Blair Bears

Farewell to a Faithfull Steed

2011-09-27T07:21:00.015-05:00

We were t-boned by Mr. McGoo's grandpa on the morning of September 15th, 2011. I was driving our 2003 Dodge Caravan to the bank (almost made it). We had just dropped off Elizabeth at school. Jeb and Amelia were with me. Christie almost came with (Amelia insisted that we be "in our family") but at the last second decided to work inher garden and enjoy some alone time.

Injuries: Amelia bit her tongue. We were hit so hard that the latch system on Jeb's carseat popped loose and his seat was sideways (one latch held). Amelia's carseat was knocked at a 45 degree angle. My right elbow got banged up and I have some tendonitis. Overall we were lucky on the injury side.... just shows the power of morning prayer!

I took a photo of Amelia's tongue with my cell phone, so it probably doesn't show she was bleeding.

One week later I took photos of the damage to the van.

Gotta love this age!

2011-03-21T18:06:00.003-05:00

The Apprentices, Part II

2010-12-15T20:25:00.010-06:00

Never underestimate the faith of a 4 year old girl.

We visited my parents for Thanksgiving, and the kids ate up all the extra attention they could get. On the way home, Elizabeth kept saying "I want Grandma and Pocker (my dad, we don't know why she calls him that) to come visit us." We told her it would probably be a while before we saw them again, and we'd probably go see them.

Never underestimate the faith of a 4 year old.

My parents came down to visit this weekend. It was a last minute thing; they arrived Saturday night and had to leave Monday morning. But why the 6 hour drive? Our stake recently formed 2 new wards (a YSA ward and another Spanish ward) and had to do some shuffling to fill the gaps. They released 7 stake high councilors as part of this process, and needed to get new ones. Somewhere along the way, Elizabeth's prayers for a visit from Grandma and Pocker got in the mix, and I was called as one of the new stake high councilors (responsible for Aaronic Priesthood and Scouting). Not a high priest yet? No problem, we'll get that fixed. A late night call to my dad after that interview/calling extension last Wednesday night, some schedule shuffling on their part, and they would be on their way. We told the girls when they woke up Thursday morning, and the kids crazy with excitement all of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday while they were waiting. In between the excitement, Elizabeth had this look that she knew this would happen.

And yes, I already have a speaking assignment this Sunday.

So what does this have to do with graham cracker houses? Patience, young padawan.

My dad is known, among other nicknames, as Master Yoda. If he can't fix it, it ain't broken. My friend Matt and I once spent an entire day trying to change his brake pads. We knew what we were doing. We'd done this job before, and it shouldn't have been hard, but the danged things just weren't cooperating. We were getting sunburned pretty bad working out there, and after spending the entire day not getting anywhere, we were ready to give up.

Then my dad pulled up in the driveway.

He gets out of his truck, takes a look at what we're doing, gives it a nudge, and the durned things come right off! "I don't believe it!" "That is why you fail."

His skillz0rz aren't just limited to mechanics. He can build graham cracker houses. Sunday night, while I was dealing with grades and prepping for finals, my dad worked with each of the kids and they made their masterpieces. A total of 4 were made: one for each and an extra one to deliver to our friends the MacIntosh's (great FHE the next night).

Ok, ok, the pictures are below.

Now, these houses just aren't good looking, they're good eating too. Amelia ate most of hers last night while we watched The Santa Clause.

Jeb enjoyed his too, but mostly by smashing it before he ate it.

The Apprentices

2010-12-06T19:22:00.011-06:00

One of the traditions from my family is making graham cracker houses. For FHE tonight, the girls started their apprenticeship. Jeb started out by eating some of the building materials, but was so tired and fussy he went to bed before the construction really began.

He does like frosting, though.

So on to the houses. These are pretty good for a first attempt. They're not all the way complete yet, the pictures are that fresh! (Yet another special bonus for our elite subscribers and sponsors).

Elizabeth and her creation (yes, that is some of the candy in her mouth):

She is especially proud of Santa on his sled.

She also loves the heart-door made with candy canes.

Amelia was right there learning as well. She had some help from Mommy, but she's just as proud of her house as Elizabeth is of hers.

Next week we'll try to make a few bigger houses and give them to friends (another part of the tradition). For now, the girls are back improving their houses already with sprinkles and more jelly beans.

Christmas Cards

2010-11-20T09:42:00.002-06:00

My favorite Christmas cards have always been the ones where we've been in our Halloween costumes. It all started when Amelia was a baby and we got a great shot of all of us dressed as clowns. I was looking on Shutterfly and found the perfect card layout that matched our costumes in both color and mood. Last year we used a picture of us all dressed as monkeys. The year in between? Honestly I've been racking my brain to remember, and I think we just did some lame cards from the portrait studio where we took our family picture.
Seeing as I can't even remember that one, and the others bring an automatic smile to my face, I think I need to go with the Shutterfly holiday cards again. But we didn't do a group costume for Halloween this year, so what to do? Never fear! After just a few minutes in Shutterfly I found the PERFECT card and I just LOVE what we're going to send out this year.
And, to make it even better, I'm participating in Shutterfly's Bloggers Get 50 Free Holiday Cards promotion, and you can too!

What I really wanted to blog about

2010-11-10T09:00:00.003-06:00

I finally got around to reading a book I've been aware of since I was in elementary school, but never read, Across Five Aprils. And it reminded me so much of a family in my mom's ancestry. They lived in Illinois, and one of the sons went back to the area his father's family was from to fight for the South.
But I tried to look for the details and couldn't find them. I'm so sad. It was information I'd just found in the last couple of years and is trapped on the dead (presumably virus-laden) computer. Why, oh, why hadn't I backed up my family history data in so long? Oh, because the CD writing drive had been dead for a long time, and most of the USB drives, too, and I could never find a flash drive anyway since James was always taking them to work...and a million other excuses. But, honestly, I could have emailed myself the file at any time. Instead, I just "backed it up" on the hard drive.
And so many, many hours of work are likely lost, for the failure to take a few minutes. Hitting my head on the desk now.

The one condolence in this is that the most vital information, needed for temple ordinances, is mostly intact on NewFamilySearch. But that's the bare bones. The meat of it was in my notes.

Random things

2010-11-10T08:33:00.003-06:00

A bunny outside the window by the computer desk. First time we've seen one here. One small Swiss Chard plant disappeared the same day. Fortunately that was the full extent of the garden damage.

James' department had a bowling night. The girls practiced in anticipation. They didn't quite seem to grasp the fact that square blocks do not roll.

Amelia got into James' birthday cake.

We ate it anyway.

Especially Jeb.

2 Ladybugs and a Dragon visit the library

2010-10-27T12:35:00.004-05:00

Worth staying up past midnight

2010-10-27T08:26:00.003-05:00

...to have the girls wake up to this.
Had to try them on before breakfast with jammies still on!

I can't wait to see the full effect! First Halloween party at storytime today.

And, yes, as you can see I worked on costumes instead of cleaning the house last night!

South Padre Island Oct 2010

2010-10-18T11:23:00.008-05:00

Jeb was having the greatest time trying to throw Amelia's shoes in the ocean. I wish I'd gotten more video of before I alerted her; he was just cracking up when it was only me stopping him, trying again and again!
We had a ton of fun this weekend, even though the kids and I are all coming down with colds. Jeb and Amelia both liked the ocean a lot better than back in May. Neither of them could keep up with Elizabeth, however, so Saturday night James took them out to dinner while Elizabeth and I stayed out in the water just as long as she wanted to. It was great for her not to be held back by the "babies" and play to her heart's content. It was also great for me to only have 1 kid to keep my eye on, so I could actually enjoy the water myself.

