I’m still alive, but it’s back to bullet points:

• We were in Pennsylvania over Thanksgiving to spend some time with Conrad’s family.  We also celebrated Christmas while we were there.  GREAT time together.
• I am up to my eyeballs in Usborne Books.
• I am still taking two classes at the gym.  I hate jumping jacks.  When the instructor says anything about jumping jacks, I want to curl up into the fetal position and cry.  Right there on the gym floor.  Did you know that in addition to jumping jacks, there are super jacks, power jacks, and one-arm jacks?  Yup.  I hate them all.  And if your name is Jack, I don’t like you right now either.
• I am watching my 13 month old nephew today while my sister spends her day as a substitute teacher.  I love  that little guy!
• Christmas just keeps getting closer and I just keep chillin’ out because I’m done, done, done with my shopping!  I am still planning to do some baking but that’s the easy part.
• I’ve got a hot date with my husband tonight.  Dinner and a movie and maybe we’ll look at a new video camera. . .that’s what we’re hoping to purchase for Christmas this year.  If you’ve got any great advice for us when it comes to cameras, we’ll take it!
• B and L have been coming home from school with stories of girls not talking to them because somebody is mad at somebody else and so now they’re not talking and somebody isn’t friends with them anymore and on and on and on. . .It’s like I’ve always said:  If you get enough women together, there’s bound to be drama at some point.  I just didn’t think it started this early.
• Off to chase down Conner.  Having a one year old around is a lot of work!  Can you imagine that I used to have two one-year olds to chase around??  I think I’ve blocked out most of that stage of my life. . .I just have general memories of utter exhaustion.

Don’t hate me because I’m organized.  Haha.  Okay, that was funny.  I’m not normally this ahead of the game when it comes to Christmas preparations, but this year I’m trying really hard to focus more on Jesus and less on the craziness and stress that comes with the holiday season.  Believe it or not, my shopping is done!!

And to make it even more sickening, our tree is up and our house is decorated! And that means I get to just sit back and enjoy this time of year without the added stress.  I have already spent one evening wrapping gifts, sipping peppermint tea and listening to soothing Christmas music.  Love it!

I took a few pictures of some of my favorite Christmas decorations:

This is my all time favorite Christmas item (I’m having a hard time categorizing it as a decoration).  My friend Hayley gave it to us as a wedding gift.  I loved it then and I love it still.  Too bad I’m such a horrible photographer.  If I was any good at taking pictures, you would see the detail in this piece is amazing.  Take my word for it; it’s all around lovely:

Why hang stockings when you can hang mittens?

These mittens are made out of sweaters we bought at a Goodwill.  With a little supervision from my mother, The Amazing Seamstress, I made them all by myself.  I am extraordinarily proud of that fact.  If you know anything about my sewing skills (or lack thereof) you understand.

We bought a new nativity set last year at Christmas.   I love this one for its rustic features and for the “dirtiness” of the stable.  I can almost smell the manure that must have been present that first Christmas night!

The girls keep asking why Jesus is laying on a dirty blanket.  I tell them it’s probably quite realistic that it was dirty, if there was a blanket at all.

And finally, this little guy just makes me smile!

And just in case you think I really am organized, let me just be real for a moment.  I am sitting in our office as I write this.  When I look around, here’s what I see:  The Jungle Book dvd, a pair of shoes, a pair of socks, a bottle of peroxide, scissors, craft paper, rubber stamps, a plastic gorilla, 2 coffee filters, Minnie Mouse, a scarecrow hat, a marker, a pair of sunglasses, 5 q-tips, and various papers that should be in the trash but instead are scattered throughout the room.  And that’s just in this room.  The rest of my house has been declared a national disaster and is completely inaccessible by foot.  I need military assistance to bring it back under control.  I’ll let you know how that goes.

I am an optician.  I love my job.  But every now and then, something stressful happens and it makes me a little crazy. and jittery. and twitchy.

Two years ago, a patient walked in our office to pick up her new glasses.  I got them all adjusted, made sure she could see okay, and complimented her on how nice they looked.  She was all ready to go and she said, “Oh, before I leave, do you mind straightening up my old glasses?”  Sure, no problem.

I took her old glasses, heated them up, went to do a slight adjustment and felt a pop.  I looked down and her glasses were broken in half.  Ugghh.  It’s a sickening feeling.

Now, breaking glasses used to be part of my life on a fairly regular basis.  When you spend a good part of your day straightening, repairing, or tweaking a  pair of glasses, you’re bound to have a few snap.  Well.  I’ve gotten better over the years and I rarely break glasses anymore.  In fact the last time I broke a pair of glasses was in the story I just told you about.

Fast forward two years.  The SAME PATIENT walked in the door to pick up her new glasses.  The temple needed some adjusting, so I walked back to my tools, heated the frame, and . .

(You’re all cringing because you can feel this coming, I know)

snapped the temple in half!  I am not joking!  I uttered a four letter word (did you know pastor’s wives do that every now and then? I think I’m allowed something like two 4-letter words a year, after that I’m not sure what happens.  I’ll have to dig out my theology books), felt my face get bright red and then turned to face the patient.  How do you explain that to somebody??

