down our tree yesterday. Caleb was very sad about that, surprisingly so. I didn't want to take the tree down, but I'll be gone and won't have time to take the tree down in time for the free pick up day (yes, I'm frugal and like convienence, to a fault). So it came down. The boys helped some, but it was such a tall tree, eventually it required a ladder. Everything in th house is now packed away. (I'm even allowing next year's Christmas spirit to sneak in, I packed so that next year has one specific box to pull down.) Caleb helped carry everything to the garage. A good helper. The only thing left up is the outside lights. There is just too much snow and ice on the house to get up on the roof safely.

The boys have played and played and played for days. We haven't HAD to go anywhere so we have enjoyed the freedom of staying home. They are playing lots and playing well together. Lots of "clean-up" sessions though. Toys and "forts" make for a big mess often. Their forts end up being a pile of blankets and pillows that they jump off of the bed and land in. (That is if I can contain the fort's construction to a bedroom.)

The snow is still lingering on th roads and yards. The yard is still up to 6 inches thick of snow/ice pack. And the main roads were only just scraped this weekend by the city. Without being scraped, the largest divets and ice contrived potholes had formed. When I went to work on Friday, let's just say, it is a good thing I have an all-wheel drive car and my shocks work. The kids would have though we were off-roading and should be in the bronco if they were in the car. As it was the foot+ of snow on the roof of the car was jostled so much that huge hunks were tossed off with each rocking back and forth.

So now, a-packing I will go. And to keep the kids busy, I think they will have to find homes for their new pile of toys. Daddy wants his hunting rubbermaid bins back. If I'm ambitious, we'll go out and look at some stores' holiday clearance sales, you know, getting ready for next year.

Have a great week and a Happy New Year. We will try. This is the first holiday season travel I've ever done. And the boys and I will be spending New Years' even on a plane and arrive in California with just a scant couple hours to go before 2009 is ushered in. I hope the New Year brings new adventures.

Merry Christmas!!!!

I hope all of your Christmases were fun, cheerful and safe.
We woke up and started getting things ready for the day. We actually had to wake the boys up to get them going today. They were excited about their stockings. They began to play with their toys and greeted our guests excitedly.
We breakfasted on our traditional Swedish pancakes with accompanying sausage, eggs and pineapple. The boys were exceptionally patient waiting for everyone to be finished eating and getting the kitchen cleaned up. We actually fit the table and 8 people into our kitchen!
So then it was on to gifts. What I liked most is the slow pace and the boys played with each toy and gave each toy it's due attention, rather than a massive and quick greedfest of opening. This Christmas could be summed up as "Merry Batman Christmas". Caleb got a little figure, a big figure, a car, a rappeling batman gun thing, a batman game; Holy smokes Batman, am I forgetting something batman? There were other things too. A DVD, board game, nerf dart target board. But he is in love with it all. The big challenge is ONE TOY At A TIME! Otherwise I'll be trailing after him every 10-15 minutes picking things up over and over and over. Joshy got a little bit more variety, but he did have a few batman things too. He really liked the Hungry Hungry Hippos, and well everything. He's played with everything in a rotating order. What I like most is that the boys have been sharing and playing together rather than fighting and taunting each other. It is such a nice peace that I can't describe the relief that I haven't had to mediate today. I'm crossing my fingers that it continues.
It SNOWED most of the day, until at least 1PM. It varied between light and heavy. I'd say we got at least another 2-3 inches over the course of the day. It snowed so much that Papa Bill, Grandma Judy, Papa Dahl and Grammy changed their evening plans. It ended up that everyone came back to our house bringing their entrees with them. We cooked up rib roast and king crab. Delicious. It was a pleasant evening of good food and good company. Of course, we forgot dessert... Well, it would have been nice, but perhaps our bodies are better for doing without.
Right now we are enjoying a wind down time. The boys are back to (or still) playing with their toys. Mike's crashed on the couch and I'm sitting here updating the site. I admit I'm little worse for wear. I woke up with a headache which only got worse as the day progressed, it turned to a dizzy and nauseous experience and sent me running to the restroom. I also crashed on the couch almost uncontrollably so... and woke up with my headache back to a dull roar and well enough to hold down the delicious crab.
An eventful holiday full of joy, snow, and family. It will take days to clean up after. But I also have to plunge into working tomorrow, cleaning up the house, and getting packed for our trip to California. Never a dull moment.
Merry Christmas to you and have a great rest of the week and weekend.

