This time 22 years ago...

...I woke up with water going everywhere. I slept in a waterbed at the time, so my first thought was that the bed had popped. The second thought was, "Oh my, I am going to have a baby today!"

In the next 17 hours, I had many surprises. I lost 49 pounds of water (the janitor at the hospital followed me with a mop for hours) and gained a six pound son. Son was supposed to be a girl. They had not perfected ultrasounds back then. Guess who had to send her mom to buy all new clothes so we could take him home?

I labored all day to no avail. He was face-up, making it harder to get out, and I could not get past 7 cm. A dear lady that many of you know, Cindy Granke, stood in as my "mother" that day, while my real mother paced the floor in Tennessee and prepared to come to South Carolina the next day. Things were so tense, and there were no cellphones much back then, and everyone forgot to call Mom and Dad and give them updates. Cindy, who worked for the Red Cross surely had a lot of love and patience with me that day! We tried our best to push him out, but it was not meant to be. She got up on the table with me and coached me all day in efforts to keep a c-section from happening. A little after 10 that night, they wheeled me off to the operating room, and a bit later, I awakened from surgery to be told that my expected little "girl" was actually a bouncing baby boy!

I know that God knew best that I would need strong sons. Daniel Evin has given meaning to the words "pride and joy." He has made us all proud, and he is the joy of my life, along with his siblings. He holds a special place in my heart for the courage he has shown in his life, when life could have knocked him down and out, but he rose above it all.

He just found out that he has been admitted to the Social Work program at M.T.S.U.! This is something he has worked for for a long time. This has not been an easy first semester for him, but like everything else he does, he has climbed this mountain successfully. Hopefully, he is going to get his Bachelor's on time and move right into his Masters work.

Sarah has been working on some drawings for Daniel. She did one about him teaching the adult class at church. He is teaching his favorite book of the New Testament, Hebrews! This is one of her drawings:




Psalm 40:4 says, "Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust...." Daniel continues to make us all proud, and he has brought me great joy! (Proverbs 10:1)
I want to wish him the happiest of birthdays!

Happy Thanksgiving, 2008!

Have a wonderful, safe, and Happy Thanksgiving!

(Click on the text for a beautiful tribute.)

It's Time to Check In!

Wow! I have not posted in sooooo long! Are you like me? I think each day, "I need to post!" But somehow, I just rarely find the time to sit and do it! The next few days don't promise to be any less busy, so I guess I will take a few moments to give a brief explanation of what's been keeping me out of the blogosphere!

Paul, Tim's brother who was our best man, is coming over the weekend to see us. We have not seen him since about June 2007! This, of course, means non-stop cleaning for the next 48 hours.

Paul

We just recently celebrated Hannah's 5th Birthday! Bad, bad Mommy did not even get a post up for little Hannah Bee! (Her real middle name is 'Faith!') We took her to the Nashville Zoo and had a great day with family. I got a lot of super photos! We had quite a laugh out of the giraffe, who got my vote for funniest animal of the day! We enjoyed the enormous playland they had there, too. The slide was about 3 stories tall! Tim lured me up to the top on the premise of showimg me the view and then shoved me into the opening of the giant winding slide! I thought we would be calling E.M.S. to extract me from that contraption for sure! I nearly got stuck in one of the bends, and if I had, that would have been the end of me, as I am so claustrophobic! I surely would have had a heart attack in there! Can you see them using the jaws of life on a slide?

Micah and the Elephant

Scary three-story-tall fort!Scary slide of death (well, to everyone but Sam!)
My crew leaving the zoo!

My precious Hannah-Bee on her 5th!

Hannah also had a separate day of joint celebrating with her cousin Lauren who turned 4 just a few days before Hannah turned 5! The usual trek to Chuck E. Cheese's and Build-A-Bear was again the order of this day. Sane people should not try to do C-E-C and B-A-B in the same day!

Lauren and Hannah

Hannah with her newest Build-A-Bear, which she named Hannah MonHannah

We celebrated Halloween with "Cousins United," the inseparable group of five cousins that are like 5 peas in a pod. Sarah and Hannah love every chance they get to be with their cousins Kelsey, Ben, and Lauren. We traveled to Smyrna Halloween night and enjoyed being with Steph and her parents and going Trick-or-Treating there.