Well, I was half laughing- despite my great embarrassment- and when I told her what happened she started laughing too.  When I was convinced that she was being a good sport about it,   I explained to her that breaking her glasses two times (and no one else’s in between) was clearly all her fault because she was bad luck to me and well, what other explanation is there?  The crazy thing is that she made her way to the front desk to pay the rest of her bill and as her receipt was being printed the printer stopped working!

Crazy.   It gave us all a good laugh but I’ll be surprised if that dear patient lets me anywhere near her glasses again!  Can’t say I blame her.

I spent the weekend in Gatlinburg, TN with a group of women from our church. We had a great time!  The scenery was gorgeous, the shopping was plentiful, the coffee flowed freely, and the laughter was refreshing.  I loved it!  I missed Conrad and the girls, though, and I was very happy to get back home and spend some time with them.

I was greeted by this letter from Bryn:

Dear Mommy,

I missed you when you whent on that trip.  You should of ben home.  We went to Dragon Buffet!  Then we went swimming!  We had lots of fun!

Your child,

Bryn

I’m not sure if that was her attempt at making me feel guilty or not.  The reality is I don’t feel a bit guilty about it, and I’m really ok that they went to Dragon Buffet without me (a local Chinese food buffet that totally grosses me out, but Conrad and the girls love it).

On another note, the mountains of TN are gorgeous, no question about it.  But I grew up in Michigan where the land is flat, the miles are square and the driving is easy.  But, this weekend, I drove my mini-van around some treacherous turns on steep, narrow roads, and well, I didn’t really like it.   Roads like that make my armpits sweat.  I’m discovering that I need my flatland scenery close-by at all times.  Just keepin’ it real.

Even though Conrad did a great job at keeping the household running, there were still a lot of things waiting for my when I got home.  The laundry is underway, school papers have been sorted through, and the kitchen is restocked.   So it’s back to reality. . .it felt good to escape it for a few days, but it feels good to be back too!

B and L decided they wanted to be salt and pepper shakers for Halloween.  Isn’t that great?  It was totally their idea and I was sold on it from the first time they mentioned it.  A quick trip to the craft dept. at Wal-Mart, a few bucks, and one evening later, here they are:

Here’s a closer look at their “lids” an upside down tupperware bowl with a 10 inch cardboard circle on top, some metallic fabric, and black paper dots.

We thought long and hard about what Ellie should be and finally decided that she should fit into the theme somehow.   We considered another spice, then we brainstormed about what we put salt and pepper on, and came up with this:

Isn’t that the cutest little ear of corn you’ve ever seen???  Darling.  The tassles made me laugh so hard.

Ready to hit the street for some trick-or-treating:

Our neighbors loved them!

Here we are walking down our street.  I like to hand out candy too, but since we aren’t home, I bring it with us and hand it out to kids on the street.  That’s what that crate is under my arm, in case anyone wondered about that.  That crate is part of a set of 3 nesting crates that my dad hand made for me.  I will sell you the set for $7.4 million.  Just email if you’re interested.

And one more of my sweet baby corn on the cob.  Cute, I tell you, CUTE!

In other news, the Phillies are playing in the World Series which means my husband is a happy guy.  I just heard the National Anthem playing so I’m off to chill out on the couch and watch some baseball!

I promise I will update soon (you’re all waiting with bated breath, I know), but in the meantime, I was inspired by this blog entry.  I’m not even sure how I stumbled across her blog, but her story of conversion from Atheism to Catholicism is an interesting one.  Enjoy!

Okay.  So I just got back from the Fall Festival held at B and L’s elementary school.  It’s a sweet little event that The Mother’s Club puts on every year:  cotton candy, games, hot dogs and lemonade, etc.  It’s nothing major, but the girls really enjoy it and we enjoy the opportunity to meet other parents.  The event takes place in the (very tiny) gym and to say it gets crowded is an understatement.

I helped the girls get their food and we were looking for a place to sit.  The only open seats were at a table on the opposite side of the room.  As soon as I got there, I figured out why they were open:  someone had put their sweatshirt across the bench in an effort to “save” those seats.  Well, the food line was huge, the gym was packed and there was no other place to sit.  So I looked around, shrugged my shoulders, and moved the sweatshirt out of the way so my children could sit down to eat.

About 3 minutes later I heard a booming voice behind me say, “Hey, I thought there was a sweatshirt there!”  I turned around and found my self face-to-face (actually I think it was more like my face to his left nipple) with a guy who was HUGE.  I’m saying he was probably a linebacker in his earlier days.  His head was completely shaved and he growled at me.  I think.   I’ve been trying to think of the right word to describe him and I just can’t come up with it.  Certainly not ‘gentleman’ or even ‘dude’.   No.  I think I’m gonna go with ‘thug’.  T.H.U.G.  Thug.  Yep, that’s it.  And he had a New Jersey accent, only we live in Ohio, so the whole thing didn’t make sense.  Amazing what goes through your mind as your life flashes before your eyes.  Anyway, in a voice that was so calm even I was impressed, I said, “Yes, there was a sweatshirt there, but I moved it so my children could sit down.”   Then he said, “Well, it was MINE!”  And  I handed it to him and said, “Can I help you find another seat?” then I calmly gestured to the bench behind him that had just opened up (Did I hear a hallelujah??).

