Full House

Friday we went and picked up my 2 step-sons at our meeting point, Rawlins. Let me tell you, the roads were dry most of the way there, but we hit a sort of wall of snow and wind about 20 miles from Rawlins. Knowing how hubby hates to drive in that I offered to drive back. BIG MISTAKE! All the way home it was terrible, I could hardly see the road. Our drive took 3 1/2 hours when it would normally only take about 2. It was the worst I've ever driven in. But the boys, 14 and 9, were good.

Saturday the older one had a hockey tournament so we watched 2 games and this morning he had one more in Laramie that hubby took him to while I was at church. We are really enjoying the games and son is a good player.

This afternoon we went with The Salvation Army to 3 different nursing homes to distribute gifts and sing Christmas carols. We are pretty wiped out, but tonight our church is having a special Christmas music service and I have to go and sing. I think everyone else will stay home.

Oh, in case 5 children isn't enough, we're also dog-sitting for our neighbors. Another arctic front came in and although it hasn't dipped below zero, we are keeping the dogs inside as much as possible.

At this moment I sit in front of the fire in a recliner with my laptop while hubby is dozing on the gorilla bag. MJ is at work, JJ is at his girlfriends, the 2 other boys are downstairs with the girl and the dogs. I have a very brief moment of peace. Believe me, I'm savoring it!

Quicksand

Do you ever find yourself in a place in your life, or in your attitude, where you think, "How did I get here?" Hubby and I are really positive, optimistic people. But lately I find myself asking that question because I think that we have begun allowing the circumstances around us to bog us down in negativity.

I have never actually seen quicksand, but the picture I have in my mind is as you walk along, you do not notice where the quicksand is, unless you know the signs to look for of course. If you stand still on quicksand, you begin to sink. You must then remain calm and know just how to get out. In the movies I have seen it portrayed as slowly, almost swimming, and grabbing on to something stable to pull yourself out. Unless Indiana Jones is with you!

In life, sometimes we are going on our merry way, and suddenly realize we are sinking into the quicksand of negativity. The negativity of our environment or the stuff that happens in our lives drags us down and we begin to wonder if we can get out. Where is Indiana Jones??? My thought is that some of us may have been caught in the quicksand previously and have learned what to watch for and avoid that quicksand again. However, we may miss it even when we do know what to look for. So then we must know how to react. We need to be able to acknowlege our predicament as quickly as possible, remain calm, and find that something stable to grab on to and pull ourselves out.

Hubby and I are working on that now. We are looking to God and the positives in our lives to pull ourselves out of the negative muck that has pretty much surrounded us. His work is the biggest thing dragging us both down. Please pray for us that we will make it quickly out of the quicksand.

Brrrrrr

Baby it's cold outside! This past weekend we had what they call an Arctic Front come through. On Sunday the high temperature hit a record low for that date, it was -13. Yesterday I saw the temperature up to 14 and today it got much better - into the 20s.

I have a lot of friends who live in the islands so let me just explain what happens when it gets so cold. Nothing wants to work first of all. Cars frequently won't start or keep running. Thankfully our vehicles did not have any major problems. Even once the vehicles get going, they don't drive the same. Oh and although it's not snowing, there is frost covering everything. Luckily we live in a dry climate, when it's wet and this cold that's what they call ice storms. If homes or buildings are not kept warm enough, the pipes will freeze. Actually it's the water in the pipes that freezes, which then causes the pipes to burst. As thawing begins that leaves flood conditions and it is a mess. People don't want to go anywhere and pets should be left inside. There's a lot of effects you don't think about unless you live it.

For us, whether it just happened or we just realized it, our furnace was not working properly. Hubby had to keep re-starting the furnace and he also kept a fire going for us during the day. At night LJ slept in her brother's room where it was warmer and MJ kept a space heater in his room. We were okay in our room as we sleep with the dogs. Hubby also had a lot to deal with at work in the hotel where the heaters were not working in all the rooms. On Monday morning some of the hotel rooms at had ice in the toilets.

Monday I kept thinking I could have been to work on time if it wasn't so cold. Not only did I have to re-start the furnace and put on extra clothing just to walk around the house, I had to take care of the dogs. Now we normally leave our dogs outside so this day we had to find a safe place to leave them. We decided the best place would be our bathroom, but that meant I needed to completely clear off my bathroom counter - no small task! I did it and put the dogs into the bathroom - which was also no small task. Of course I had to warm up the car then scrape the windows. Things went okay for me at work, too bad I couldn't say the same for hubby. But when we came home we realized the dogs had moved the bathroom rugs and found a small crack in the flooring and begun digging. About a fourth of the bathroom floor has now been stripped to the wood underneath. We also had to pay about $60, which we felt was fairly good, to have our furnace fixed. And all because it was cold! But we are doing better now and preparing for the next Arctic Front due in this weekend.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Does it seem like the season started earlier this year? We noticed Christmas decorations up so early. We also have had parties and programs much earlier this year. Unfortunately, I missed my family Christmas party because it was on the 6th, the same day we were out of town for mother-in-law's birthday. Tonight we went to LJ's school Christmas program. This Sunday is the Christmas program at church put on by the kids.

