A Whirlwind

These past few days have been a whirlwind of activity, as I frantically try to pack for an airplane trip with 7 people, including a baby. Whew! Let's just say we are not traveling lightly, LOL. You remember the old Archie comic books, and how Veronica, whenever they all went on a trip, would always have this huge mountain of luggage? Yeah, that's us. Three suitcases, a hang-up bag, a pack-n-play, and 3 car seats. Traveling in winter stinks.

Of course, there is never a situation that can't be made more stressful by some unexpected crisis, and that is just what happened last night. For background, about a week ago, we loaned out our third car, an old Pathfinder, to a missionary couple who are visiting here from Kosovo. Now we are the new family in church, so of course we are hoping this makes a nice impression. But instead we got a call at 9:00 last night from the man saying that the Pathfinder broke down in Williamsburg, which is 3 hours away. Ack! We felt so embarrassed! So Bob, who had already started his leave, drove down there this morning in the Odyssey so they could use that while we are gone. He got the Pathfinder to a mechanic, and praise the Lord, he was an honest one. We were afraid of a price gouger in the tourist trap! Anyhow, the even better news was that this man could fix the Pathfinder today, so Bob was able to drive back home this evening. We really expected that the kids and I would have to go down and bring him back, and then we would have to go pick up the Pathfinder when we got back. So that saved us 6 hours of driving! I was anticipating a very late evening of packing, but since I was home all afternoon, I'm pretty much done. I jsut have to pack some snacks for the trip, and then I'll make lunches in the morning.

I also went to my doctor this morning and got a letter stating that I was safe to fly. I didn't want to take a chance that some perky flight attendant who has never had a baby in her life would take a look at my tummy and decide I must be ready to deliver and refuse to let me on the plane! THAT would be stressful! Situation avoided, however.

So please pray for us tomorrow as we fly, and especially for Anna. She can be a bit squawky, and I don't want her to bother the other passengers. I'll check back in once we're home again!

Nana is Home!

My Grandma passed away Monday afternoon at 3:45 MST. My aunt and my mom were both with her. She was 90 years old, and she had really struggled, healthwise, since falling in August on her 90th birthday. Now we are so happy that she is in the presence of the Lord in her new, imperishable body!

This picture is from the trip that Anna and I took to see her back in June, and this is how I will remember her--tiny and sprightly, like an alert little bird! I am so glad that we were able to make that trip. The pictures are priceless.

We are all going to fly to Colorado for the funeral. My parents and aunt and uncle are also going to fly there, as will my cousin. We're all going to stay in the same hotel, so it will be like a family reunion! This is what we did back in April 2001 when my Grandpa passed away, and that was a very special time. Knowing that Grandma is in heaven allows us to be free to celebrate her life, since we know that we will see her again for eternity!

I'm In!

Just an update on the driver's license fiasco--I now have a Virginia driver's license, so I can rest assured that I do exist and I am married. I went to the Leesburg DMV, which on the whole was a better experience than the Fairfax one, although it still had it's touchy moments. I brought my raft of documents (PA license, ID card, passport, marriage certificate, and mortgage statement) up to the first window, and the man looked everything over. "Where is your social security card?" he asked suspiciously. "Umm, my SSN is right there on my military ID card, "I said, thankful that I had indeed stuck the whole stupid folder of papers in the car and I could jsut run out and get the card if need be. After scrutinizing that, he agreed it was okay. Wow, what grace! When I got to the second window, the one where they actually take your application and give you the vision test, the lady was quite suspicious of my Ohio marriage certificate. She wanted me to have a "license", while all I have is this "certificate", which is signed in blue pen so you can tell it's not a copy. And it says on the DMV form that a "certificate' is okay, but the lady wasn't liking it. Hey, it's all I've got! Take it up with Ohio. Eventually she did decide it would pass her inspection. Good grief. As Christa so accurately described them, they are Nazis here in VA!

As it turns out, Laura was absolutely right in her comments--this is all part of the Patriot Act, and eventually all states are supposed to have these draconian standards (funny aside--on Wednesday, at the first DMV, when I told the lady that I had NEVER had such a hassle getting a license in other states, etc. and asked why it was so difficult, she said that it was just to hassle people--really, that's what she said-- and then she said that eventually all states would have this--"even Wisconsin". What? Who brought up Wisconsin? Are they known as the backwoods DMV state, where they give out licenses to any and everyone? I just thought that was funny, that she pulled that state out of the clear blue sky.) Today there was an article in the Washington Times about how Maine lawmakers have rejected these standards and are calling on Congress to repeal the Real ID Act, which is where they came from.