Speaking of Cousins United, we enjoyed our day at the Fair with them as well! On this particular day, there was a 6th pea in the pod, as Micah joined us for Home School Day at the Fair!

5 Peas in a Pod

We celebrated my dad's cousin Ray's 70th birthday this last month, too. All of my family came together, and we gave a surprise party for a neat man who loves the Lord a lot! He would not like me to tell it, but he helped my Daniel out when he was first getting out on his own by purchasing him a laptop. It helped him get all the way through the first couple of years of college before Dan wore it out. Ray's son Rick is now battling melanoma. Ray just learned two days after we celebrated that Rick has relapsed. Prayers go out to this wonderfully sweet and caring family!

Ray is at the end of the table, between the black balloons.

We went to my cousin Abby's wedding. The pictures I made did not turn out so well. I cannot wait to see hers! While there, I ran into several folks I have not seen in a while! Some were old friends, and some were family!

Abby and Stephen


Daddy holds Hannah at the wedding

Sarah at the wedding


In other news, we have been following Daniel's Intramural Football team's games. It has been way too cold to go to most of them, because they mostly are played late at night. It has been the coldest November in TN that I can recall in years! They made it into the semi-finals but got defeated Monday night.


My Mom and Dad's beloved chihuahua is due to give birth on or about Thanksgiving! It should make for an interesting Turkey Day!

Dad and "Babe"

Last but not least, we got our bi-annual dental cleanings last week. The only way I can get the kids to go without whining is to promise a McDonald's trip afterwards if they go quietly! Sam picked the three smaller kids up and took them on down to McD's while the Doc finished up on me.

This was the hysterical sight I saw when I got there. I never dreamed Sam would go with them into the deep, dark recesses of Playland! I should have remembered from the zoo trip how he loves slides. Check out the boots in the McDonald's shoekeeper! :) Micah's tennis shoes are even approaching "too big for this playland" status. Now sing with me...."One of these things just doesn't belong here...three of these things are kind of the same...."

Hope you are smiling today!

Happy Birthday, Honey!

Happy Birthday to the love of my life, and the father of my precious girls, and the step-father of my boys! We'll remember your 47th as the night we ate chili on the sofa and watched Obama and McCain debate live in Nashville. We've come a long way from pinkeye and morning sickness on your birthday in New Jersey in '98! I love you!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy Birthday to my hero, my mother!


_________________________________________________________

Once in a while, someone comes along.
That one in a million heart,
So pure and so strong.
They can face up to the tears.
And somehow still find a smile,
That we only get ev'ry once in a while.

Once in a while, someone has the eyes,
That one in a million look,
That never tells lies.
They can get you on your feet,
To walk that extra mile.
We only see ev'ry once in a while.

That's why we call them heroes.
That's why we know their names,
And once you've heard their stories,
You're never quite the same.

That's why we call them heroes.
The best thing they ever do,
Is to point to the best in us all,
And say: 'If I can, you can too.'

Ohh.
They can face up to the tears.
And somehow still find a smile,
That we only get ev'ry once in a while.

--Written by Steve Dorff and John Bettis
From '8 Seconds Soundtrack'

Happy Birthday, Robert!

This is for the father of my future daughter-in-law--from Jenn to her daddy!

July Happenings

Tim and me and our "cheesey" 10th Anniversary shirts!

I keep thinking that maybe in one more day, I will have time to update my blogs. Every day ends, and I find that I still have not had time to sit down and write something!

We had a very nice 4th of July weekend with family! We were coming off a week of being sick with a summer cold, and I was not sure we were going to make it to be with them, but everyone was feeling relatively well by that Friday. We went into Nashville, and we got our first look at a new condo that my brother and parents went in together and bought. The neatest part about it was that it had a view straight across to the Cumberland River and the Tennessee Titans' football stadium, where they stage Nashville's fireworks show!

Doug and Micah check out the view!

The "Cousins" pose in front of the infamous "Batman Tower!"



The kids tried to scare me to death climbing on these big rocks near the edge of the roof! Here, Micah gets his picture in with the great backdrop!


Sarah and Hannah on the 4th--2008!

And I even managed to get one pic of "Uncle Sam!"