In a way I've tried to keep up, we did partially decorate our house the Saturday after Thanksgiving. That's right, after the guests from our open house left! Also last week we had some beautiful snow that helped put me in the mood. Here's some pictures of all that. I want you to notice how the snow is piled on the tiki torch. It is a miraculous picture because it shows it snowed that much without blowing away! Yes, that was actually in Cheyenne, in our back yard!!

I'm sick

I had a pretty good week last week, one day I even had off. Wednesday was a full day at work which meant Wednesday evening and Thursday were spent writing reports. Thursday evening I started feeling like I was getting a sore throat. Friday morning I definitely had a sore throat but had to go to work and finish a report. I worked a half day then took advantage of a gift certificate my hubby gave me and had a massage. It was wonderful! I went home after that and my hubby was so good to me and I just relaxed all afternoon and evening. Saturday we slept in then went an hour away to have lunch and spend time with my mother-in-law because it was her birthday. Again a relaxing time. Sunday my throat was better so I taught Sunday School and sang on the praise team although I did have a cough drop in my mouth the whole time. After church we went home and again I just completely relaxed and even took a nap. But I started feeling worse and worse. Today I am completely sick with a cold that moved into my head. I'm just at that generally miserable stage. Again, my hubby has been so good. He built a fire for me, is making dinner under my direction, and will be doing laundry and grocery shopping tonight. I can't get well fast enough, but still looking at the bright side - at least my hubby is good at taking care of me. Hopefully my children will learn from this and eventually be good caretakers too!

Giving Thanks

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I loved sharing the good food and my home with friends and family. I have so much to be thankful for. I am a thankful person and an optimist so this is the perfect time of year for me. I do not claim my life is perfect by any means, but it is wonderful! My mother sent me this that so clearly fits the way I feel:



I AM THANKFUL FOR .....

The partner who hogs the covers every night,
because he is not out with someone else.

The child who is not cleaning his room, but is watching TV,
because that means he is at home and not on the streets.

For the taxes that I pay,
because it means that I am employed.

For the mess to clean after a party,
because it means that I have been surrounded by friends.

For the clothes that fit a little too snug,
because it means I have enough to eat.

For my shadow that watches me work,
because it means I am in the sunshine.

For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing,
because it means I have a home.

For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot,
because it means I am capable of walking and that I have been blessed with transportation.

For my huge heating/cooling bill,
because it means I am warm/refreshed.

For the lady behind me in church that sings off key,
because it means that I can hear.

For the pile of laundry and ironing,
because it means I have clothes to wear.

For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day,
because it means I have been capable of working hard.

For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours,
because it means I am alive.

I know now that Thanksgiving is over, everyone will rush off to start Christmas stuff. I'm frustrated that it started already in the stores and such before Thanksgiving. I believe it is important to celebrate Thanksgiving because it is that spirit that leads right into the Christmas spirit. Many people have a difficult time during the holidays, but if we focus on a spirit of Thanksgiving, maybe we will be more able to go into the Christmas holiday with the right frame of mind and feel better during this time of year.

Sunday

Yesterday was pre-Thanksgiving for us. Our church had Friendship Day, which is one of the biggest days of the year for the church. We invite all kinds of extra people. Our church service included more special music than normal, which I love. After the service we had a Thanksgiving dinner that church members had contributed food for, but a group of people, including me, cook and serve. It was a delicious dinner and I got so full! It does get a little crazy, but I like serving and enjoy the whole event. After dinner, we have the major fundraiser for the year for the youth group. It is a pie auction. People bring pies and we sell them for outrageous amounts. Yesterday we had more pies than normal, around 40 I think, so we used some for dessert, some were sold at a flat rate, some were part of a silent auction, and the rest were sold at the regular auction. The highest amount for one pie yesterday was $110 I think, but in the past we've gone up to $200. The fun of it is in bidding against the people you are friends with in the church. Yesterday my boys were bidding against each other, which was completely silly since we all know what comes to our house gets shared. Then MJ, the oldest, was bidding on a pie that I wanted so M takes the bids from $45 to $75 and MJ upped his bid! So MJ paid $77.50 for the pie I wanted - a pumpkin turtle (a sort of pumpkin cream with caramel and nuts in it - delicious!!). I think we're going to pay for half that pie. M's mom came up and brought some pies for the event including a chocolate pecan that we got one of. We were exhausted after all that at church so came home and just sat around. My parents joined us and we all ate more pie. It was so good. A very good day over all and I'm ready for another Thanksgiving this week.

Therapy

So I have joined the world of blog! When I lived in the islands I heavily depended on e-mail to communicate with my family and friends. I wrote frequently and those I wrote to knew that I used my e-mails almost like a journal and found it very therapeutic to write. I have not done that so much recently. A couple of my friends have started blogging and at the same time my co-worker and I have discussed our need for processing what we see and hear. My work is confidential so I won't be sharing names or anything, but I can share a little of what I do and if I process things other than work, maybe it will help clear my head. I can also (hopefully) keep those who care a little more aware of what is going on in my life.

So that's my plan! Thanks for your participation in my therapy.