I had to stop by the mall on the way home from CBS to pick up a package. On a total spur-of-the-moment I asked the kids if they wanted to head in and see Santa. I had five yeses. (Katriel didn’t agree or disagree.)
So we headed in and four of the kids talked to the fella.
Santa gave them each a ducky dressed like a snowman snowduck.
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One Wednesday in December… part 1
I believe this is the twelfth year I have seen the kids sing for their CBS Christmas Program.
My photos stink… Mostly. But I was so blessed to hear them shout praises to Jesus one more year.
Sweet little Hanny. Check out her dress. ♥
In 2008…
The Gospel According to Scrooge
Since September, we have been rehearsing with our church family for a production of The Gospel According to Scrooge.
It was a lot of work, but in the end we were genuinely tickled to be a part of it.
It was a lot of work, but in the end we were genuinely tickled to be a part of it.
I played a townsperson and a caroler. I had a few lines. All the kids were in the school room scene, and Marie was also cast as Jennifer – a friend of the Cratchits. Nigel was cast as a Lad on the Street. But at 4:30 PM the day of dress rehearsal he was asked to step in for the boy who was to be Young Scrooge who had come down with the flu. With two hours to curtains, Nigel demonstrated his love of acting and his penchant for memorizing lines by astonishing everyone involved. Except his siblings and I. God Bless you, Nigel. Use your gift well, son.
This bumped Stewart up to Lad on the Street (a/k/a turkey boy).
This bumped Stewart up to Lad on the Street (a/k/a turkey boy).
Nan sat in the front row of opening night and took many a photo. Almost 200 to be exact. Her photos were with my camera – which she had never picked up before. Her photos are better than the ones taken by planned photographers, IMO. And – I will share a few here.
I must tell you, by production’s end I was VERY TIRED of curlers, bobby pins, hair spray, and the like. My head hurt! 🙂 But it was fun to have glamorous hair for a while. The stage make-up was a little less fun.
This was a “hair rehearsal”.
My first night! Wow – huh?
We saw a LOT of this over the course of the week.
But it was worth it in the end…
Back stage… Well, really, under the stage. Church building, ya know.
Okay – so this last one isn’t exactly this…
A funny thing happened on the way to a bedroom carpet…
After the deck was finished this fall, I had no new projects up my sleeve. I figured that John had worked so hard on the deck that I would still my tongue and let the dude enjoy some much needed R-and-R. At most I hoped maybe he’d put a door on the laundry room sometime this year. The Next Project was actually going to be a Stacy-Project: painting the master bedroom and getting rid of the old carpet.
We’re keeping the carpet.
Oh – it started out SOOOOOOOO innocently, as John looked at our 31 year old stove one evening and asked, “Do you think we should tackle the stove now while it’s our idea, instead of waiting until it dies and being forced to do something about it?” I concurred that sounded perfectly logical.
Our faucet was also leaking abundantly. He couldn’t do a quick fix on that (he’d tried twice) and knew he’d have to rip out the whole faucet. And everyone gets a new countertop, sink, and stove when they get a new faucet, right?
Two months and a bunch-o-dollars later – we have a kitchen update.
Here is the BEFORE picture. Enjoy it. I rarely take BEFORE pictures.
What you can’t totally see is that the stove is built in. Now – why didn’t you just buy another built in stove? (Oh WHY WHY WHY not?)
They are really expensive. (She moans to herself.)
They are really expensive. (She moans to herself.)
I ordered a new stove online. How did I know exactly what size to buy? Because I laid mirrors on the floor under the stove and measured with a measuring tape. Do you know the first stove we bought in 1997 was $300. They aren’t $300 anymore. Just sayin.’
See that extra almost-an-inch of empty space? See the DIRT? LOL.
Meanwhile, I also squeezed in a visit to Home Depot where I found out there are more options for kitchen counters than there ever needed to be. I had done all my measurements and used an online tool to estimate the cost of the counter. Except I was wrong with what we’d choose. I figured we would choose some lovely solid surface counter. But no. Not when the granite and quartz are On Sale. The granite choices were all rather dark, while quartz has lots of light colored options. I truly didn’t care. And oh – by the way – the sale ends tomorrow night at 8PM. Sigh. So my mom generously offered to come over Sunday after dinner allowing John and I to go down there to order a counter. I took him because I couldn’t pick. It was silly how many choices there were. Does there really need to be? So – this is what he chose. I liked it.
The man who wrote up our quote kept getting it wrong. I knew because I’d measured at home before. No matter – they’d figure out when the counter people came to measure that we would owe more.
The man who wrote up our quote kept getting it wrong. I knew because I’d measured at home before. No matter – they’d figure out when the counter people came to measure that we would owe more.
So – we figured the first step was for John to pull out the old stove and cut away the counter in back and the trim wood up front.
This step went exceedingly well. We were joyous to find that the stove was NOT hard-wired in, but in fact a lovely outlet lay there just ready to accept a new stove. This was the first and last smooth piece of the project.
This step went exceedingly well. We were joyous to find that the stove was NOT hard-wired in, but in fact a lovely outlet lay there just ready to accept a new stove. This was the first and last smooth piece of the project.