Next year, we likely will not have that wonderful view, as they are building some buildings between the condo and the stadium, so we decided to take advantage of being able to see the show from the air conditioned- condo! It was so pretty! We started out inside, but we quickly moved out on the balcony (and tested its weight limits!) to be able to take in the whole sky! They say that Nashville's fireworks show has grown to be the second largest in the nation, second only to Philadelphia! We felt very privileged to be able to be right there and not have to fight the crowds and traffic we could see below us. This was our daytime and night-time view:


The kids had a great time with their cousins, their Aunt Steph and her sister, their grandma Meme, and Uncle Doug, our host! We grilled hamburgers on the 6th floor balcony and took in the beautiful panoramic view of Nashville! It was a gorgeous day!

We remarked that it was ironic that we could practically spit off the building and hit the area where a direct ancestor of ours, James Robertson, established Nashville down there on the banks of the Cumberland River! Robertson arrived in Tennessee just one year after we became the United States of America, drove his cattle across the frozen Cumberland River, and erected Fort Nashborough right there where these fireworks were going up! Present-day Nashville, and this country, have come a long way since then! 5 generations later, we stood looking at this beautiful show, trying to comprehend the sacrifices so many have made for our freedom. Robertson lost two brothers and two sons defending this piece of land on the Cumberland. So many have given so much to keep this great country free, and some continue to give all. Tim's brother, Kevin, is probably headed back to the Iraq region next year, unless something "gives" before then. These times give us good chances to discuss with the kids how freedom is far from free!

The Grand Finale!

A Decade of Loving

This day, ten years ago, my life began anew. The theme for our wedding was "Let Us Begin in God's Presence." I married my best friend, and he became an instant father to my three boys. We added two girls of our own along the way. As I reflect over the last ten years, I feel like so much has happened, and in many ways, it seems like it has been much longer than just ten years. In other ways, it seems I have just blinked since we were saying our vows on that stormy July the 4th, 1998.

The pictures above show many of the changes that have happened in 10 short years. My little children in the wedding, mine and those belonging to dear friends, have grown up. My junior bridesmaid married this year. My flower girl and ring bearer are nearly grown. My dear grandmother now lies with her hands folded in rest. The New Orleans Manor, where we held our wedding dinner, closed for good just the other day. The wedding ring I gave my husband fell off his thinning fingers in March and was lost for good. My dear husband is about 125 pounds lighter than when we married. There has been a lot of change.

Some things are the same. We are so happy that our parents, both sets, are still alive and relatively well, though they have all had life-threatening illnesses in the last 10 years. We nearly lost every one of them. Ginny had cancer. Bill had his whole belly burst open after a surgery. My dad had his heart valve replaced, and my mom had a mystery illness that nearly got her, along with bladder and uterine cancer. Yes, we are very fortunate that God preserved them.

I've lost all my grandparents that were alive when we married. I miss them every day.


I was thinking what I wanted to say in this post, but my sweet husband beat me to it, saying it better than I could have today. He left this beautiful letter and a song for me on my desktop, for me to find this morning. So I thought I would just post it here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dana,



I am so happy to look back over the past ten years since we were were married and so much that we have been through!



We've been through the better and the worse, in sickness and in health,
We've certainly seen the richer and the poorer, and our share of trials and difficulties.



But through it all I remember the fondest memories, of singing together as a family in long car rides to Columbia and road trips to and from New Jersey. I remember worshiping when it was difficult, and when obstacles and challenges presented themselves.



I remember bedside in hospitals, with and for each other in the Joy of a newborn child, and in the suffering of each other and our loved ones.

I remember elation and wonder at each of your pregnancies, and the sorrow of loss and the tremendous elation of incredible wonder and magnificence of the birth of healthy baby girls.



I remember when we have struggled to make ends meet, and when we have done just a little better and enjoyed some small pleasures in life.



I hope that as you look back too, you will remember beginning in God's Presence.
You will remember Hope, and Faith, and Wonderful Blessings we have shared together.
You will remember times we shared with those so precious to us, family, brethren, and friends. Worshiping as a family and watching our children grow in knowledge of the Lord, and growing and maturing into wonderful young people.



God's providence has always been there for us, and has always supplied our needs. His goodness and watchfulness has looked out over us and protected us and has lifted us up when it looked to all like we were going down. How out of the blue, in "God Style" he provided us blessings and vehicles and a home and jobs and churches and brethren to grow and learn and worship with.