We stayed at the hotel that was being built outside our windows last October. Love the pool and hot tubs. The part with a waterfall is a 1 ft deep kiddie area.

Saturday morning I took the kids to the Sea Turtle rescue center. I was surprised at how much Amelia loved it. She keeps going on and on about the sea turtles and how they got hurt. I guess it shouldn't surprise me as she loves to examine our bodies and tenderly ask about "owies." I just didn't realize how much she was listening and retaining as I rambled on about what they were seeing.

We headed over the the birding center after that, but it was getting warm outside, Jeb needed a nap, and we didn't have much time before meeting James for lunch, so we ended up just taking a quick look at the butterfly garden.

Of course the kids loved the hotel room. Jeb made sure all of the valuables were accounted for.
They are begging to go back. Elizabeth says we are going when it's Friday again. I'm sure she'd love to spend every weekend there!

Sunrise from our hotel room.

Elizabeth watching the sunrise.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-15T10:26:00.003-05:00

Ok, I couldn't get the text and pics to line up, but you can figure it out!

"Really, Mom? We're going to pretend like it's fall and wear long pants this morning before going to South Padre Island and playing on the beach? I don't think you're fooling anyone!"

Case in point...the sun was too bright in this pic and it totally washed Jeb out. B&W was the best I could do. I love the expression on his face.

Trying to get a picture of all the playgroup kids together...yeah, right!

Now THIS is what I was going for!

Batteries ran out right as I was going to get a picture of the three kids together, but at least that means they won't run out later on today on the island!

2010-10-07T14:00:00.003-05:00

Ok, so it's been a while since I've blogged, so I forgot that it posts the pictures in the opposite order that you pick them, so these are all out of order, but Jeb woke up while they were loading, so it'll just have to do!

These are pics of our backyard camping FHE last week. So nice that the weather is cooling down now!

Growing up

2010-08-22T19:20:00.002-05:00

It was time. But I miss my baby boy.

2010-07-28T20:53:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I got a little too into the book I was reading (ok, maybe I dozed off a little!) when I put Jeb down for a nap and I didn't get up when he fell asleep. Oops. Got up to this. We have an igloo jug on our counter with ice water and Elizabeth filled up all of these cups.
When Jeb and I got up he had a blast dumping them into the play sink. Just look at that face!

Pretty much sums up what life has been like around here lately, and why I really should be cleaning right now like I usually do at night, instead of blogging.

Need your travel tips

2010-05-06T15:40:00.005-05:00

I was talking to a friend about our upcoming 24+ hour trip to North Carolina and she suggested going to the dollar store, spending 20 bucks, and pulling out a surprise every hour. Definitely an idea I want to implement...just have to find a time I can go without the kids, which may be a challenge (or it may just have to be a little less of a surprise). Anyway, I got to thinking about what kind of things I could get from the dollar store (probably Dollar Tree) that would be interesting to a 2 year and a 4 year old buckled into carseats for eternity. I thought I would write about it here, both to remember and to get input from family and friends. Would also appreciate being talked out of/warned about things that may seem like a good idea, but have hidden drawbacks (For instance, I thought of balloons, but then I realized they might migrate up front and distract the driver)

bubbles
jewelry
edible treats
-Koolaid single serve packets and water bottles
-various things that we can count out 100 of and then eat
glo sticks
art supplies
-crayons
-stickers
-paper
-glitter pens
-kids' scissors
-glue sticks
spray bottles or squirt guns(I might be asking for trouble on this one)
beading (definitely asking for trouble, right?)*
musical instruments
postcards/cards to decorate and send along the way
books
will bath crayons work on windows?

UGH...just realized we also have to drive BACK...make that 48+ hours of travel

*Thought of a much better idea! Fruit Loops and yarn

Amelia feeding Jeb video

2010-05-05T18:11:00.003-05:00

Trying and trying to get this to post. Maybe this Photobucket link will work.

Amelia feeding Jeb

2010-05-05T16:20:00.000-05:00

Even better is the fact that after this she dropped the glass jar on the tile and it shattered. Fun times.

Garden Stirfry

2010-05-03T18:19:00.002-05:00

Sugar snap peas, bell pepper, yellow squash, and cherry tomatoes

Every bit of it from the garden!

Sometimes you just have to let them

2010-04-30T16:13:00.005-05:00

Today's harvest

2010-04-17T13:25:00.003-05:00

Romaine lettuce and leaf lettuce (been cutting leaves off for salads for weeks now but it's getting hot so I'm starting to harvest whole heads)

2 cucumbers (vines have almost reached the top of the 6 ft trellis!)

3 tomatoes (1 accidental)

1 hot banana pepper (probably too soon...looked yellower in the garden)

1 Anaheiem pepper (was getting a soft brown spot so I picked it)

1 lonely sugar snap pea pod (plants got eaten up earlier and just now starting to recover)

1 yellow squash

7 months and on the move!

2010-04-13T11:31:00.003-05:00

Jeb has been scooting for about a week now and yesterday he got the alternating arm/leg thing going on, but was still on his tummy. Today he's up on his hands and knees and has it all down, so watch out world! Also getting his first top tooth and has a chest cold, so he's a busy boy!

"Easter" clothes

2010-04-12T23:41:00.002-05:00

Since Easter was General Conference, we'd planned to have the kids wear their "Easter" clothes (Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa Blair!) the week before. But we ended up staying home that Sunday with colds.

So this Sunday they finally got dressed up and we paused for a couple of quick pictures before we ran out the door.

Yes, we have beautiful children. No, we don't know how in the world that happened.

Look, Mom, I found...

2010-04-12T23:00:00.003-05:00

Time after time she brings me some "treasure" (rarely as pretty as this one). Excitedly, she calls out "Look, Mom, I found!" with the same enthusiasm whether it be a beautiful flower or a piece of bark from the playground mulch that looks just like the thousands of other pieces all around her. Sunday's lesson on The Creation made me think of my Amelia and the joy she loves to share in this beautiful home we've been given on Earth.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, has never been one to run and show me a pebble or a blade of grass. I think she's a little too busy doing the creating.

When I need to smile I go out to the backyard

2010-04-08T15:54:00.006-05:00

My garden makes me smile. There's always something new to see. These pictures are not quite a month after the first ones.

Finally got a zuchinni plant to come up! With all the jokes about how easy it is to grow, I've just never had much luck. This was my 3rd attempt...1st one was at the same time as the yellow squash below.

Look at all those blossoms!

My biggest tomatoes

Cherry tomato cluster

Look at that Roma tomato plant! 10-11 tomatoes per cluster! Such a change after my shady garden in Pyote.

Not too easy to get to the cucumbers behind the pepper cages (note for next year), but I'm excited at how well they are doing.

Banana peppers

Anaheim peppers

The last of the lettuce still hanging on in the warm weather

Wait! Where did my baby go!

Yeah, Mom, I'm ready to drive!

Amelia showing Jeb how to put the key in the ignition...

...and turn it.

What do you mean 6 months is too young? Off I go!

LOVE Amelia's hair on the trampoline!

Every morning Elizabeth picks out her clothes and runs out of the bedroom, screaming "Is this a good match?"

The girls think it is fun to play "catch" by lying down on the ground and having me lob a ball so that it comes straight down on them.

Yeah, our backyard is a pretty fun place to be these days!

