Thanksgiving in the Congo

From Logna;

Well fam....

  Ihope you didn't all get sick from all the food you ate on thanksgiving!!!!!
  I bet it was delicious....

This week was pretty good, we had some progression with some lack of
progression with others.
We are still working hard and being obedient.
Elder Thibault is awesome and we work well together.
Dastel got the Aaronic priesthood. He is an awesome member!
His son was born on May 22, too!! He is named ethan!!!
And then a missionary of the branch is named Heritier (heir) and he was
born on May 22, 1992!!
Crazy!!!!!!!!
I found my African twin!!!!!

After email on Monday we went exploring downtown. we found.... we
found a little tiny restuarant tucked away behind a large building!!!
La Crêperie!!!!!!! It is a crepe place. The hostess was the best
saleswoman I have met..... half french half african with a perfect
parisian accent. We weren't very familier with crepes so she gave a
free one. Jambon et fromage!!!! Then we bought four... one with
sausage one with an egg, one that tasted like lemon merenge pie and
another with dark chocolate and whip cream!
And then she brought another out for free (her favorite) tasted like
apple cinnaman pie..........

We want to go back but we will have to save up first.......
I think I am going to start a crepe restuarant back home..... that
would be very fulfilling..... and filling.

Well that is all the time I have to type the internet is slow today. I  love you all and hope to hear from you soon!! loves and kisses!!
bye oh!
Elder McGrath

Thanksgiving

We took off for Tennessee (8 hour drive) right after school got out - and I do mean right after.  I was standing at the door leading out of the school - with Phil and the boys waiting in the parking lot - so as soon as the bell rang I could leave.  Now, you may ask "Really?  You couldn't leave even a minute early?"  And the answer would be "No - not even a minute."  But that is a story for another time...

We had a very nice drive although Ethan had a cough and slept (who am I kidding - everyone slept except Phil, the driver) the whole way.  We arrived at Grandma's about 1:30 in the morning.  The "girls" (i.e. the dogs) were very happy to see us.

We had two beautiful days.  Sami and the family came over on Wednesday and Thursday.  She showered me with honey and vanilla to take home :-)  It was good to sit and visit (and eat) and enjoy each other's company.   

The cousins had a fun time playing, even though Ethan was not feeling up to par.  This is the only time he played until this last Thursday.  I didn't know it at the time, but he was getting croup.  He spent the whole vacation after this incident laying down feeling miserable and running a fever.



 
Mom and I made some truffles to give as gifts.  It took a good part of the day, but there is a learning curve, ya know.

As usual, vacation went by much too quickly.  This last week flew by and now here we are back to Monday - the first Monday in December.  But we had a much needed vacation - Phil actually sat down and watched a ball game and an Alaskan reality show. 

Ethan has been very excited to set up the Christmas decorations, so we did that yesterday.  Then he couldn't go to sleep because he said he was waiting for Santa.  Nature won out but this morning he woke up and told me he heard "jingle bells."   It will be a long 24 days of excitement at the McGrath house.

We have a lot to be thankful for, but most of all for our family.  We are blessed on both sides to have wonderful grandmas, grandpas, moms, dad, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles and cousins.  We couldn't want anything more.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Journeyman

Lisa, our new office manager, took pictures of Ethan at the bike shop.

 Doesn't he look handsome?


**WARNING**Political Rant ahead.........

 Even though I am angry that Obama is still in office and running small businesses to the ground, I can't give up the shop yet.  Not when the real reason we bought it was for the boys.   I won't get on my political pedestal, but it is small businesses that make this economy run and when you cut our knees out from under us, we have no choice.  We are real people, with real families, and have to make smart decisions in order to survive.  I get a bit miffed when ........ Deep breath......calm.......life is good.........oh, look, the trees are turning gorgeous colors.  The world is still a beautiful place........deep breath........breath in.......breath out............

