Thankful...

We had so much to be thankful for over the holiday, I don't know where to begin! I guess I'll start at the beginning...

Michael and I managed to get all the projects completed that we wanted to. That included painting our stairwell (not fun), making some much needed and long put off purchases, and babyproofing much of our home. We are nowhere near completion of all we want to do in our house, but it's a start. Our next deadline is February, when family will next be visiting, and the list is already forming...

We are thankful for completed projects...

What would the holidays be without family? First, my sister, Lisa, her husband, Bill, and their daughter, Celia (see earlier post) joined us for a visit of four days and nights.


We are thankful for the joy Celia brought to our home...

My brother, Robert, and his fiancee, Ildiko, had arrived in California earlier in the week and were staying with her parents. We had the opportunity to visit with them three days of their stay, which was also filled with wedding plans (the date is set for May 27th in Westlake).


We are thankful for how happy Ildiko makes my brother...

On Thanksgiving Day, we were joined by Marcia, Michael's sister, who came up from San Diego. I always love to spend time with Marcia. She's fun, she's great, and by the way, she looks FANTASTIC!!! Ryan, Michael's brother, also joined us from Riverside. He has lived in California for almost a full year, but this is the first time we have seen him. He has been travelling for his job to places like Alaska, Mammoth, and Italy! Rough life, Ryan!

My mom, Anita, was able to spend Thanksgiving with us, bringing her amazing pumpkin and apple pies. We gave her this Thanksgiving off, though~Lisa cooked the turkey. The table was complete when my sister, Gayle arrived, also from San Diego, with, thankfully, the yams.

My dad, known by many as JimBob, came out for a Fiesta on Friday. I made my specialty~chicken enchiladas with rice with beans. For dessert we had ice cream malt pies! Yum...

We are so thankful for family and food and health...

Alec had a fabulous time having so much family around. He made himself useful giving a great "Grand Tour" of our house to those who had never been here before and being quick on the computer looking up facts that came into question during various discussions! He was also delighted to be on hand to keep Celia entertained throughout the day, while Celia kept us all entertained with her lovely singing voice ("la la la").

The weather was gorgeous the whole weekend. We were so fortunate for all who travelled to and from our home for the great conditions through which they passed. Lisa and Bill were able to take Celia out each day for walks, and we all went out on Saturday to a local park for a family photo shoot. It has finally cooled down, though, we've had a few light showers, some wind has picked up, we've even had the fire going...

We are thankful for the safety of our family...

In the midst of the hustle and bustle of getting ready for family to arrive and the preparation of so many meals, we think of those who couldn't be with us this year, our family far away, our friends who had plans somewhere else. And as we move into the Christmas Season, we also think of those less fortunate than we are and we pray that they may find relief from their burdens and strength for their journeys.

We are thankful for our many blessings, big and small, those that are obvious and those that are hidden...

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."

History

A Song of Independence

The king of England
Is an evil man.
He’s gotten in the way
Of the population of this land.
He has sent out armies
Without our permission.
And given them free reign
With no inhibitions.
He’s sent them to live with us
And some even kill us.
But protect them with Mock Trials
All that does is mock us.

Chorus

Isn’t it obvious
We are all the same?
God has given us
These rules to the game.
These states are free
With full power
To choose our own friends
To a king we won’t cower.


He cut off our trade
With the entire world.
All of our goods
From him are sold.
And then taxed to high heaven
With no say from us.
We want the right
To establish our own commerce!
We absolve our allegiance to the British Crown
Yo! King George! You’re goin’ down!


The Constitution of Our United Family

We the people of 1234 Main St. in order to form a more perfect family, insure domestic tranquility and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves do ordain and establish this Constitution.

ARTICLE 1:

Section 1: All persons shall have equal representation on the family computer with the understanding that it is located in Master Bedroom and certain privacies must be observed as set down by law.

Section 2: Vistitation between houses will be allowed between approved friends so long as required obligations within the household have been met.

Section 3: Once a month an agreed upon amount will be deposited into my acount in exchange for basic household duties.

Section 4: I have the right to basic necessities such as food, clothing, shelter, and medical attention. Anything else is considered a privelege.

Section 5: I have the right to improve myself everyday and make myself a better person than I was the day before.

ARTICLE 2:

Section 1: I am responsible for taking care of my three cats every day whether or not I am home. If I am not home it is my responsibility to delegate the task to someone else until my return.

Section 2: I am responsible for completing all of my school assignments everyday to the best of my ability.

Section 3: I am responsible for keeping my personal and work areas neat and tidy.

Section 4: I am responsible for my own personal hygiene.

Section 5: I am responsible for making the world a happier place than it was the day before.


As you can tell, Alec has been studying Early American History. His assignments can get pretty creative...the photo was taken on our field trip to the Ronald Reagan Library in September, where we were able to tour Air Force One.

And we think we're smarter than they are?

Michael (while practicing giving an IQ Test to Alec): "Why do we put stamps on envelopes?"

Alec (totally exhausted from this enterprise, they've been at it for hours): "To pay the Postal Workers' salaries...Well, actually, that's why we BUY them. We PUT them on our mail so the Postal Workers will TAKE our mail and not THROW IT AWAY."