Princess and Frog Daddy/Daughter Date

2010-04-04T22:09:00.006-05:00

To go with the previous post, Elizabeth has been a fan since she got to see it in the theater over Christmas break. Just her and Daddy, since she's old enough to be able to sit through the movie and enjoy it.

I had to use the camera on my phone to get the pictures...

Elizabeth with the mega-sized drink. She even let Daddy have some.

And the mega tub of popcorn. We had a spill near the beginning, but there was so much it wasn't really missed. We also had some movie theater "gummi bears".

She enjoyed the movie. She also finished off the popcorn and soda on the way home!

Shadows and Light

2010-04-04T20:14:00.004-05:00

The villain of Disney's The Princess and the Frog is the "Shadow Man", Dr. Facilier. His henchmen are shadows. Elizabeth, being a 4 year old girl, had some anxiety over that. Her Daddy, being the wise man that he is, found the perfect solution. He brought out a headlamp and showed her what happens if you shine a light at a shadow (like Ray in the movie). So, this is how Elizabeth watches her current favorite movie!

Elizabeth bowling

2010-03-27T14:42:00.002-05:00

This was a faculty outing the day after Elizabeth's 4th birthday. She was having so much fun bowling, even though it almost always went in the gutter (we were just happy if it didn't get stuck!), that James asked me to record. So funny what happened when I did!

Too Darn Cute

2010-03-22T18:59:00.004-05:00

Jeb isn't quite crawling, but he sure can get around!

James is very proud of his new lightsaber and was anxious to introduce Jeb to the ways of the force.

Monday at the zoo with Grandma and Grandpa Blair

2010-03-17T22:10:00.007-05:00

Ok, so this is going to have to be all out of order and I'm going to have to do a Part II tomorrow because Google is being stupid about the pictures, but I know if I don't blog about our zoo trip now it will never happen. As it is, I should be cleaning the house.

Grandma and Grandpa Blair took us to the zoo in Waco on Monday. Uncle Darren had to go to Waco to take the GRE, so we made a day of it.

Jeb stuck close to Mommy while Amelia and Elizabeth rode in the wagon that Grandpa custom-built.

Two of Mommy's loves.

This is right after he woke up (napped in the stroller the first couple of hours)

Loved, loved, loved the sea otter slide. This slide went through the exhibit, under the water, and the sea otters could swim over and around the kids going on the slide.

Couple of cool pictures where I missed Jeb, but got his reflection.

Daddy's girls in the Beaver Den. (James was in the Beaver patrol at Wood Badge.)

We spent over an hour at this playground. The girls didn't want to go see the animals or anything. They were just having a blast with the billion other kids on Spring Break.

This slide had a really bad drop at the end and we saw a few scares, but they (especially Amelia) kept going again and again.

Grandma hates snakes, but the girls loved this one!

Once we finally got them away from the playground, they loved this floor to ceiling aquarium.

This was a picture from the start of the day.

More playground pictures.

Elizabeth loved the spyglass at the top of the treehouse slide.

Jeb's not all that's growing around here

2010-03-17T14:07:00.002-05:00

3/11 vs 3/17

I took pictures of my garden boxes right before we left Thursday and again this morning. It's fun to see the difference in less than a week. The one thing I'm not so excited about when it comes to our trip in NC in May is that I'll be away from my garden for 3 weeks. Plan to hire a Scout to water it, but I'll miss it.

5 and 6 Month Jeb pictures

2010-03-16T09:58:00.003-05:00

5 Months: Jeb and Daddy ended up (almost) matchy matchy by coincidence.

6 Months: after church at Grandpa and Grandma Blair's

Pantry Challenge Results

2010-03-03T21:23:00.002-06:00

Well, how to sum up the month? I spent a LOT less on groceries than I normally do, but not under $100. I realized within the first few days that one of my challenges would be that I'm too disorganized to keep track of what we spent! James stopped by the store after work to get some milk and I kept forgetting to ask him how much he spent.
I did learn that we have a pretty well stocked pantry at this point. Last year there was a month when there were more days than dollars and I was trying to just use what we had and shop as little as possible for a couple of weeks. It was a lot harder last year than is was this past month. My couponing/stockpiling is really paying off. But I also discovered that I've become more dependant on convenience foods than I'd realized. I justified them a lot when we first moved here because of being hugely pregnant and then having a newborn, but it's probably time to wean myself off those luxuries and get back to basics. We always had food to eat, but sometimes I just didn't want to prepare it!
I'm struggling with my meal preparation because James isn't home at least half the nights of the week and Elizabeth is a picky eater...oh, and Jeb gets fussy and wants Mommy all evening.
Anyway, I don't know if this really tells you how the month went. It was kind of a blur. I mostly bought milk and fruit. We spend a lot on both of those areas because James is a HUGE milk drinker and the girls (especially Elizabeth) are crummy veggie eaters, so I make sure they get plenty of fruit. I can't say that I made any thrilling, creative meals but the truth is that the girls would be happy with plain rice or pasta for dinner most nights. Elizabeth got upset tonight because there were sweet and sour chicken nuggets in her rice tonight.
I do feel good to realize that we are closer to having some home food storage. We have a really good supply of hot cocoa, popcorn, crackers, toilet paper, dishwasher detergent, dryer sheets, crackers, and pasta, diapers, and wipes. Those are all things I've managed to get super deals on as well as a lot of drugstore items. Yesterday I was checking out at CVS and discovered that I'd left my wallet at home. Thanks to Texas' coupon-friendly tax laws I was able to just pay using ExtraBucks. That was a really good feeling especially since I was buying 2 gallons of milk.
So this is a lot of rambling, but by the time I get Jeb to stay asleep at night I'm too tired to think straight and I really should be cleaning. Today I keep thinking that if we were still in Pyote and my parents were still in Blythe I would totally be up for the drive. 2 years ago it was an impossible dream with 2 kids, but now I could do it with 3, so I guess I'm making some progress. It's strange to think that Amelia is now quite a bit older than Elizabeth was at that time. Sometimes it feels like I'll be overwhelmed like this forever, but I know it's not true...Jeb is almost half-way to a year!

Pantry Challenge

2010-01-28T19:31:00.002-06:00

This past month I have seen several of the bloggers I follow do a Pantry Challenge, and I decided I would do one...in February. Just wasn't quite ready in January, and besides, February is shorter!
My challenge is to eat out of what I have in the cupboards/fridge/freezer and only spend $100 for the whole month. Considering that we go through 4 gallons of milk a week and that's running $3/gallon, there's $48 gone right there! But I have an abundance of ExtraBucks at the moment, so I may be buying milk at CVS by the end of the month.
I think we will learn a thing or two about Emergency Preparedness through this exercise. I remember one ward I served in where the Bishop called a group of families one day and challenged them all to go the next 2 weeks without going to the store. They could help each other out with what they had on hand, but only within the group that wasn't shopping. He had a few of them speak in Sacrament Meeting after it was over. I thought that was a great way to teach about food storage!

I haven't done any crazy spending this month to prepare, but I have hit some good coupons pretty hard, so I know we at least have pasta and dishwasher detergent! Wish us luck!

More exersaucer fun

2010-01-26T16:43:00.003-06:00

Gosh darn, I'm cute!

At least he doesn't seem to mind being spun

2010-01-23T14:15:00.003-06:00

Elizabeth adds another dimension to Jeb's first exersaucer experience.

Out of sequence 3 Month Old Jeb picture

2010-01-13T15:02:00.002-06:00

Just to compare today against a month ago:

And a picture of Elizabeth taking care of Jeb:

4 Months Old Today!

2010-01-13T14:01:00.001-06:00

Can you see the bear?