"Opponents have said that requirements for license holders to prove their identity using a short list of acceptable documents will be burdensome on the elderly and economically marginal, and that depriving illegal aliens of the right to hold a license might be a disaster for road safety."

Well, I don't agree with the illegal aliens part, but these rules certainly are burdensome on the law-abiding citizens among us! It's like gun control--criminals still get guns (illegally, of course), but the law-abiding citizens are inconvenienced and have to jump through a bunch of hoops. Don't I feel safe.

The article says that Maine is basically playing a big game of chicken with the government because "driver's licenses issued by states that do not meet Real ID requirements in 2008 will no longer be valid for "federal purposes"--such as boarding planes or entering federal buildings." It will be interesting to see how it all plays out, but I'm sure there will never be less requirements, even if the law is repealed. Lawmakers seem to think that inconvenience is what makes America safe, so they will just come up with something even more ludicrous.

Who am I? And how can I prove it?

Today was an exercise in frustration. I have a Pennsylvania driver's license, since I am a resident there while Bob is active duty, and it expires on Feb. 8. It is a hassle to get a renewal without actually living in PA, so I decided now would be a good time to get a Virginia license, especially since Bob will most likely retire here in the next year or so, and then I would have to get a VA one anyways.

There is a DMV really close to Bob's office, so we all trooped down there this morning. The plan was Bob would meet us there and take the kidss out for pizza while I waited. Now I have gotten driver's licenses in 3 other states, and I have always only needed the license from the previous state, as well as my military ID card. Not so here. In fact, Virginia requires a bizarre raft of documents. I had to have 2 proofs of identity (my PA license and my military ID), a "proof of legal presence" (birth certificate or passport), and proof of residency which was not just any old piece of mail with your name on it. No, it was a pay stub, W-2 form, tax return, mortgage statement, utility bill, or receipt for property tax paid (but NOT the actual bill for property tax, which was all I could find, LOL). Well, I simply don't happen to carry all my legal documents around with me, as well as old tax returns, so Bob took the kids to CiCi's, and I drove all the way back home to search for documents.

I searched our "important papers" folder and managed to find a "certificate of live birth" (which was NOT acceptable as per the DMV form), but not my actual birth certificate. I did manage to find my old passport, which I got in may 1993, right before we got married in July so I could use it to go to Europe on our honeymoon. After much fruitless searching for last year's tax return (which we did right after having Anna so who knows what we did with it), I finally rounded up a mortgage statement. It's amazing how much stuff only has Bob's name on it. Do I really exist?

I drove back down to the DMV, waited in line again, and this time was told that because my passport was issued in my maiden name, I needed my marriage license as well. "But, " I said, "my PA driver's license clearly has my name as 'Claire (maiden name) (last name)', and my military ID and and mortgage documents have my maiden name initial on them. Why doesn't that prove that I am married, and that the passport was issued to me?!" No dice. Absolutely not valid. Doesn't prove anything. Must have the marriage license. Oh, I was so frustrated. I was literally in tears with frustration, prompting a funny conversation between Jonathan and Caleb about whether or not mommies actually cry--Jonathan firmly denied that they do. (Do I really never cry in front of them? I must be some kind of stoic, LOL.)

The thing that really got me was that the active duty person ONLY has to show their active duty ID card. That proves everything. Evidently the VA DMV thinks that the military does scrupulous checks on the identities of their members, but that they issue dependent ID cards to anyone off the street. Good grief. Also, a few weeks ago there was an article in the Times (sorry, I'm lazy and am not going to bother searching for it) that talked about some DMV employee who was finally arrested for running a driver's license ring. She made something like several thousand licenses for illegal aliens over several years before finally being caught. So I'm sure we can all rest more safely knowing that illegal aliens can still find ways to get licenses, while law-abiding natural born citizens who happen to be military spouses, dragged to these beauracratic morasses, get hassled and have to jump through an inordinate amount of ridiculous hoops.

Tomorrow, clutching my entire folder of important papers (because they may decide they need to see proof of my college GPA and childhood vaccinations), I will attempt once again to get a VA driver's license. I am going to a different office this time. Maybe the third time in line will be a charm.

Snow!

It snowed last night! This might not seem like such a big deal, since some of you all have been up to your eyeballs in snow this winter! But here in Northern Virginia, we have had a very warm winter with not so much as a flake of snow. And if you are a boy under 10, this is very disappointing (not so much if you are a mom to all those boys, and you are glad you haven't had to deal with heavy coats and gloves, LOL). Anyhow, Jonathan has been asking since, oh, I'd say November when it was going to snow. And yesterday afternoon it FINALLY snowed. It even stuck!

