Hello from Charles
It has been a while since we last wrote. After all Christmas came and went followed closely by the arrival of 2009. We opted not to go to Ohio for Christmas so that Diane would not have to be continually moving right up to the day before she left for Mexico. We even did not take a run up to Charlotte to check over our house - still looking for renters however the market is swamped at the moment.
We did our annual pilgrimage to Charlotte to see the Nutcracker ballet on the 20th of December and aside from running into traffic on the way up which delayed our arrival by an hour all went well. There was a bit of a rush to get to the Theatre but we made it in time. One of these days I would like to take the kids to see a Christmas Pantomine however since they do not happen very much in America I may just have to put on my own. It was great to see our old neighbors and friends from Church. B and S both got to have sleepovers.
For Christmas Day we were at home in Decatur and had a nice quiet time. Santa Claus came and gave the kids some items from their list. Stockings were full of little trinkets and candy. On New Year's Eve the kids stayed awake for the first time and saw the ball drop in New York on the television. Grandma & Grandpa also paid us a visit during this time and helped S & B with their pinewood Derby cars. Grandma also did some sewing with B to make an outfit for her doll.
Diane is back from Mexico and clothes are being cleaned (properly) again along with kids fed and being at their activities on time. For the record, I want it noted that I now know how to remove melted Marshmallow from kids clothes - one of the other mothers let me know the secret after B decorated her winter jacket by accident during SMORES making. By the end of 2 weeks of Diane being away I had decided that if Diane did not return that I would have no option but to replace her. Fortunately for all of us she came back and I am now catching up with work. It was obvious by the amount of hugs the kids gave Diane, that I was not the only one to miss her. Was a little late picking her up at the airport however as I used my GPS to get me there not realizing that the GPS breaks Atlanta Airport up into many parts because of its size and I unfortunately ended up heading for the Cargo Terminal. After about 30 minutes I was able to locate her and return her safely to Decatur.
On the 14th of January, I sat my final college exam for my BABIT Degree. Without a doubt I believe that I have passed it and now await the final results. My answer paper and exam was well blessed before and after since I was fortunate enough to be able to take it on Seminary Campus where the staff blessed it. Now truly I can say that I have taken an exam at Seminary.
So many people have asked how I survived with Diane away for 2 weeks and I have to say that bribery worked well combined with a 3 day weekend in Charlotte. B amazingly acquired a Lego Coastguard Helicopter to put together since she was a little put out by the Large Mega Blocks car and truck that S had worked on over the New Year break. His truck was originally a family item to do on New Year Eve however the 1400 pieces was too much so we left him to do it over several days. Daddy acquired some kids night vision goggles too while Mommy was out of town to play with. S got a new board game about tracking down spies which we have enjoyed playing several times now.
When the kids and I went to Charlotte to work on the house while Diane was away, we stayed up late (midnight) watching movies, eating chocolate and playing games. But this only happened after we had spent the day cleaning and working on the house so think of it more as a reward than a spoiling of the kids. Overall the fixing to our house since the renters left has not been too bad only a hole here or there combined with a few broken / missing things and some interesting wall decorating. Can only hope that the next renters are just as good or better.
Today B had her birthday party at one of the room's on campus - all went well once I got over the Technology issue of trying to connect the old laptop to the newer projector since we decided to show B's 5 friends 102 Dalmatians staring Glenn Close. Ended up having to use Diane's newer laptop but because the sound was not loud enough I had to haul up our stereo to the room. The kids seemed to enjoy themselves and in between the running back and forward (at least 4 times) from the apartment to get what we needed (including something to light the candles) I got to see some of the movie too. However it must be noted that it took me about 15 minutes to fix the old laptop after all was said and done as we had played around with it's screen setup to try and get things to work.
Well that is it for now, I am sure that Diane will have some wonderful stories about her trip to share.
Catch you later,
Charles