Just some cute pics

2010-01-13T13:50:00.002-06:00

Elizabeth wanted me to write her name and age and then take a picture. Anyway, it's cute and she'll be 4 really soon!

Amelia hard at work in the playroom.

We had a hard freeze last week, so Daddy and Elizabeth went outside to pick all the oranges before the temps got too low.

Lots of oranges! Anyone in the area want some? James, we need to remember to put them out in the garage so they'll last longer.

Just a cute pic of the girls waiting for Mommy to come in and do their hair.

One of those mornings

2010-01-13T11:55:00.002-06:00

One of those mornings. Ready for storytime a half hour early, but girls won't wait to get in the van (and Jeb needed a nap in his carseat). Decide to run to CVS to get a great deal I've been trying to get there to do for a week. Just need to grab 3 items and have coupons out and ready to go...easy, right? Slam diaper bag buckle in van door, break it. CVS is out of 2 of the 3 things I need. Make up a deal on the fly, also slowed down because I "must" look at 90% off Christmas stuff. Baby wakes up screaming while checking out. Get to library 10 minutes late, realize 90% off Christmas stuff didn't get rung up (Amelia must have been sitting on it in the cart.). Will have to go back later.

Storytime ok. Jeb crying as we leave. Get out in the rain and Elizabeth realizes she dropped the penguin bookmark she got from the library. Go back in with crying Jeb and pokey Amelia. Find bookmark. Back out to van. Get girls in. Amelia is screaming for a snack by now. Discover Jeb's kicked a shoe off. Look through stroller making sure it's not hidden in the blankets. Drop one of the girls' jackets in a puddle. Lock girls in van and retrace steps looking for shoe. Find it in puddle on the other side of the parking lot. Get back to van, buckle everyone in, Jeb and Amelia REALLY screaming by now.

Drive the 2 blocks home. In that time, Amelia has managed to kick HER shoe off. (And is screaming about it, of course!) Get everyone unbuckled, put shoe back on, grab broken diaper bag. Cell phone ringing. (New cell phone, so I have a hard time figuring out how to answer it.) It's James, needing information before a meeting starts. Run in and check computer for information. By this point Elizabeth is in the house and has grabbed herself a tortilla, but is still asking for a "snack." Give the girls cupcakes, Elizabeth gets upset because I start to take the paper off hers. Run to the bathroom, turn on the lights, then finally plop down at the computer and type all this out while nursing Jeb.

Still need to go back to CVS.

Passage of a decade and anticipation of another

2010-01-03T18:26:00.004-06:00

Dec 31, 1999 found me flying from D.C. back to Blythe after Levi and Audra's wedding. That night I was only semi-awake as the clock struck midnight. I remember other family members went to TP cars at a party, but I was just too tired.

That January I started my student teaching. The combination of 2 brothers getting married in a week's time and the end of my college days set off quite a bit of anxiety over when (or if) I would get married and have a family of my own. Thus began days and weeks and months and years of being alone and the fear of being alone forever. It was also an era of a lot of happy memories. I actually enjoyed teaching on occasion, and I loved my summer road trips. I worked hard at trying to create a life for myself, but it was always under the shadow of wondering what the future would hold. It felt like forever, but in retrospect was such a short time (2000-2004).

Now suddenly it is 2010 amd here I am, happily married with three kids (the same number as the first brother to marry, by the way). As the New Year began I found myself looking back on 1999 and how I felt about life then. And then I looked forward, to 2020...to a house with 2 Beehives, a Webelos, and who knows what else! What a brief moment of time a decade is and yet what living is contained in it!

Family photos

2010-01-02T09:52:00.003-06:00

I keep forgetting to get these mailed, so here's a sneak peek for now.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T14:44:00.013-06:00

Last Saturday the ward had a Thanksgiving lunch/dinner. A lot of the kids were playing on the stage. Elizabeth managed to get the bishop to give her the microphone. She started singing and performing.

We went to Barnes and Noble afterwards and the girls discovered the kids area.

Jeb enjoys chillin' in his Bumbo... at least for a little while.

Elizabeth was working on some big plans for this week...

Waiting to eat Thanksgiving at Grandpa and Grandma Blair's:

"That's a big chicken!" Elizabeth stated in wonder. The girls like to eat the roasted chickens from Wal-Mart, so I guess that's what she thought it was.

Elizabeth took pictures afterwards.

(Pictures of Daddy when he was little, except the top left, that one is Uncle Darren)

(Grandma let Amelia play with her old baby doll)

Coming soon: Pictures from Texas Renaissance Festival 2009 (and maybe Scarborough Faire 2009.... yeah a little late with that second group).

Jeb at 2 months

2009-11-13T14:12:00.002-06:00

Lucky Friday the 13th! I got a great shot on the first try! Much better than at one month.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-23T13:32:00.003-05:00

Yes, we now live in the civilized world; the kids had their first visit to a pumpkin patch.
Not one where pumpkins actually grow, obviously!

Potty-training

2009-10-19T17:06:00.002-05:00

They love their potties. They love their underwear. They love washing and flushing, and all that good stuff. They just won't actually GO in the potty. Sigh. Trying to make this week really focused and I turned around just now to see this (not posed).

CVS Mommy Style

2009-10-19T14:36:00.007-05:00

Some of you may have seen my Facebook posts about CVS lately. I've been wanting to blog about it but never seem to get around to it. I starting CVSing at the beginning of the summer, back in Gainesville. Took a break for a couple of weeks when I had Jeb, but it was the first thing that got me out of the house with all three kids. I had Extra Care Bucks expiring, and I just couldn't let that happen.

This picture is what I got today for $2.55.

I also spent $17.50 in ECB, but I got $19.99 ECBs back.

My pre-tax total was 36.46.

Here's how it happened:

$5.00 off because I took the flu quiz and printed a $5/25 coupon.
$4.00 off the Robitussin ($2.00 on each bottle)
$4.00 off the Dimetapp ($2.00 on each bottle)
$3.50 off the Scented Reed Diffusser (internet coupon now dead)

That's $16.50 off, leaving $19.96. I paid $17.50 in ECB from past weeks, leaving $2.46. add $0.09 in tax and my cash total was $2.55.

I got back $10.00 ECB for buying the cold meds, $6.99 ECB for buying the Scented Reed Diffusser, and, best of all, $3.00 ECB for buying the milk!

The ad said get $3 ECB when you buy 2 General Mills Cereals and 1 gallon of milk, but I knew from this week's CVS thread on Slickdeals that it would trigger on just 3 gallons of milk and no cereal. I could have used coupons on the cereal and gotten a technically better deal, but good deals on cereal are MUCH easier to find than good deals on milk and we go through milk a lot faster!

So, here's my CVS deal for the week. They were out of the Sense & Spray that I have $4 coupons for, so I may check back later in the week or check the store across town. Or I may not. That's why I call it "Mommy Style." A diehard CVSer would have only bought enough to get to $25 and bought the rest at the other store if they had the Sense & Spray. That way you could use 2 $5/25 coupons (one at each store). I, on the other hand, was just happy to get through one trip without the baby waking up, Elizabeth running off, or Amelia killing herself (she did fall out of the basket). I also don't always get hot items because the sales start on Sunday and I don't shop until Monday.

But I think I still did pretty good!

One Month Old (yesterday)

2009-10-14T20:07:00.003-05:00

Hey, um, sleeping here, do ya mind?