12

Friday was the day Ethan was born - he is now 12 years old!  Someday I may really post about the feelings we had all those years ago, but suffice it to say I can't believe twelve years have passed.  In some ways it is too short and in some ways it has been a very long twelve years.  Twelve years and we are still struggling with the same issues - hearing, speech, fine and gross motor.  He is making some improvements, but they are small steps.

Ethan uses writing a lot more to communicate.  It is not unusual for him to have a piece of paper, pencil and an envelope.  His aide is the recipient of many of his letters, but he also likes to make a list of things he would like to eat if he is lucky enough to go to Taco Bell.  Last Saturday, after working for about 90 minutes at the Bike Shop (he had to sort all of the hangers and put the size tags back in the storage box, then hang up the hangers) - I took him to Taco Bell and I let him order himself.  He loved it.

Even though he is 12, he still has the imagination of a toddler.  And I think he will always, always believe in Santa (which is not a bad thing :-)


Tonight he had a headache and he put ice into a baggie, then into another baggie, so he must have been given an icepack at school one day because I don't put icepacks together.  He even wrapped it in a towel.  The nurse at school must make a big impression on him :-)


He has also moved up a level at Church.  He will be spending more time with his big brother at Church in the Young Men's program and Youth Sunday School.  Grandma and his Aunt gave him a sturdy bag for his new scriptures and it is big enough for his snack and water bottle (priorities, you know). 


He is riding the bus from the middle school to the elementary school where I work (it is about a 5 minute direct drive) - and he is at the point now where I don't have to meet him outside, he can walk inside and find me by himself.  Baby steps to (relative) independence.

We are lucky to have him in our family.  I can't imagine our life without him.

 Happy Birthday, Ethan!!

He's Here!

Joseph Brian McEwan was born today at home.  Megan and baby are doing well.  They accommodated by having him before I left for school so I good watch via Google Chat. 

He is precious.

9 lb 2oz  21 inches

(Megan's cousin Haley took pics - Aunt Angie took video)

Just Checkin' In

I am up for the "Worst Blog Keeper Ever" award (a.k.a. The Lame Blog Award).  Part of it is due to the fact I can never find my camera when I need it and half the time I don't even think of it, so that is part of the problem.  Who wants to see a blog without pictures?!  I thought I would plug in my camera just in case I took some pictures I forgot about, but all I have is one of Ethan and one of Bryan.  

Lame.

Oh, and several (lots and lots) of bikes.

Boring.

Phil is starting year two with the bike shop and celebrated by opening a second shop in a town about an hour away.  I celebrated by tagging along :-)  He absolutely loves it.  Of course he is too busy to actually ride the bikes anymore, but that is a whole different problem.

I started school three weeks ago.  Goodness, three weeks already.  I am not doing what I love to do this year (ESL).  But even so, I love going each and every morning and giving love, attention, and hugs to dozens of children each day.  I teach in a school with a lot of children who come from unhappy homes.  I make it a point to always be smiling and to let them know I am happy to see them each and everyday.  And it is not a stretch, because I do love seeing them each and everyday.  I want them to always remember that I think they are of great worth and can accomplish anything.  I make it a point to find the children I worked with last year that I don't get to work with this year.  I want to keep that connection with them.  And I do miss working with them everyday.  Life shouldn't be so hard for ones who are so young.

I am also teaching early morning seminary.  So I leave the house 5:50 a.m. and get home around 7:30 in the evening.  Depending on work at the bike shop.  Dinner?  Thank goodness we all love toast. :-)

Jordan is a junior. What!?!

Ethan is in 6th grade (and yes, each year continues to be somewhat of a battle for services, but it could be worse - much worse.)

Logan has one more year. A picture of him is below.

Bryan visited for almost two weeks.  I LOVED having him home again.  Except he left Lucy, his tarantula, and she is psychotic.  She scares me.  She lunges at you when you open the cage to feed and water her.  Bryan, I think she misses you!