I will always be there for you, Lord Willing, in all my imperfection and faults (perhaps some fewer as days go by). I will stand by you, will encourage you, protect you, and provide for you and our children as long as I possibly can, by the Grace and ability God gives us. I hope to learn to be a better husband and father, and servant of the Lord. I hope to be useful in His kingdom and to lead our family to a closer walk with him.



I Love You. I have HOPE for our future. Begun in God's Presence. Continuing on in FAITH. Walking in LOVE. With JOY, and endurance, and patience, and steadfastness.



You know me now and I know you now. There aren't as many surprises anymore, as we can complete sentences and thoughts of the other now. We are so different in so many ways but also the same in so many ways. But also bonded together by God in ways that I am convinced that we cannot even fully understand.



I love you! I Have HOPE for our Future! I have FAITH in God's providence and care. I have JOY in His rich blessings and mercies, which are new every morning.

Here's to the next ten years!!!!!!!


Yours in Love,



Tim

For Lloyd

One of my "buddies" died yesterday afternoon. I got to know one of my cousins (actually my dad's cousin) at a family reunion some years ago. Someone decided that way too many years had gone by without an Edwards family reunion. So, everyone in our huge family that started out in the remote areas of Maury County in Tennessee converged on Columbia from several states, and we spent hours just re-connecting.

I found out that I had this really neat cousin who lived in Florida, and for the last few years, we have traded emails over nearly everything. He was a very tender-hearted, patriotic, conservative man with deep love in his heart for God, family and country. I came to love him so much over these last few years, and I am stunned at his death.

Lloyd was 63 years young, and he was "on the go" all the time. He loved to travel a lot, and many of my emails would be answered by automatic messages that he was gone somewhere yet again! This time, there will be no cheery email sent in a few days telling me that he has returned. There will be no more patriotic emails that bring tears to my eyes. There will be no more calls to action on some injustice in our country. This Patriot with a big ol' heart has marched home.

Apparently, he got a vicious and fast-moving cancer related to the bile duct that took him in about 3 weeks. Very few knew of his sickness. I am sure he wanted it that way. He never wanted to be the center of attention.

Yesterday morning, he was in a lot of pain, so Judy, his wife, and three of their kids took him to hospice. They got him settled in and went to get some lunch. When they returned, he had slipped into eternity.

Lloyd was the son of my aunt Rebecca who just passed last fall, just days after my grandfather died. Her death came out of the blue as well, and now it seems so ironic that he was to pass so quickly after her. I pray they are reunited now, with her and his father, dear Uncle Herbert, who passed many years ago.

I was reflecting on his death late last night. I realize that people are born and die every day. As I went about my work yesterday at home, the news was filled with one report after another of lives lost. What does one lone life mean in the grand scheme of things?

Well, for me, Lloyd's death is especially painful because he was one of those souls who genuinely cared about other people. When I had emailed Lloyd about little Aleena, who was at the hospital near death with e coli, Lloyd emailed me back and said, "Hey, I don't want to be a pest, but can you keep me up to date on this one?" As in the sickness with my dad, Lloyd kept up with us and prayed for us until the sick were "out of the woods." Lloyd never gave you the superficial, eyes-glazed-over "I'm praying for you." He really, deeply, cared.

I don't know everything about Lloyd. After all, I somehow managed to miss out on the first 49 years of his life. However, what I knew of him impressed me. He grew up the son of a preacher. He loved his family deeply. The way he cared for his aging mother spoke volumes. He served in the Navy, and his patriotism was ever-obvious. He, like the rest of us, was scratching his head about this election. But the thing that just keeps coming to my mind over and over is the time he took for people.

If I was having a bad spot in my life, I could ask his advice, and he gave it humbly and freely. He always answered every request for prayer or guidance.

He was hysterical! He always made me laugh. Even in times of distress, he kept a stiff upper lip and an optimistic outlook and inspired those around him.

Sometimes in this life, you connect with someone at a level neither of you can explain. I Samuel 18 talks about Jonathan becoming one in spirit with David and loving him as he loved himself. Proverbs 18:24 says that "...there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." If you have ever had one of these relationships with someone, then you know what I am talking about. It is a feeling so rare that you can probably count those people on one hand over a lifetime.

