Let the Countdown Begin

Tomorrow is December. I'm ready to buy a tree and break out the decorations. I've been debating whether I should wait for Nathan to come home for this grand event, or just take care of it myself. The truth is, while he enjoys the decorations once they're up, he doesn't like the process-- the hauling out boxes and moving stuff around. However, I don't think I want to have to shop for, haul, saw and put up the tree alone. Wednesday isn't that far away. Maybe I'll look for our advent calendars and leave the rest until he gets here.



Today I'm grateful to be feeling a little better. My cold turned into a sinus infection, and I haven't felt like doing much all weekend. Yesterday I went to the clinic and got a prescription. We stayed home from church because I'm sick, Josie's sick, and now Ethan is coughing. I figured the branch didn't want to catch our colds.



I rented a pile of movies for my kids this weekend, so they would feel like it was a holiday instead of just a really long weekend. They are watching a Christmas movie right now. I just want to be well, so I can enjoy all the preparations for Christmas-- making candy, wrapping gifts, planning my branch Christmas party (in a week and a half), finishing up our shopping. This year, I'm ready for the holiday cheer. I need it.

Family Thanksgiving

I guess you could say our Thanksgiving was kind of a bummer this year. Nathan's shift started on Thanksgiving day, so we couldn't travel to see our families. We went last weekend, but we didn't do a Thanksgiving feast. We just visited. Still, I wanted it to feel like Thanksgiving, so I bought a small turkey breast and baked it Wednesday while the kids were in school. We had Thanksgiving dinner on a much smaller scale, but I was so grateful to sit around the table with my family and talk about all the blessings we are thankful for. I took one snapshot of the small event. The kids insisted on lit candles, and Josie was trying to blow them from her seat. You'll notice the folding chairs. When I bought my table the store didn't have the chairs that I wanted, and I've never gotten back to buy my chairs. We actually borrowed the folding chairs. If nothing else, this little meal made me determined to buy my chairs. I want us to sit like this every night, instead of having the kids at the bar and Nathan and I at the table with Josie.

Stop Ignoring Me!

Blog: You've been ignoring me.

Michelle: I've been busy, you know.

Blog: Not too busy to check your email and your facebook wall.

Michelle: I'm not ignoring you. I just need time to take care of you properly. Besides, I lost the cord that connects the camera to the laptop.

Blog: (sniff) But you found it, and you're still ignoring me.

Michelle: It's not you I'm mad at. It's the laptop. It's not charging the battery properly.

Blog: You said you'd take care of me!!

Michelle: All right, all right. I'll catch up. Read on..............................

Blog: What about Thanksgiving?
Michelle: I'll post about that tomorrow!

"My" Christmas Present

This past weekend, we went to Washington to pick up "my" Christmas present. Nathan's been saying for more than a year that he was going to buy me one. Well, this year he actally did it. (For the record, I asked for a wheat grinder.) Here he is with Ethan the morning were going to take it out for a spin.

That's Nate's four-wheeler that Ethan is sitting on. The funniest thing is that Nathan's is a 700, so what did he buy me? An 800. I was having flashbacks of my parents setting me loose on a green-broke mustang when I was twelve-- way more power than I could handle. Here I am, all bundled up before our ride. Brrrr. It was cold. I thought four-wheeling was a summer sport. Nathan disagrees. Let's head for Moab, baby!

Here Comes Trouble

Josie has been such a sweet baby. I called my husband all teary last week because I can't stand the thought of my sweet little girl turning into a terrible toddler. She's walking now and up to lots of mischief. It's not the mischief that I dread so much as the tantrums, the beginning of disobedience, the pulling away when I want to cuddle her. It makes me sad, but you have to laugh at the stuff they do, or it will very likely drive you insane. So, I thought I'd share some of Josie's antics the past week.

I went to get her up from her nap, and she had this in her hand. See her "smile" for the camera. Oh, yeah. She knows when she's naughty.She'd pulled off her sweatpants and diaper. Here is a better view.
Good thing she wasn't poopie. Then, we went to visit Grandma. I woke up the next morning to find that Dad had gotten Josie up, then he went outside to unload his four-wheeler. Josie got this bag of chips out of the trash and had a very nutritious breakfast.
Grandma's house is loads of fun! Josie loved playing the piano.
Even when we covered the keys, she enjoyed it.
Poor Grandma. All her books and pictures were rearranged before we caught the little monster in the act.
Then JoJo found this beautiful wig to wear....

And got laughs from everyone, herself included.She found a sparkly pair of heals that she just HAD to try. She walked amazingly well in them. Grandma made play-dough, hoping to keep the kids entertained. Josie climbed on the table and wanted ALL the play-dough.
Back home again, I heard splashing. Does anyone else's bathroom look like this?
What you can't see is the bottle of lotion in the toilet. Who do you think did that?That's right, our little angel. Look at that grin. Don't tell me-- it's just the beginning. Here comes trouble!

Looking Good!

I'm very grateful for all of you that expressed your well wishes for Ethan. I just had to show you the new photos. Remember this is what he looked like the day after he was bitten by the dog.

The last of the stitches and the scab from plastic surgery fell off this past weekend. Here is how his lip looks now.

It is SO much better! It's not perfect, but it's only been two weeks since the attack. I'm sure the scar will continue to fade. Best of all....

...he can finally smile again. Oh, how we missed that smile.

More Good News

The last of the scab & stitches fell off Ethan's lip today. It looks so good! I can't wait to post a photo. I'd take one with my camera phone and email it to myself, but it doesn't zoom very well, so you'll have to wait a day or so until I get home and find my cord.



In other news, my sister-in-law enrolled me in a Facebook account. She said I really needed to be on Facebook. As I was going through the photos on my computer, I realized there aren't any good ones of me that I want to post for people I haven't seen in fifteen years to look at. Yikes! I'm so worried everyone will look at me and say, "Wow, she's really gone downhill since high school." So, at the moment, my Facebook profile picture is the absent shadow. Just call me Michelle the Mystery. No one can see me until I find a decent picture. :)