A Merry Little Christmas

That's what we had. Well, really, it wasn't so little. I have no pictures to post right now because I am at my mother-in-law's house. But, the kids are happy with their gifts, we had a great time, great food, and even played a few rounds of CatchPhrase. I had wanted to start a new tradition of reading the Christmas Story from the Bible on Christmas Eve. Well, we got home a bit late from my father-in-law's house and when we arrived, I was told that dad was not feeling too well. they were at the table playing cards and he dropped his head into his hands and sat like that for a few mins before saying he didn't feel well. He then got up and went to the couch and laid down. I got home shortly after that. Well, the first thing I thought was a heart attack. I asked mom if they had given him an aspirin. They hadn't, so I got him one and took it out to him, with a glass of water. I asked him if he had taken one. He said no. Then he said, "What do you think I need this for?" I said, well, if you aren't feeling well, you need to take an aspirin." "So you think I'm gonna have a heart attack?" And he chuckled. "Don't laugh at me; you aren't going to kick the bucket on me on Christmas Eve. So take this." After a little while, he began to feel better.

So, on Christmas morning, after the gifts were opened, he got out his Bible and read us the story. We had a full house for dinner and a house full of pies, this year. LOL. Usually we just have a couple. This year we had Lemon Meringue, Banana Creme, Coconut Creme, Dutch Apple, Walnut, Pecan, Blueberry, and Strawberry/Rhubarb. Quite a selection. The day after Christmas, my dad, Jeremy, and Uncle Ken started tearing cupboards and counters out. Mom's gift was putting in new (to her) cabinets and a new countertop. After they got those tore out, they decided now would be the time to do the floor as well, so today that is being torn out. We discovered beautiful wood planking under the floor covering. Unfortunately, it is puzzled and pieced under there, so they are saving the planking in hopes of being able to have enough to do something with it.

It's been nice having my mother in law next door, because we now do not have a kitchen to cook in. So, we made a huge pot of potato soup the other day and well, we will eat that til we are sick of it (if there is such a thing).

Right now I feel almost lost. Chris(mother in law) went to visit with her friend who is here from out of state. SO, I am here, at her apartment, all by MYSELF! IT's deafeningly quiet. Almost eerie. I don't know what to do with myself. I have a good book I am in the midst of reading and then i figured i would get on the computer and catch up on every thing. I have to admit I am enjoying it quite a bit. I know it won't last for too long, though.

I got my grades...all 4.0, which makes my overall GPA a 3.776. No small feat bringing that thing up from a meager 1.35 or something like that.

Makenneh has been staying with Aunt Carrie for the past couple nights. It is probably easier with the house under construction. Sebastian tends to roll with the flow, but she bucks everything, every step of the way.

Yesterday, I was able to hang out with my oldest bestest friend. Of course, by oldest, I don't mean age. LOL. But we have been friends since 5th grade. And life has put distance between us, but I love how we can just pick up where we left off. IT's as if there is no physical distance between us. Like she lives right here in town. Throughout my life, i have had friends come and go, but Stacy has remained a constant. Of course, if you know Stacy, it's no surprise. She is the epitome of humanity. Such a beautiful and kind person. I cannot say enough good things about her and truth be told, not one single bad thing to say, ever. I've often wished the world was full of more people just like her. IT would be such a better place. She didn't have much time, as they have a lot of family and things going on in the short time they are here, but she picked me up and we went to Walmart (we both needed to go) and just hung out, as she got her pictures from the photo center and I picked up a few things we needed at home. Like I said, just as if she lives right here in town. Such a great feeling. We stopped by my sister's so she could meet Liberty, and then she dropped me back off at home. Such a nice visit. She and the kids are coming back in the summer and we are going to try to get the kids together then. And while I am talking about Stacy, please keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers, as her husband leaves shortly for Iraq for 9-11 months. They have five children and she will certainly have her hands full.

Well, that's it for now...going to put my nose in my book and read awhile...

Some Good News

My dad looked the car over today when he got home from work and he thinks we can get it fixed for the amount I will get from Insurance. It won't be perfect, but it will run and get me from point A to B. That was some good news. I am still frustrated that someone can cause an accident and, as the "victim" you are left with little to no options.