Whoa, watch the flash!

Not happy about this!

Jeb's first bath

2009-10-07T18:23:00.004-05:00

Amelia was so traumatized by NICU baths that she HATED water for most of her first year. We mostly did sponge baths and then I nursed her in the bathtub for a long time. So it wasn't until today that Jeb got more than a sponge bath.

Just hanging out, with no idea of what is about to happen.

Surprise! Didn't bother him a bit!

Until afterward.

A Girl of Many Talents!

2009-10-02T22:01:00.011-05:00

Elizabeth has discovered the joys of taking pictures. We'd post a picture of her taking pictures, but we can't because she has the camera. Suffice to say, she has the biggest grin on her face when she does it, and says "Smile!" a lot.

She has a pretty good accuracy rate as well. For the most part she is able to get her subject in the frame, unless she is being silly and just snapping away.

Daddy and Jeb

Amelia was sooooo tired!

The next several are part of a series. Elizabeth took them in this order. She did this a couple of different times, and it was her idea each time. We didn't know she did it until after we unloaded the camera.

I think she likes him!

2009-09-28T14:59:00.000-05:00

Granny Dancin' in the Rain

2009-09-26T16:32:00.003-05:00

Daddy's boy

2009-09-20T20:07:00.006-05:00

More pictures. Daddy holding his little Scout.

Oh, the difference one big diaper can make. These pictures were just a couple of minutes and one kaboom diaper apart from the previous post.

Week in Review

2009-09-20T19:47:00.010-05:00

What a busy week! Jeb is home! Elizabeth has discovered taking pictures. Amelia loves her baby brother but is starting to realize she gets less Mommy time right now.

Ready to fly home.

Amelia!

Elizabeth helped Granny and Grandpa organize the play room. (Amelia too)

Daddy and his buddy

Jeb and Jeb. No, he wasn't named after the bear. Christie can explain it.

Here's Jeb!

2009-09-14T10:46:00.008-05:00

We're waiting at the hospital to be released. Yet another delay... nothing wrong with Jeb, just some communication failures with the hospital staff. I might have to cancel my night class as well as my morning classes.

In case anyone wonders why Elizabeth doesn't look happy, she hates doctors, hospitals, and anything that looks medical, so she was really freaking out being there. The fact that she wanted to see her baby brother is the only reason why she was even in the room. She sure loves her baby brother! Amelia on the other hand is completely ok with doctors and such. Kinda weird considering she was the one in the NICU for over 2 months.

These blogs don't update themselves, son!

2009-09-08T17:45:00.012-05:00

Some pictures for catching up:

We were given a sectional sofa right after we moved in. The girls love it. Elizabeth insists on sleeping on it at night if she can get away with it.

Daddy now has a job where he can bring the family in to work. It takes a bout 75 minutes to get there, depending on traffic, but he only goes twice and is there all day when he does.

We took a family trip to see the office and take the college books out of the house. We probably need to do another trip!

Amelia loves her monkey. So does Elizabeth. The monkey went with both girls when they each got sick and had to go to the ER because it was a weekend night.

They both enjoyed the faculty lounge. Elizabeth loves to twirl her hair sometimes.

Elizabeth trying to figure out where all the books will go.

I have a corner office! An inside corner, but a corner. The guy across from me brings in a baby peacock and has a toy train in his office.

Time to leave! The stains on Daddy's clothes came from when the moving truck blew an oil line.

Amelia's 2nd Birthday!

2009-07-22T00:24:00.020-05:00

Amelia had a blast! She loved her presents, her Winnie the Pooh card, and the cake Momma made her. Elizabeth was just as excited about presents, perhaps moreso than Amelia. She's already counting down until her birthday, over 6 months away!

Dinner was rotisserie chicken from Wal-Mart (the girls can just about devour one by themselves), potato wedges, and little cans of A&W Root Beer. Amelia managed to get it on her new shirt but is just as happy.

Here's a bunch of pictures and some videos. We have a video of Amelia enjoying her bubble blowing machine, but Elizabeth decided to shuck her diaper somewhere along the way so until we figure out how to edit the video, you'll just have to look at the pictures to see her enjoying it.

Our future home!

2009-07-13T19:06:00.018-05:00

We're approved for the rental house. I just have to turn in the last of the paperwork and the rent/deposit check tomorrow and we're set. I can also get utilities scheduled while I'm still down here, as well as get some stuff taken care of for work (temporary parking tag, get the textbooks for class, touch base with the internet class guru, etc.).

We're moving in on July 31st. The Landlady is being nice and letting us skip the prorated rent for the extra day. So we get to move in when we can get help from our new ward. I visited yesterday and they were already trying to call dibs on me in priesthood. Of course, my "other dad" got a jump on the others and submitted my name for a calling *two months ago*.

As I said, the church is walking distance away, and it's in a nice neighborhood. My other parents are a couple of streets away, and I can get to the main roads pretty quick. It's almost a straight shot to the main campus (about 4 miles away), and a few streets away from the main rout to the highway that will take me to my initial assigned campus.

We'll be paying $900 for a 1534 sq ft house with plenty of room for the girls to play and for Christie and I to stash our stuff. OK, Ok, here's the pictures:

Front of the house. There's a lime tree in front with fruit on the branches. The garage fits two cars and has an automatic opener. Fancy!

The kitchen. Lots of cabinet and counter space.

Another view of the kitchen.

Dining area next to the kitchen. Some of the kitchen counter can also be used for eating if we get some stools. Outside the bay windows is the sun room.

The sun room. It faces east, so it doesn't get the sun in the hot afternoon. The girls will have their toys in here, so they can play and still come to the kitchen for lunch or whatever (Amelia is always running back and forth getting graham crackers). The sun room was added when the original porch was enclosed.

Living room right off of the kitchen. We can actually have the living room not also be the dining room for once!

One of the bedrooms. All of the bedrooms have walk-in closets with double layers of hanger rods and shelves. All rooms have ceiling fans, as well as cable and phone connection points. One will be the girls' room, and the other will be the library/office/sewing room until Jeb is big enough to need his own room.

Main bathroom

Master bathroom. The shower was just re-done.

And there it is! Things went so much smoother this time. Except for a navigation error trying to drop off the first batch of paperwork (ya miss one number and you end up across town instead of around the corner.... I could have walked the paperwork over!).

This is happening! New job, new house. We're being so blessed with this!

Squawking 1200

2009-07-10T08:24:00.002-05:00

AT&T didn't come to fix the phone line yesterday like they said they would. We're going out of town today to house hunt, but this was going to change our plans.

But.... they somehow got it fixed at 7:30 this morning. They just saved themselves from a cranky customer call. Now we can get back to packing for the trip. Just wanted to update everyone because, you know, our lives are so exciting and captivating.

Squawking 7600

2009-07-08T16:03:00.002-05:00

Our phone line suddenly went dead right before I went to work. That cuts off the internet. I had to wrestle with the AT&T website at work just to find a phone number so I could report the problem. the website wanted me to troubleshoot and fix it myself.

Anyway, we're down to just cell phones until sometime "between 8 AM and 7 PM" tomorrow. Yeah, technology has spoiled us. I'm also a target for all kinds of pillow fights on Facebook now. Good thing I printed off my readings for my Forensics class so I can work on it offline and submit from my alternate location.

See you on the flip side.

I'm thankful....

2009-07-02T18:36:00.003-05:00

I originally planned to do one of these for each work day left on my countdown, but I'm almost done anyway so I'll just do this all in one.

