Journal

I'm supposed to write something down in my journal today.  I'm calling my blog my journal, like many parents these days.  Who has time to write?  But supposedly I have time to type?  Forget it.  I have kids playing upstairs in their room for the moment, but there are 20 other things that I need to be doing with deadlines like tomorrow or Tuesday or Wednesday.  But as I hear balls flying upstairs against doors, I think I'm going to call this done and go be a responsible parent.  Not that people who blog aren't responsible, I just don't have time to do this until my kids are asleep and my 20 other things are done.

My Christmas Present

Christmas Eve 2011

 Reading Luke 2.

Focused

Little gifts

Our tree is bursting with little gifts.  Some of them are legit.  But most of them I have no idea about.


Every morning when we wake up, there are another dozen gifts under the tree from Joel. It's probably mostly random stuff he's been selecting to wrap in the wee hours, because I know he hasn't been to a store.  I bought a 30-bow bag and 50 name tags a couple of days ago, when I noticed that our wrapping supplies were being eaten in the night, and those were all gone again today.


I finally asked both boys yesterday to make lists of who to give gifts to and keep them safe from wandering eyes and to make sure that they don't forget anyone.  Then I took them to the dollar store armed each with a $20 bill.  At one point when we were at the store I asked Joel how many gifts he was getting his cousin, because it sounded to me like he had already gotten 2 or 3 things for her.  He said that he had 11 so far!  Now they both have even more little gifts to wrap.  


We're all having a blast with it.


About the tree: I'm sure you can understand why the tree is loaded with decorations from 4 1/2ft and down.  But I have no idea how that gingerbread made it up to the top.  I don't really want to know.  I'm just enjoying the fact that someone thought it needed a place of prominence.  


Merry Christmas to all!

Eagle day.

 Joel took this picture today on an outing with his grandparents.  They're cool.  He and his grandparents.  And Eagles.

Time Warp

Mom: Joel, can you name 600 Pokemon?

Joel: bulbasaur, ivysaur, venasaur, charmander, charmeleon, charizard, ...

Mom: Are you counting, too?

Joel: You count. I've named 6 so far.

Mom: I can't count to 600 right now. I have other things to do.

Joel: Sure you can. I counted to 1000 before, in bed. Really, it took 30 minutes.