Put together a few more Christmas gifts today. I did a gift basket for my father-in-law and brother-in-law, plus one for mother-in-law. Filled them with Soup in a Jar, crackers, fruit, and different things. I ran out of energy before I completely finished. OF course, I am also running out of time. I will have to get up and finish wrapping a few things before we head out to our festivities for the day. Thankfully, we will be able to borrow mom and dad's car. We are going to his dad's, as has been our tradition since the kids were born. WE will exchange gifts, have dinner, visit. On our way to his dad's, we will stop at his aunt and uncle's, drop off a gift basket for them and visit for a little bit. I want to be home early enough to have a relaxing Christmas eve....not rushing to get kids in bed, forgetting to leave cookies and milk and all that jazz.

Speaking of cookies...we went over to mother-in-law's this evening, had dinner and the kids made cookies. They had fun. Sebastian seemed to wear more of the frosting than the cookies did. So, when it was done, he had to hit the bath! Amazingly, there was a little boy under all that frosting.

Well, it is beyond time for bed...so Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night=)

Starting the Christmas break off with a....

Crash. Of the car sort. I will start by saying, nobody was injured. However, today, on my way home from my very last class this semester, I was turning left onto my road....not a mile from home, when the girl behind me received some hairbrain idea to try to pass me. Now I am not sure from whence the grand idea came. Perhaps she was in a hurry to get nowhere. Maybe she was out in space, forgetting she was even on a road. Or it could be that she had had a horribly bad day and was trying to outrun her troubles. I haven't a clue. What I do know is that I turned my blinker on, as I always do, as I reached the house with the wrap-around porch. I begin to brake, signaling to all behind me that hey, fools, I plan to turn in the direction in which this blinker indicates. As I approach the intersection, I am going quite slow to make the turn. No oncoming traffic, so no need to reach a complete stop. And as I get about half way into my turn on my road, to my house, WHACK! BUMP! What was tha....I WAS JUST HIT! All this comes at me as I see the black car swerving out and around, not bothering to stop until she is back on her very own side of the road, where she belonged all along. I ever so slowly finished my turn and got my car off the road as I thought to myself, over and over, I was hit. That car just hit me. What do I do? My body began to tremble from head to toe. A scary, uncontrollable tremble. The tears begin to sting my eyes. I sit there for a moment trying to regain my composure and figure out just what it is I am supposed to do. I am now on my road, facing west; the other driver is on the intersecting road, facing north, where she had pulled off the side of the road. I look back over my shoulder to take in as much as I can about the car in case the driver gets the hunch to take off. But, as my body is trembling so bad, I knew I could not leave the what-i-no-longer-felt-safety of my car. I pick up my cell phone. I knew I only had a little bit of airtime left on the thing, but I call home. HOME. I should be pulling into driveway of home. I am stuck here, in a broken up car, with legs wobbling uncontrolably because some crazy driver paid me no mind. I was never so relieved to hear the voice of my husband on the other line. I cry as I tell him that I have been hit at the corner of home....i repeated several times that I was ok, but could he please come. He said he would be right there. I hung up and just sat there for a moment, still too stunned to make sense of it all. I decided i did need to call the police. That's when a gentleman pulls up and asks if i am ok and i tell him, I am not hurt, but i am shaking and upset and blubber blubber....to which he says, it's ok, hon, calm down. I told him i called my husband and he is on his way. He assured me it was the other driver's fault because she attmepted to pass me while I was turning left. But then, he drove off... I pick up my phone to call home again real quick, to read the warning on my screen-Emergency Calls Only! Well, how amazing that the only other call I really need to make is to 911. So, I dial. ANd it seems to take an eternity for someone to answer. I slightly recall, at one point I took the phone away from my ear and just kinda groaned out a frustrated mumble of why aren't they answering. As I brought the phone back up to my ear, I hear the faint, "Can you hear me?" BINGO someone on the line. I tell her I have been in an accident and give my location and details about our cars, and no i am not hurt, just shaken up and no i have no idea if hte other driver is ok, because i cannot get my legs to cooperate to go see and to be honest and GOD forgive me, right now, I am not all that concerned about her. I am quite angry with her right now, thankyouverymuch!!!! No, i did not say all those things to the dispatcher. They are dispatchers, not therapists. But, i thought those things, at one point or another during this fiasco. In no time at all, Jeremy and Ralph arrive to my rescue. They park on the side of the road and Jeremy jumps right up and comes up to the car. I still cannot trust my legs to hold me in an upright position and so I shall sit right here in this seat for now. He went over to make sure the other driver was ok, which was the right thing to do because, well, it is. I finally decide to try my legs out and open my car door and plant my feet on the ground. So far, so good. I stand and walk over to Ralph's truck. I am going to be just fine. I feel the effects of being hit, but nothing serious. Whew. I am alive. And hey, I am so damned lucky. This could have turned out much differently. I send up a thank you. I was spared. Then, my mom pulls up..with my uncle. She is frantic. She was just sure that I was telling JEremy on the phone I was ok when really I wasn't. She is the queen of what-ifs. And her mind was running wild with them, I am sure. She comes up and just gives me a huge hug and gets choked up. I told her, hey, I have some amazing guardian angels. There is reason why my car did not go into spins, with the location where the other driver struck me. She was probably doing a decent speed, to boot. Afterall, she sure must have been in a hurry to try to pass when someone was turning left. But, through it all, I maintained control of my vehicle at almost all times and never once did I spin, no other vehicles were involved and I was able to get out of the car on my own. That is wonderful! A blessing! Thank you Jesus! Now can I go puke somewhere, because really, this was too close for me. I hate cars. I refer to them as death machines. I have always fully recognized the potential for death where a vehicle is concerned. Don't get me wrong, I run the roads with the best of them. I don't have phobias of driving or quirks in regards to driving. I get in the car and do what needs to be done. But, in the back of mind, always, is a niggling fear of a car accident, something so totally out of my control. And today, there it was. Just in time for Christmas. I have to spend my "vacation" making arrangements for the start of next semester. I have to find rides anywhere I need to go from now until the car can get fixed. Of course I only had the min ins on it, I only paid around $900 for the car and well, why would I pay all that money to fully insure a car that is not worth it? Tomorrow will be spent on the phone making calls and deciding what needs to be done to get wheels back on the road for me. I had a fleeting moment where i felt pity and wanted to throw in the towel, but by God, he spared me today, and so I will count my blessings. I will stress and complain about the major inconvenience, for a moment at least...really, it's expected, right? But, seriously, I have NO money to my name, will get a meager $400 on the car through insurance....and that will no where near cover the expenses of the damage done. I feel slightly overwhelmed, but I know that everything will work out. It is my last semester before my associates, I am not giving up just yet.