Hello and Merry Christmas EVE!



I hope you're all having an easy going cheerful day just like the boys and I. We dug out my car and I drove (for the first time this season in the snow) over to "Auntie" Brittany's this morning. We had gifts to deliver to them and they were very pleased that they got something (anything) too. It was nice that they had something to play with while we chatted.

Since it's been snowing since 2AM (yes, I was awake to see it start, projects you know) and has only has a few 15 minute breaks, we have accumulated another 4+" of snow. I keep asking the boys if they want to go outside; I even offered to put Caleb's snow shoes on him. But shockingly, they both decline. Maybe they got too cold last time. So we are cuddled up inside watching Polar Express and they are playing with their "shets" (see previous posting for what this is).

I hope that we still get to attend our church's candlelight services tonight. But regardless, dinner time comes and we will eat no matter what. But I do hope that Grandpa and Grammy get to come out and go to services, it is such a special magical thing to be surrounded by cheer and reverance.

Well, it is probably time for cocoa. I'll try to post some pictures later, I've been so busy.
Have a safe, warm, merry, blessed Christmas.

It is Sunday night and it is STILL snowing. It did stop a couple times, but mostly it snowed all day. Some times were lighter than others, but it's coming down pretty steady right now. I think we have gotten ANOTHER 3-4 inches AT LEAST today... who knows what we will get tonight. Right now, we have probably gotten nearly 20 inches in TOTAL snowfall. Although most places are packed down by cars, foot traffic, sleds, or whatever so it's not like we have two feet everywhere. But it's just below my knee, but over the top of my boot, when I walk in the untouched areas!

The boys love it. We went out and saw Christmas lights tonight. And helped a few stuck people. But we are back and enjoying another quite night in and getting projects done. Good thing the boys are already scheduled to be out of school, because there would be no way that they would be going tomorrow!

Ok, so that's it. Tomorrow I'll try to post pictures of what we wake up to in the morning.
Good night!

I hope you're all safe and warm where ever you are....

We have just gotten back from doing errands which will ensure we are warm and have food to eat for the next few days. The kids are errand weary, but they are happy to eat, watch the rented movie "Wall-E" and Joshy is taking a nap. Oh boy is he a little defiant stinker when he is tired!

It is beginning to grow dim here, although it was beautifully clear and blue this morning. With being so clear came temperatures ranging from 7 to 11 degrees this morning at 9:30, and it is up to a whopping 23 right now.

More snow is expected tonight, but that's not as concerning as the forceful winds predicted of 40-60 MPH with gusts in the 70's. That wind chill is really going to bring the temperature LOW, and everyone is worried about losing power. In our case, if we lose power, we lose heat... thus, we got a Mr. Heater (with oxygen sensor) as a backup. If we don't use it, it will be returned to the store... but if it keeps up warm in some of the worst snow we've had for years, it will be worth it.

Here are a few pictures of where we live, the Fryelands of Monroe.

East facing on our street

Our houseWest facing on our street
Our neighborhood, 2 blocks away
But the Rabbit is having fun! (last night)

So that's all for now, we are going to enjoy our night staying in. Have a great weekend.

**************edited to add*********** 3:00PM, It has started to snow!!!!!!********

Ok, since Saturday......

We went to church on Sunday. But, because of the snow, Jockey's Christmas program was cancelled. I feel really bad about that, but there's always next year.