I didn't think it would still be there this morning, but it was, miracles of miracles, so the boys rushed through their independent work so they could play outside. I didn't think we could risk waiting until after lunch since the high was supposed to be around 40!

Wet, slushy snow packs really well, so a snow fort was started, and many snowballs were made and thrown. The little boys came in after an hour, but Nathan and Luke stayed out there for several hours.

After a late lunch we did the rest of school, and then they went back out again. Hopefully this will fulfill all their snow expectations for the year, since who knows how much more we'll get?! Now I have to find a place to hang 4 sopping wet snowsuits and 8 dripping gloves, as well as a place to put 8 messy boots. (Note to self: dream house must include bigger mud room.) But hey, the mess is all worth it--they had a great time and ran themselves ragged. I predict an early bedtime. Yay!

School Update For Caleb

One thing I really wanted to make a priority this new year was doing school with Caleb, who turned 5 in November. My previous routine was to do school with the big boys in the morning, and then give Caleb the time after lunch. This sounds fine, except that I was pregnant, and so after lunch each day I really wanted to take a nap, not do more school. He wasn't terribly motivated, so . . . learning to read could always be pushed back one more day!

But this new year I switched things up a bit, and now Caleb and Jonathan get their time first thing in the morning, right after breakfast. While Nathan and Luke finish the independent work that I have set out for them the night before, as well as their vacuuming and picking up chores, I do school with the little guys. It's working so much better! They have done school every day for the past 2 weeks! After they are done, then we all are there for our Bible reading and character time. Then the little boys are done, and they can go play or whatever.

Tonight at Bible study we were studying Mark 10:13-16, where Jesus tells the little children to come to him and rebukes the disciples for trying to send them away. Christine told about how last year she really wanted to put Joel, her youngest, in preschool because he was a real handful, and she didn't feel like they would get any school done with him there. Craig told her that Joel was a part of their family, and he didn't want the other boys to get the impression that what they were doing was so important that it justified sending away another member of their family so they could do it. Christine then read these verses and was convicted that Jesus was saying to her that she was a mother first, and a teacher of academic things second. Her calling was to mother her little children, leading them to Christ, not sending them away so she could focus on other "more important" things. The children WERE the more important things, and especially their spiritual upbringing. So she started teaching her little ones first thing in the morning last year, and them having their special time with mom first really helped them settle down for the rest of the day. I thought it was interesting that we both hit upon the same solution!

Caleb is slowly coming along with his reading. He is so much like Nathan that it isn't funny. He reads the first 2 letters of a word, for example, and then he just guesses at the last letter. So for the word "Map", he'll read "mm-aaa . . . . mat!" I'll say to look at the last letter. Then he'll look at it and realize it's a "p". But he really doesn't notice it at first--he just makes a random guess! Nathan was just like this. I think I'm more patient this time around, and to be honest, I think starting him a little later has been fine. With Nathan I really felt like I was beating my head against a wall for a long time while he struggled with issues like that one, and then finally it just clicked. I'm hoping it will just click at about the same age with Caleb, but with less time and frustration on my part!

Jonathan wants to do school too, so I've been giving him preschool worksheets--letters, numbers, tracing, etc. All the fun stuff, LOL. It's so fun teaching a fellow lefty! No more struggling with how to show a right-hander how to hold the pencil! Now we'll just have to see how Anna turns out . . .

Left-Hander of the Day . . .

James Garfield.

Here is what Yo, Millard Fillmore has to say about him:

Garfield was the third president in a row to have been a general during the Civil War. Part of a President's job in those days was to personally appoint people to government positions. Garfield was assasinated in Washington's Union Station by a man he'd refused to hire. Andrew Jackson was the first President to have been born in a log cabin. Garfield was the last. He was also the first sitting member of the House of Representatives to be elected President. Our first left-handed Chief Executive, Garfield could write simultaneously in Latin in one hand and Greek in the other.

Wow. Just wow. Jonathan is my only left-hander so far, so I guess he's the only one with a chance at accomplishing this feat. LOL!!! Just kidding. I don't think we'll be spending too much time on "simultaneous writing".

We are coming right along in memorizing the Presidents. We are going through the Millard Fillmore book, but more just for fun. I memorized the Presidents in 4th grade, and my teacher just broke them down into groups of 3 (Washington, Adams, Jefferson . . . Madison, Monroe, Adams . . .). We added a new group every few days, and it worked great. So that's what we're doing here. Today was "Hayes, Garfield, Arthur", hence the fascinating trivia about a little-known President. You're all very welcome.