Anyway, that's the most recent excitement in my life. Other than that, i feel I did well on my finals, and in my classes, overall. On monday, I stopped by the senior center. Ruben gave me a card with $10 worth of scratch off lottery tickets in it. I won $15. So, yeah, i guess I have that much to my name. LOL.

Makenneh was finally able to join girl scouts. She is selling cookies right now. So, if anyone would like to order some, email me and let me know. The order/money is due Jan. 20. The cookies will arrive Feb 17. THen the next order is due in March sometime. Not sure off the top of my head.

The kids are doing good. Seb still doesn't get too excited about having to school. He would just prefer to stay home. If only.....lol. Makenneh's teacher reported that she gets a little chatty at times and it interferes with her work. Grrrr! I so did not do that in school. I listed and paid attention.

WEll, i am literally falling asleep here at the desk. I just wanted to check in with everyone before heading to bed. I should be on a little more overthe break, but hard to say!

In case I do not get on here again before then, Merry Christmas!

Tis the season...OH and Aunt Bev, read this! LOL

Christmas is close. I am near done. If there is such a thing.

Before I forget, Aunt Bev...i Have those phone numbers for you but I do not have your email in my contact list anymore since having to get a new email address awhile back. So, if you could email me at masehow @ yahoo . com, i will reply with the numbers!

Saturday we had our family Christmas party on dad's side and also my cousin Ashley's wedding. Made for a long, busy day. But, fun nonetheless. The newlyweds headed to Cozumel and Key West..on a Cruise. Lucky them...having fun in the sun!

Finally got Sebastian's school pictures back today. Of course, now I cannot recall where I put Makenneh's. I have an idea...maybe in the desk in our bedroom. Fingers crossed they are not lost!

Friday night we went to the candlewalk in town....my mom, mother-in-law, Makenneh, Carrie, Ralph and Libby. My boys wanted to stay home like buttheads. LOL. We watched the parade, walked through town, enjoyed popcorn and hot chocolate, christmas music, and that's about it.

Well, I need to get some shut-eye. Been staying up way too late. I still have some homework i need to finish up for tomorrow.

good night and hope i can make it back here soon!