Birthday Party For Jesus

Last night was the last night of Cubbies before Christmas. Therefore we had a "Birthday Party For Jesus". I was able to use all the balloons we had blown up earlier in the week to help decorate our Cubbies room. We were thankful that it was not snowing and we had a full group of Cubbies for our party. It was a fun to do something special with the Cubbies while teaching them what Christmas is all about.

School Days

Things are winding down here as the kids start theirs school their Christmas break tomorrow. Yesterday Ruth finished her English class and either tomorrow or Monday she will finish her anatomy course. Therefore after Christmas break she will only be working on her math course. I figured I needed to get into the school and take a few pictures of the school year since it is soon over for Ruth. I told the kids to look EXCITED in the pictures. (How did they do?) Titus has really been enjoying his school year. He is in class with his best friend Jake. They get along so well and enjoying hanging out together.

Party Time

Last night we had our Training Center Christmas party. In years past we have had one big get together but this year we decided to do something a little different. There were four staff homes open for the Christmas party. All of our students and the staff were divided up into one of the four homes. After connecting with everyone at that house the students were able to hop over to another house for more food and fellowship. Each home had snacks available to munch on. At our place we played a couple of games throughout the evening. We enjoyed a great time with everyone who popped in.

12 Days And Counting

Last night Ruth and I hosted a baby shower for Kristina. We had quite the sea of balloons that we decorated with, thanks to the lungs of Zachary and Titus. There was a wonderful group of ladies that came out to show their love and support to Kristina. Only 12 more days to go before that precious little one arrives. I know only too well, since I was late with my babies, that a due date means nothing. However, we are all quite excited to meet him or her. Please pray for a safe delivery and a healthy little baby.

Blow Out

On Sunday mornings we usually take a couple of vehicles to church as some of us go early or stay longer then others. Vern and three of the kids were driving home from church yesterday when they all of a sudden felt a crazy pull on the one side of the car. It didn’t take long for Vern to realize that he had a flat tire. He pulled off the road which just happened to be at the Kingdom Hall. Vern tried with no success to get the spare tire from under the van. There was no way that thing was going to come down so he went inside to see if he could use a phone but their service was still going on. Therefore Ruth and Vern went knocking on doors of neighbors trying to see if they could use a phone. They had no luck there and so they headed back to Kingdom Hall. By that time, their service was over and someone helped Vern make some phone calls. He tried to get a hold of me as I was still at church but he had no luck with that. Then he tried to get a hold of his brother but no answer there. Then he called Caleb, and thankfully he was home. Caleb drove out to pick up the family. Then Vern and Caleb picked up an all season tire that was in storage and headed back to the van to change the tire. So it was an eventful morning. Ruth ended up being late for work and she said it took at least 45 minutes to get the chill out of her bones. It just happened to be a VERY cold day yesterday. Vern went to the tire shop and was able to pick up the very last snow tire that they had in stock. So we are up and running again and the family is hoping we don’t get any more flat tires in the dead of winter again.

Mother Nature's Early Morning Exercise

Mother Nature has been very kind and gracious in allowing us to get some early morning exercise. Although I have done some early morning shoveling Vern is usually the person up and out the door while I enjoy my early morning bike exercise inside. This morning it was a bit chilly out there. I think Zachary will be glad when winter is over and he doesn't have to hear his mom say, "Be careful out there on the roads, it could be slick." Although the snow is beautiful, I really don't mind if we have a GREEN Christmas.

Another Year Older, Another Year Grayer

Tonight is the end of an awesome day. Although I did turn another year older and grayer my family and friends made it a very special day. I started off the day by receiving a special birthday message over the radio from my daughter. Then received four long distant phone calls from special people in my life, and I also received a couple of special surprise packages, and many email notes. Seth and Vern made an incredible supper for the family. I also got my first ever professional massage. And my children got together and bought me Wii Fit. That is something I have been wanting to try out to keep in shape during the LONG winter months. I am blessed with some pretty amazing family and friends. THANKS FOR MAKING MY DAY VERY SPECIAL!

Back In The Hot Seat

Yesterday came all too soon and I was back in the Hot Seat again. This time things were a bit more intense with the whole root canal process. I am wondering if I will ever be able to eat on the left side of my mouth again. I do have a LOT of trouble with my teeth so I am thinking dentures really doesn't sound too bad, does it? I actually have one more visit yet, to be done with this thing. What a process!

Senior Sneak

Yesterday Ruth and I went on her "Senior Sneak". Since she is the only graduate this year there were no other class mates to go with so I came along. We went to a mall that is a couple of hours away. We had a very nice lunch together and then we hit the stores. The trip would not have been complete for Ruth without stopping at Booster Juice, Ruth's favorite fruit smoothie place. (The closest one from our home is over an hour away.) We didn't know if we would actually be able to make it since a big snow storm was moving in. Although we hit some weather it wasn't bad. The trip was made more interesting since Caleb and Seth had programed our GPS in Spanish. Although I know Spanish, when I am on the middle of a very busy express way, I really didn't enjoy directions coming at me in Spanish. However, "Rosa" was a help and we are glad we had her along.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

This year it took a couple of days to get the tree up and decorated. Since coming back to North America it has been our family tradition to put the tree up the day after Thanksgiving. However this year we celebrated American Thanksgiving a day late. Therefore on Thanksgiving while we were at Awana Vern and Seth put the tree up and put the lights on. Then yesterday we finally got to decorating the tree. It has been years since all the kids have been home to decorate so it went by amazingly quick and the next thing I knew we were all sitting around enjoying our special snack.