For some reason I have completely lost interest in at least two things that I previously enjoyed, one of which is really a necessity for me and another is not. If you haven't guessed, the non-necessity is blogging, and yes, the really important one for a mom with four growing boys is cooking.
I'm muddling through the cooking thing, buying frozen pizza instead of making homemade, and joining e-mealz for the easy recipes and grocery lists, but the blogging is definitely on the back burner. So I guess this is a back-burner moment, so here is the holiday summary from Thanksgiving to New Years.
A week or so before Thanksgiving our next door neighbor died. He was not incredibly close to us, but we were sad non-the-less. He was an elderly man with multiple health problems including Crohn's disease, diabetes, foot ailments and depression. He occasionally called and requested that the boys bring him his mail or take our his trash. We're definitely praying for the repose of his soul, as he died from a self-inflected gunshot wound.
So his sons came to take care of his belongings and Lee assisted them with this. They also asked if we knew anyone who might be interested in house-sitting for free for a few months, as it would probably take a while to go through probate and sell the house. We immediately thought of Lee's brother who is currently living with his mother. His brother wasn't interested, and the his living situation became somewhat of a family conflict.
Around t his same time, we received the news that Lee's sister was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. She was put on a ventilator and on several IV antibiotics due to septicemia. She is in her late 40s and has a husband and two children aged 13 and 11.
We were all incredibly worried about Krista who was on a ventilator in ICU for about a week, and then later discovered to have a staph infection in her spine. She was released from the hospital after having to spend Thanksgiving there and for about two weeks total. Even though she's at home now, she's still on IV antibiotics and has weekness in her legs. It's all a mystery.
Thanks be to God she seems to be on the road to recovery, and was able to spend Christmas with us all.
A couple of weeks before Christmas, as I was sitting at the table going over lessons with the boys, Lee called to tell me that he was let go from his job. Bad news it seems, but maybe not. As a salesman in the construction industry, we had been experiencing pay cut after pay cut and were down to living off of our savings when this occurred. Fortunately now he has new opportunities, a settlement from the company and unemployment benefits.
Thanks be to God he has decided to stay home from work until the end of January. We're all enjoying and looking forward to some good family time and some long-overdue chores to be completed. Now that I think of it, maybe he doesn't have time to work! :)
On the Sunday of Advent we had our second annual Christmas Carolling Party and Bonfire. It was a HUGE success, and a great time was had by all. We roasted hotdogs and marshmellows and sang carols by the piano with accompaniment from piano, recorder, guitar and trumbone. We're so thankful to have this fun group of friends to hang out with.
In preparation for the party and for Christmas dinner at our house, we decided to move my mother's dining room furniture into the main living area. It is such a beautiful hutch and dining room table that I've begun to wonder what has taken so long. It just looks fabulous here and I plan on posting pictures soon.
Of course Christmas dinner was fun, and we all enjoyed feasting, exchanging gifts and socializing with our relatives. I'm so thankful that the boys have two great cousins, an aunt, two uncles and two super grandparents to spend Christmas with. (Not to mention their grandfather and step-grandmother who visited from Tennessee a week earlier and showered them with love and presents.)
We're still celebrating Christmas, of course, with the tree still up and decorations around. And we're looking forward to another New Year's Eve with our friends Jeff and Bronwynne playing cards and just hanging out. Oh, and New Years Day we'll be attending an open house at friends', as well as Mass in the honor of Mary, the Mother of God.
Oh boy, that's been a ear-full!! Imagine going through it all!! I'm looking forward to the beginning of the second semester of our homeschool just to get a break.
Merry Christmas to All!!! Looking forward to some new photos and new happy blogging stories to come in 2010.