Happy New Year

I stayed home from church today to be with Skip, who is sick for the 10th day in a row.  (Actually, he felt much better on Friday and yesterday, so I thought the sickness was behind us.  However, last night, he woke up with vomiting and stomach pain and then did not fully wake up until 1PM.  Last Thursday, I took him to the doctor-----Hang on.  Right now I can hear Jane explaining to Skip about why we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day--about how people with brown skin did not enjoy the same freedoms as people with light skin, and about how Dr. King worked to change that. :) -----Anyway, the doctor advised me to give Skip a couple more days to start feeling better, and if he didn't, to take a sample of his stool.  I will be calling him (the doctor) tomorrow to see if I should go ahead and do that.  At this point, I'm getting worried.  Stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea for 10 days off and on?  Not normal. At least not for us....)

But yeah, since I had some quiet time in the house, I got to write on my blog.  What a treat.   

So 2015 is over.  What a relief.  It did end well, though.  Our Christmas was wonderful and a couple days afterward, the kids and I headed to Utah to play with our cousins in the snow.  That was wonderful, too.  Brian and I have been getting along considerably better as well.  Last night, we enjoyed a night together in Eugene and it was so wonderful.     The food was good, and so was the conversation. 

Brian mentioned to me that he's noticed that Camp really talks to me a lot.  I said, "You mean he talks a lot?  Or he talks to me a lot?"   Brian said he thinks Camp really talks TO ME a lot!  That makes me feel so happy!  Yeah, I guess he does talk to me a lot!  I'm so grateful and proud of the boy he has
become.    Sigh...
.

The other night, I was on the computer long after the kids were supposed to be in bed and asleep and Janey came up to me and put her arm around me and tried to cuddle.  I hugged her back, but told her to go get back in bed.  She didn't want to, but I told her to do it anyway.  I was bugged at her for being out of bed.  The next morning, I regretted it.  She is such an easy, wonderful girl.  Why didn't I take advantage of that alone time with her?  I'll have to make it up to her.  Maybe tonight I'll go get her after the other kids are asleep and color with her or do a puzzle.   (I remember being a young girl and having a period of time when my mom let Sarah and I stay up late and work on a puzzle with her while we all ate Oreos and milk.  Do you remember that, Sarah? )   A week or so ago, I flew out of town to attend Bud's funeral (which was wonderful--the funeral and the trip) and Skip woke up sick that morning, so I didn't feel comfortable sending him to Angie's like I had planned.  Instead, I asked Jane if she would mind staying home from school with him.  She's 10.  And amazing.

This year, we had Thanksgiving at the church with many of our ward friends.  It was wonderful.

Skip's first picture of The Nativity

I met a new friend at the Nativity Festival this year.  He joined us on Christmas Eve and was wonderful company.

The Robisons: Some of my favorite Christmas Eve guests

Who knew?

And my girl, Shugee.  Man, what a fun girl.  She is like the little performer in her class--always singing solos in the morning announcements and stuff.  And she's back in gymnastics.  The girl is strong.  And she's been bugging me to take her on her special date--the one where Brian and I tell her about sex.  I wonder if she knows what's coming.  So far, none of our kids have freaked out like I did when I got the low-down.  

And this Boy.  My baby.    Every day for as long as I can remember, I have told him to stop growing up.  And yet in nine days--nine more x's on his Ninja Turtle calendar--my youngest will be 5.  I hate that story.   He can't wait, though.   He has been asking me constantly when his birthday is for months.    So I'm gonna try and make as big a deal of it as I can.   Being as close to Christmas as it is, it is hard to try and think of birthday gifts for him, but I think we are going to get him some of his own art supplies (he has become an exceptionally good color-er and cutter-outer) and the Hungry Hungry Hippos game, and maybe a bubble gum machine.  We'll see, though, because the boy does not eat healthfully.   And then on the evening of his birthday, we are going to play human Hungry Hippos.   Have you seen the videos on Youtube?  He's gonna love it.  

I finally got these faux fur pillows I've been wanting for a year.  Love them.

I clearly missed my calling.  :)

Thanks for reading.