I am thankful for the new job I will be starting at South Texas College next month. My reasons why (no particular order):

1. House:

Our transfer to Gainesville was with little in the way of notice or time to prepare. Due to issues of the rental history company having flawed records, we were denied a rental on a nice house (which in retrospect would have been more than we could afford with Axia being unsteady income at the moment). We ended up getting a rental at the last minute, sight unseen. This was a blessing to be sure, as it gave us a place to live and allowed us to figure out the problem with the rental records and get them fixed.

But...

This house is infested. First it was fleas. Amelia was their bed time snack. Poor girl. Elizabeth somewhat as well, but always Amelia. Then we had a lot of rain and got mosquitoes. Ok, we could avoid them by staying inside, but still. And now we have mice. I think Eliza took a stab at getting some, but she wasn't here long enough to get them all.

And don't get me started on the damage to the house and the safety hazards with the wiring that my dad found. Yikes!

Sooo....

Moving to McAllen gives us a chance to leave this house early with a really good reason. It'll also give us a chance to look around in a housing market that isn't messed up. there are nice houses, and there is enough demand and competition that we can find something nice, within our budget. We've done some preliminary looking, and so far, so good. I'll go down to McAllen in a little over a week to house hunt, then come back to make the move.

2. Career vs job

TYC has been my job for the past 4 years. At first I considered the possibility of maybe staying with things and advancing, but soon it became clear that advancement wasn't likely. Then I was RiFed. I see the direction the agency is going, and I want no part of it.

Now I will be starting on a career path that I originally wanted. I will start as an instructor, but I will have the opportunity to advance up the professor career ladder. I can make my first promotion in as early as two years. This is usually not available to people without a PhD, but STC has the career path.

3. Nearby PhD program

Related to the above is the availability of some PhD programs at nearby UT PanAm. Although they don't of a CJ program at that level (CJ PhD programs are rare), I was advised that because I already have more than 18 doctoral hours in CJ, I can get a PhD in any subject and still teach graduate level CJ. The UT PanAm program include Management, which I could probably do without too much fuss, and will hold my interest as well as expand my teaching opportunities.

Plus, getting the PhD will expand my career advancement opportunities, as well as allowing me to advance faster.

4. Daddy Comes Home

Right now I'm working 2-10 PM. prior to that, I was liable to be called at any hour of the day or night and be gone for a few days at a time for emergencies.

Granted, my new career will require some evening classes (especially while I'm still the FNG) but otherwise I'll be home at a decent hour. No emergencies, no "staff didn't show up" or "take this kid to the hospital". Depending on how my class schedule each semester, I can probably be home early in the afternoons on some days, or even possibly have a weekday or two off if I work long days on the rest.

5. Holidays/Vacations

Related to the above is the fact that I don't have to work on holidays. No special duties or anything. If it's a holiday, I have it off. I get vacations scheduled in by the school calendar. No requesting time off and hoping that someone doesn't screw things up and my leave gets yanked.

This also gives me summers, off, unless I choose to work them for extra pay (see below). Having summers free will allow for all the usual summer fun of reunions, camps, or just plain old spending time with the family.

6. Pay (and overload and summer)

Starting off, my base pay will be better than what I make now. Granted, I won't get overtime pay, but it's not like TYC ever really paid my OT on a regular basis. I mainly accrued it just to burn off as leave time.

STC is rapidly growing, and the departments are working hard to keep up. The result is that everyone does at least one overload (extra) class. This translates into an extra $500 or so each month (per overload class) during the regular semesters.

As I mentioned above, I also get paid extra if I teach classes during the summer. Not only will this help keep the budget running smoother, but we'll use the extra pay to really snowball the debts and start saving to buy things we'll need soon (a new computer once the Phoenix one finally dies for the last time, a replacement vehicle or two in the next few years), and even buy a house instead of renting.

7. I know the Macs

Bill and Evelyn MacIntosh have been great friends, supporters, mentors, butt-kickers, etc. for several years. They are my "other parents." When I was hiding in the ward library, it was Evelyn that dragged me out by my ear, and Bill who arranged a High Priest escort to get me to attend classes and get my act together. They've also encouraged me in my academic career, and helped me get to where I am now. Not that we couldn't move somewhere completely new without knowing anyone there (we've done it before) but it helps having someone there that you already know.

Of course, they say they already have plans for us at church.... the recruiting thing at STC is also the Lord's work as well, which brings me to...

8. The Lord wants us there

Why? I don't know yet. I'm sure He knows what he wants us to do. I applied and interviewed all over the place in North Carolina back when I was first getting RiFed. Things looked pretty good that we'd be able to join the Jeppson exodus to Charlotte, as well as being able to hang around with my brother and his family at Fort Bragg. STC was the only place in Texas I applied with any real intent, and the only place that called for an interview. They are also the only place that called back with a job offer. I guess the Lord made it very clear where he wanted us to go, through this and other things he has done to help pave the way for us. So HE wants us there, but why?

9. Church is growing; maybe I'll use all the training I got in Monahans

The McAllen area just split off a new stake. They need Family History experts (hmm, where to find one of those) and priesthood leaders (ummmm). They were told that if they can form two more stakes, they get their own temple north of the border. Pretty neat to be a part of such growth. I'm not the only one curious as to what callings we'll get.

10. Bingo! South end of Texas the only part I haven't lived in yet.

Not really related to the others. The closest thing to home for me is central Texas. I went to school and got married in east Texas, started TYC and got a crash course in church leadership in west Texas, and have been marking time in north Texas. Going to south Texas should make bingo! all ends of the state dwelt in.

11. Subtropical area

McAllen is listed as being a subtropical area. Palm trees, snow birds in winter. We won't have to shovel the walk or anything like that.

Which leads me to the one thing I'm not looking forward to:

11.5 hot hot hot

I don't like the heat. Pyote was ok because it really was a dry heat. Up here is bearable as long as you stay inside during the day. Poor Amelia is definitely not a fan of the heat either... all day today it was "Water head!" meaning she wanted water poured on her head to cool her off (I'll let Christie explain). Elizabeth doesn't mind so much... she'll stay outside and keep playing if we let her and have water available for her. Looks like they'll be taking swimming lessons during the summer. I could use that as well. Don't let the Polar Bear Swim patch fool you, I still can't swim.

I'm so glad when Daddy comes home...

2009-06-26T12:52:00.006-05:00

...except it doesn't work so well when Daddy works nights.

Amelia is cranking her cuteness up to 11 just to stay awake.

Fun Family History Find

2009-06-25T10:15:00.005-05:00

I just found a book about the Atwaters that is available in PDF format online. Haven't had much of a chance to look at it yet, but I've saved it to my computer so that I can read it as I have time. Actually, it looks like the easiest way to flip through the pages is to click on the Read Online link. The pages flip just like a real book. Going to peruse this site further to see what else I can find. Should be cleaning the house, but this is so much more fun and I already found one family this morning that needs ordinance work done!

FYI: Atwaters are our "tangled" branch. Grandpa Parkins' parents were first cousins whose common grandparents were Samuel Atwater and Mary Jane Magill (or McGill).

Baby Blair #3 is a......

2009-06-11T18:00:00.003-05:00

...boy! Christie will have to tell the details from the ultrasound because I stayed home to watch the girls. Little JEB is gonna have to hold his own against two big sisters. Elizabeth is already fascinated by the new boy socks Christie got, and Amelia keeps saying "Baby Mommy tummy"

In other news, I've completed my Axia internship and have been fully accepted as a faculty member. My next batch of classes doesn't start until July 20th, though. So Happy Birthday to Amelia.