Megan was due last Tuesday!!  We were all hoping for a September 1st birthday to honor Mama Miller, but alas, unless she hurries - like right now - that is not going to happen.   I am so sad I can't be there when this little fella is born, but today I thought "SKYPE!"   I can still be there....yippeee!!!

I will end this lame blog with the few pictures I scavenged from my camera.

Notes from Logan:  Gabon has officially recognized our church as a religion and has allowed for groups to meet there. So that is one huge step taken towards the church in Gabon; I think there are ten members
there now or something. Still a long way to go but that was a huge
step in the right direction.

Yes I eat well! But I have lost lots of weight. Around twenty pounds
actually. I’m pretty skinny!!   I walk a lot everyday. Miles and miles. But it isn’t too bad. I am strong.

That pic is sorta gruesome. we had mice nests in the cupbaord. IT WAS
WAR!!!!!!!!
and yes that is blood.....

This is Ethan, exhausted while the kitchen was being repainted.  He had Dolly and Jill for company.

Journee and Jordan checking out why Grandpa's old beehive was sitting crooked.

 

Logan's One Year Anniversary

 

Well this looks like it is going to be an interesting transfer.  Elder Baker got in. Cool guy. He lived in paris for 4 years, high school actually. and speaks beautiful french already. every one thinks he is french. He struggled just a bit understanding the accent for the first couple days but he is getting good. The apartment is really good. We joke and have fun, but we also make sure everything gets done the way it is supposed to. Elder baker started his mission in Chicago for a transfer because of visa problems so now he gets to see the difference. He was shocked and grateful simultaneously for the amount of work we do and the level of obedience. Apparently Chicago was a pretty apostate area. Very apostate even. Whodathunk it. Everything is going pretty good. We had a baptism last Saturday.

Sister Marie Ciline was baptized by Ruben, her son about to leave on mission. Now her daughters are interested so we will start teaching them.

I found out there are problems with my visa. They can't extend it. So they have to send me out of the country before they can send me back in. Which means they have to send me back to Point Noire before I can come back to Cameroun!!! You can call me mister world traveler... hopefully I will be back in my old sectuer, that would be really cool. Very cool even.

I will be getting there relatively close to the time I got there last year....

I have 4 days till my year mark... that is crazy to me!!!! The down hill descent. There is still so much time to improve. I already think I am awesome; I can get even more awesome now. Don't worry I am also very humble; I will get even more humble.

Well things are going great. The Evansons are awesome but they will be leaving near the end of this transfer. Then the Whitesides come in. and they don't speak french. That will be fun.

I am glad that everyone is happy and healthy we will talk to you next week!!!

Elder McGrath

It's Only Monday

Of course it is a Monday.  I really, really needed to get things done because Ethan and I are traveling to Tennessee to pick up Bryan on Wednesday and I have class all day tomorrow.

Woke up Jordan and he was running late, for sure, because he HAD to get a bike built today.  Not a simple bike, either, but a recumbent.

Couldn't find my new contacts anywhere even though I just bought them.  I hate wearing my glasses when it is hot and humid.

It was over 100 degrees today and very, very, very humid.

Washer out for the count - called the repair man.

I dropped a gallon of paint (plus one quart) of my brand new paint near the kitchen door, on the brick steps and on the garage floor.  Oh, by the way, the paint is now also over some new pants.  (And this evening I dropped a bottle of cleaner on the bathroom floor and it emptied.  At least that clean up was productive.)

(Did I mention the heat today??)

Repairman comes as I am gracefully trying to clean up the mess.  He spends a half hour only to tell me it will cost an outrageous amount to fix it.

(Did I mention I had a TON of laundry backed up??)

Rushed to Lowes to look for a deal - and I found one.  They delivered it two hours later and installed it at no charge! :-)

Spent the rest of the day at the shop because we were short handed.

Ate dinner.....at 9:00 this evening.

I would love to post some pictures, but unfortunately (it's Monday, remember) my camera battery is dead and I CAN'T find the battery charger anywhere!!!!