Lloyd was one of those rare souls who leaves his mark on hearts, never to be forgotten. I suspect that he touched many that way. All death brings sadness, but sometimes a death leaves a hole in your heart that will just never be filled. I could say I'll miss him. Somehow, there is no closing for this that does not sound trite. Lloyd so did not deserve trite.


(Press the play button)

42nd Annual Student Honors Convocation

Last night, we traveled over to attend the Student Honors Night at Daniel's college. It was a fun night, despite the fact that it was once again raining buckets outside! We were delighted to find that two other Christian families were there to see their kids pick up some honors, too! Daniel was one of only 29 students at the college to achieve a grade point average of between 3.9 and 4.0. For this, he received an Academic Excellence Award. He also got the award for Psychology. He was competing with students from all the campuses at Columbia State, including the main campus. Our dear friends Ryan and Melissa got the awards for Physics and Graphic Art, respectively. Tim, Sarah, Hannah and I were happy to be joined by Uncle Doug and the grandparents, "Pappy and Meme" for the festivities. Sam and Micah got a pass from big brother, because he did not want them to miss their monthly Bible study that they love so much. They will make it up to him in a couple of weeks at graduation! Here are the pictures! Enjoy!

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The Newest Member of Phi Theta Kappa!

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Today, we traveled down to Spring Hill, TN to watch Daniel be inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society at his college! Dan has had a big month, finding out that he made it into Who's Who and also that he will be getting some kind of award for being the Psychology Student of the Year!

It is about a month from graduation now. After getting his A.A. degree, he will be moving on to M.T.S.U. to hopefully finish his Bachelors and possibly graduate work. He has been a real trooper, especially this semester with 19 hours of classes and roughly 30 hours of work at the computer lab per week. He has also been teaching a class at church on both Sunday and Wednesday. Needless to say, I think that when he gets out of school in May, he will hardly know what to do with all the free time.

At any rate, we all braved a chilly, blustery day with rain threatening all afternoon to put a quick end to the ceremony. They hurried through it, and fortunately, no one had to catch pneumonia today!

We are very proud of Daniel, who currently has a 3.93 grade point average (the evil Speech teacher gave him his only "B".) I know he has felt every day of every semester, even though the time has gone quickly for us! Now if the next two years can go as smoothly! He is a joy to his parents and grandparents, and Sam thinks he is a great "little" brother. (Sam thinks Dan is shorter now.) Micah, Sarah, and Hannah adore him and have their own set of affectionate nicknames for him, which we shall not post here, sparing him further embarrassment! Congrats, Dan!

Too Cute Not to Share!

This is just too cute not to share! Hit the play arrow!

Happy Birthday, Kelsey!

 

Happy Birthday to my exuberant, jubilant, sweet niece Kelsey! How can it be 10 years since you graced us with your lovely presence? I thought your parents never would name you, but they finally settled on your pretty, unique name! You have brought me much joy in your ten years on earth! From holding you on my wedding day while you were a wee babe to watching you grow into the fine young lady you are, I have enjoyed your journey! Your heart is pure, and your prayers have helped many, I am sure! My hope is that you will continue to grow into a fine young woman of God, a lady in every sense of the word, in the tradition of your mother, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers! You come from a fine line of tough women, who have stood beside their men through tough times and good times. Learn all about your heritage and be proud, and strive to learn everything your parents can teach you about being a woman of God. You are Sarah Hope's best friend, and I suspect you will always have a bond with her. Be good to your little sister, for one day, she will be one of your best friends, too! You have to set an example for her, which is a big set of shoes to fill, but you are up to the task. Continue to study hard, and I look forward to seeing what you do in your life. God's blessings be upon you today and always, Kelse! Happy 10th Birthday!

Look What We Have!

Well, do you remember about this time last year when I posted how dangerous it was to go to Wal-Mart? We had come home with Lizzie, the second of our female doggies. We thought she would keep Meg, our Lab, company and keep her out of trouble. Well, Lizzie was apparently the one we should have worried about!

In September, Lizzie went into heat. We kept her up for the obligatory time, and in October, she was able to return to the great outdoors. However, to our horror, both she and Meg went into heat again in December. I did not even know it was possible for a dog to have two heats in three months!

