One Year

Tomorrow marks my one year anniversary as a blogger.  My dear husband set everything up for me (including the name) as a Christmas gift last year.  I am enjoying keeping in touch with so many old friends and their families.  Mushing Mum created the interest to blog.  She told me that blogging made the everyday occurrences exciting.  I still don't see much exciting but I have enjoyed documenting everything for posterity (occasionally to the chagrin of my embarrassed children).

Since it took a while for the rest of you to realize I was blogging I thought I would repost one of my first blogs for you to puzzle over.  I got these neat Christmas gifts last year that I wanted everyone to see. One of them came in my stocking and I knew right away what it was. The other two came together in a gift bag and had me and the rest of the room (except for the giver) absolutely stumped. They are not sex toys. A musical instrument? No. The egg is flat on the side it is resting on - Was it part of an antique mortar and pestle? No. I was given the hint it was something I had talked to my dad about last year and that didn't help at all. Any brave souls out there want to guess? I will tell you in a day or two and end the suspense. 

Celebrate

So today - half way between Caitlin & Alec's birthday and Christmas - I am going to celebrate.  I am introverted - not to the hermit living alone stage.  I like people but I really value time alone when I can get it.   Because Kevin works a lot of nights and is therefore home in the day, Caitlin was unemployed for 3 weeks so she was at home, then Connor was home for 8 days after tonsil surgery, then Alec came home I haven't had any time alone for weeks.  There is always someone wanting my undivided attention or help doing something or finding something.  Because of the holiday season I know I won't have anytime alone until January 10.  So today I will celebrate - very briefly.  Between the time Connor leaves for school in 10 minutes and the others trickle in from work parties I will have 5 hours to my self.  Yipppee!!!  What will I do?  After a quick trip to Wal-Mart (turkeys are on sale for $1.47 pound while supplies last) I have a morning to myself.  I might clean, bake cookies and a quick look outside confirms I will be shovelling snow but I can do it alone!  And I can listen to music I like instead of the girls country & western or the boys rock (not to offend anyone who likes that music but I can't handle it for hours on end or at loud volume).  And I won't have to referree any disagreements!  Yippee again!

A big day for Caitlin and an even bigger day for Alec

Today was another busy day for our household.  Not only was it Caitlin and Alec's 22nd birthday it was Alec's graduation from Basic Training.  So I thought it was appropriate to  get a picture of them together. 

Man do I feel old today!  Could be that I am just really tired after a week of nursing Connor?  Yes, let's just say that is it and not the advancing years.  Connor did make it but it took a lot out of him.  He is still sleeping.

Update on Connor and Tori

Connor's throat started bothering him more last night.  I think he has thrush now but they don't usually treat it so I will just keep an eye on it.  He hasn't managed to have breakfast and be dressed before 11 yet -that should make tomorrow interesting.  We have to leave the house between 8 and 9 am (depending on weather) to make it to Alec's grad.  I am not sure he will be up to going which will be very sad for him.

Tori's team updated their blog last night.  They made it safely and spent yesterday distributing shoeboxes and helping in a dental clinic and a vision clinic.  It is 42 degrees in Paraguay.  I don't know if I could handle that any better than our cold, snowy winter.  Somewhere in between would be nice.  

A Big Day for Connor and Victoria

Connor has had strep throat 4 or 5 times since January.  The first 4 occurences meant days off school and trying to find an antibiotic that worked.  The last time he got strep and pink eye at camp.  I was tired of worrying every time he had a fever or sore throat or nose bleed if it was strep again so we arranged to have his tonsils removed.  This was the first surgery for any of our kids other than the oldest 3 having their wisdom teeth removed.  We arrived at the hospital at 6:15 am.  He headed to the Operating Room at 8:35.  The surgeon came out at 9:25 and told us everything went smoothly.  At 10:30 we finally got to see him.  He was still groggy but coherent.  At 11:45 I went for lunch and when I came back he was much more alert.  Kevin went for lunch and I read Connor the cover story from the latest Reader's Digest about a skydiver who suffers compound fractures of her lower leg bones, has her left arm mostly severed and is partly scalped when her chute malfunctioned.  When you feel bad it always helps to know how much worse things could have been.  Then he asked for his own book and read until we were discharged just before 2:00.  He is a real trooper.  He never rated the pain above a 3 (on a scale of 1 - 10).  He has just gone to bed now so we will wait until he gets up to eat our exciting meal of Lipton's chicken noodle soup and jello.  

Kevin and Tori have just left for Pearson International Airport.  Tori is meeting the rest of the youth mission team from Samaritan's Purse tonight.  They are spending the night at a hotel then leave early tomorrow for Paraguay.  She flies from Toronto to Dallas, Dallas to Buenos Aires then Buenos Aires to Asuncion on the way there.  The return trip is reversed but they fly into Miami instead of Dallas.  She will be handing out Christmas shoe boxes that people from all across Canada have filled for children in underprivileged nations.  Last March when she went to Africa to minister in churches and an orphanage I was very nervous.  I am much calmer this time.  I am not sure if that is because Paraguay is a more stable country, some of my worrying is diverted to Connor or the Christmas season is just to busy to dwell on one thing.