Oh goodness, I can't wait for Tuesday!! ;-)

Logan and the Monkey

Dearest of dearest families:

Well this week was pretty good. We found out news for tranfers next week… I am not getting transferred but my companion is. He has been here for about one year same sector. Now I am getting it and a new companion. Elder Baker. A very very very new companion. Fresh from the USA new companion…. That is right. I am training… and I am district leader. Crazy how president springs stuff like that on people. Oh well I will just do the best I can.

This week we just had was pretty good. Had a baptism! Brother and sister Ndiemboh. Anglophones!!! They have been investigators for two years. Finally got baptized!!!! They are some of the nicest people I have met. And good too! Good parents and grandparents, good people! I saw him talking with other Anglophones one day and went over there. He was discussing what he and they could do to activate the inactive Anglophones. He was talking about organizing and visiting them in couples to talk about why they left and try to get them to overcome their problems and come back. He is  awesome.

Then we have a person ready for the fourth. She is the mother of a member, Rueben. She is awesome. She was super sceptical so she prays about everything. And then gets the answer and is like, fine… I’ll believe you! We have to fix one or two things, but she will be a huge asset for the branch. She is so nice!! Also we met a Giovanni Alexandre. He is an awesome cordonée from a member. He is really nice. There is simply the not married but living with someone and have children problem that just kills me! It is so hard to get married here. The dote is terrible! How could a family take as much money from the son in law as they can. They leave their children and their new family with absolutely nothing. It is ridiculous.

Well I went to the monkey park today as you can see. It was really cool. It is a rehabilitation and protection refuge they had some really cool monkeys there. The Evansons took us. They will actually be leaving soon. Then the Whitesides will come in. They might want to go see it too… we were trying to get a picture of the monkeys  with us in the shot. One of them grabs a rock and chucks it straight up!!! Guess who’s head it lands on! Yep… mine… it hurt…. :’(

Well that is the news to day boys and girls!! Have a good week!!

Love you all!!

Elder McGrath

Wait so Margo is getting married!? When!? Do you talk to them!? They should send me a photo or something. wow that is awesome!!!!

Logan Update

Apparently Logan has some friends who are NOT on the email list and they have been waiting for me to put Logan's letters on the blog.  I do apologize - both to his friends for taking so long and to those of you who ARE on the email list.  You will not read anything new below:-)  I should here from him again tomorrow and will post it - so keep in touch!  He has only 13 more months to go.....

Just to update - Logan is in Cameroon now.

June 18

Well, I thouroughly enjoyed talking to you all yesterday!!!
Next time I will be more than halfway done with the mission... that is
weird!!! Time has flown by so fast!!!

Well this is the start (today) of my 7th transfer.....craziness.
Next transfer will be the craziest. The new people will be in and they

don't know this place or speak french. Ils s'sppellent the Whitesides.
I hope they are nice!!! I love senior couples. They are like grandpas

and grandmas!!!! Sister Evanson makes us cookies all the time!! They
are so nice and helpful!!! You two should go on a mission when you

grow up!!! They would love you!!! And it is probably so much less

stressful than the lives you have now. All you have to do is work 24/7

to make elders comfortable!! I am sure it is quite satisfying!!

June 26

My famille !!  Comment ca va ? J’espère que tout va bien là ba!!
 This week was really good !! I went on splits on Friday with elder
Tshibindi and that was really fun, the way Africans teach is a little
bit different but it gets the point across you know?  He is quite a
goof ball sometimes. More so than the other Africans. They tend to be
way too serious to the point of adding in unnecessary restrictions and
rules but Elder Tshibindi is really relaxed and funny. He has a great
sense of humor! Sometimes it is hard to tell when he is joking and
not, but I have gotten good at telling.

