Animals

This is Luke. He's Becky's hamster. She named him - I don't know how she came up with Luke. Every time I talk to him I want to use my Darth Vader voice and say "Luke, I am your Fatha." I'm a Star Wars nerd and proud of it.


These tiny girls are Cookie and Brownie. They are Allison's hamsters. She named them - she must've been hungry at the time. They are spoiled and super cute. And basically they are maintenance free. Little bit of food, little bit of water, lavender scented bedding, a place to sleep and play and they're good for a good couple of weeks. A perfect pet, basically. Except that we have to remember to take out their wheel (and Luke's) every night or they keep us awake.

This is Virgil. First his name was Red. Then it was Swimmy. Ruby was in there some place even though I know he's a boy. And now he's Virgil. There's a baseball player named Virgil something, and while semi-watching a game with Ed I heard this name and thought it suited my fish. He needs a new plant in his fish bowl.

This, of course, is Lucy. I almost killed her today. She has been terribly under exercised this winter. I decided today was a good day to get her back into shape with a LONG, UPHILL walk. Have you ever seen a dog walking BEHIND his person? No, probably not. Usually dogs like to lead the way, unless they are about to drop dead from over excursion. Being the uncompassionate person I am, I dragged her along for one more lap. It was downhill and I figured she'd be fine. She made it, came in the house, and collapsed on her bed. I'm sure she can't wait to do it again tomorrow.

This is my blog. It is terribly neglected, and mostly pretty boring. I have some ideas. Maybe I'll share them with you. Stay tuned...

Being Jesus' Mom...

"Mary did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod? And when you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God?"

These are words from one of my favorite Christmas songs, Mary Did You Know? It really makes me think about Mary as a mother. The Bible tells us that Mary pondered the events of her son's life. I wonder what she must've been thinking as she looked into His face for the first time. Her baby boy was the promised King, come to provide a way of redemption and salvation. How she must've marveled at her child as he grew into a man who performed miracles and such. Do you think it overwhelmed her? Was she able to wrap her head around the fact that this 'child' was God in the flesh? I have a hard time wrapping my head around it sometimes! And, oh how her heart must've broken as she watched Him suffer as He was crucified! He was on that cross for her, and for all of us. How much of that did she understand? It was a hard thing to be Jesus' mom, don't you think? But what a huge blessing it was too, I'm sure!

Some Randomness...

Yes, I'm back... I'm going to make a last ditch effort to keep this blog alive... My friend, Heather, and I have both neglected our blogs lately and have made a deal to try and save them - so here's my feeble attempt and resuscitating mine...

I saw something funny on the way home from school today. We drive to school on a road with a low bridge to go under. It has 11 foot clearance. Many trucks are higher than 11 feet and this always presents a problem. If they don't see the signs warning of low clearance they don't figure it out until they are at a place where there's no room to turn around. They back up, blocking traffic and causing a pretty big inconvenience. Today, a truck driver didn't seem to think his truck was over 11 feet high and proceeded to go under the bridge. He was wrong. The bridge is still intact - his truck is not. Amazing what 35 mph and a stone bridge will do to a truck !

Last night when I was hugging Becky I felt sad. Sad because she's so big now. I held her thinking about when she was small and how I'd scoop her into my arms. She'd lay her head on my shoulder and we cuddle. I wished I could go back to that time, if only for a few moments. Just to see her small again. To hold her on my hip. To snuggle with her little head on my shoulder... But, no can do. She's only about 2 inches shorter than me now! However, she's still just as sweet and just as snuggly. There's no possible way for me to scoop her into my arms, but she can still rest her head on my shoulder as we cuddle. Things change, kids grow. It's bitter sweet. I love seeing the people my girls are becoming but I sure do miss them being small ...

We were driving around town admiring the many displays of Christmas lights the other night. We came across a house that no one lived in. It's a beautiful house and Allison was quite disappointed that there were no decorations. She said, " I think the government should put lights on their house for them... By the way, what's the government?" Good grief didn't we laugh! Where does she come up with this stuff!?