Our big accomplishment yesterday . . .

. . . getting both vans in the garage! This may not seem like a big deal to all of you who live in the midwest, land of the spacious garage. But we live in the land of really big houses but minimalist garages, so for us, it is quite a big deal. In fact, I never thought we would be able to do it. It required a lot of cleaning and the shifting around of boxes and other garage junk.

Our house in Ohio had a huge 3 car garage. Seriously, this thing had at least 800 square feet. People live in much smaller spaces than this was. Then we moved here, into a house that was several times larger, and we got a garage that barely fit our freezer, fridge, bikes, and one van. The fridge and freezer are still in there, but the bikes didn't make the cut. They had to move to the shed.

Another tricky thing about our garage is that we have a big metal pole in the middle of it supporting a bedroom above. This isn't a huge deal for the Toyota, which is on the left side of the pole--the passenger just has to wait a minute while the driver backs up a bit so the door can open fully to let the person in (this is the drill especially when the said passenger is pregnant, LOL). But now the Odyssey is on the right side of the pole--right by the driver's side. So Bob has taken to opening the sliding door, and has put the center-console-tray down so he can walk through to the front. He says he feels like a pilot going into the cabin! Bring on the snow!

Well, what do you know?!

You may or may not have noticed, but I would like to announce that I have FINALLY updated my side bar with some more blogs I read. This is not an exhaustive list, and it is in no particular order, but hey--more blogs are listed.

Wow! I finally got around to doing something I've been putting off for quite awhile for no real good reason! I'm on a roll--what else can I accomplish tonight?!

Trash Cans

We're in the market for a new trash can. We currently have a green plastic one that I believe we bought when we moved to Colorado, so it has served faithfully for around 12 years. There's nothing actually wrong with it, but it does have two drawbacks. First, the lid is not actually attached to it, so it always falls off (I think it is supposed to swing freely, but our trash is always too high, LOL). Second, Anna likes to pull up on it, and it is just not that heavy, so she will pull it over on herself, spilling trash everywhere.

Looking around, I can see that all the cool, fashion-minded folks around us have nice, shiny, sturdy aluminum trash cans with pedals to step on that open the lid, or some other gadget. "Great!" I think. "I'll buy one!" So a few weeks ago, I popped into Bed, Bath and Beyond, where I discovered that those nice, shiny, and sturdy trash cans ranged from $70-$200. Yikes! Okay. So I also looked at Target, where they were $70. That's still a lot of money for a trash can, in my book. I mean, it's for "storing my trash". I think we paid a couple of dollars at Walmart for our green plastic one!

Speaking of Walmart, we were there last Tuesday, so I thought I would check out their selection. I seriously do not know why I ever go shopping with everyone, because I never make good decisions. I can't concentrate or something. Anyhow, they have a nice, shiny, sturdy trash can for only $36. I'm sold! I buy it, along with a bunch of other stuff, and go home. (But not before getting out to the car, buckling everyone, and then realizing that I didn't pay for the $5 plastic dish drainer that was under the cart. So we all went back in and tried to explain that to the nice greeter, who of course was not a native English speaker and couldn't figure out what I was doing--"Something wrong? You return?" "No, I just forgot to pay!" "What? You exchange?" I finally did go back through the line to pay. After hearing a series of sermons on the Ten Commandments, I knew I could not walk off with it!)

We got home and put the box in the garage, where we left it for several days. Finally we brought it in, and I realized immediately that the words on the box said "oval" instead of round. I never even noticed that! When we took it out and realized how small it was, I also noted that the box clearly said "30 liters", which is something like 7 gallons. Yeah, that's not going to cut it for a family of soon-to-be 8, LOL. But I never even noticed all of this in the store! It was shiny! It looked sturdy! The lid appeared to be attached! So we bundled it all up again, and now I have to make a return trip to Walmart. Grrr. And we are still looking for a new trash can (one closer to 60 liters, however, LOL). And one cheaper than $70! I am a hard woman to please.

A Family Picture at the WW II memorial

While we were at the World War II Memorial, we saw 2 guys who, we brilliantly deduced based on their haircuts, were military. One was an Army ROTC cadet, and the other had just finished Marine OTS. They were from the South, and were on a big cheap road trip. Fun! Anyhow, one of them consented to take our picture so that we would have one of those rare pictures with all of us in it. He almost cut Jonathan's head off, but hey--we're all there.

