Merry Christmas!

This is wishing all of you who read this blog a Merry Christmas. The first picture is our oldest Tobias, then Heather, Lane, and last is Seth. I should have them all together in front of the three, but, well we only had three red shirts. I really wanted pictures of them in red.

We have had a pretty good day. The kids loved their presents. Heather has a stomach bug and so she is not the least bit happy. We thought that Steve had food poisoning on Monday, but now we think maybe a bug is going around.

Bragging on my Husband

I grew up with a daddy that can do anything. I am serious. That is what this little girl thought and still tends to think. So when something needs done I tend to want to leave it for when my dad is coming.

The sliding glass door on the back of our house had only one pane of glass and the door didn't open very well at all. It took two hands and a lot of maneuvering. Steve with some help from me took the old one out and installed the new one.

This weekend he installed a new bathroom fan. Let me just say he doesn't know a whole lot about electrical wiring. My dad wasn't home to answer his questions and even a local person we thought might know about wiring never returned his call either. We went from a one switch that turned the light and the fan on at the same time to three switches. One for the light, one for the fan, and one for the nightlight. Steve had to add wiring to make that work. When we were done for the night only the fan worked, but by the morning he had figured out his mistake and fixed it. I had to help on this one too. The wires kept getting hung up in the wall. There is insulation on our inside walls. According to my dad it was because of the kind of heat that was installed in this house. We did finally manage to get the wires where we wanted them to go. It only took about two hours and lots of patience. My dad says that was a record. If you ever meet my dad or see him, just ask him how much time he has spent on one electrical outlet.

These pictures are backwards. First the new and then the old. Can you tell it has been a while since I have posted pictures. Maybe I will remember for last time.

The bathroom fan was installed in hopes that in three months I won't have to attack the ceiling and walls around the shower with bleach water again. In the last picture you can see the box fan that we keep turned on and facing the shower most all of the time.

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving day in the afternoon was spent with our Pastor Jim Oliver and his family. We forgot the camera, but had lots of good food, fun, and fellowship. The kids enjoyed riding the four wheeler and shooting the BB gun.

On Friday we had our own private Thanksgiving dinner. We did this mainly because Steve and I love Thanksgiving leftovers. Tobias did the table decorations. They came out of the sixth grade Abeka art book.

Our Thanksgiving holiday also includes the reading of three books: "Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving" by Eric Metaxas, "Thank You, Sarah" The woman who saved Thanksgiving by Laurie Halse Anderson, and "Thanksgiving A Time to Remember" by Barbara Rainey. They are all very good and remind us of our heritage.

We have been eating leftovers ever since. We had turkey and sweet potato casserole on Friday. Turkey and mashed potatoes on Saturday. Saturday lunch and Sunday supper we ate a wonderful turkey soup. Sunday lunch and today's supper were casseroles that called for cooked chicken. I substituted turkey. So far no children have complained which is odd. Tobias especially doesn't like turkey leftovers.

My children are happy. The holiday seasons bring things that they like. One is eggnog. Lane especially loves the stuff. Every once in a while through the year he asks when we can buy it again. I keep telling him at Halloween, but I was wrong. We had to wait until this week. There were some brands out, but they don't taste as good.

The second item we just discovered last year: flavored coffee creamers. Peppermint Mocha made by Coffee-mate. It tastes wonderful in hot chocolate. The kids love this. In January they put it on sale. I stocked up on a few. This morning they were enjoying the hot chocolate and were wanting a second cup, not that they don't enjoy it all year long. It is just extra special now.

Rita

Lane Broke His Pinky Finger

On Saturday, we had an year end party for Lane's football team. Steve threw a fast one and Lane hurt his finger. It is swollen and black and blue and doesn't look right. Our family Doctor took an x-ray this morning. His pinky finger on his right hand is broke and the bones do not line up. So tomorrow we are off to an orthopedic Doctor. He waited until the season ended to get hurt. He did have a finger jammed early in the season, but it didn't stop him from playing. So he joins the "Broken Bone Club" with Tobias.

Click on the picture to make it bigger and you will see the brake for yourself.

Rita

Flag Football Season is Over

We have spent the last 8 weeks running to practices and games on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturday Mornings. Heather and Seth played Soccer and their season ended two weeks ago. Lane and Tobias played flag football. They practiced very little and then played a game all on Tuesday nights. Heather practiced on the same night, so I didn't get to watch football until these past two Tuesday nights.

Tobias's team won every game. They had to come from behind to win the last game. Lane's team, which Steve coached, tied the first two games and then lost the next three games. On last Tuesday night they managed to win by one point. Lane was the quarterback, so we were pretty excited. We did discover that Lane would be better at tackle football. Trying to catch a flag is annoying. He took a few boys out the first few games. On the last game instead of getting the flag he took the whole belt off of a boy.

Medical Approval Still Pending

Travel Health American sent an email back wanting more information. My Doctor I think over explained everything that needed done in the next 5 years. I wanted a basic letter saying I can go. So they want to know if I can have my TSH level checked where I will be going and if a CT can be done on my neck. So we need to find this out. Plus, my platelets are low and so now I have to talk to the Doctor about that. My platelets have been low off and on for years. The thing is they knew this from my medical records from Richmond. I gave a copy of all the tests results done in Richmond to my family Doctor here in South Carolina and she commented they were low in March. The next blood test said they were fine, so nothing to worry about. My Doctor's words. So now we have to talk to the Doctor about that too. Sometimes, I wonder if it is ever going to end. Please pray that we would have patience. We know that it is all on God's hands and his timing is best.

Rita