Wednesday 12/31/08 Happy New Year!!!...

Happy New Year!!! Have a safe and happy holiday.
We had a quiet day. We had rented movies from the library yesterday, so we watched them today. I put plastic on some of the windows. If we don't move by this spring, I may replace another window.
The kids didn't have any New Year's resolutions this year. I usually have a lot...but this year I just want to help the kids and move.

Tuesday 12/30/08 the last full night of 2008...

This is the last full night of 2008. The year has gone by so fast.
I bought calenders for next year today. It is amazing how many appts. we have already.
The weather has gotten relatively warmer, it is thirty degrees. I need to put plastic on more of the windows.
I think that the next big project for next year is to paint the living room ceiling. I have been putting it off because the couch will need to be moved.

Monday 12/29/08 programming, friends and hats...

William has downloaded a new computer program, Linux, I think that that is it's name. He is going to try to start programming in that language. He really wants to learn to program. This is a good time to try, since he is out of school for a while.
The girls had the neighbor girls over for a while. The group never sat still. They started a movie and then went to another room. There was a lot of laughter.
The snow has melted, and the rain has stopped.
I have started crocheting hats. I was getting board making blankets.

Monday 12/29/08 finishing one year, and starting another...

These are the fun days...between Christmas and New Years. The kids are out of school and get to play, the world seems more magical. We have shared with others at Christmas, and will celebrate the past and what is to come on New Years. I like to make a list of things to do over the next year, and to look back and see if I have accomplished anything over the last year. We have come a long way, William started college, Maggie and Beth are both in Junior High, and I feel very ready to move, the house is in good shape.

Saturday 12/27/08 resting and warmer weather...

We relaxed today. It was nice to not have anything set that we needed to do. We played games and watched movies. It was about sixty degrees out. Everything was melting. The yard was so wet, like a sponge, and the road was full of water...it had all been ice before. I think that tomorrow it will be about forty deg. and then back to the thirties for next week.

Friday 12/16/08 Christmas and Thank-you cards...

We had a fun Christmas. My mom and brother came over and spent some time with us. The present that the kids were the most taken with was the Cube World. It is a plastic cube that has stick people in it. They can be stacked together like an apartment complex and the stick people will go and visit their neighbors. Some of it is OK, sometimes they get mad at each other and fight...so it is not for little kids. It is interesting to watch. The kids got some gift certificates, so we went to a few stores to redeem them. Better to go now while the sales are going.
When we came back, the kids and I wrote out our Thank-you cards. It is nice to have them done.
I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas!!!

Wednesday 12/24/08 Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas!!! May all of you have a safe, happy and prosperous 2009.
I need to wrap the presents tonight. I don't know how I got so far behind. Next year I will start sooner. My Mom and brother are coming over at seven AM to have Christmas with us. We do have a large family, but we are the only ones who live in this town. We call or e-mail everyone else.
We went to the Christmas program at church tonight. It was fun to see all of the little kids on stage. I will miss it when my kids aren't in it anymore.

Tuesday 12/23/08 ornaments and warm weather...

The Christmas shopping is done, but we still need to make the ornaments. The ornaments are on the dining room table. We need to get colored pens and color them. William usually doesn't want to participate in this, so the girls and I do one for him. The weather is supposed to get to about forty degrees today and melt a lot of the snow. If it does, I hope that a lot of it drains away so that when it re-freezes tonight we don't have really thick ice.
The kids are really excited for Christmas, and for being off from school for a while. This is such a fun time of the year.

Monday 12/22/08 dresses and snow...

We found Beth's dress today. It was hard to find one that didn't look like a prom dress. Tomorrow we will color the ornaments, and on Wednesday we have choir practice early in the day.
I have heard that it will be a white Christmas. I am hoping that it will not be as cold as it has been.

Monday 12/22/08 candy canes and holiday preparations...

We went out yesterday to hang candy canes on peoples doors to invite them to our Christmas Eve service. It was so cold. We were out for about twenty minutes, and were cold.
Today we need to find a dress for Beth, and if we can make ornaments for the tree. I hope that your Christmas preparations are going really well.
The first weekend in Jan we are...hopefully...going to volunteer at the Food Bank. I am really excited.

Saturday 12/20/08 cold weather and preparations...

I am sorry that I am late with this blog. We made the Christmas presents yesterday, and got two dresses. Beth still needs one. We also started the cookies. We will finish them tonight. It is really cold. Winter came in early and hard this year.
Everything should be done for Christmas. Today we are going back to church to hang candy canes on peoples doors with notes to invite them to the Christmas Eve service. Then we can come back and relax for a while.

Friday 12/19/08 crunchy snow and plans for the weekend...