I loved the quote running around the back of the thing we are all sitting on: "Americans came to liberate, not to conquer, to promote freedom, and put an end to tyranny."

A Sunny Saturday in D.C.

Well, I'm catching up a bit here . . . Saturday was a beautiful day with a high of around 70 degrees. We didn't have any big plans for the day (well, other than me taking Nathan and Luke to the library, LOL), and we were just lazing around in the morning when Elizabeth called. They were at the Washington Monument and wanted to know if we wanted them to get tickets for us. For those of you who haven't visited D.C. for awhile, you have to have a free ticket to go up to the top of the Monument. You have to get there early in the day, and then you get tickets for a certain half hour block of time, which is when you can show up. We, being the "lazy and basically not motivated to go anywhere but especially not downtown early" type of people that we are had never even considered going up in the Monument.

But here was our golden opportunity, and on a beautiful day to boot! So we told Elizabeth yes, and she got us tickets for 1:00. The big boys and I rushed off to the library, we all grabbed a quick bite to eat, and we drove downtown. By this time it was pretty crowded with walkers, joggers, people with strollers, people with dogs--tons of people! But we found a parking place and got to the Monument at about 1:15. The ranger asked who was pregnant, so another woman and I got special treatment, LOL. We got to go in the side door and not go through the security screening. Ahh, the perks and privileges of pregnancy. Then we zoomed up to the top in the elevator. No more climbing of all those stairs! They closed those awhile back.

It was really neat to look out all the windows and see the birds-eye view of the city. The boys all really enjoyed it. Anna was riding in her backpack, and she enjoyed it as long as Bob was moving, LOL.

When we were done and back on the ground, it was too nice of a day just to walk straight back to the car, so we meandered over to the World War II Memorial. We hadn't been to see it yet either, and I really liked it. I know there was criticism when it opened, but I liked all the wreaths and the quotes. Very moving. It was a good trip downtown, and it reminded me that I really want us to go to the National gallery of Art sometime before the baby is born! Maybe one day when Bob takes leave . . .

Welcome, Emily!!!!

My brother's wife Melinda delivered their first baby last night. Way to go, Melinda! You are awesome!! Emily Claire was born at 9:52 PM CST, and she was 8 pounds, 4 1/2 ounces, and 20 3/4 inches long. Dan says she has "long fingers and toes, and long, narrow feet". We all know where she gets those genes--Papa M! Luke has them too. Dan sent a few cute pictures. She likes to have her hand up by her face.

Melinda's water broke at 9:25 yesterday morning, and they started pitocin around that time. We kept getting updates throughout the day--she was 3 cm at 1:00, she was 5 cm by 5:00, and at 7:15 she was 9 cm. She started pushing at 7:45, took a half hour break at one point, and then Emily was born at 9:52, after 1 1/2 hours total of pushing. That's pretty good for a first baby!

It was hard being this far away! I wanted to know what was happening at all times, and I sort of puttered around nervously all day. We did school, but I spent half the time on the computer checking for updates, LOL. I've had some experience with the whole birthing proces, as you may know, LOL, and I feel that giving birth to your first child is about the most physically demanding thing a woman can do. Once you do that, you can do anything! So I am so proud of Melinda--great job!!! And know that it will never be that hard again, although I am sure you are thinking right now that you will NEVER do that again, not even that which got you in this predicament in the first place! : )

So we're all pretty excited here about another little girl in the family. You know, at the start of last year, my parents had 4 male grandchildren. By the middle of this year, they will have those same 4 male grandchildren AND 3 female grandchildren! We're catching up!

Off to a sputtering start . . .

Today we were supposed to start school back up again, but then former President Ford had to die, and it turned out that Bob got an extra day off to remember him. So, we put school off for another day while Bob played hours of football out in the front yard with the boys (and you know, Pres. Ford was a big football player back in his youth, so I feel that was a very appropriate way to honor him, LOL). I took down all the Christmas decorations except the actual tree, because I didn't feel like hauling in the ladder. The boys turned the lights on, though, so it is twinkling merrily, if a bit nakedly.

Tomorrow we are heading over the Christine's house at 10:00, so not much will get done before that. The McC's got a new microscope, but they can't see anything through it, so they are hoping my years-old microscope expertise will save the day. We'll see. Anyhow, that will count as science, right? And the ever-important "socialization", of course.

Thursday should be our first normal day of the year, but then Friday I have an OB appointment at 10:45, smack-dab in the middle of the morning, guaranteeing that we won't get all that much done then either. So NEXT week will be our big official start. Now we're just "warming up".