All the company was coming, there was shopping to do, and I had a hospital stay. I surely did not have time to have dogs in heat. We did our best. We kept them up for a month, but the poor things had to go outside some. Apparently, someone left them outside a little too long unattended at some point.

"Romeo" was a male dog from the neighborhood who goes unrestrained, despite our county leash laws. Tim did his best to run Romeo off each and every time he saw him. Old Romeo sat at the end of our driveway or at the edge of our property, looking longingly at the garage where the females were kept. His patience paid off. I am tempted to find his owners and demand that they take half the pups when they are weaned!

Coincidentally, the pups were born to Romeo and Lizzie on the day after Valentine's Day. There are 10 of them. My mother-in-law did not think it was possible for a dog to have 10. My mother did not think it was possible for our little dog to have 10! Well, here is the proof it is possible. I present to you what looks to be 3 males, 7 females:

What a difference a year makes! "Grown-up" Lizzie with her pups!

1. Romeo, Jr., 2. Valentino, 3. Cupid, 4. Faith, 5. Hope, 6. Charity,
7. Lacey, 8. Candy, 9. Rosey, and 10. Valentina

(They may be renamed if we get rid of them as Easter puppies!)

Well, at least SOMEONE is happy about the pups!

For Daddy on Valentine's Day

This is dedicated to my wonderful-beyond-words-husband and father of my precious girls! (If your computer is slow to load, hit pause--the left arrow-- and wait 'til it is completely loaded before watching.)

Jenn and the Other Dan

Two people who are very special to me are celebrating birthdays today. My little brother, Daniel, for whom my son was named, is 38 today. I remember the icy day he was born very clearly. It does not seem possible that 38 years could have passed since that time.

Some 15 years to the day after "Big Dan" was born, another special person was born. She was the lady who would be engaged to my son Daniel. She was born way off in New Mexico, ironically in the same state in which my Daniel would shortly be conceived and also to Air Force parents.

It is kind of ironic these two share a birthday. They have both touched my life in a special way.

Daniel and I shared a special bond when he was a little kid. I was old enough to nearly be his mother. I cared for him when he was little, and we always got along. My parents said that he cried all the way home when they took me down to college in Florida. I love all my brothers, but I think he was the one that loved me most.

Now Jennifer has stepped into my life. When your son starts looking for a life's mate, you hope he will pick a sweet one. My son did. She has a lovely gentle, sweet, lady-like spirit. We are only beginning the journey together, but I trust that we will share many, many wonderful things as our lives intertwine.

Blessings to two gentle, quiet, industrious spirits on your birthdays! Your faith and determination awe me. Your tenaciousness challenges me. Your calm and peaceable natures inspire me. I love the both of you! Happy Birthday, Daniel, and Happy Birthday, Jenn!

"Baby" Brother Daniel

Jennifer with the Girls

2008!

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The holidays were a total blur this year, but a very good blur! I think we had one of the best holiday vacations we have ever had. Tim was able to get the longest stretch of vacation time off that he has had in a long while (he estimates 12-15 years!), and that made for a lot of wonderful together-time. I loved that he got to sleep in as long as he wanted and stay up late into the night for the first time in a long time. It's always great waking up on frosty mornings next to the one you love!

Our future daughter-in-law, Jennifer, arrived on December 14th. I have to admit, I was a little nervous at first that we would be able to find enough to do for 11 days to keep her from being bored stiff. I need not have worried. By December 25th, we just all kind of collapsed into an exhausted little heap!

We spent a good deal of time showing Jenn where she might be living soon--up in the 'Boro by the college. She is working and saving to try and get up here by the time that Daniel finishes his second semester of his second year of college. Their wedding plans will come together more when they can actually get to the same town and start to make plans.

Jenn and I got a little time in shopping. We went alone one day to Goodwill! That was a blast. I learned that she and I are going to be good shopping buddies! She hung in there with me the whole time and then some. It is an amazing thing when someone can match my stamina at Goodwill! She is tough as nails, and we had a ball!

We also took Jenn and the kids out to Opryland to see the beautiful lights and displays. I'll bet we walked 5 miles that night. We had also spent the day at the mall, so we probably got in a good 10 miles of walking that day. The kids did not gripe about going to sleep that night!

