Doing the Next Thing

How was everyone's Christmas? Ours was good. Busy - as always, but good. This is our year to travel and be with all of my side of the family. So we celebrated our faux Christmas Morning with our children on the 24th, then headed to Tennessee for a Christmas bash that included 12 adults and 11 children! It really is a blessing to gather that many family members to celebrate and fellowship, even if it is what my Mom calls "happy chaos." We also took the opportunity to get a portrait done of the entire family. I can't wait to see the results and post the picture. It was actually much easier - and faster - than I thought it would be to get a good shot of so many people, five of whom are age 4 and under! Now it is New Year's Eve and I sit here in the midst of a mess of presents, luggage, and packaging - evidence that we left in a rush - and I'm struggling to get it all put away and tidied up. I titled my blog Doing the Next Thing, because that seems to be wha

--Be careful with your camera's memory card! I had an SD card disaster this week and lost a bunch of pictures. Lessons learned: 1. don't delete pics from the card using Windows - do it on the camera; 2. get some prints once in a while and back the dern thing up before you have 500 pics piled up! --In other "tech" news: our kids truly are more tech savvy than we. A (4), in a wise-in-his-own-eyes attempt to turn on a Sp*der-M*an cartoon, ordered Fre*d Cla*us on demand for $4.99! Not my first choice for movie night w/ my Sweetie, but we weren't going to let 5 bucks go to waste. --Christmas decor and baking ... am I the only one who struggles with frustration at the huge mess being festive makes? I love doing Christmas-y things with the family, but it takes motivation to stay jolly while working overtime. ;-) --Check out the Samaritan's Purse Gift Catalog . We're letting our kids choose one item from the catalog to earn money for by doing extra chores. It

"Better known as Soon-Dead and Gonna Bite-It" 12 C., renaming Eli's 2 wicked sons, after reading in I Samuel where God says they will die for their sins. "I'm not making a mess - I'm making art! " 4yo A., when I told him to be careful with glue, paper, scissors, and a hole punch. "Mom, when I have a job and I'm earning my own money... if the family budget is still tight, I'll give you some." 14yo S, showing a little bit of maturity. Awww. "When I get up in the morning, I'm gonna make a mocha." S again. Somebody tell that boy to stop growing up! "I be careful -- I be careful, Daddy." 2yo K's announcement as she walked into the room carrying the empty silverware basket. Such a helpful girl. " And I thought your eggs weren't going to be good!" 9yo M, pleasantly surprised that the breakfast she made me was actually quite delicious. That girl loves to cook and is happiest in the kitchen. It's