Not much to report. We are getting on with life because it doesn't stop, as you all know. Everyone is healthy except for the occasional upper-respiratory cold. Boyd and I are trying to lose some of the middle age spread that seems to have magically appeared over the last 10 years. To start off right, we are keeping a record of everything we eat. It's amazing what we mindlessly put into our bodies. I never thought snacking on just a single serving of chips or pretzels made much of a difference. WRONG. There's a website call www.sparkpeople.com that has a great online tool to record what you eat. It's VERY helpful and very easy. It's also free!
Boyd's mom and sister have moved to the area so we celebrated the holidays with them. Thanksgiving and Christmas were both at my house which I don't mind at all. My sister and her family (pictured in the photo) were able to come up for the afternoon on Thanksgiving.
Christmas was relaxed and very enjoyable. Every year we vow not to spend so much on gifts but it's really hard not to buy into the Christmas spending frenzy. We don't get the kids much all year so we kind of splurge at Christmas. (Our version of "splurge" is probably not that bad by the world's standards) This year was no different.
We finally caved! Boyd and I had always agreed that we'd never get a game system. It would take the place of active play, take away imagination..blah, blah, blah...We are now proud owners of a PS2 system (the cheapest), Guitar Hero III and DDR. Chloe played Guitar Hero a few years ago at a friends house and we never heard the end of how much fun it was. I played it once and I had to agree, it WAS a lot of fun. It's now a family activity! Josh is the best player! His fingers just fly over those buttons on the HARD level. I'm positive his violin playing has something to do with that. I also bought Boyd an ATV racing game and he's hooked on that. It's fun to see his inner child come out...finally. He's always such a grown-up, which I am very thankful for. SO, having a game system hasn't turned out to be as terrible as I thought it would be. It actually gives me some leverage with the kids! It's given all of us many hours of fun together AND we made sure we got TWO guitars.
DDR was not as much of a hit. I like to dance, but DDR is a bit of a nightmare for me. I had all these grand plans to dance my way into a size 10. Right. Have you tried DDR? The easy level is very easy, but beyond that, it gets a little more complicated. There is no pattern to the arrows that tell you were to stomp next. I feel like an idiot with 3 left feet and it's very humbling for someone who considers herself a good dancer. My shins started hurting because you're not supposed TO WEAR SHOES, the dance pad moves and crumples AND I don't like to jump up and down anymore. My boobs will end up saggier than they already are and I could wet my pants. They also need to get better music for middle-age moms and NO, I don't fit into a size 10 yet. I was on a roll for about...oh...2 days.
Sorry, no one got a Christmas card from us this year. Didn't get to it. Maybe next year.
Last fall we placed our membership at New Hope Church and really like being a part of that congregation. I am contemplating a mission trip to Bulgaria but am still praying about it. I finally joined the church Gospel choir. This particular choir practices and sings once a month. Yep...I joined the choir...
The first time I performed with them I got a tickle in my throat, coughed through half of the song with the microphone just off to my left, and my right eye watered so much my whole right cheek was wet. No amount of wiping could dry it off because the tears just kept pouring out of my eye. Have you ever tried to suppress a cough? By the end of the song I was completely embarrassed. I'm sure all the makeup on the right side of my face had washed away. Did I mention I was on the top row, center? Great debut! I just hope nobody noticed.
Chloe celebrated her 12th birthday with a "Killing for the Crown" murder mystery evening with 12 of her friends. It was a hoot and we all had a chance to dress up in our pageant finery. Happy to report there were no midnight runs to the ER this year! Woo-Hoo! The photo is Chloe "bribing" on of the "Judges". It was REALLY fun. She'll be playing volleyball this spring.
We plan on camping again this summer for our vacation. We'll take a trip up north to Family Camp but with gas prices expected to soar to over $4/gallon, the rest of the summer we'll have to take shorter trips. Our driveway is looking pretty affordable right now.
I can't think of anything else...School is going well for the kids, Josh is now taller than I am and Chloe is starting her growth spirt as well. I hope she is blessed with the tall gene.
I will try to post more often for but for now, I must get on with the day. Until next time, peace to you.
