Getting caught up

I always seem to be behind.  I haven't blogged in forever.  Lots has been going on.  I'm behind on book reviews.  Have lots coming up.  Obviously there is just a lot to share.

Here's what I've been up to for the past couple of months:
Christmas, Christmas, Christmas!  We did our countdown can calendar for Advent.  It was a lot of fun and mostly a big hit.  The boys have asked to do it again and Wendon would like to make the cans a little more attractive for next year.

We had a Christmas party at our house and it was also a success.  Several of our church folks came over to see us and share in our holiday cheer.  I made up some Lil' Smokies, 2 different kinds of pinwheels, and some cookies.  I also made Grinch Punch.  We had a great time opening our home up.  We plan to make it an annual event at the parsonage.

We also took a vacation back down south.  The Sunday that we left our church presented us with vacation gifts.  Pastor Husband got a 12 pack of Diet Dr. Pepper, the boys got a Transformer and a book, and I got a BuzzBee Toys dart gun.  Yes, I have dart wars with my family and I love it!  After church was over we headed out to Texas.  We spent Christmas Eve night and Christmas Day with my parents. It snowed like crazy!  I love having a white Christmas and didn't think I'd get one in Texas so this was a nice surprise.  HOWEVER, it did mess with our travel plans.  The day after Christmas the snow gave us a really late start to head to New Mexico to see Pastor Husband's parents.  We ended up having to spend the night in Abilene.  We made it the next day to my IL's house and had a great visit with just them for a couple of days. I was able to help my MIL cook Christmas Dinner for the entire family.  A great time was had by all and the food was good if I do say so myself and I DO!

Pastor Husband preached for FIL Sunday morning and preached a wonderful sermon.  After church, when we started the Suburban, it started making a horrible noise.  ACK!  Praise God my ILs were able to help us out.  A trip to the mechanic made us late leaving there and we had to spend the night on the way home too.  Again, MIL to the rescue:  she paid for us a hotel that night.  We finally made it back to my parents house and spent some time with them.

As a side note, I think my accent just isn't as bad as it used to be.  While visiting my parents, mom and I went shopping in Paris, TX.  OMW.  The accents of the women in the stores were so so so thick!  I don't sound like a Mid-westerner yet but I'm not quite as thick voiced as I used to be.  I am still thick enough to get picked on by my Mid-western friends though.

Anyway, we made it back home safe and sound.  It was hard getting back into the swing of things, for sure.  I guess we're kind of still working on that.

This week is going to be busy.  There's housework and homeschooling to do.  We're also taking a trip into Indy tomorrow and Tuesday.  Our doggies are getting fixed (and will have to wear the Cone of Shame) so we're spending the night near the vet's office Monday night then going to the Children's Museum on Tuesday.  We're all looking forward to that.

I'll try to post some pics of our vacation soon.  Be looking for those as well as book reviews and a post about what's coming up!