I'll be out for a few days

Just wanted to let you all know that I will catch up on my blog and everyone else's in a few days. Jimmy's grandma passed away last night so peacefully in the presence of almost all of her children, many grandchildren, and even some great grandchildren. There was so much love in that room. His grandma lived a wonderful 94 (two months shy of 95) years. She has to be one of the strongest women I know. There have been many times when we all thought that her day was coming, but so many times she turned around and surprised us all. Yesterday was a little different. I think we all knew for sure. Please say a prayer for Jimmy's mom and her siblings, as they have spent the last 11 years going to the nursing home EVERY day to feed her and spend time with her. Pray that they will not be lost in the days ahead with not having to go there everyday. Thank you guys! And I'll see you in a few days.

I just don't know where to begin

So I'll start with the funniest gift I got. I guess I need to give you all a little background info though. As a lot of you know, almost all of my family lives up north. Everyone on my mom's side lives in upstate NY. Starting when I was in elementary school, I would fly to NY and spend every summer there with my Aunt Mary. As I got older, I would only go for a week at a time with my family. My parents use to take us out of school during the winter for a week every year so we could go up there and go skiing. And then we would go in the summers when my Aunt would rent the cottage at the lake. And when I was a junior in highschool, I begged my parents to let me go live with my Aunt Mary and go to school there. I know that sounds crazy, but I really wanted something better than what good ol' Northampton had to offer. So they let me go. Even though I only lasted two months before becoming so homesick I had to come home, I spent a lot of time with my family there. And throughout all of those visits to NY, I formed a good bond with everyone there. And they are CRAZY!! I don't mean loony crazy, I mean funny crazy. So I fit right in! I went every year until Jimmy and I were married (then came children and you know how life goes after that.). Well, the summer that Jimmy and I got engaged I flew up there to visit while my Aunt Mary had the cottage at the lake. I wasn't sure they were going to be there to pick me up (hmmm....you ladies know why, Aunt Mary, Aunt Becky, Aunt Irene...I won't go there), but they made it. My parents and my sister, her husband and my nephew Ryan all came a day or two after me. One night while all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins were all there cooking out, they threw me a surprise wedding shower! BUT, not just any wedding shower. A tacky wedding shower!! It was the BEST! They gave me stuff that people probably wouldn't even buy at a yard sale. Just the story about the shower is a long post in itself, well worth the reading and pictures, but I'll save that for another time. We had such a fun time, and I laughed so hard at all those crazy gifts I'm sure my jaws were hurting. Well that's a little more than a little background on my folks up north. So on to the gift. I received a package in the mail from my dear Aunt Becky (you know, one of the crazy ones like me) with a card I would not dare post a picture of. This summer when we were all at the beach, she had me try on one of her bathing suits from like the 70's (a two piece) and I was also wearing tattoo sleeves and she took a picture. So needless-to-say, that was one funny picture. That picture was on the front of her Christmas card. The inside said she made me a gift this year and was wondering if it would sell on etsy, and oh, by the way "Hope you like what I've chosen for my Christmas cards this year"!!! Then I opened the package and laughed and laughed and laughed some more. Here's a picture:

They're maxipad slippers!!! How practical, right?? I mean, her note said they were hypoallergenic, had nonslip grips, they make your feet smell fresh, and they come in three convenient sizes, light, medium, and get out the sand bags. AND, no more having to bend over to clean up all of those spills my little ones make. I can "slip" them away! I love how decorative they are too. So, do you think they'd sell? heheh!!

New Blogger

A friend of mine, and fellow homeschooler just started blogging. Everyone please say hello to Wendy at http://wendyharringtonsfamily.blogspot.com/ I first met her when she moved to town, but really only since we both started homeschooling have we gotten to know each other. I'm looking forward to reading your blog Wendy and learning more about you and your family. On another note, I'll be blogging very soon on all of our Christmas events, but we are just so busy right now. I'm glad to see that you all had a great Christmas and I'll be posting pics soon. But in the meantime, visit my new blogger buddy.

Christmas Caroling

This afternoon twenty children and about eight adults set out to local nursing homes, the senior appartments here in town, and a couple of elderly people's homes to sing. What a great job they all did! Everyone we sang to seemed to really enjoy it. One lady was in tears when we were singing....I'm pretty sure they were happy tears, not tears from awful music..lol. At each stop we sang about six or seven songs, and the kids did awesome. I encourage everyone to take the time to reach out to people who may not be able to get out and spread the Christmas cheer. And this doesn't have to be just during "Christmas time", and it doesn't have to be caroling. Visit some elderly neighbors or people that may be sick or disabled and take them some goodies, or when the weather turns back warm offer to mow their lawn. Take their trash to the road every week, bring them a bag of groceries. Little things make the biggest difference. Who knows, maybe you can advance God's kingdom by spreading your love. What are some of your ideas?

Happy Anniversary

I want to wish my mom and dad a very happy 40th anniversary! Forty years, wow! What an example we have to follow. Happy anniversary Mom and Dad, I love you!

Thankful, but a little bummed

Jimmy and I have been together for over ten years, married 8 1/2, and the whole time he has had a job with swing shift hours. I wouldn't know what to do if he had a regular 9-5 job. Not only does he work swing shift, but for a majority of these years his schedule hasn't remained constant. So with that, we are really never able to plan ahead. We might think he's working one shift, but the week before he finds out he's being changed to another shift. But life goes on, whether he's with us or working. Poor Jimmy, has missed many plays, programs, a couple of recitals, family gatherings and so forth. But he's only ever missed one Christmas. That was Hannah's first Christmas. I'm sure I was a little sad then, but she was only seven months old, so no big deal. Well, with the recent economic meltdown, jobs being eliminated, people being layed off, Jimmy said last week that there was a chance that he might have the whole week of Christmas off to eleviate some overtime. He wasn't going to be able to find out until last night when he went to work. He was scheduled to work 2nd shift (3-11) which would be a good shift if he had to work. I was in the shower when he came home this morning, so I sent the girls to go ask what his shift will be. They came back with these words, "The worst possible shift." Which means days. He won't be home Christmas morning. For the first time since Rebecca and Leah have been born, and the second time for Hannah, he has to work that morning. I'm sad. YET, I am very very thankful at the same time that he has a job. I know I shouldn't complain, because we are so incredibly blessed and Christmas is NOT about Christmas morning. But still, I'm sad. I'm not sure how we will do things this year. I would not want him to miss anything, so I don't know whether to wait until he gets home to open gifts or what. We'll figure it out. I just thought I would share this. Is is wrong to be upset? Like I said, I am very grateful that he has a job. All I keep hearing from the news and people's everday conversations is how this company is laying off this many people and so forth. So, we are blessed that that hasn't happened to us, but I'm still bummed.

FYI

My friend Katie just opened an etsy shop and I thought I would share her site with you. She makes Colonial style dresses, and does an awesome job. My girls love wearing theirs. If you or anyone you know is interested in this time period, visits historical sites, or has little girls who love playing dress-up and going to tea parties, then you should check her out. She makes the dresses, aprons, and caps. We've just recently gotten her to make Hannah a different size cap since the one in this picture is too big. So, if you're interested you can check here out http://ColonialKatie.etsy.com