You Don't See That Every Day

I know, I know, you have been waiting and waiting,  wondering why I haven't written in days and weeks. Well, we went on a family vacation this Christmas break. And what a doozy it was - in a good way. There is so much I am still processing that I haven't gotten a good posting written yet; But I thought I would share a little bit of our time. A teaser ... There was lots of snow, some ice skating, some sledding, plenty of good food, and plenty of craziness We saw God's hand upon us at so many times. Details to follow once I find my notes from under the laundry mountain.

Well we have so far survived the cold snap that passed through our little corner of the world. Single digit degrees! Not heard of in my lifetime - not that it is very long of a lifetime, but still... No broken pipes in our home thankfully; we stayed cozy with our woodstove working overtime and using all the wool blankets. The kids' school didn't fare so well. We got the alert phone call late Sunday evening that a water main had broken, and 6 inches of water filled the middle school. So now they have 2 more days off. What do i do with 2 teenagers home for the day when not expected? Put them to work of course. (In their spare time, the girls hung Christmas lights around the windows.) A brilliant friend suggested I promote the 2 teens to substitute teachers for the day. So I did. Brilliant! It got off to a shaky start, since they are new to this, but I think they got through the work. We'll address the whole who-is-in-charge issue if we do this again tomorrow.

It was a long cold week here. I didn't get out to run all week due to other circumstances. So finally today, after most of the snow and ice is gone, I headed out for a long slow run. It was only 29 out, but it was dry and not the typical wet Oregon snow - so it felt fine. Wearing 2 or 3 layers helped keep me nice and warm. The training for the spring marathon is starting in earnest now. After talking with my niece who is running the marathon with me, I realized I am going to be falling behind if I don't get my act together. I thought I was doing ok getting up to 4 miles, and then my niece, who is down in Chile, responds that she is up to 7.5 and adding more each week. Oh. Dear. So I planned to run 5 today, and actually went over and made almost 6. And it felt really good! Maybe I can do this after all.

Winter made it to our part of the world yesterday. It came in and blanketed our area with snow and ice. This translates to FUN for my children. School wasn't cancelled but it was pretty light towards the end of the day with intermissions of snow ball fights between classes. The other 3 girls at home went out as soon as they could and played until I forced them inside to warm up a little. They were all back at there again this morning, along with a family friend, to play at the nearby school yard. We are now warm and cozy in our house playing card games, baking yummy snacks, listening to Christmas music. Later today I will put the kids to work cleaning up so we can decorate a little. Yep, I have hardly any Christmas decorations out. We did put up some outdoor lights, and a special table-piece. I don't think we are getting a tree this year. Gasp. Yes, there is a good reason for it, I just can't go into it here on this blog.   So we will enjoy this spec...

Even homeschool kids have their days... I mentioned to my girls on Sunday night that "tomorrow school starts up again!" in my happy, yeehaw voice. They were not so impressed. My 8 year old said, "I hate school." I almost argued with her. But then I decided, let's try something here. I told her instead of doing school for the day, she would work all day. My mind gleefully rubbed its hands together in anticipation of all the cleaning I need done around this house. (I know, a mixed metaphor, but go there with me.) So on Monday I had my girls wash dishes, all the floors got mopped, the laundry folded, the craft drawer cleaned, the play room cleaned, leaves raked, and bedrooms straightened up. I had plenty more chores left for them to get to, but we actually ran out of time. Was the experiment worth it? I guess I will find out this morning when I get the school books out.When my child gets into the school work she actually really likes it. But she has heard the l...

15. Hard to believe this boy is now 15 years old. Before we know it he'll be out of the house. Yikes. Slow down! And no, he doesn't even have the book to study to take the test for his permit.