Rest in Peace, Bingo

Little Brother's green parakeet passed away. It was a sad day but we tried to remember the happy times like when he would take a bath and there would be water everywhere, that he loved to eat blackberries (and then he needed a bath) and how he would always try to talk louder than I was when I was reading. We'll miss you Bingo.

Happy New Year, Happy Birthday and Happy Blue Moon!

We celebrated with Chinese take out and lots of candles. We wrote our annual lists: how God answered our prayers in 2009, the top events of 2009, the things we are thankful for in 2009 and the saddest events of 2009. We conclude with the list of things we are hopeful for in 2010. Since Daddy was traveling to Florida and then straight to SD and would not be home for my birthday we had Boston Creme Pie and celebrated my 43rd birthday. December 31st was also the second full moon in December, making it a Blue Moon. Do you know the phrase " Once in a Blue Moon"? Well, now you know where it comes from. A Blue Moon is a rare occurrence, add in that it happened on New Years Eve and it is even rarer. In addition, in some places, there was a partial eclipse of the moon as well.

Gramma

and Grampa left New Years Eve morning so they could get off the road before nightfall. They headed south to IA to visit friends and to stay ahead of the frigid temps and later snow. We will miss them! It was great fun to get to see them twice in as many months.

Grampa and His Grandchildren

USS Constitution

New Office

While Gramma and Grampa were here I spent a couple of days in SD with Daddy. He recruited me to help him move into his new office and organize some of his stuff. While we were there I got a tour of the egg plant, we went out to lunch with a friend and his wife, and I looked at a house for sale.

Indoor Archery Range

One afternoon Daddy, Grampa and the boys headed to the archery range for a bit of shooting.

Railroad Plow

There hadn't been a train by since the beginning of the snowstorm. I figured when one did come by it would have a plow. I had seen them last winter but never got a picture. I started to listen for the whistle and when I heard it I grabbed my camera.

Playing in the Snow

Bringing in Wood

Frozen Fog

Still Deeper.

Christmas Dinner

My Christmas Present

from my boys was a coffee table they made. In the scout store in Wilmington, NC they had this coffee table that I admired and even took a picture of before we moved. The boys used that photo and found materials and created me a coffee table like the one I coveted. They even brought home bags of sand, shells, stones, driftwood and sea grass from our trip to the beach. Yes, I cried. No, I had not a clue.

Slippers

At the beach in November my sister got a pair of mammoths (crocs with a fleece lining). Daddy looked at those and said they'd make great slippers, comfortable and warm. One day Crocs was having a great sale and I got these Cowboy mammoths for $19 a pair! I have a pair too, not that I'm a huge fan or anything but I love a great bargain!

And deeper still.

Gifts

From us, the children each get three gifts, aside from their stockings. J - this gift helps them focus on Jesus, a devotional, a Bible, or music. O - this gift is to be shared with Others, this year it was a couple of parts for the Wii. And Y - this gift is for you. Baby got a RC jeep which he calls a meep with a wemote. Little Sister got a guitar. Big Sister received a drop spindle and wool. Little Brother obviously got snowshoes and Big Brother got a frame for his RC heli.

Christmas Morning

Merry Christmas!

We put the children's stockings on their beds after they go to sleep. They are allowed to wake us up at 7:30. They plan and plot as to when they will wake each other up and when they will wake Gramma and Grampa up. I heard the girls around 3 am, and quickly told them they had to go back to sleep. I was up at 7, stirred the fire, fed the dogs and put the quiches in the oven. Daddy read to us from Luke 1 and 2. Then we go through the stockings and eat the candy : ) Then we make the cinnamon rolls and fruit salad while the quiches finish cooking. YUM!