I'm sure you have all been dying to know what I have decided to do about Latin this year. We finished up Latina Christiana 1 right after Thanksgiving, and we just reviewed vocab until Christmas. I have decided that we will go back through Minimus again really quickly as another kind of fun review before starting Latina Christiana 2. Frankly, LC2 is a little intimidating, even for me, and I don't want to scare Luke, especially! This will give him that many more weeks of Easy Grammar under his belt before we tackle some of the concepts in LC2.

For history, we only have 8 more chapters in Story of the World 3, so we'll try to finish those fairly quickly. Then I think we will go a little deeper into early American history. I really want to go to Philadelphia before the new baby is born, so hopefully this will inspire me to plan the trip! My parents gave us what looks like a neat little book for Christmas called The Wonder of America : Remarkable Stories Celebrating the Spirit of Our Nation. It's a book of 100 short stories about Americans, some famous and some not, and it looks so interesting. I'm planning on reading one or two a day, maybe over lunch, as just some extra fun history-type reading.

In everything else, we'll just keep plugging away. I really do want to focus a lot on Caleb and his reading before this baby comes. Jonathan has ben showing a lot of interest in reading as well--maybe even more than Caleb, LOL.

Looking Back

I was thinking back over this past year. I'm not really a very sentimental person, but I do like to remember. Here are some of the things I was thinking about:

New big purchases in '06: a new garbage disposal in January, and a new refrigerator in March. It was the winter of failing kitchen appliances! We also got a new photo printer sometime in the summer. We bought it from good friends of ours, and I thought it seemed like quite an unnecessary luxury. It's turned out to be very handy to have, and we are actually printing out some of our digital pictures. Also, we bought our nice, full, tall new Christmas tree this December. I love looking at it! And our last big purchase, snuck in right before the deadline, was our new minivan. Hopefully that will last for many years to come. It's nice to drive, although it still feels so unfamiliar, like I'm cheating on the old Odyssey, LOL.

New children: Anna was born on March 28, and it has been a lot of fun having a little girl around. I was putting those crazy white tight things on her this morning before church, and she was not liking it, and I thought about how she will be doing this for years to come (or not, if she is a stay-at-home mom like me who hates such things, LOL). Anyhow, I was reflecting on how clothes for boys are much more comfortable, and I guess she might as well learn this fact sooner rather than later!

Of course, we also had the surprise realization that another child, um, happened this year, and would be born next year. That has certainly caused a lot of reflection on God's perfect timing and things of that nature. It's also made me really tired. And not very motivated. To do really anything. It's always hard to deal with your own limitations! I foresee next year to be another year of "stretching", especially in how I view my time. I realized this morning during our sermon how selfishly I regard my time, always wanting to keep back some for myself, and often resenting many demands made on what I consider "my time". I think with the birth of this next baby, God will be giving me more opportunity to learn to sacrifice my time with a good attitude!

New church: Speaking of this morning's sermon, we have started going to a new church this past month. After going to our old church for 2 years, and feeling like we were fitting in, all of a sudden the pastor started moving the church in a real different direction this past August as far as spiritual gifts are concerned. It was startling, but we thought at first we could maybe be a moderating influence. Then he preached a sermon in October where he said basically, that we couldn't question the "values" of the church. It would be like going to your neighbor's house and telling them to rearrange their furniture. No, if it bothered us so much, then we shouldn't go to their house. So we pretty much felt like he was talking to us, and people like us, who had been questioning this new emphasis, and that he was telling us to find another church. That was difficult to hear, but there is nothing like clear direction! My brother found a church for us online that we hadn't even considered, and we have really, really been enjoying it. The pastor is young, but he is well-read and preaches the Word with authority. His sermons are very thought-provoking and dig to a deeper level of application. I was just telling Bob this morning that I used to look forward to going to church to hopefully get to know people better, but I had a hard time keeping my mind from wandering off during the sermons. With this church, I look forward to going to hear what the pastor is going to say about the topic, and I haven't had any trouble with my mind wandering! He is a very engaging speaker. In fact, I think that if my brother were a preacher, this is how he would come across (does that make you want to come visit, Dan and Melinda? LOL!) So we are looking forward to the new year in this church.