Because our God is SO good, we didn’t immediately take the stove to the curb. The Holy Spirit must have been leading John wonderfully that day, because John was prompted to just put the stove in the garage. Johanna and Tabitha enjoyed playing on it with sand toys.
Then – our new stove arrived. Ta da. Isn’t it pretty.
It seems perfectly normal to know that the first time I tried to cook a meal on it I was sobbing because I’d made such a big mistake. I could barely fit our big pots on it. I couldn’t use the back at all while I was cooking on the front. And – oh yeah – now our microwave wouldn’t work.
I couldn’t imagine cooking on it for years to come. We were stuck. Oh stupid me.
But wait – SEARS rocks. SEARS will not only let you return a Major Appliance. They will come and pick it up for free. No restock fee. No fine for wasting their time. Nothing. Yeah SEARS.
But wait – SEARS rocks. SEARS will not only let you return a Major Appliance. They will come and pick it up for free. No restock fee. No fine for wasting their time. Nothing. Yeah SEARS.
I wish we could have purchased the next stove from them, but alas. The one we now wanted was not available through SEARS until 12/26. We had to order through Home Depot.
Someone from the countertop company (Home Depot contracts with) came out and measured and sure enough, we owed more.
So – I left for my cruise expecting my family to have the old stove removed and the new stove brought in.
Except Buffalo got All That Snow, and they couldn’t deliver the new stove. So John went out to the garage, vacuumed out the sand, and jerry-rigged the old stove in place so that they could eat.
Finally the new stove arrived. Have I yet mentioned that I don’t like stainless steel? No matter. It was on sale and I can handle that.
I’m a bit worried about all the techo-pieces of the control panel. I predict a blog entry about that. What you won’t find is a blog entry about how they delivered it with a dent just before Thanksgiving and when John called the following Monday Home Depot tried to get out of fixing it because we didn’t call within 48 hours. It was completely lost on them that if they don’t answer the phone it isn’t our fault. (Five weeks later it was finally taken care of.) Shall I mention now that stoves don’t cost $300 anymore? In fact, this one was more than $300 more than the white one. Ack.
I’m a bit worried about all the techo-pieces of the control panel. I predict a blog entry about that. What you won’t find is a blog entry about how they delivered it with a dent just before Thanksgiving and when John called the following Monday Home Depot tried to get out of fixing it because we didn’t call within 48 hours. It was completely lost on them that if they don’t answer the phone it isn’t our fault. (Five weeks later it was finally taken care of.) Shall I mention now that stoves don’t cost $300 anymore? In fact, this one was more than $300 more than the white one. Ack.
Then – no sooner than we finished the Scrooge play it was TIME FOR THE COUNTER.
We moved our kitchen to the laundry room. OSHA wouldn’t love the bleach next to the crock-pot, I know. (Thanks, Tara.)
We moved our kitchen to the laundry room. OSHA wouldn’t love the bleach next to the crock-pot, I know. (Thanks, Tara.)
For the next 24 hours we sometimes had water and sometimes did not. Mostly did not.
I’ll spare you some miserable stories about dishwasher pipes cracking and water leaks.
Like our kitchen?
We had originally contemplated doing the work ourselves, but a few YouTube videos of counter installations showed us we’d quickly use up whatever money we saved in buying new tools. And that was when we were looking up solid surface counters. We never saw one of these things on YouTube. Some suction contraption.
And now – it is done.
Here – let me put before and after right next to each other again.
See how it LOOKS ALMOST THE SAME? Isn’t that FUNNY? All that money and effort and it LOOKS THE SAME.
At least the faucet doesn’t leak anymore.
The End.
Random little sister shots
This book was so good it followed her to the table…
I thought they didn’t do that until they were 9.
I thought they didn’t do that until they were 9.
She is an Egyptian. (My kids have fascinations with Egyptians.)
And markers.
She did this two days in a row.
Oy.
She did this two days in a row.
Oy.
She was helping me with the laundry.
Whoa is her. She is a REDCOAT. Get it? And her brother – GEORGE WASHINGTON caught her.
She plays the wounded soldier oh-so-passionately, does she not?
She plays the wounded soldier oh-so-passionately, does she not?
We found a snowsuit.
We found some mittens.
We found some boots.
We didn’t take her out long enough…
Tears immediately followed this shot.
Daddy took her back out.
We found some mittens.
We found some boots.
We didn’t take her out long enough…
Tears immediately followed this shot.
Daddy took her back out.
A very merry non-birthday
My birthday fell in a Very Busy Week. Actually, it was the beginning of the second week of three Very Busy Weeks in a row.
So I cancelled it.
I appreciate very much that my family wants to celebrate my birthday, but the logistics of a big dinner one night just was as far from practical as gifting a chicken a bicycle. So we dropped it.
So I cancelled it.
I appreciate very much that my family wants to celebrate my birthday, but the logistics of a big dinner one night just was as far from practical as gifting a chicken a bicycle. So we dropped it.
But that didn’t keep my family from blessing me and my mom from finding a way to let the kids enjoy my day. Because frankly, at my age (ahem), it’s more about them having fun than me, anyway.
