I've been finding it very hard to get back into the swing of things. School has been back in for a week and a half now (YAY!) but the routines just aren't coming back. I need motivation!!


We did get to enjoy one of our Christmas presents last weekend - and we went out for dinner with Mom and S. You know, when I was a teenager, we could talk my mom into things - like dressing up as a "headbanger" to go shopping with us. That was kind of fun! So I guess I should have known that when we asked her to pose in that stupid face sucking peace sign pose that ALL the girls have on Facebook (what is with that pose anyway?!) that she would just do it for the camera.

It just came naturally to her, I guess! LOL!! It was a fun night. We laughed at so many different stories.


One of my favorite stories that came up was about the day that D sent me flowers. I answered the door and a man gave me this beautiful bouquet. While I'm busy reading the card, V asks me, "Did that guy give you flowers?"


"Yes", I reply.

Then he asks, "Does D know?"


We did get a nicer picture of Mom - just cause I knew she'd not like the one to the left here...

Better?


Love ya, Mom!

Late Night Writing...

It's late and I just can't sleep. I've been meaning to update my blog for some time now, and just hadn't found the time until now. December was especially busy with all the Christmas fanfare and activities. One of my goals for this New Year is to write more often... and with more depth.

We did have a great Christmas! We were blessed to be invited to parties with friends, and visits with family. There were many gifts and plenty of food - maybe too much food. Nineteen of us gathered on Christmas Eve - a family tradition for as long as I can remember. It would have been my Grandmother's 94th birthday. She's been gone a couple of years now, but it still feels funny not to have a birthday cake there.

Over the holidays, we have fallen into a very bad habit of grazing eating whatever and whenever. We have stayed up too late and slept in too often. But everyone is ready to get back into routine again. Especially me! The boys were telling me how bored they were on day 1 of their Christmas vacation - and it just grew from there.

D was a great help with the kids and cleanups too. I really appreciate all that he has done during his days off. This was our double duty Christmas year, so a very full house indeed! Lots of fun and noise (not fun) and the older kids pitched in to buy us an HDTV!! Totally awesome!! Our old big screen had just about bit the dust, so this one came in just in time. D's bonus from work made sure he got his Xbox too - and the boys have been inundating us with Rock Band for days now. (Some of those songs are REALLY awful, aren't they??) Not to mention that we are a family made up of singers and those who are totally tone deaf. It's sure not boring! 

I think the best part of Christmas this year, was that we spent a little more time focusing on Christ - and a little less time (and money) on the gifts. I was so sick of hearing kids ask for more, more, more... We really toned it down (excepting the Xbox) and had a very nice, modest Christmas. I couldn't convince them to spend any time reading about the birth of Christ in scripture. We didn't even watch "Mr. Kruger's Christmas"! But we were together with minimal conflict - a major accomplishment for this group - and it was very nice. 

This is the year we are hoping to have the boys adoption finalized. There are, as expected, some major hurdles to overcome in getting this done. I've been praying like crazy for a solution to these so that everyone can benefit. I could rant all day about the services that will be pulled from our high needs children once they are adopted. But I don't want this to be a political forum... yet... There are many things to be done before this adoption can be finalized. 

I want to read the scriptures, front to back, again this year. But I want to put a little more emphasis on the studying side of it. It’s easy to read it like a novel - but not always so easy to grasp the lessons and meanings that way. I will be using readthescriptures.com if any of you care to join me. Or just check in with me to make sure I'm keeping up on my goals. <

Happy New Year!