New routine: Usually one might make a New Year's resolution to start exercising, but for me, I started exercing pretty faithfully as soon as I could after Anna was born because I was horrified at the loose amount of doughy flesh remaining around my middle. Well, that never really went anywhere, although I lost all my pregnancy weight this summer. Sigh. But then my waist started expanding again, so I kicked up the exercising another notch. Then I took the pregnancy test and realized it would continue expanding, but my new fear is gestational diabetes. So since September, I have been faithfully exercising at least 5 times a week. "Wow!" you might think. "You must look great!" Well, no. I still look like I am in my third trimester, and people do tell me this, so I know it is true. And I realistically hold out no hope that the weight and especially inches will magically fall off after this birth either. But hopefully I will ward off gestational diabetes for another pregnancy, LOL. I will say that I am not sure exactly how I will fit in exercise after the new baby is born, though. We'll have to see how that all shakes out.

Hmmm. I'm sure there are more things, but right now I need to go make a 7-layer dip for our New Year's Eve party tonight. The L's always have a party at their house, and it is the highlight of the year for the boys! Confetti! Noisemakers! Tons of food! Sparkling apple cider! Well, actually only some of the boys like that, but still . . . it's a night to anticipate! We actually count down at 9:00, so the kids can be in bed at a fairly decent hour. Believe me, starting the new year with crabby kids is not a real fun thing, nor a real good omen! I'm looking forward to see where God leads us this next year, and where He leads you as well! Thanks for reading my blog! Happy New Year!

Success for the Castle Stonemason Guild

Bob's mom and dad gave us some money for the boys, and one thing I bought for Nathan and Luke was this 608 piece 3-D castle puzzle. It said for ages 12 and up, but I knew they really liked puzzles, especially Luke, so I wasn't too worried. Well, it turned out to be a bit tricky, and we were quite glad to have Grandpa, the expert puzzle stonemason, to help! Luke really got into it, and he and Grandpa spent most of Tuesday and Wednesday in the dining room, hard at work, while Nathan kind of flitted in and out. They worked steadily on the puzzle until yesterday (Thursday), when they completed it! Yay! It is really so neat-looking. I want a tour, LOL. We took pictures from all angles so we could successfully reconstruct it again with a little more ease, although Luke says we are never taking it apart! Puzzles are a great way to spend Christmas break!

It's Here!!!

Our new Sienna is here and in our garage! Bob and I drove up to Maryland Thursday to pick it up and to drop off the old Camry. Imagine--Carmax gave us $1200 for our '95 Camry with 165,000 miles, frame damage, and a leprous paint condition!

It was so nice that the van came in while my parents were still here. We were able to leave Anna and the boys at home with them. Although if we had to take them, it would not have been all bad. Carmax has a kids room with an attendant, so you can drop your kids off there for up to 2 hours! We did that while we were looking a few weeks ago, and the boys had a great time. There was a ball pit and everything!

We were very impressed with our Carmax experience. We paid just a few hundred dollars over invoice on a brand new car, and there was no negotiations, haggling, stress, etc. It was so nice. I heartily recommend them!! There aren't very many Carmax new car dealers. I think there was maybe only one other Toyota one in the whole country. We were very fortunate that this one was so close to us!

The Sienna is very nice to drive, and it has that lovely new car smell. This afternoon I moved all the carseats, books, toys, etc. over from the Odyssey. That was so hard to do! All that clutter . . . sigh. I did go through everything, but still, whatever you put in a new vehicle makes it look junkier! The boys are looking forward to riding in it, but their maiden voyage isn't going to be until church on Sunday, I think.

Merry Christmas!

I hope you had a wonderful day celebrating the birth of Jesus!

I haven't been blogging because we've just been having too much fun! My parents drove in Thursday night, in time for dinner, and we've been having a wonderful visit. Saturday we all went over to the L's house for a Christmas dinner along with the other 2 couples in our Bible study. Elizabeth made a ham and a turkey, and we all brought sides and desserts. It was a great time of eating and visiting. We came at 2:00 and didn't go home until almost 8:00!

Sunday morning we went to church and then out to eat at Olive Garden. We went back that night for the Christmas Eve service, a traditional one of lessons and carols. I really enjoy those services, where you sing ALL the carols and hear so much Scripture! It was a really special time.

Yesterday Grandpa and Grandma made potatoes and eggs for a special Christmas breakfast, and then the boys opened their stockings. After that, Anna had to take a nap, so we held off on presents until she woke back up again. I was planning on exercising and then showering while she slept, but I was just so tired that I fell asleep again--so much for exercise! I did get a shower in before Anna woke up, and we opened presents around noon. Nathan and Luke had picked out the present from their Aunt Rose to open first because they had ascertained that it sounded like it might be Legos. And it was--a Star Wars interceptor, so they were incredibly happy and could have stopped right there. But we kept on, and they got a lot of nice presents--games, books, and puzzles mostly. Lots of neat stuff!