This gift was made while I was on my cruise. My family (including my mom and sister) was invited for dinner at the home of some very dear friends. While they were all there, their hosts shared this very creative idea with my family and they all worked together to make this GORGEOUS bouquet. (Can you see all the traced hands, cupcake papers, and photos? And there is something sweet written on the back of each one!!!)
My mom also made cupcakes and had the girls help her frost and decorate them while I was doing school upstairs. She also brought all the stuff for making sub sandwiches, and cheetos, and cider for a yummy lunch.
And we topped off the day with an orthodontist consult for Marie… 🙂
Portraits of a Mom
December 1st, we had to take Stewart back to the eye doctor. Tabitha and Johanna had to come with me. Tab brought some paper and crayons and Johanna decided to entertain herself drawing pictures of Mommy.
When you are done laughing you can read the rest of this.
The first image is pretty fascinating to me insomuch as that yellow ladder type thing on the left is, in fact, not hair. When I asked her what it was she demurred. But then her eyes went down and to her right, and I followed them. There was a plant on the floor. It was something like a potted palm plant, or bamboo plant. It’s stalks were yellowish-green and striped.
The second image is me being hungry for my birthday cake.
I was VERY relieved by her explanation. VERY RELIEVED.
Golly I love this little lamb.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree…
With our artificial trees aging and appearing more and more dilapidated, we just could not bring ourselves to dragging the old things out of the basement this year. I don’t care for pre-lit trees which are all the rage in the stores these days, and I wasn’t eager to “shop around” with our days being as busy as they seem to be these days.
We decided to do something “crazy” and go for a real tree.
I sent out an email to many friends seeking information on purchasing a real tree, and we got quite a bit of responses!
We’d heard on the radio that 80% of the people who put up Christmas trees each year go with artificial. I have to say that well over 50% of the people I asked sung the praises of real trees.
I sent out an email to many friends seeking information on purchasing a real tree, and we got quite a bit of responses!
We’d heard on the radio that 80% of the people who put up Christmas trees each year go with artificial. I have to say that well over 50% of the people I asked sung the praises of real trees.
We ended up at Wilbert’s because we’d been to their live nativity scene so many years John felt like we should go back there. So go back we did. Sunday night. In the dark. With two piddley flashlights and an iPhone bulb. We trekked around far longer than sane people should do in the dark and never found the Austrian Pine we were after. Now – they DID have an Austrian Pine all cut and ready to go for $30, but it wouldn’t be FUN to just take that one. Not when they have SAWS you can use and wagon-like-things you can drag around in the dark. We wandered further and further from the lights of the sales area, and I began looking for lamp posts and talking beavers.
After about 40 minutes of taking turns carrying Katriel (who decided it would be fun to poke around my face in the dark naming facial parts) and Johanna, (who was “fweezing”), we found something green and tree-like. As our batteries started to fade, we deemed that it was indeed the PERFECT TREE for our home thank-you-very-much and the kids took turns sawing. After what seemed like a LONG time, we hear Nigel say, “Whoa Marie, stop!” (They were each on a side.) “It’s half-way through; save some for Tabitha to do.” John then looked and the blade wasn’t even buried in the trunk. What can I tell you… they were doing it by penlight.
There will be memories. I’ll make sure no one forgets…
I forgot the real camera. So there won’t be good photos. But Nigel told my mom proudly today that he is 5’3″. She was pretty impressed to hear he clocked in at that number, until I mentioned that he measured himself against a candy cane.
The kids didn’t even get candy canes to eat on the way home because they’d run out by 6:30 P.M. on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend. Go figure. But that is how we roll.
We learned a lot. We remembered to take the online coupon and get a tree bag. That would be really fabulous if we’d remembered to put it under the tree. Either the first time we put it in, or after we’d taken it out to make adjustments. We also don’t plan to see the cats for the next 30 days. (I can live with that.)
It really is a pretty tree. And it looks quite elegant in the living room. Maybe looking in the dark is the way to go?
It took three more days and cancelled afternoon school to get it decorated. I also had to cancel my birthday to get the house decorated.
Overall I like it…. but what I don’t like is how all the ornaments keep falling off the tree.
Oh – and get this – AFTER we decorate it with a hodge podge of stuff, the kids mention to me how they would like to see it decorated ELEGANTLY. Really? Um, your mom can do elegant… I just haven’t had the chance in the last dozen years!
Thanksgiving 2014
Thanksgiving Day, I worked a day-shift. Much of the food was prepared the day before, and John did the turkey during the day.
We were joined by my mom, my sister, my Aunt Betty, my Aunt Jackie, and my cousin David.
There was only a bit of after dinner shopping.
Because we had to leave time for rides in Uncle Dave’s wheelchair…
And Christmas Gift exchange.
Being the resident 4-and-a-half-year-old, Johanna exuded that special kind of joy that comes from getting presents. 
If she were any happier she’d break her face.
This dolly sings Itsy-Bitsy-Spider. Over and over again.
It was a great evening. 🙂
Dayspring Disciples 