30 lashes for a bad blogger!

Hello all! Hope all is well. I know I have been quiet for a while so I thought I would catch everyone up on mi vida loca.

We have all fallen back into a routine. The kids are doing great with school, I can't believe the school year is half over already! Still doing park days on Wednesdays (when we can). so in that respect things are pretty normal.

For those who don't already know, Chad has been dealing with a shoulder injury since sometime around November. We originally thought it was another bout of bursitis (he had that in the other shoulder a few years ago), but recently found out that it is far more serious. He has two tears in his tendons in his shoulder and a bone spur. Long story short, he's going in thursday for surgery to repair it. After which he will be off for a week and on extremely light duty for several months. Needless to say this is going to be a challenge on our finances, patience and faith. But I know that GOD will get us through it, just like he always does!

I am reading a wonderful book called "SIMPLE ABUNDANCE: A DAYBOOK OF COMFORT AND JOY" by Sarah Ban Breathnach. It's all about realizing the blessings already present in your life and finding joy from within rather than focussing only on what you think is missing. I can't get over how something so simple can have such a huge impact on us and the people around us! In the book it says to keep a gratitude journal every day and list at least five things we are grateful for, so here are five of mine for today:

1. A husband who gets up early in the morning with the kiddos when he isn't working, so I can snooze.

2. Children who like to help and do their chores with minimal nagging from me.

3. Raven's laugh

4. Nathan's hugs

5. How cute AJ is when he talks now (He lost his first tooth last week)

That's it for now. Until next time,
Love and hugs,

Mary

Confessions of a blog neglector!!! very long folks, you might want to get a drink and use the bathroom!

I have neglected my blog! :( I know it, I am a bad blog lady! I didn't initially mean to, I guess I just ran into the all too common problem (at least for me anyway) of, "what do you say when you have TOO MUCH to say?!?"

Christmas was nice, a little stressful at first as I had to wait until the paycheck moon fell into my orbit so I could shop. So I was the insane woman at Wal Mart three days before Christmas trying to find the perfect gifts for everyone! I HATE THAT! I love Christmas and actually the whole month of December is my favorite month, but being that stressed out takes the joy out of it and makes it feel like a chore!

My attitude of being stressed and annoyed carried over until the afternoon of Christmas Eve, but magically went away by dinner time. We had a really quiet dinner and just enjoyed being together! After we ate I made hot chocolate and we all played card games. The kids opened one gift each (BIG SURPRISE.....pajamas! ;) ) and then went off to bed. I had the kitchen cleaned up and the cookie candy platters all assembled and ready to hand out by midnight.

Phyllis, Jerry, Charlie and Tasha were coming sometime after eight. That did not stop my eager little monsters from waking us up at 5 AM! We held em off until 6:30 but then realized our efforts for more sleep were a lost cause and rolled out of bed to start coffee. Everyone unwrapped and ooh'd and ahh'd over their gifts (there's five hours of careful and thoughtful shopping for ya!) and then the family showed up with biscuits and gravy (could EASILY become one of my favorite traditions!) We all ate, talked on the phone to family that was far away, put together kids toys, and then the adults all piled into the living room to test drive the NINTENDO WII that Charlie was "babysitting" for a friend, tee hee. VERY ADDICTIVE GAME!!!

I don't think I mentioned that Chad had arranged his vacation to coincide with the kids' winter break. It took him and I both a couple of days to decompress from our nutty schedules and relax but after that we all had some very nice family time. We picked up some board games and the Haryy Potter Scene It, and I realize now that my son is some sort of freaky Harry Potter genius!!!!

Our New Year was quiet, we had just sold the explorer (bittersweet to see it go, it was our first big purchase as a couple- how sentimental am I???) so we ended the year with a little cash in our pockets (hope that is a good sign!). Even so, we laid low on NYE and played games and watched movies till midnight. All but AJ and Nathan were awake to ring in the new year.

Spent the rest of the break the same way, peaceful and relaxed. Did one major shopping trip together to restock the cabinets and went to park day. I know it sounds mundane but I loved it and I honestly think we all needed to just tune out from the everyday grind together. I hope to make it all a tradition!

Money is usually tight and things are far from perfect. But it's nice to remember we are a family and we will always have each other!

Hope 2008 finds everyone surrounded in peace, love and happiness!

love and Hugs
Mary