Katie is embarking on a new adventure - cross country skiing. We have gotten all the necessary equipment - can you say 'cha-ching'? Now all we need is some good snow. I think she'll be really good at it. She amazes me with her commitment to do well. She practices hard and pushes herself to the limit. I wonder what makes some people like that. I wasn't like that at her age - I'm still not. I'm glad she is the way she is. I hope God will use this trait in a positive way all her life...

Time to go meet the bus! The girls and I have some Christmas lights to put up outside before the snow flies tonight!

General Update

So. Skillet was Thursday night in Albany, NY. We loaded up two cars with Katie and her friends, and Ed, Becky, and I. Allison got to have a sleep over at her friend's house. We were at the concert by 5:00 in order to get our VIP wristbands which entitled us to a free Skillet CD! And a meet and greet time with the band! After standing out in the cold for what seemed like forever! - we made our way in. The band was very sweet and genuine. They each (John, Korey, Jen, and Ben) shook hands, high fived, and signed LOTS of autographs. It was super fun! Katie was able to give free tickets to a few of her friends including a girl from school whose family couldn't afford the ticket. This girl was probably the biggest Skillet fan of all the girls (except Katie!) and she was BESIDE HERSELF over being there! She didn't know about the VIP seating or the meet and greet and she about flipped when we told her!! That was the best part for me. This is a girl who you'd look at and make some snappy judgments about her based on her appearance. I'm glad I didn't do that because this girl was about as sweet as they come. She wrote Ed and I a thank you note for bringing her to the show and everything. I really enjoyed getting to know her. Becky and I hung out together and Ed stayed in the background but close by Katie and her friends. And every now and then Becky and I would join them all. There's ALOT of standing and Becky and I opted for some comfy seats in the back of the auditorium and a bowl of ice cream for some of the show :) It was a GREAT time but a super late night! Becky and I rolled into bed around 12:30 a.m. and Ed and Katie were about an hour behind us after dropping kids off and stuff. We all got up and went to school the next morning - ugh! This morning we all slept in until about 9:00! That's pretty late for us.

We've decided to cancel our curbside trash pickup and instead make the weekly trip to the local transfer station. Trash pick up is us VERY expensive and our guys don't recycle anything! I've seen my neighbors put out their separated recyclable items along with regular trash and I've watched the trash guys dump everything together onto the truck. Why bother separating! So anyway in the name of being more environmentally responsible and saving a few bucks we've taking care of our own trash. Since I started separating trash I've noticed how much LESS trash bags we're filling up. We used to fill at least one bag a day for a total of at least 7 bags a week for pick up. Since Tuesday of this week (it's now Saturday) we've only barely filled ONE bag!!! That's less than one full bag in four full days! Talk about a difference! Ed is on his way to the transfer station to get a sticker for the car and bring our first load of trash. I'm so proud of us!!

Allison has been having meltdowns like she hasn't had in quite awhile. Not sure how to handle them. She gives me bits and pieces of what might be bothering her but I haven't quite put it all together yet. Yesterday was tough because I had to be at work and she was very upset. I didn't like that at all. Thankfully I was able to check on her and others let me know that she was fine. What a hard thing. Some of her troubles may have to do with things at school I think, and some may have to do with a certain friend she has. My radar is up and I'll be keeping my eye on things. Along with some regular dialogue with Allison about her day and goings on in her class hopefully I can figure this out. Not sure if it's time to involve the teacher yet. Maybe. The friend isn't in her class but is someone she plays with. I may have to keep that friendship reigned in a little bit until this is figured out. Perhaps that's why I like to know my kids' friends. It really does clue me in about my children, and who they are and what's going on outside our home.

Katie continues to do well at cross country. She shaved a full two minutes off her 5K time at this last meet. It was at a repeat location so there was a direct comparison to the last time she raced there. She looks good and strong when she's running and I love to watch her!! This last meet Becky, Allison, and I only stayed for the girls race. We usually stay for the whole thing but it was COLD! I'm determined to be at EVERY meet Katie runs in - that's my goal. Even if I don't stay for the whole thing I'll be there to see my girl run. I'm going to have to get me a really WARM PARKA for when she skis cross country!!!