I have discovered that I can understand people at lot easier. I mean
it is first hard to understand the French. When you get good at that
the next trick is understanding the nuances and gist behind things. I
mean sarcasm and other little tricks are hard to understand when you
learn a language and culture. That is all gotten a lot easier now and
it is easier to joke and tell stories with people. And that leads to
more real connections with investigators.  I mean that is how you have
friends. So there are many good people here that I really love and
understand. That is not something everyone can do. But it is pretty
cool; I am able to express myself more in French now.

We have some progressing investigators. An awesome family of
Anglophones. The parents are older but really nice. We climb a
mountain to see them each week. And they all jump on the back of a
moto to quick to church. It is amazing how many people can fit on a
motorcycle… I love them so much, they are ready and prepared to come
to the gospel.

Today was pretty awesome. We and a recent convert went to a museum of
cameroun. It was really interesting . then the tour guide, (the
grandson of the famous guy who built the museum) was explaining how
music always gets disqualified at the world music competition. He said
it is not because the music itself is bad (which is the reason) but it
was just recorded badly. He said that is why last time "I was in
America I bought a studio and brought it back with me." Shows us into
this totally legit music studio! It was awesome!! Then he was like,
here are instruments you know how to play? Well I took the piano,
elder lafleur by the way plays guitar REALLY well. And we jammed!!
Recorded it too!! It was actually "If you could hie to kolob"… he liked
it! So we got to jam out for a while. Soooo much fun. When I get rich
when I am old I will buy a nice place to record and jam out.
Well this week looks like it is going to be same old same old! How are
things going in your neck of the woods. Other than the stifling heat
and unbearable humidity. I am not really that jealous actually.

Any way I love you all!!! I hope your days pass well!

Sad Day

The guests outside my classroom window have gone.  Yesterday morning I checked on them and there was only one baby bird left.  Mama was NOT happy I was there checking in, either.  She was taking some kamikazi dives at the window in an attempt to ward me off.

Fifteen minutes after I checked on baby #3, he was gone.  He was hopping on the grass in front of the school.  About 20 minutes after that I checked and he was gone.

I don't know if they come back to nests.  I don't know if that nest will ever be used again.  But it was fun to watch while it lasted.

You Know You're Getting Old When.....

Yesterday was a 14 hour work day for us.  After closing shop I had to run to store to get things for Sunday dinner.

I got all the way through Walmart when I realized I forgot a few odds and ends I needed for Claire's birthday - so immediately my "fast" trip (realize I had Ethan with me and going anywhere with him is NEVER fast anyway) turned into a much longer trip because I couldn't find what I was looking for.

As I am checking out at the register (on a Saturday night, at Walmart - you know what I'm talking about) - I realized I forgot the wrapping paper!!  So I left Phil and Ethan by the door and went (ran) to get the wrapping paper.......

(more waiting in line......)

The front doors were opening to let us out when I realized I forgot CARROTS for the roast - yes, piddly carrots.  But for all of you who have eaten Sunday Dinner at my house and know how the slightest change from routine throws the boys out of wack, I had to make myself turn around and walk (run) to get carrots.

(more waiting in line....)

We got the car packed, climbed in, backed out, and started down the row when I realized I forgot Jordan's pizza rolls.  Pizza rolls.  Really?  But he had worked so hard ALL day long and all he asked for to snack on was a lousy bag of pizza rolls.  So Phil patiently pulled into the "no park" zone and I walked (ran) in to get the pizza rolls.

(more waiting in line......)

It was almost 9:30 by the time we got home.

Me.  Old and Crazy.

Ooo la la

What happened to good intentions??  Didn't I say I would be more diligent in writing regularly????

Well.........

There are only 17 school days left.  What?!?  Where did the year go?  Fortunately, I think (think, think) I will be doing summer school with the English language learners.  How fun will that be?!?

