I'm still here

I miss blogging--seems I have been away for so long. It is just that the computer sucks your time so easily and there is so much to do. I had forgotten how long it takes to get the simple things done when you have kids to take care of also. I am very much out of practice. BUT, I have absolutely loved my time here with Jenny’s boys. I am going to go through severe withdrawal when we go home after Christmas. I am sure I will be depressed for days. They are so sweet and so fun and Gema loves them so much. I will miss snuggling with Grant throughout the day and watching all his cute faces and seeing his cute grins--especially when you change his diaper. And I have gotten hooked on watching Wonder Pets and Curious George in the mornings with Mason and going on “treasure hunts” with him. I treasure every moment of this month I have been here. But it has gone by so very fast…..and Jenny and I did not accomplish near as many things as we had hoped to. My Christmas letter has not been written, my cards have yet to be sent, but that is ok--they will just be New Year cards instead.

But, Bekah did graduate from college and we celebrated that milestone last Saturday. How fast those college years flew by---seems like she just graduated high school. What a wonderful blessing she has been to us. I am just so proud of her.

And Grant was dedicated to the Lord last Sunday in church. I have really enjoyed going to church here--have loved the sermons by Pastor Henry and his son, Landon. I am really looking forward to the Christmas Eve service there. And we still need to drive around and see the Christmas lights around San Angelo--there are so many pretty ones.

I like San Angelo and love visiting here. I can finally navigate around town without getting too lost. Many trips out to Christmas shop have helped out there. I remember back to my own childrearing days when Tammie and I would do our “marathon” shopping trip and get it all done in one long day. We would have very organized lists with what we were getting for each person and then lists of the stores we wanted to go to and in what order and what was on sale there and what we were looking for there. We would head to Austin about 8am and get back home sometimes as late as midnight (Austin was an hour away). We were totally exhausted but we got it all done in one day. It was so fun and now, after many, many trips out shopping--I really like the idea of just going one day and getting it done. Of course, that was in the days before on-line shopping. The Sears catalog is what the kids would pour over and circle what they wanted.


I must admit I am looking forward to being at home for awhile. I have been away from home in MF for so long. We were at the ranch from end of September until we were called to San Diego fires on October 23 and from there we went to New York then back home only two days before Thanksgiving when we left again for Leander then back home for one day to pack up for coming here with Jenny. So technically I have not been home for three months. We will go home the day after Christmas and on Friday three of my children and their families will arrive and stay through New Years. I admit I am a bit panicked about this as I really like to be all organized and the house all clean and food prepared before guests arrive. And there is no way that is happening this time. I have so much stuff here at Jenny’s and we picked up Gina at college and have all her stuff here and then add all the Christmas new stuff……….It just overwhelms me to think about it all. At least there are no Christmas decorations at home to be put away. I brought most of them to Jenny’s so she will get to do that part. But all this is okay. It will all work out and I try to remind myself that 10 minutes after the grandchildren arrive the house will be cluttered with toys and games and stuff anyway so what does it matter. It will be a crazy wonderful time and I am looking forward to seeing everyone.

Well, the house is waking up so my quiet blogging time is ending. Just wanted to post something to let it be known I am still around--just busy--and my mind so cluttered that the thoughts just won’t flow. By bedtime when the house is quiet and I should have the time to write--or even read blogs--I am just too tired and want to go to bed. I have really missed all the blogs and the connection to everyone. Maybe after the holidays when life returns to normal my thoughts will begin to flow again. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Adventures in Babysitting

I am into my second week now and thought I was getting the hang of this. Then today I had the bright idea of taking the boys to the library and park. My first venture away from home with both boys by myself. So Jenny and I switched cars so I would have all the car seats, etc. Story hour was at 10---we began the process of getting ready to leave and loaded into car at 9:30 but barely made it to library by 10. I forgot how hard it is to get it all together with two kids and actually out the door.....And to top it off when we got to library I realized I had left the full baby bottle warming in the sink. Then we get in the library only to find out they are not having story hour in December. How stupid (sorry, Mason doesn't allow me to say stupid)--how ridiculous is that---no Christmas stories????? We were disappointed but had fun picking out some books anyway. I love looking through all the Easy Readers remembering the days of reading the same books to my kids. (I raised 7+ kids--I am not new to this mothering thing) So picked out a few of my favorites and headed for the checkout. That is when Grant decided he was very unhappy and NOTHING would quiet him--not the pacifier, or Mason, or rocking him, or anything. It seemed like the lady took forever to check us out and he was howling like a banchee. Mason was holding the door open for me to make a quick escape. We had forgotten to bring in the book bag so Mason was trying to hold all our books and open the door, too, so of course, the books slid out of his hands into a big pile right in the middle of the doorway. I sat Grant down in his carrier and piled a stack of books on top of him while Mason grabbed the rest and we finally got to the car. As soon as I got Grant loaded and car turned on he stopped crying and fell asleep.
But I had promised the park to Mason so we went down the street to the park. I was not going to wake Grant (my mothering rule is you never waken a sleeping child) so I let him sleep while I stood outside the car where I could keep an eye on Mason playing. After 10 minutes Grant was awake and crying again so I took him out of car seat--grabbed the bottle I had brought that had less than 2 ounces left in it (the new full one being back home in the sink, remember) and we headed for a bench. It was a gorgeous sunny day but with a steady good cold wind and Grant does not care too much for wind. But in the sun it was nice and if I stood and held him with me blocking the wind he was happy for a bit. We sat in the swing and I fed him the bottle and Mason played. We had the park to ourselves except for the occasional adult walker. No other kids there. Mason had fun and entertained himself very well. We stuck it out for about 30 minutes til Grant had had enough and I bribed Mason to leave with the promise of popcorn chicken from Sonic.
I had never exactly tried to find my way to Sonic from this park so I temporarily lost my presence of mind and followed Mason's directions. Mason is 4. Need I say more. Had we turned left on College Hills Dr. we would have quickly found Sonic. But we turned right and took the long scenic route. But we got there. Thankfully, the service was quick and we were back home before Grant went off again. As we were sitting at the table eating, Mason says, "Isn't it good to just be back home, Gema?" Amen, Mason, amen