Well, apparently, he didn’t want those seats.  He said, “I had this sweatshirt there because I was saving the seats.”  And I said, “In a room this packed, with a line that long, saving seats is really quite rude and inconsiderate of you.”  And my voice did not quiver one bit.  Not even one tiny bit.  I remember thinking to myself, “This guy is a jerk”  and “I can’t wait to tell my sister about this.”

And then he got mad.  He started to clench and unclench his fists (you might think I’m exaggerating, but I promise you I’m not!).  I looked over to Conrad hoping for a little backup and found him happily stuffing a hot dog smothered in ketchup down his throat.   In the noise of the crowd he was completely oblivious to the entire situation.  I was on my own.    Through clenched teeth The Thug said, “Ok.  You’ve stated your opinion.”  and I remember thinking, “Really?  Is that the best line you could come up with?”  I don’t think he’s used to having a 5′3″ woman stare him down like that.  I think he was intimidated.

Then I decided to be the nicer person in the situation.  I mean I am a pastor’s wife, after all.  And I introduced him to Conrad who was guzzling lemonade.  I said, “Let me introduce you to my husband, Conrad”  and no joke, The Thug looks at Conrad and says, “You got somethin’ to say to me?  You got somethin’ to say to ME?” in a Jersey accent!  I’m not making this up, people!  And poor Conrad didn’t know what was going on.  I tried my best to redeem the situation, I really did.  But, well, there just wasn’t any redeeming it.

So I turned around and wiped ketchup off the faces of my little girls, and found that my hands were trembling just a little bit.

As I wrote about a few weeks ago, I am trying to get my Christmas shopping done really early this year.  I’ve been researching and brainstorming, budgeting and clicking, and I think I’m done shopping for the girls.  I thought you might like some ideas for your own kids.  The first two are items that we’ve had around for a while that my kids absolutely love.

Great Big God is a series of music done by Vineyard Music and it is the best stuff for kids I’ve ever seen!  We love it all!  If you have kids in your life, or if you are shopping for a kid’s music leader at church, etc. I highly, highly recommend this CD.  If you hit the Vineyard Music Website you will also find the Fruit of the Spirit CD series which have background music tracks on them which makes it super easy for performing songs in church.

I came across Sound Bingo about a year ago and instantly fell in love.  The game comes with a CD full of sounds.  Just stick it in your CD player, hit randomize and you’re good to go.  My kids love it, and it’s teaching them to recognize the sounds of different musical instruments (among other things like animal sounds, a train, a flushing toilet, etc.).

Next to Usborne products, I love Melissa and Doug stuff the best.  I purchased this set for Ellie and can’t wait to give it to her.  Good activity for wintery days.

The older girls have been asking for a Nintento DS for ages.  I refuse to get them one for a number of reasons.   I had a good friend who was selling the V-Tech handheld system that she bought for her son a year ago, so I bought that from her along with several games.  I somehow feel better about video games if there is some educational value to them!  I got a good deal on it and the girls will never know (nor would they care) that it’s used!

That’s all!  Hope you got some good ideas for your own Christmas shopping!

If you are looking for pictures from Christa’s wedding, they aren’t here yet.  The pictures that I took are not that great because 1) I am not a great photographer and 2) I was too busy attending to my duties as a matron of honor to take very many.  I am waiting on several people to get their stuff posted so I can steal it from their sites and post it here for you to see.

In other news, Conrad is officially a grad student!  He started taking classes this week through Fuller Theological Seminary.  The classes are all online with the exception of 2 weeks every year when he will travel to campus.  This is something he’s wanted to do for many years but the timing never seemed right until now.

I cleaned my bedroom.

We are going camping this weekend.  As I write this, it is 36 degrees outside.  I am not an enthusiastic camper under any circumstances, so you can probably imagine how I feel about that.

If you haven’t noticed, I put another link on my sidebar over there on the right.  If you haven’t been on “The Pioneer Woman” website, you have been missing out!  Great recipes, fun stories, and lots and lots of things to click on.  Enjoy!

I try to be a good housekeeper, I really try.  But this weekend was a crazy one, and I found myself stopping at home just long enough to drop something off, pick something else up, and head straight back out the door again.  By the end of the weekend, my bedroom looked like a bomb had gone off.  I walked in there last night and was so overwhelmed I didn’t know where to begin.  So I took a picture.   Or two or three.  My husband is deeply ashamed by the state of our bedroom and is horrified that I am posting pictures for all to see, but I had to show you just how bad it really is:

And here’s a wedding picture just to whet your appetite:

More to come next time. . .