I sign out on vacation at work on July 10th to find a place in McAllen, come back, and get the family moved down there. I have to work a day in August to keep our medical insurance going until STC picks it up. So I'll work one whole day in August, and come in part of the next day to out-process. The funny part is that by working a day in August to keep the medical, I probably qualify for the $800 retention bonus that TYC is supposedly getting. That should about pay for the moving truck rental, give or take.

Bob the Builder comes to Gainesville!

2009-05-09T22:26:00.005-05:00

Well, not quite, but for a long time Bob the Builder fan this morning was just as good. Our neighbor is having his driveway paved. I opened the front door to get the mail (waiting on the appointment packet from STC) and I told Elizabeth "Come look!, Is that Scoop?"

She ran outside, and after watching in amazement for a few minutes, she ran inside and got her "guys", the toys she has named for the machines on Bob the Builder. She started with Scoop and Muck, because she couldn't decide which one she was seeing. Amelia brought the other two when she came out to see what was going on.

They played for a while until I saw the mosquitoes were out very thick. It has rained a lot lately and our back yard looks like Dagobah right now. I hurried them in, then started working on mowing the lawn while getting eaten alive. But that's beside the point...

Elizabeth had a good morning: first,, she got to watch the Bob the Builder Movie from Netflix, then she saw a real Scoop (or Muck!)

Fasting and Prayer works!

2009-05-09T19:23:00.008-05:00

Back in December we found out that I would probably lose my job at WTSS. We knew from prayers and blessings that we would know when it was time to leave TYC, and this was a clear answer (the topic of leaving had been discussed for a while as the agency slowly imploded around us).

We had been considering North Carolina's juvenile system for a while, but the pay increase wouldn't have covered the housing cost increase. But, just as I was getting RIF'ed, I started with Axia College of University of Phoenix, so that would make up the difference. I started applying everywhere I could. I started interviewing in February and finished in March. So far I haven't heard back on the second round of interviews. The NC Juvenile system is notoriously slow on the hiring process.

In the middle of shotgunning NC, I saw a posting for a full time Criminal Justice instructor at South Texas College in McAllen. I asked Christie how her Spanish was holding up and she shot me a look that probably knocked a few weeks off my life. I sent it in anyway just to leave no stone unturned. It would be a good opportunity, and one of my mentors (my "other parents in McAllen") was on the search committee, so I had an outside shot at it. But we pushed ahead with plans for NC. I owed it to Christie after 3+ years in Pyote.

In the meantime, I got transferred to Gainesville with TYC. It sounded like a good place to mark time while waiting on the other applications, and it could be a doable place if they didn't pan out. The job situation turned out far worse than I originally thought, but there were blessings buried in it. However, it still remained very stressful. We prayed and fasted and prayed that we would soon find out about a job. I interviewed at South Texas College and got the feeling that this was where the Lord wanted us to go next. Even Christie was starting to accept the idea and come to peace with it. But the interview had been the beginning of April, and we were getting into May with a quickly deteriorating job situation in Gainesville. More fasting and prayer.

This past week started horrible. I couldn't bear the thought of going to work anymore and started trying to figure out options for quitting. Wednesday morning I got a call that made it more bearable: STC human resources wanted to offer me the job! I was suddenly awake and couldn't say "Yes!" fast enough.

The offered salary is currently $39347 for 9 months. I currently make $40176 in 12 months at TYC. The starting offer will get better, though. July 1st will mark 4 years with TYC, which will translate into 2 years experience for STC. This will increase the 9 month pay to $40330. But it will get better than that. I have 27 graduate (PhD) hours post Master's. If I can get 3 more graduate hours, I will jump up to the Master's +30 bracket for $42686 for 9 months. I'm planning to sign up for a class at University of Phoenix and use my employee 50% discount. I'll spend about $1100 to take a class that will pay for itself in about 4 months, plus I'll take something that is in demand (CSI and Forensic Psychology maybe) so I'll be able to teach classes to help satisfy the demand for the current academic flavor of the month.

But there's more! STC is rapidly expanding, so each instructor is doing at least one overload class, which means roughly an extra $500 per month. If I teach summer classes, that's about $2400 per session (two summer sessions available) if I have my info right. I even know my class schedule already! It's at a campus about an hour drive away from the main campus, but depending on office hour requirements I may only need to be there as little as two days a week. I'm teaching all but one of the classes at this campus (the other is TBA, so probably an adjunct unless they think I'm gung ho enough to take a seventh class).

Schedule breakdown:

M: 8:30-9:50AM, 10:00-11:20AM, 6:00-8:50 PM
W: 8:30-9:50AM, 10:00-11:20AM, 5:30-8:20 PM

plus two sections of an internet class. 4 different courses all together, in 6 sections. STC only has 5 CJ classes available. The one class I'm the closest match to (Correctional Systems and Practices) is the one I'm not teaching this semester. It's all good, though.

So the pay is going to be pretty decent, and I can get more if I want to work summers. Plus, I can maybe get away with staying with my Axia teaching (probably just one class, maybe two).

The job starts August 20th, so I might even be able to use it as Christie's Birthday present (except it's also kinda her Mother's Day present).

The way I'm accumulating overtime and other leave, I should be able to sign out of TYC at the beginning of July and be on terminal leave status all the way to my STC start date. Insurance is by the same state system, so I'll be able to keep the same insurance without skipping a beat, which is good because Baby Blair #3 (gender still unknown, I'll let Christie tell that story) is due in September.

So.....

We'll be moving to southern Texas this summer. We're hoping to find a place in McAllen if possible; rough guess on budget is that we can probably do monthly housing costs of about $800-1000 for a 3/2 or 4/2 (depending on other features and stuff, but the lower the cost the better if possible). If anybody knows of anything in that area, please let us know. The MacIntosh's (my "other parents" mentioned above) have already offered to keep an eye out for places to live within their ward. Um, yeah, they didn't just help because they love me; there are callings that need filling which Christie and I happen to have the training, experience, expertise, and love. Doesn't mean we'll get them, but if the Lord has a different plan for us down there, I haven't figured it out yet. I'm sure that will come in due time, though.

Is this the face of Swine Flu?

2009-05-03T16:15:00.005-05:00

No, this is the face of a little girl who can't possibly understand why she didn't get to go to Sunbeams today.

After enduring Sacrament Meeting, to come straight home was pure torture, especially since Mommy and Daddy had been saying all morning that she was going to get to go to Sunbeams today!

We got to Church this morning only to find out that all the meetings for the week have been cancelled after Sacrament Meeting today. Can you believe it? The decision was made by the Stake President late last night. Our Relief Society President said he was getting tons of phone calls from worried members. I know him (he was my singles' ward Bishop when I was first teaching) and he's not the kind of person to panic, so I guess he really must have been hearing from a lot of hysterical members. I also have to remember that the stake stretches down much closer to DFW so probably most of the worry came from those areas.

We let the girls run around a little outside once Elizabeth finally got out of the van (she insisted we rebuckle her carseat and shut the door!). Her tights are probably ruined, but oh well.

Easter pics (Finally!)

2009-04-22T09:23:00.005-05:00

Beginning Friday afternoon as Elizabeth dyes eggs for first time.

And Amelia wonders whats going on up there!

Elizabeth with the loot. We couldn't get any decent pictures of her that morning (Saturday, because James had to work Sunday morning). She was moving far too fast. She even got up before anyone else and was well on her way before Mommy and Daddy got up. Despite her urgent calls to her sister, Amelia was determined to stay asleep.