A storm came in last night. There was snow and then rain, and then it froze. What a mess. It made the snow crunchy on top. Beth said that her favorite part was walking on the snow and having it break under her. She was so excited. The eyes of a child see many wonders.
Tomorrow we are going to have the kids make their Christmas presents. Then we are going to get dresses for the girls. William already has a suit. I asked him if he wanted a Christmas tie to wear. He said ''no'' very quickly. Then we are going to make cookies. We each also need to make an ornament for the tree. This will be a full weekend. The kids are so excited. The girls are out of school for the holiday also. Maggie is happy to have more time to read and Beth already misses all of her friends.

Thursday 12/18/08 snow and hats...

We went outside to play today. The snow was too fluffy and dry to have a snow ball fight or to make a snowman. The kids made a hill out of snow. They shoveled the front yard, and the sidewalk. The neighbor kids came out, so they shoveled their sidewalk and grass for the snow. The snow was hauled in a wagon and on sleds.
I am starting to crochet hats. Tonight was my first try. I started to late, so the hat won't be finished tonight.

Wednesday 12/17/08 Christmas...

There was no more snow today. I think that it may all melt later this week. I have made a list of things that need to be done before Christmas. It is a lot longer than I thought it would be. I did cross one thing off today. Most of the things will be done this weekend...like the kids making Christmas presents and all of us making ornaments. I need to buy more film for the camera.
William is enjoying his vacation. I think that he is reading.

Tuesday 12/16/08 snow and Christmas cards...

It snowed today after we got home. We drove home with no snow, but an hour later, everything was white. We went out and shoveled. Now,looking outside, it is all covered up again.
The Christmas cards are almost done.Cheer, cheer...I need one address, and they can go out tomorrow. Maybe next year we will have moved and then I can address them sooner. Maybe.

Monday 12/15/08 broken tooth and rain...

William re-broke a tooth. He had broken it when he was in grade school. At that time they said that it would need repaired again in ten or fifteen years. It has been about that long and it broke off. We went to the dentist today to have it repaired. I was hoping that with all of the new technology the new repair would last a lifetime. They said ''no'', it would last another ten or fifteen years.
It rained last night, and then got really cold today. The water from the rain on the top of my car beaded-up and then froze. It looks like art on the roof of the car.

Monday 12/15/08 presents and ornaments...

I need to get one more present, then I have Christmas done...everything still needs wrapped. The kids have decided to write everyone a card for their gift. We will probably do that next weekend. We also make an ornament each year. Each person makes one. Lately they have been wooden designs that we color with markers, or sparkles. Then we put our initials on the back with the year. It is fun to see them all on the tree each year. William sometimes doesn't do one...so we do one for him.

Saturday 12/13/08 winter boots and vacation...

We bought boots today. It is a relief to have that done. I guess that we are not late, winter hasn't even started yet. When we got home, the girls wore their boots in the house, to get them worn in a little bit.
Today was William's first day of vacation, he looked very relaxed. I didn't get the Christmas cards finished today, maybe tomorrow.

Friday 12/12/08 snow and school...

It snowed today. For a while it was almost white-out conditions.Then it stopped. The forecast is that it is going to get warm on Sunday, and all of the snow will be gone.
William is finished with his finals. He looks happy. It will seam strange not to take him to school each day. I take a picture of the kids on their first and last days of school each year. Then when they are grown, the pictures can be put into frames and we can see how they grew.

Thursday 12/11/08 weather and to-do lists...

We have started to receive Christmas cards. I still need to write out eight cards. We do have the stamps now. I will write them out this weekend. The warm weather a few days ago melted all of the snow, now it is just cold. We went outside to play today. It felt good to get out into the fresh air.
The other day I found my list of things that I wanted to accomplish before winter got here. I was able to cross off a lot of items.

Wednesday 12/10/08 selling goldfish, winter boots...

Beth wants to start a business. She wants to sell goldfish. When we buy crickets for the frogs, the tank of feeder fish is next to the crickets. Beth has been looking at the fish for a long time. She is now going to go to school and see if she can supply the goldfish when they have a fair, and to ask her friends if they would buy a fish from her. I said that she should get a note from her friends parents before she delivers any fish. The fish are ten for a dollar. Beth has already named the first ten. She hasn't bought the fish yet, but she has the names ready.
The kids tried on their boots today. William's fit, the girl's don't. Maybe we can get boots this weekend. If we wait too long, they will be all sold out.

Tuesday 12/9/08 giving...

My kids and I have been loaning money...25 dollars at a time...to people in other countries at www.kiva.org. We haven't given a lot, when the person pays the money back, the kids and I pick a new person to give the money to. It is cool to see the people that the money goes to and read about how they want to change their lives. It is inspiring. We don't make any interest, but it is so nice to be able to help someone. There are people that don't pay the loans back, but most of them do.
I heard today on the World News that there is another site where teachers can go and post their needs, like paper and pencils. I am going to get onto the website tonight and see if it is something that the kids and I should do. It is at www.donorschoose.org.
It is a balance to teach the kids about making sure that they pay their bills...and take care of themselves...and give to others. They can't neglect themselves to help others, but they should be happy givers too.