Monday, it was a 2 hr late start for school, BUT Caleb still had his program. By no means should this be called a "Christmas" program. The almighty "they" have eliminated any hint of any remote reference to holidays of any sort. And the gym was a cold as the songs were to our hearts. And for all that trouble of bringing Caleb to school and arranging for Grammy and Papa Dahl to come.... Caleb sang maybe a total of a dozen words and did 4 hand motions. The best part of the night was the McD's trip with Papa afterward and the time to play with his buddies beforehand.

Then, school was out for us on Tuesday. Daddy and Papa took the kids to lunch and then Daddy took the kids with him on their work errands so that I could go to my job. It was very nice that Mike was able to do that, and I got my job done quickly. (and it turns out with good timing considering the weather).

Wednesday was another late start=no school day for Caleb. I understand that they have to make a district wide call on the weather... however, for the Fryelands ALL WALK (or parent transportation), it seems a little extreme. I mean have you see the Fryelands? It's FLAT! But what can you do. So the boys stayed home and built forts, and a variety of other things both fun and badly mischievous. Mike's men's group still went on, but I unfortunately got the news that MOPS was cancelled for Friday.

THEN, today hits... We have about 12-14 inches of cummulative snow. AND IT IS STILL SNOWING! The snow is taller than zuma's under carriage. She's highcentered trying to use the outside. Mike drove me to work and then watched the kids, and then came and picked me up. Now we are socked into the house and trying to stay busy and out of messy behaviors. The fun part... we made homemade slurpees with fresh white snow and a can of coke. This absolutely made the kids' day! And the kids take their time outside until they get too wet or cold then it is back into the house where I toss their stuff into the dryer for another trip out. They are making snowmen and snow-angels of course. We are going to break out the board (bored) games soon... and there is always cleaning or craft projects. And I've just been told that they have shut down HWY 522, so I'm not sure that Mike will even get into to work today. Regardless, we are trying to have a good time. I only wish that I had new movies and a stock pile of cocoa.

And in case you're worried, the rabbit is doing ok too. We purchased a heat light and a clamp to attach it to the hutch. We were told he would be fine with a 25 watt red bulb; we went against those directives and got a 125 heat bulb... and he is NOT "roasting", I can tell you. He sits on TOP of his nesting box practically leaning into the bulb. So no worries for him. Although, I'm tempted to let him out and see how he likes the snow!

So that's it and here are the relevant pictures.

AND IT IS STILL SNOWING!!!!!!!!!

Be safe out there.

Well, it snowed last night, but didn't stick.

We have been watching the pass reports closely because we are heading over to Leavenworth for the tree lighting. I think that the kids will really like the whole environment created by the crowd, the singing, the snow, the lights, and of course the food. It's just a christmasy thing to do.

We'll be back tonight. So I only have to bundle us up for the time we are actually there.

In the meantime, the boys are in love with paper airplanes. They, however, call them "Paper air jets" or "Paper Jets". The eyebrow raising thing is that Jockey say jet in a way that, well, doesn't sound like jet. More like shet and we all know what that sounds like. So he is in love with flying his paper shet. It's even more funny when he doesn't specify "paper" before shet. So we often get "my shet is in the tree". "My shet fly super fast". "I need my shet". "my shet crashed". Ahhh, the possiblities are endless and always good for a laugh. I thought about taking them to the retirement home here for passing out candy canes, but I think the folks there would get a laugh with some "shets" flying around too. We'll see. Caleb gets shy easily and Jockey just copies that behavior too.

Well, I have to go get everyone ready.

Here is our tree and our superheros and the day of our outing. The boys' new thing is posing like superheroes, and yes, those are bubbles in Joshy's hand in the last photo.

Have a great weekend.

Caleb said something very interesting.

He was drawing and drew a happy face. He said "This is how they want you to draw a happy face". That seems like a pretty innoculous statment. However, it started my wheels turning. First I thought about how children don't inherently know the icons of feelings, often they don't even know the names of their own feelings. But then I wondered who are "they", that they are dictating to my son (or anyone) was happiness looks like either literally or figuratively? Why do they dictate? Why do we listen? Why does happiness have to appear a certain way to be accepted as "happy"?