Jenn held up well to life in this chaotic, large household. The two little girls kept her busy playing dolls, painting nails, decorating for Christmas, baking, and every other "girly" activity they could think of. The poor girl did not have much time with Daniel, but the two of them took it well and included the siblings in most everything they did. Jenn also jumped right in there and helped with all that had to be done before Christmas. Since I had been in the hospital, my tree was not even up. The kids all had a good time putting it up for me and decorating, inside and out.

We attended a progressive dinner one night before Christmas, and Dan and Jenn were in another group going from house to house. The weather was awful, and at one point, Daniel called and said they were off in a ditch, head first. He was so worried that someone was going to come along and broadside them before they could get the car out of the ditch. I told him to get Jennifer out of the car and to a safe spot away from the car, and we would be there as soon as we could. We raced across town, and by the time we got there, a good Samaritan had stopped, attached a chain to the car and was pulling them out of the ditch. I was a bundle of nerves the rest of the night, because it was cold and wet and foggy, and I shuddered to think how I would have felt if something had happened to them--especially Jennifer, who had been entrusted to our care by her parents. God was watching over us all, and everything turned out o.k. Sam even managed to take Dan's car into his Auto Body class and have it checked for damage. None was found, so we were really grateful for that.

Christmas Day, Mom and Dad and my brother Doug came over for Christmas Dinner. I had cooked all day Monday, so I had a lot of it done, but I wanted for my first attempt at doing Christmas dinner for the family solo to be a decent replication of the wonderful holiday dinners my parents and grandparents before me had done. I took requests and made all the favorites of anyone who had a suggestion. We had enough food for an army, and we ate on it the rest of the week, which was nice! I missed my siblings who had other obligations that day, and the one who is hopelessly addicted to life in Germany. We will just have to see him later in the Spring, Lord willing.

All the kids had a wonderful Christmas. Daniel got a Mac computer (desktop.) Sam got tools and heavy-duty outdoor clothing and coats. Micah got his beloved Wii, Nerf toys, and some of the Blueman Keyboard Instruments. The girls got an assortment of dolls, games, puzzles, and electronic toys. I got a load of new jewelry, since Hannah and Sarah have depleted my jewelry collection by breaking so many necklaces as babies--pulling on everything, and by losing a lot playing with it. I also got some candles and my favorite Acqua di Gio cologne. Dan and Jenn got me a John Mayer c.d. and some earrings. I got a new robe and some Bath and Body Works products--always a hit. Tim got a new leather jacket, some new clothes for his ever-shrinking body, and some homemade gifts from the girls and me. He also got a Starbucks gift card and a Dilbert calendar for 2008!

We spent New Year's Eve with our brethren and enjoyed food, fireworks, and singing. We had a very lazy New Year's Day after sleeping in very, very late. We have gotten so spoiled! I have to say, though, that it has been wonderful not to go much of anywhere for the holidays and let everyone come to us. I feel so much more rested than I ever have.

Tomorrow, Sam is back in school, and Tim is back at work. We will start in with home schooling again. Daniel is the only one with another week off before he starts his college back again. I have a lot to do this winter and on into the Spring. I want to get the girls' room and the boys' rooms redone. I have many projects in my head that I would like to do, but we will see how many I actually have time for.

I will be teaching the 2nd-4th graders on Wed. night this trimester at church. I will also sit in that group on Sunday mornings to assist. I really enjoy this class. We are learning and re-learning a lot together. I feel so blessed to be able to worship with such a wonderful, talented group of people. The teachers really go above and beyond in preparing for these classes with the kids. The things they bring home at the end of the trimesters just floor me every time. Sarah brought home the sweetest box of books--the 66 books of the bible, hand-sewn into individual booklets with highlights from each book pasted in by the kids. Hannah had a beautiful booklet of work from Genesis and Exodus, with each page hand-colored by the teacher and put into a protective sleeve so we could review it again and again. These teachers put hours and hours of work into these classes. We even have a family that shows up every Sunday at 5:00 to set up probably 20 laptops so that kids can do an extensive Bible review on computer that was written by this family. They have put so much work into this program, and the kids are really learning so much from it.

Well, that is my very lengthy review of the holidays around here. They were so wonderful. It is going to be kind of hard to get back to the day-in, day-out routine after such a pleasant time.