I was thrilled to get a new rice cooker from my mom and dad. I love the one I have now, which we got as a wedding present, but it only cooks 6 cups of rice, maximum. This one cooks from 4-24 cups! I also got some books from my Amazon wish list, which I am THRILLED with! I stayed up last night to read The Making of Pride and Prejudice , which tells in great detail and with lots of pictures how the great BBC miniseries was made. Fascinating! Thanks, Amy!! Next on my list to read is A Visit With the Tomboy Bride about Harriet Fish Backus, who wrote a fascinating book about her life as a new bride at the Tomboy Mine above Telluride. Before we left Colorado we spent a few days in Telluride and drove up to the mine because I was so intrigued by the book! And let me tell you, that was a harrowing drive. Bob had to peel his fingers off the steering wheel of our 4x4 Pathfinder once we made it up there! Anyhow, this book is by a historian who had a long correspondence with Mrs. Backus, and it includes more insights into her life. I can't wait! Thanks, Aunt Claire and Uncle Jim!!

After presents, I worked on dinner, which we ate at a normal dinner time. We had ham, potatoes, green beans with almonds, sweet potato biscuits, and strawberry jello salad. After we cleaned up from that, we read the Christmas story, moving the characters around on a felt background we have. Then we had our birthday party for Jesus, complete with chocolate cake and ice cream. I was so full I couldn't see how I would ever eat another bite! And yet, somehow I made room for breakfast this morning, LOL.

So we had wonderful day! The boys were completely fried--they went to bed at 8:30, and Jonathan didn't wake up until 9:30 this morning! There were some "lack of sharing and honoring" incidents yesterday, but so far today has been better, as far as attitudes go. I'm sure all the sleep was helpful! The boys are all downstairs in the basement now, building things with legos and bionicles. It looks like it will be a quiet day! I can hope anyhow . . .

Some Christmas Humor

Here's something to make you laugh: the Cavalcade of Bad Nativities . There are 3 pages, so take your time and enjoy them all!

I actually spent quite a bit of time searching for a little nativity set this year because I thought it would make a nice little present for someone on my list. My mom gave us several years ago a very classic set in bisque. It wasn't very expensive, and it looks timeless. I had no such luck this year. In fact, it appears that the Christian bookstore is the ONLY place where you can even think about getting anything remotely religious, like a nativity set, and this year they were mainly into nativity snow globes and other shall we say "non-timeless" nativity options. One set looked like it could have been on the Cavalcade, as it appeared to be made up of garden gnomes, the ones with the big floppy hats. Weird. Maybe next year.

Christmas Cards

I am pleased to tell you that today I am putting the last of our Christmas cards in the mailbox! Finally! I absolutely LOVE getting Christmas letters--the longer and newsier, the better! I guess we just don't have "braggy" friends, because I love getting updated on dear friends who we were once stationed with, and who we might not see again this side of heaven. I usually make a trip back to Ohio in February, and while home, I read through all my parents' Christmas letters (hundreds, LOL) to see what's happening with people who I knew a long time ago or just haven't kept up with. I guess I just like knowing what's going on and seeing pictures!

This year I had a hard time getting inspired to actually WRITE ours, however. Finally Bob and I cranked something out, but it is pretty blah, to be honest--we had a baby, and all the kids are one year older, LOL. Now, as we are reading all the other newsletters coming in, we keep thinking of things we meant to say--"I should have said that I was a soccer coach!" "I meant to say something about our summer Revolutionary War party!" Ah well. Next year, I shall have to note interesting things each month as they happen so we can write a fascinatingly brilliant newsletter, LOL.

Actually, that brings me to my next point. Every year at this time, I have to painstakingly update by hand my address book. That is because I have a system. Here's how it works. During the year, as we get change of address emails, I make a mental note, which I promptly forget all about. Then, when December rolls around and I am ready to start addressing cards, I look at an entry in my book, and something faintly jingles in my brian--"Weren't they PCSing this summer? Hmm, I bet they have a new address." So then I have to search through all my back emails, saved on my computer (thankfully I rarely delete anything personal, LOL), and as a last resort, email my dad to ask if they have the new address (they have a better system, LOL). So every Christmas I resolve to update my computer address book (last current probably at least 4 years ago, which means practically EVERYONE on it will have moved!) and then faithfully enter in all changes as they come throughout the year. And yet, each year I have the same routine and the same little black address book. Ahh, the comfort of a system, even a not very good one! And my experiences here make me quite leary that I will actually be noting interesting things to put in the Christmas letter each month, LOL!