A child may be quiet, but happy. A fast moving, talkative child may not be happy. A mountian dwelling hermit can be happy knowing he's doing as he wishes rather than the door to door salesman abrading away his time? Yet, hermits are judged to be unhappy. A quiet reserved person with few things is seen as unhappy or poor. A boisterous person with a bounty of materialistic items is seen to be happy.
I don't want anyone (other than me) dictating to my children what is happiness. I don't want Caleb to ever feel sadness because he doesn't measure up to what they characterize happiness by.Possessions are often a measure of happiness in this world, especially at this time of year. But that's not what I try to teach Caleb and Josh. They don't get alot, but I still want them to be able to find happiness. In our home we measure happiness with obediance to God's word and His will. Where else can you have peace and happiness than in the comfort in knowing you're where you should be or called to, doing as you should be doing or asked to do.

One thing that I have always loved about my sons is that they monetary value of a item has never come to factor in to the enjoyment they have with it. They would be happy with a garage sale .25 something that was worth close to that new. The easy to please nature of the boys is a blessing. I can bring them joy more often when it is so easily/affordably attained. Joy comes from sharing it, so I'm joyful when they are.

I guess I've learned another lesson from a kindergartener. Interesting.

At Awana, part of Jockey's craft project (which I was parent helping with) was that the kids were asked for one thing they'd like to give or do for their parents, it was written on the card, put in a little sleeve and then sent home for under the tree. The surprise element went bust for me because I was helping... however, it was quite cute what Joshy said. He said "I want to teach my parents a lesson.... (long pause, in which I started getting a little nervous).... to swing and jump." Cute, and I'm glad he has a specific idea of what we will be taught, rather than some ambiguous "lesson" like in extreme patience.

The boys have decided that action figures are "so cool". They like to pretend to be super heroes. They switch off being batman, spiderman, super-fast ninja turtles, ironman, bibleman, etc. At least there are less toys left out during this kind of play.

So that's all for now. I've got to get back to it.

Wow, what a December Saturday.

It was beautiful and sunny out today. And our family went out and got our Christmas tree. The boys have been excited all week to do this. Every time they would wake up either from the night or a nap they would ask if it was the day they were going to get to cut down a Christmas tree. And the day finally arrived, and it was probably the prettiest (or one of the prettiest) days that we have had for a tree cutting day. So we got all packed up today, stopped off for our usual cold sandwiches and then began the journey. We listened to Christmas songs and talked. We stopped off at the ranger station for our permit and map and then the fun really began. This is the FIRST year that we have been out with absolutely NO SNOW on the ground. I thought that it would be so easy without the snow on the ground.... Well, the driving was, in fact easy breezy. However, that usually present snow does pack down a lot of little seedlings and brush that really hung the kids (well all of us) up. But in the hiking the trees brushed against us, and we pushed branches away or even clung to them to steady ourselves, we came away with the refreshing smell of pine in our hair and lingering on our clothing. We entered and then hiked and hiked. Mike carried Jockey who was just about branch snap back height. We looked around and keep hiking. We crossed a little stream with care. The dogs excitedly got out of the truck and began to tramp in (on the way out, Zuma's previously injured leg was giving her troubles and she was wimpering.) We found a clearing and decided that one of these just had to be it. The boys were busy suggesting trees left and right. That is when Jockey wasn't BLOWING BUBBLES. That's right our littlest decided that the forest and bubbles were the perfect combination. While it was inconvienent that he wanted to blow bubble WHILE we were hiking, it did keep him busy during the time to survey, discuss and cut the chose tree. We found a good one. Mike took charge of the tree and Tigger, who didn't grasp the concept of not stepping on the trailing tree as we decended back to the road. I aimed the boys down the hill. It was rough going because it can be very slippery. I ended up having to carry Jockey most of the way. It's funny that it felt like we were so out there and it took a long time to get in and out. However, stripped down, it might be over A football field length, but not two. That's forest perspective for you. As Daddy loaded up the tree, I broke out the hot cocoa. Of course being HOT, I had to had a bit of fresh mountain stream water and it made it perfectly enjoyable for the kiddoes.