Life at the bike shop has been crazy since our office manager decided to stay home full time with her new baby (we were thrilled she decided to do it, even though now we are very, very short handed).  So I leave for work at 6:00 a.m. and we have been getting home around 8 p.m.  I head to the bike shop after school gets out.  The good thing is it is a family affair, so at least we are all together.  But it doesn't leave us time for much more than coming home and get ready for the next day.

We talked with a college girl tonight that we think will work out great - so cross your fingers!

Meanwhile.........

My kids at school have been having a great time observing the life cycle of a robin.  One morning I walked in my room and saw that a robin was building her nest right outside my classroom window - at eye level!!  How lucky is that?!?

So....

We watched her build her nest.



Saw her beautiful blue eggs.

Got glimpses of her babies.

And we get a lot of angry complaining from mama when we peek out the window.

You will notice I actually walked outside to get a picture of the nest, but once those eggs were laid she got very possessive (imagine that).  So I opened the window to get a good picture of the eggs.  I tried to get a good picture of the babies, but I didn't dare open the window very  much because I honestly think the mother would fly in and attack.  That is also why I didn't put my hand out with the camera to take a picture.  I didn't want to chance ending up in the next day's local paper documenting my stupidity if she attacked!

But my kids have been LOVING it!

Good People

On Sunday evenings while I am organizing my week I tune into the BYU channel on the internet. I know it is available on cable, but since I don't have cable I get it on the internet. There are a couple of shows that just touch my heart.


One is "Turning Point" - it is fascinating. It highlights ordinary people from all walks of life and the extraordinary things they do. The show description says "Turning Point is a collection of inspiring stories about people whose lives have changed irrevocably due to one pivotal decision." I have seen so many of them (and they are all excellent - there are so many good people in the world doing good things for others, it is very inspiring):

Colin and Karen Archipley created the Veterans Sustainability Agriculture Training program to offer newly returned veterans an intensive 6-week course in farming skills.

Wynona Ward travels around rural areas in a mobile truck/office to offer domestic abuse victims a chance for a better life.

World-champion kayaker Brad Ludden takes groups of young adults suffering from cancer on week-long adventure camps; Linda Myers provides support for elderly Native Americans living traditional lifestyles on reservations.

Learn about Homeboy Industries--an organization that assists formerly gang-involved youth become positive and contributing members of society through job placement, training, and education.

Then last night Jordan wanted to watch The 5000 Day Project: Two Brothers.

This is the show description:

Meet Luke and Sam Nelson, two brothers who struggled to develop a positive relationship in childhood. The Nelson boys are just two of 60 kids documented over a 5,000-day period by filmmaker Rick Stevenson.

Oh my, I cried. It was a moving documentary. Seeing their spiritual and physical growth was moving. I can't even imagine editing film to make a 90 minute movie out of 10 years worth of material. But I digress........it was excellent. It was uplifting and inspiring and truly a wonderful way to spend the evening with my boys.

So, in short, I see a lot of bad things during the week. And that just isn't when I read the news. A lot of my students live in terrible circumstances. But then I uplifted when I see that there truly are a lot of wonderful, good, kind, and charitable people in this world. There really are. One of BYU tv's slogans is "See the Good" and I am trying, because there is still a lot of good to be found.

Until We Meet Again

Megan, Brian and the kids are taking off today. We are very sad around here. We had such a good time with them. I love have little ones around the house again. We are going to be very lonely without them.

We spent some time at the park yesterday after watching General Conference together. It is so nice in the evening we stayed out past dark (i.e. big ring in the bathtub).

Quasi-Family Picture

The next time I need a family picture, I think I will call the paper and tell them we need to advertise for a fund-raiser.....

Phil, Ethan, Jordan, Quinn and Journee were all present when the newspaper came to take a picture for our "65 Roses Tour" - it is an annual bike ride we sponsor for cysticfibrosis. We have a 65 mile ride, a 30 mile ride, and a 10 mile family fun ride. Last year we raised $7,000. Our goal this year is $10,000! Hopefully the weather will be great this year - last year it was pouring rain, lightening, wind, and cold.