Monday 12/8/08 rain and game night...

It rained today. The snow is probably all melted by now. It is going to get cold tonight and make ice...and then it will get warm, in the forties. I spend a lot of time driving slowly.
We had game night tonight. We like to play Blokus. We are getting "Apples to Apples" and a second game for Christmas. I don't know the name of the second game yet.

Monday 12/8/08 Christmas tree...

We put the Christmas tree up on Saturday. We re-arranged the furniture and brought up the boxes of decorations from the basement. Last year we had a problem with the tree tilting to one side. This year the kids tied it to the base with twine. It felt really sturdy. I hope that it stays up. We have two trees, so we have two tree tops. We couldn't find the correct top, so we decided to put up the incorrect one and add a lot of decorations and lights. We all put up the lights...we all stand around the tree and pass the lights around the tree to each other. This year Maggie and Beth are tall enough to reach almost to the top of the tree. When we plugged in the lights only two strands turned on...we forgot to test them first. We decided to leave all of them on and to re-arrange them so that the tree was covered. Next we put on the ornaments. Most of the ornaments must be in storage, usually the tree is covered. The tree looks great, but it has considerably less ornaments than it would normally have. I guess that this is better if someone is looking at the house, but it seems a little empty to us. When we were all done, we found the correct tree top of the tree in the bottom of a box. We decided to leave it there. While we decorate we have Christmas music playing on the radio. It adds a nice spirit to the room.

Saturday 12/6/08 roller skating...

We went rollerskating yesterday. There were a lot of kids. They were mostly junior high and senior high age. There were a few younger and older ones. The music was ''today's''music. There wasn't one song that I knew. The events were similar to when I was young. There was a backwards skate, a girl only skate, a boy only skate, a couple skate...another big difference was that last time a lot of kids were playing the games to get tickets for prizes. This time only one or two kids were playing the games, but a lot of kids were sitting on the floor by the game machines. They were all talking and having fun, on the floor.
The kids faces looked so young, like they didn't have a care in the world. I want to enjoy life that much.

Friday 12/5/08 snow, roller skating and school...

It has started snowing. At first is was so light that I needed to look twice to see that it was really snowing. Now the snow is a bit heavier. We may have one to two inches of snow tomorrow. Tonight we are going roller skating. The girls are very excited. I need to finish putting up the plastic on the windows in the living room before we put the Christmas tree up.
William is finishing a paper that is due next week. He is almost done.

Thursday 12/4/08 weekend plans...

The girls are going to go roller skating with their friend tomorrow night. Saturday we are going to put up the Christmas tree. William has finals next week...he has already taken some this week. We still need to try on boots, I can't remember to have the kids do this. This is the last winter item that we need to get. The Christmas cards aren't finished. I need to get Christmas stamps. It sounds like a long list, but as soon as the tree is up, and the boots and cards are done, we can all relax and enjoy the season. I hope that all of you have a restful month.

Wednesday 12/3/08 day off and volunteering...

William had the day off today. I think that he did homework. The girls and I got more crickets for the frogs and then went to their choir practice.
I want our family to volunteer. I called the Food Bank to see if families can help. They said that they are open one Saturday a month and we would be welcome. I think that we will wait until next month, William has finals next week and I don't want to pull him off track. I am very excited about doing this.

Tuesday 12/2/08 decorating...

We started listening to Christmas songs on the radio today. We are going to try to put up the Christmas tree this weekend. Sometimes it goes up really easily. The tree just stays in the stand...and sometimes it doesn't. We start early in the day to put it up, in case it isn't an easy year.
It snows a little bit each day. The snow hasn't stuck to the ground yet, it is just pretty floating in the air.

Monday 12/1/08 other houses and windows...

There are forty-two other houses in my area that have four bedrooms and are in the same price range as my house. I was going to look them all up on the computer and see what features they have, but instead I am going to make this house the cleanest house on the list. I can't make this house into something that it isn't, but I can make it clean.
The plastic has fallen off of the window in my room. It needs to be taped back up. It is nice that the kids windows have been replaced. Their rooms are warm and they can look through their windows year-round.

Monday 12/1/08 snow and playgrounds...

It snowed yesterday. There was no accumulation, but it was pretty to see it fall from the sky. The Christmas cards are almost done: one needs an address, and eight need the paragraph about the kids written onto them. Oh...they all need stamps.
I think that I am going to start taking the girls to the park at night after school to play for a while. After dinner it is so dark and the neighbor kids aren't out. This would get us some exercise.