So this tree is the tallest tree we've ever had. Putting it at the highest part of our living allowed us that. It is a thick but not terribly wide tree, and wonderful NOT bare in any major/obvious areas at all... in fact it's hard to find a bare spot. I think it is one of our better/best trees. But from what Mike said, it had better be, because the thing is every bit of 100 lbs and Mike hauled it out alone. It is now finally set up. It took a while, especially since we needed to run out for more supplies because we have never had this size tree to cover with lights. The boys eagerly (an understatement) helped add items to the tree, and I slowly rearranged to create a balanced appearance. This year is the first year that we have needed a ladder (even Mike needed it to reach the top to place the star. The boys thought it an extra novelty to climb the ladder. In all previous years we had an abundance of ornaments at about 3' high, now we have them plethora at the 5' level, followed quickly with the rapid decent due to jumping off the ladder. The jumping got annoying let alone hazardous and almost drove the boys into a bedtime before the final light up and reveal. The boys are awed by the lights and the bells and all the little things on it. And it was perfect that the moment that we darkened the house and did the grand lighting of our tree for the first time, the radio came on with the sound bit from Charlie Brown's Christmas about what Christmas is all about: Jesus's birth, the celebration of the birth of the Savior of our world. It was a perfect way to finish the entire day. (Of course, that wasn't the end, there was garbage to pick up, pine needles to vaccum and all the snow clothes to pack away again... but you know what I mean.)

So we have two happy boys that were so happy with today that they didn't ask about presents at all. And they are even feeling pretty blessed and excited about sharing Jockey's bed for a camp out tonight.

This season has brought on silly songs from the boys, like 1) Rudolph the broken legged reindeer (our light up reindeer is suffering from a broken leg at the moment, and 2) Santa's dead... NOT as morbid as it sounds, really. We've explained to them that Santa/St. Nick is someone who once lived long ago, who gave gifts to others out of obediance to Christ's commandments and instructions. So when they asked if santa was alive like Jesus, we said no but we remember his generousity and obedience because it was Jesus he was obeying and Jesus first gave to us. So that's how they got that Santa was dead. I had to quickly admonish them NOT to tell anyone that because it might hurt someone's feelings if they thought santa was alive. "Ok mommy" is what they said.

So at the end of a long day, we are all tired. And I'll just have to get around to posting pictures tomorrow. Patience please. I'm going to go eat dinner now.
Good night.

A Long Over Due Update:

SOOO Much has happened.

Last week, sigh, Caleb got a Stage 4 (out of a possible 5). NOT GOOD. I was called into the office for a conference and decision about what happened and discussion about the events, risks (feelings evoked from other children by Caleb's actions) and whatever. Caleb head rammed a girl twice his size. Yes he was out of control and out of line. But with a five year old's limited vocabulary, he had said (admitted, rather than lied, good for him) that he "hit" her. Which in the school inferred a fisted punch hit and things just rocketed from there. It's all resolved, and Caleb know the gravity of his actions, he wrote and apology (my idea) and came up with other ways to solve out of control feels (again my idea, what have they got NO solutions at this dismal educational system!) But it's on the mend. And, it was a huge blessing that Brittany was able to spur of the moment watch Josh while I high tailed it to the school. I would never have been able to focus proper on Caleb had she not. As it was, it took all the strength and wisdom God offered and I could absorb in the 4 minutes it took for me to get to school. Because truly, they are NOT my alia. Especially when they sneak in a staff member who flat out refuses to tell me her job title or position at the school (I found out later that she is 90% likely to the psychologist). AND, I sat in the office waiting in a chair for 10 minutes with, as it turns out, Caleb sitting a wall away from me, by himself in a conference room. IF it was their intention to give him time to cool off, okay, I could accept that. (But when asked, they said no.) So when the "Staff" member came out and got me and showed me into the conference room saying that we would wait a moment for Caleb's Teacher.... I said "I would like a moment alone with my son please". (Hindsight, Score one for the MOMMY!) That woman looked and acted so startled/shocked that I had asked and stutter stepped out the door. Of course, she wasn't so out of it to forget to convienently leave it open, yes, I know how these things work, they're trying to find out if Caleb is suffering from abuse physical or mental and THAT's the reason he would have a problem. But all I wanted is to hold my crying, broken souled child and tell him that I love him no matter what, we will get through this, and that I was on HIS side. And at the end of the conversation, I told them exactly what I thought of their stalling practice. "As much as I want to support the school's efforts, I am my SON's alia FIRST. I could have been comforting him and letting him know that I love him and this was not the end of the world while we were merely waiting for other's to show up for the meeting. Don't ever do that to me again. He is MY son." Again a shocked stare that a mom would have the audacity to pull rank. I'm not proud of my son's actions, but I'm proud of me that day. (P.s. I learned from the best.)
On to better news:

