Why, Hello There, New Year!

Seriously?
It's the second week of January
Two Thousand Thirteen?

I feel like I've been in tumbled about in a dryer
these past couple of weeks.

Christmas was wonderful.
All kinds of crazy noise,
busy days
and late nights
hanging out with all of the people who call me
"Momza".

Highlights:
Christmas morning was a blur of smiles and wrapping paper.
Christmas dinner was both turkey and ham and all the fixin'
and intermittent naps by the whole heehaw gang.
Tisha took pictures but I can't find them on this new pc.

That's right.
David Scott came to town and built us a new pc.
I lub it much much.
The old one was being run by degenerate hamsters on wheels
and was about to die at any given "click"...
so all those years when I pitched fits over yet
"another broken computer!#$Q%!"
because of David Scott's determination to find out what makes 'em tick,
finally paid off!
When I reminded him of those days,
he said,
"Hey, I only broke two."

One of the best parts of the holiday was getting to SKYPE
with our missionary, Diana, from New York.
She first visited with everyone in the family,
and then it was my turn.
Her voice cracked when she saw me
and I showed remarkable strength--
inside of my heart
fireworks were exploding
but on the outside,
I smiled and said,
"Ohhhh...there's our girl!"
She and I visited for about 15 minutes
and she had to go.
But then later that night,
she called home and visited with each of us a bit longer.
It was great feeling to hang up and know she is happy doing what she's doing.


New Years' came in like a lamb.
A sleeping lamb.
David Scott & Tisha went home to Meridian, Idaho
and Brad left for Houston the weekend after Christmas.
So by NYE,
we were all tuckered out.
Though we were invited to come and play with friends,
I am pretty sure my bum was tucked into bed by 9:30pm.

Plus, it was really cold here in Colorado for almost all of the holidays--
highs in the teens and lows in the minuses.
Brrr-frickin'-cold!

Dani and her boys stayed here until just this past Wednesday.

Let me just say this:
there's a reason why old women don't have and shouldn't have
children after a certain age.

And just to keep us on our toes,
we had a major water leak that ran
from the laundry room on the main floor
to a bedroom in the basement,
which filled the ceiling with water and the walls in between.

That was an exciting discovery.
Kent was already at work,
so I pretty much turned to friends to walk me through the day
which they totally did!
Thank you, Friends!
So right now,
my washer and dryer are sitting in the family room.
The mainfloor bathroom has been dried out professionally,
the floors have been ripped up,
the drywall is gone,
and the toilet is sitting in the garage.

The ceiling in the basement has been cut open
and professionally dried too.

The good news is really good news:
we'll get it all put back together
for just the cost of our deductible!
I get to pick out new flooring and paint!
I have been wanting to paint both of those rooms,
and now all I have to do is pick the paint and someone else will do it for me!

I think that's pretty cool.

But wait! There's MORE!
More? You say?
Yes, More!
We've been to the laundromat
and Daisie felt like it was a fantastic Field Trip!
She loves the place!
I know. I have been derelict in my mothering duties,
as my 5th child has never been to a laundromat.
Good thing this happened tho,
as she is getting ready to leave for college this year.
I could change the name of my blog to
"The Derelict Mother" over this...
but that sounds like alot of work
and I'm already tired.

Also on the plate today:
Mr Wonderful is having knee replacement therapy today.

It's been a long time coming--
and while I would love to say he's worn his knees out in prayer--
Bahaha!
--the truth is he wore them out by the thousands of miles
he's hiked and skied over the years.

SO. That's 2013 so far.
Well, the highlights anyway.
There's more.
Of course there's more.
Always.
Like one of my more fine mothering-housekeeping moments yesterday
when I used a pair of socks to dust my dresser
just before I put them on my feet.
What?
I shook them out first.
Two birds with one stone.

And we have chosen our 2013 Family Motto
which I will reveal in the next post.

2013 has started off with a Bang!
And I say
BRING IT!