Snow Day Sort Of

It's snowin' and blowin' and miserable out there! Bill's school district delayed school for two hours. Most districts cancelled completely because of the impending storm and possible accumulation of snow. Oh, well, one less day they have to make up in June! Go for it! Subarus are wonderful cars. Bill took ours so I am "stranded" at home! Oh, but I am going to just revel in a "snow day"! I am just on the edge of not feeling well, and I think a day at home to rest and get caught up on things here is just what the doctor ordered! I can update the church website from home and already did the cancellation thing for today's date on the calendar. Maybe I'll get some cool snow pics today!

Just a couple of updates!

• The price for daycare that Trish was quoted was for a single mother. So, it will change some depending on where John lands for a job.
• Which brings me to the next update - he didn't get the job he interviewed for last week, but is still looking. He does have a job, so that is a good thing, but it isn't the best.
• John Jr. got a new cast put on and while it is up higher on his leg, he is doing really well on it. He is walking and even spinning around in circles. Kids!
• It is COLD! Snow expected on Wednesday and Thursday and even colder. Brrrrr!

Sugar Cookies and Estrogen

Now, I don't know what possessed me to make rolled out sugar cookies on Friday night, but I did. I don't normally like to make that sort of cookie. Never have. Give me a good old drop cookie (chocolate chip the best of course) or a bar cookie, but rolling out sugar cookie dough is time consuming and messy. I cannot bake without flour everywhere, so you can only imagine the mess! They actually turned out pretty good and I will take a plate of them to a potluck tomorrow.

My only explanation for this madness - I think the extra estrogen floating around our family right now with two more females (Trish and Hannah) around is having some sort of domestic affect on me! Scary!

More good news!

It is almost 7:30 p.m. and my Christmas cards are all in their envelopes! Now they just need to be sealed and stamped! The envelope glue is really nasty!

Excellent news: Trish can go ahead with her new job because she will only need to pay a $15 co-pay for the first 2 months and then $50 each month after that as long as she works for this temp agency! Wow!

Then, John interviewed for another job this afternoon! It is a better one with better pay and better benefits as well as a 401K plan (for what that is worth these days!)! He will know more tomorrow. If that doesn't work out, he will keep looking. At least he has a job! Trucking jobs in this area should be plentiful I would think!

And last but not least, Bill is feeling SO much better today! Hooray! No more pain pills! He will need more surgery in a few months, but we will cross that bridge when we get to it!

Gingerbread House

On a cheerier note, here is the gingerbread house that Trish, Hannah and I built in November! We had a decorating party at church - Extreme Gingerbread House Makeover - and it was a blast! The organizer (who was a week from delivering her second baby!) had recipes and templates available for several weeks ahead. Trish and I made our own gingerbread and had to sample it in cookie form - quality control you know! It went together pretty well and I still have it sitting on the table. I really should throw it away! I have a train kit that I could put together now! Having raised boys, it was such a treat to have that time with my daughter in law and granddaughter!

Cloves in the side wall.The back patio! The windows are made from crushed lifesavers and Jolly Ranchers! You sprinkle them in the openings when the gingerbread is almost done and let it cook for just a few minutes to melt. Pretty cool, huh?

Health & Wellness

Well, the long awaited day for Bill to get the stent out has arrived! Out it came and hopefully he will start to feel better soon. To catch you up to speed, he had some minor surgery a few weeks ago to blast kidney stones in his bladder and ureter. After that a stent was inserted that went from the bladder to the kidney. It has caused some nasty pain and he has needed more than Advil from time to time. We saw the urologist today and he was pleased and removed the stent. Office procedure and Bill said it wasn't really painful, just a weird sensation. He started hurting though a little later, so off to bed early. Again. I'm not sure how I ended up the night owl and him the lark, but the roles have been reversed! Anyway, he should be feeling better soon and that can only be a good thing! We are both ready!

(See what happens when you reach a "certain age"? You start to compare notes on your health. Yuck!)

God blesses abundantly!

Well, our youngest son left his truck in Colorado. Not at all like leaving your heart in San Francisco, but leave it he did! It had become less than reliable and he was afraid it would break down on him out in the middle of nowhere in the middle of a blizzard! (He drives - make that drove - long haul out of Colorado). It finally started giving him the truck death rattle and he decided that was it! He parked it at a friend's house who works on trucks, got his Durango packed up and headed home! He got home yesterday and has a new job starting tomorrow! He had applied at a trucking firm in Kent when they first moved up here last month and thought he had an owner operator job lined up, but when he called to check on it, they were laying people off, so no job. Rats and mice! They called him yesterday and wanted to know if he was still interested? Well, he didn't have a truck anymore and would need to be a driver for someone else. They "just happened" to have a spot open and he starts tomorrow!! This has benefits which they certainly need with kids!

Then, in the It Never Rains But it Pours department, Trish has also gotten herself a job. Unfortunately, it will be the same hours as his job and the day care center she looked into charges $1200 a month. Yikes! So one of them needs an evening shift. I can help on Fridays, but that's it for now! I wish she didn't have to work at all, but they have a load of debt they need to pay down. It will all work out. I plan to make a few calls and see if anyone I know has any info on childcare that would be a little less expensive.

So, we are very relieved that John has work and Trish has until the 18th to figure out child care. Life is never dull, is it?! God is good!