Thanksgiving was a great time. Papa Dahl got Caleb and Josh a very special remote control car to play with. It is Papa's car that can be used by the boys with supervision. The thing is almost big enough for them to sit in (ok not REALLY.) They had a lot of fun.

The kids got to swim for a very long time, it wore them out so much that they were actually nearly calm and peaceful during dinner. GG was there and we got to share time with her. The boys and I prepared Grandpa and Grammy appreciation scrapbook pages, they liked to do the cutting and the gluing (although I spiffened things up quite a bit once they moved on).

The boys then stayed the weekend with the boys and gave myself and Mike a much needed and VERY much appreciated weekend to ourselves. We got our "Black" Friday purchasing/shopping done WITHOUT the encumberances of children, and we got up early to do so. I got to sleep in on Saturday and work on several projects (all secrets). Sunday well, read next.

Say Hello to my little friend:

We'll call it Scraaaapy (not scrappy). It began it's arrival on Thanksgiving day. Extremely painful. I kept myself medicated. And this craggy puppy came out Sunday late morning (no, we did not make it to church, I was painfully occupied). Every bit as big as July's, and if I didn't have meds... I would have been back in the ER believe me! I was so sorry on Thanksgiving though. I scared the boys pretty bad with how much pain before I took any medicine. They were very concerned and praying up a storm over and over. It was so caring and sweet that they were praying their little hearts out in the truck as we drove to Woodinville. Caleb starts his prayer with "Hi Jesus, it's me Caleb." Cute! But it passed, and just another thing to be thankful for.

We are back into the swing of things at work, school, Awana and MOPS. I'm planning crafts and while I enjoy the theory of a TEAM, the shortest distance between idea and execution is not with a TEAM. Sigh, something I must endure and prevail in. Caleb earned yet another red jewel this week, and had store night and came home with lots of fun trinkets. The week is almost over and I'm relieved.

Other than MOPS, I have one task for tomorrow that I must get done. Finding all the boots, hats, mittens, pants and warm coats. We are going up Saturday and cutting our tree down in the woods. I'm looking forward to what has become a family tradition. We go up to Skykomish, get our permit at the ranger station, head up one of the near by forest service roads and start a looking. This year it will most likely not be very snowy (we have seen the spectrum over the last 6-7 years of tree cutting outings). This means that the tree maybe a little muddy, BUT the truck won't get stuck in the snow. I don't care, either way. As long as we are off the mountain by dusk (not worse than getting high centered in the snow in the DARK). We will probably do the usual packing up of cold sandwiches (the only food that is perfectly cool and waiting for us in the cold truck when we are ready for it). This year I'm a little ahead of the game because I've already pulled out the exact lights/ornaments I plan on putting on the tree. They kids have even left them alone for a week! This year we really put up lights on the house, which made the kids blissfully joyful and merry. So many other years they have been light observers (what goes up, must be taken down you know), however, this year we joined the ranks of colorfully decorated. They are still begging for me to get out the little lit deer. Maybe this weekend.

So that's the long update. I'm off to either reading, bed, or heaven help me, a project to work on.
Good Night.