Sunday, February 28, 2010

Florida time

Yes, the kids and I are still in Florida!  I had the privilege of helping a friend who was off of her feet for a while, and we enjoyed lots of knitting and talking time together.  She also treated me to a manicure/pedicure before I left for my parents'...here are our pretty toenails and our finished projects.
(She finished two WIPs: a celtic tote and a pair of socks.  I made three dishcloths; two for me and one for my brothers.)

This past Friday we enjoyed a visit from and lunch with some snowbirds: my grandparents (who snowbird just down the road from my parents) and my Aunt Barbara (who snowbirds a few hours south of here) and Uncle Doug.  We had a wonderful time!  Here is the clan at the St. John's River...
The downside to being in Florida this long?  Missing Bruce, of course.  The kids and I all miss him terribly and can't wait to see him again.  Here are the kids enjoying a just-before-bedtime chat with Daddy.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Magical travel

Due to inclement weather forecasted for the metro Atlanta area overnight last night, we moved our departure from this morning to last night.
The kids fell asleep in Georgia...
...and woke up in Florida.
Magic!

Cold family fun

Saturday morning we went outside with the kids to enjoy the snow.  We had snowball fights, made snow angels, and the kids went sledding down the driveway and on one of our hills.  Bruce and I ended up cold and a bit sore, but it was worth it for the fun family time!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

February snow

We got a southern-style snowstorm here yesterday!  No, it was not a snowstorm according to northern standards, but we are not in the north.  The snow started while we were at Abigail's OT.
By the time we got home, it was really coming down, and it was beautiful snow, too.  The kids played outside in it for a long time, and I went out a couple of times to chronicle the snowfall!
 
  
  
  
  
  
 
The snow didn't end until the middle of the night, and overnight, it dropped down to 23 degrees.  This morning, I was supposed to go for an early-morning MRI.  I got a mile or so down the road before I quit and came back home...the roads and everything on them are frozen.  We have no plows to clear roads or throw salt/sand down, so the snow that had partially melted on the road became ice...and it's a mess!  The only 'snow/ice clearing equipment' we have is rising now and should improve the roads in the next few hours. :)  Here are pictures of our winter wonderland this morning.
 
  
  
  
 

Pain, pizza, and packing

I have been laid low the last few weeks with a flare-up of the rheumatoid issue I battle...but I am on the upswing now.  In the meantime, there has been a lot of 'nothing' happening around here!  This past week, though, we started to re-enter life, complete with hearing checks and dinner with RaDora...
...and now packing for a trip to Florida.  Bruce will be staying in Georgia to tend the home fires, but the kids and I are planning to head out Monday.  Today is the big packing day...the suitcases have been dragged out of storage and thoroughly inspected!

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Mindy-moments

Mindy is a real sweetheart of a cat...her personality continues to develop and she is so much fun!  She and Molly have a tolerant sort of relationship...Molly is never effusive in her affection for Mindy, but at least she has learned to enjoy catnip together and will even let Mindy sneak nearby during naptime...sometimes!
 
 
Mindy is as curious as they come and is forever crawling into little spaces and trying new things.  Last week she figured out that she can play the piano...and she still persists in trying to catch the fish for snack.
 
  
 
Mindy is sweet and affectionate with all of us, but there's no doubt that David is her best buddy.  She wants his attention constantly; she wants to be part of everything he does...literally.  When he goes outside, she watches forlornly out the window.  She brings her mousie to him during school and doesn't see why he'd rather write on papers than play with her! (actually, he would rather, but I won't let him!)
 
 
She lets him do just about anything with her, from pushing her around in their toy grocery cart to carrying him around in Abigail's doll carrier.
She does take time out from tagging along with him to play with the rest of us, too, especially when we're doing something interesting...here she is dancing ballet with Abigail.
I know that not everyone is a 'cat person', but we sure are -- we thoroughly enjoy our cats!

School progress

Today is day 122 of school (out of 180 total)...things are trucking along nicely!

We have been learning about feathers in science class; on the day we started learning about contour feathers, our art project was a step-by-step drawing of a peacock (peacocks' tails are made up of contour feathers). 

Here are the kids working on their projects.  These snapshots are pretty typical of my two very different students...!
 
 

Flying solo

Both of our kids seem to have gone through a big growth spurt over the last couple of months, and not only physically.  As their mom, it is a bittersweet thing to watch; it is wonderful because God has granted them life and growth and it's exciting to watch them spreading their wings...it is sad because they are growing oh so fast and the days just fly by!
Last week I let David ride his bike down the neighborhood all by himself for the very first time to deliver something to a neighbor who lives one house beyond visibility from our front porch.  He rode off, full of manliness over the new responsibility and privilege...I stood on the front porch and felt half weepy and half worried until I saw him coming back again. :)
He was full of smiles when he got back...he knew he had done something big!
After he parked his bike, I asked if we could snuggle on the porch swing for a few minutes.  With only a mild roll of the eyes (which I pretended not to notice), he agreed.  I knew exactly what that look meant: it's so much work to raise your mama!
~
On a side note: Yes, he was riding on the left side of the road.  We have decided that this is the safest way for him to ride.  Our neighbors are used to watching out for kids riding bikes in the neighborhood, and his vision is much more reliable than his hearing as far as knowing when a car is coming.

Friday, February 05, 2010

Happy birthday

Happy birthday, RaDora!
We love you!
Above: The kids and I with RaDora at the Varsity last fall

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Happy birthday

Happy birthday, Grandpa!
We love you.