So....if you are free on April 21st, come join us for a great day and a great cause!

What happened to the two months?

Has it really been TWO months since I last wrote??? Where has the time gone? There is so much to catch up on!!!!

Our lives have been busy with work, school and church responsibilities. We seem to have gotten by with a very mild winter - so much so that the bike shop has had some business (yay!). It seems to have slowed down in March, which is a bummer, but I am hoping for a stellar week to finish off the month.

I decided to enroll in classes again, I am very close to getting my special education certification and I was offered two free classes, so I jumped at the opportunity.

Jordan's basketball is over so he is able to spend more time repairing and building bikes, which is a huge help.

Ethan has some trial hearing aids, I will have to do a separate post on that. We are trying them for 6 weeks, but right now he is only wearing them at school.

My niece came to stay with us for almost seven weeks while our office manager was out having a baby - it was great to have her come and work in the shop and spend time with us. We were sad to see her go.

Megan, Jack and Claire came on March 7th to visit. They will leave on April 2nd. Brian flew in on Saturday to stay the last week and fly home with them. It has been so much fun to have them here.

I am trying to get things ready for a garden this summer. "Never Give Up" has become my motto. Eventually I will have a successful garden!

I am giving backyard chickens a try - they are living in the front room right now and are darn cute.

I only have a few pictures to post as I can't find my camera battery charger (what's new there?). I will look for it and be more faithful at keeping this ole' blog up-to-date.

We were so happy to finally have Megan, Claire and Jack in Arkansas!!!

Jack, not so much. (At first, he has warmed up to us)

Journee helped air up tires during a big bike delivery.

Jordan in Big John's hat that he left when he was living with us. Thanks a ton, John.

It was such a beautiful day when they arrived, we played in the yard the whole afternoon!

Jordan has been practicing the "dunk".

The next thing we had to do, of course, was go on a bike ride!!

A walk in the neighborhood on the way to church.

The Little Things

We have been so incredibly busy here, I don't think it is healthy. Somehow we are managing to hold ourselves together, but just.

I tell myself this is just a cycle and those wonderfully slow, relaxing, peaceful days will return at some point.

Just let me keep telling myself that - it gives me hope!

Pretty telling when you reflect back to a household of young children and call it slow and relaxing, lol.


As I was getting dinner in the oven, cleaning the kitchen, folding laundry, bathing Ethan, unloading the dishwasher, and trying to study I saw something that gave me the feeling that I was getting "a break." I was folding the last clean towel in the pile and all that was left was socks. I scooped them all up and put them in the "sock basket."

(not my actual basket)

Now the "sock basket" may seem like an unorganized, chaotic mess, but to me it is bliss. I DON'T HAVE TO MATCH SOCKS!!!!! Honestly, matching socks is stressful. I am sure all of you out there have perfectly matched socks every time you wash, but that has NEVER happened to me. Not-even-once!

Despite the fact I have been leaving the house before the sun is up and we all get home well after dark, I am making plans for an early spring garden. Thanks to a suggestion from my sister, I have procured barrels and am looking for dirt. My goal for this summer - NO WEEDS. Although you may be intrigued, you will have to wait until it is set up and then I will take pictures. Considering I haven't stepped foot in the back yard since October, don't hold your breath! :-)

Now, enough fun. Back to work it is.

The Party Goes On

Even though the holidays are in the past and we are all preparing for the New Year before us, Ethan is clinging to the fun.

He woke me up excited and couldn't wait to show me his room:
It was time for a party!

Yesterday after we closed up the shop he told me he was tired and wanted to go to my bed. Hmmm, I never let him sleep with me (because I wouldn't get any sleep), but after dinner and bath I let him crawl in my bed to look at books.

He is way too heavy to carry when he falls asleep so I told him it was time for him to get in his own bed and I went to pull down his bed covers.
Now I know why he wanted to stay in my bed.

In case you need interpretation - those are Santa's sacks.