The kids have thoroughly been enjoying all the new toys, games, and books they received for Christmas. My parents gave us a big red wagon (can you believe we have made it to 7 kids without ever getting a wagon?!), and the girls have been thrilled to be pulled around by their big brothers. They would ride all day, if you can imagine!
I am actually more in the Christmas spirit now, than I was before Christmas, and so yesterday the kids and I made peanut butter cups. I wanted to make caramels too, but I didn't have enough chocolate. I finally got around to ordering pictures to send out, so now all I have to do is write a Christmas letter to go with them! This WILL happen, if only because every year I put our Christmas letter and picture in my Christmas scrapbook, along with a few pictures of what we did Christmas Day, and I am just anal enough to want to ensure that there will not be a blank page for this year's letter! I love reading back over all the past years. It's such a good summary of our family each year.
We've all been enjoying the leftovers from our Christmas turkey. I made turkey pot pie on Monday, something I haven't made in years because of Caleb's milk allergy. When we were back in Ohio, Amy made a roast using Campbells golden mushroom soup. She said she had discovered this soup, which is dairy-free, acts like a cream soup in her recipes, and it goes well with beef or chicken. Mom made a roast for us using it and french onion soup mix for the gravy, and it was delicious. I decided to try out my old turkey pot pie recipe, which uses puff pastry sheets on top for the crust and could not be any easier, and use the mushroom soup in place of the cream of chicken/cream of potato soups. It was DELICIOUS! I was so excited! I love adding foods back into my repetoire! I also made a good turkey soup for dinner tonight. I roasted the carcass for about 45 minutes at 400 before boiling in water with herbs. I think it did add a good flavor to the broth. The recipe I used, which I found on the internet, also called for leftover dressing and gravy. Rice was called for instead of noodles, which I don't love in soups. So it was a lovely, thick soup, with a nice flavor. This was a good year for leftovers!
We started school back up again this week. We have been off since the week of Thanksgiving, so it was definiltey time. I really needed this break, though. It's been so refreshing. The kids have settled back into everything, and I was gratified, as always, to see that all their previously learned knowledge did not just fall out of their heads, LOL. In fact, Jonathan has really made big strides in his reading over these past few weeks, and now he can do all of his math worksheets without me reading the directions or the problems for him! Nice! Luke was quite concerned that he might have forgotten all his math, so we just did the past 3 tests, instead of moving ahead on new lessons. He hasn't forgotten, so that fear was put to rest, LOL. After the new year, Nathan is going to start doing a traditional logic program with Isaac McC. I bought DVDs, so neither Christine nor I will actually have to teach it. I am looking forward to seeing how that goes. Our country is in dire need of kids who can think logically!
With the laundry room finished up, Bob has turned his attention to the main floor bathroom. He just finished grouting in there tonight, so we will seal it tomorrow night. In an exciting and romantic date, Bob and I went to both Home Depot AND Lowes one evening and compared toilets. We were able to pick one that wasn't too expensive, even after all the very persuasive advertising ("Exceptional Bulk Flushing Power!") We did not consider anything under 5 stars (Lowes) or a rating of 10 ( Home Depot), so hopefully you will be assured that if you visit us, our main floor toilet will be able to take care of whatever you should need to flush.
Not having a toilet on the main floor (or a hooked-up washer) has given me the excuse to not work any more on Grace's potty training. She has not shown any signs of wanting to do it herself, and I showed no signs of wanting to run up and down stairs to empty a little potty (or wash out underwear, as would have most likely been the case). So now we will start back up with our 2 co-op a week schedule, and it will probably be spring break before we have any news on the front. Oh well. When you have been changing diapers for 12 1/2 years straight, what is a few more months of changing 2 people's diapers?!
As we look towards 2010, it is looking more and more likely that we will just be staying here in D.C. AFPC has given Bob a new assignment down at USJFCOM in Suffolk, VA, by Norfolk, and orders are in the works. Funnily enough, when this whole thing started back in July, that is really where we wanted to go--it wouldn't be that inconvenient of a move! But now, after thinking we were going to Guam and getting all excited about that, moving 3 hours away just doesn't seem that worth it. The housing program has been extended, so we would still qualify, but I guess I just don't feel any real call to move down there. I really felt like God was telling us he wanted us in Guam, and then He slammed that door shut suddenly, so who knows exactly what to think now, you know? It's hard to know what the right decision is. But Bob can retire, so he's thinking that sounds attractive now. I'm still not excited about staying here in all the traffic and expense, but I am trying to have a good attitude. I do really love our friends and church here, so it's not all bad.
Tomorrow night we will be celebrating at the traditional party over at the L's house. This is quite the highlight for the boys, and it's a good thing they are so generous about hosting it each year! We always have a great time, and we are looking forward to it! Happy New Year!!
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