Playing with blankets that morning.

Isn't she cute?

Amelia liked the egg salad sandwiches so much she got back up to the table to finish off her sister's.

Dancing together.

Eating bunnies. They kept switching back and forth and giggling like crazy.

Sunday morning in the beautiful dresses Grandma and Grandpa Blair sent them.

Amelia did NOT want to cooperate for pictures.

I think she knew Mommy was risking being late.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, was more cooperative than she has EVER been for pictures.

Amelia just wanted to leave, already.

Elizabeth landing after a jump. Love this pic!

Things you don't want to hear getting out the shower

2009-04-15T09:20:00.001-05:00

Elizabeth (from the top of the stairs)

"Daddy, Daddy, can you help?"

No response

"Jump, Amelia, jump!"

"Daddy, Daddy, can you help?"

No response

"Jump, Amelia, jump! I catch you!"

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2009-04-08T18:35:00.002-05:00

The best thing about Gainesville

2009-04-06T18:12:00.011-05:00

is definitely the park. There's a park like this in San Angelo that we've stopped at on the way from Pyote to Cove. I was so excited to see this one in Gainesville. It's probably half the size of the one in San Angelo, but that's good because I have enough trouble keeping track of Elizabeth in this one. There are so many places to run and climb...immensely better than your standard playground equipment.

The picture below is looking from the toddler swings toward the entrance of the Frank Buck Zoo. We've yet to take the girls there, but hopefully soon. We tried on day when admission was a "buck a head" but it was Spring Break and the whole town was there and I had already thrown up twice (and threw up once more before I got to the car) and we needed to leave to go out of town that day, so we got there and decided not to battle the crowds.

Elizabeth insisted on pushing Amelia in the swing. Good thing she's a toughie and doesn't cry when the swing hits her.

The swings are Amelia's favorite. Actually, a lot of the stuff is too big for Amelia to play on but she does GREAT on the swings. Even big kid swings. She can just hold on and swing forever. Or, if she's in the mood, she'll swing for a few minutes, yell "All Done!" then run over to the next (identical) swing and insist on being lifted up again. All of the swings are quite high off the ground and I do worry that I won't be able to lift them (especially Elizabeth) safely too much longer.

Climbing activities like this are right up Elizabeth's alley. Great way to work the large muscle groups and very organizing for her. Amelia likes to think that she could do it too, if only Mommy would cooperate.

I have to be waiting for Amelia at the top of the slide because the crazy girl will run straight off the edge. Look at that face!

When Amelia isn't on the swings, she's usually trying to figure out how to climb over things. They discovered that the balance beam makes a fun horsey/teeter totter type thing if they sit on opposite ends.

One more activity on the way back to the van. What is Elizabeth doing with those branches?

Tearing them apart to put down the storm drain, of course!

Phew!!!!

2009-02-24T15:53:00.003-06:00

!!!!!

I got a priesthood blessing this morning while Christie was handing off the Family History Center keys. We then got down to house hunting and found a new place. The owner used to work for TYC so he knows the score, and he's trying to get us in a fast as possible, probably middle of next week. We extended the rental on teh moving truck to buy us some time and keep most of our plans intact. The EQ President of the Gainesville ward has offered us a place to park the truck, so we're good there.

New address: 1107 S. Howeth, Gainesville TX 76240

The girls will get to visit their 3 favorite doggies again. Thanks again to the Texas Jeppsons!

Granny is here to help with packing. Elizabeth is soaking up all the attention and is helping whole bunches. Amelia isn't feeling well, but she enjoys the extra attention when she is able.

My parents will try to come help with the unloading and/or unpacking depending on which day. The girls will get extra love from more grandparents.

I just filed reports on the previous rental company with BBB and HUD.

My tentative new supervisor is LDS (from a different ward) and he is aware of our situation. I should be able to take some time as needed for the move. Other than that, I was able to find out that my first week at work will be learning the ropes in the Security unit and filling in there until they get a replacement (unless I take it). Depending on the work schedule, this could be a nice change of pace.

Still a bit hectic, but at least we have a direction to jump while we're doing the leap of faith thing.

Oh No!

2009-02-23T15:59:00.002-06:00

The rental company just called and said our application was denied. They won't say why and I'm getting the runaround at the other places I've been referred to find out. They'll mail me a credit report in about 10 days, but that doesn't do much good right now. Argh!!!!

Just in time!

2009-02-22T16:37:00.002-06:00

While we were out house hunting, the facility here in Pyote got a sudden second round RiF. The facility population is being reduced by half, and lots of other changes are being made. They ended up RiFing 67 people while we were driving back on Friday. The cut the chaplain, Youth Rights specialist, one of only 3 psychologists (we're starting a treatment heavy program that needed all 3 psychs to operate properly) plus dozens of others I don't know about yet. Here's the relevant portion from the Executive Commissioner's e-mail on Friday:

"The most significant impact will be to the West Texas State School. We are reducing its capacity to 48 beds for youth committed to TYC from the West region. The appropriate staff size for that population is 69, which means we will be reducing staff by about 110 positions. Due to fewer vacant positions at West Texas, 67 employees will be losing their jobs.

We are transforming the West Texas campus to a less restrictive, more treatment-oriented facility. Many of the buildings on campus will be closed, and we will operate only three dorms. There will be no pickets, security units, warehouse or gate. As a regional facility, the campus will focus on chemical dependency and abuse treatment since more than 70 percent of youth from the West region come to us with identified chemical dependency and/or abuse treatment needs. We will aggressively implement CoNEXTions and best treatment practices in this smaller setting and JCOs will become much more involved in the treatment of youth."

Anyone thinking that we were supposed to somehow stay in the area understood just how blessed we were to get the first round of RiFs. I got a transfer offer, but I doubt anyone who just got RiFed will have that benefit. Gotta love Texas politics, as all this has nothing to do with the economy.

Our New Home!

2009-02-21T13:20:00.007-06:00

After a lot of searching and shaking our heads at just how lazy some of the rental companies are in Gainesville, we found a house which is within our budget that we can also live with.

A sample picture is below. Just reverse the image and you'll see what ours looks like. It's a duplex built townhome style. The entrances are set far apart so you forget that these are duplexes. This is the newest housing area in Gainesville (Google Earth doesn't even View Larger Map">show it yet).

We'll be in 1610 Diamond Circle, Gainesville Texas 76240!

The house was built in 2005, and that is on the "older" side of the housing area. Several lots are still undeveloped.

Here's a floorplan for the house. We'll be in the left side.

Work is less than 4 miles east, and the church is about the same distance west. Super Wal-Mart is right up Grand Ave nearby. I-35 is just a short jaunt west. The Dallas temple is about an hour or so south. On the way to the chapel is a zoo and a city park with an awesome playground the girls both love.

Edit: Also, the girls have 3 doggies about an hours drive away that love playing with them. Thanks for the reminder, Aunt Merideth.

We went by the Gainesville Ward on Wednesday evening to try to sort out our (lack of) prospects up to that point, and saw the primary classrooms have class rosters posted. There are 8 Sunbeams, and most other primary classes are of similar size. Elizabeth found the Nursery, and we're guessing it will be about the same size (we didn't find a class list in there). There is a Family History Center in the Gainesville building. It's a nice building, and looks like one of the newer designs. They have baby changing stations in both bathrooms. Guess I'm still on the hook for diaper duty.

We're back in Pyote trying to pack up the house. We're planning to load the moving truck on Wednesday and be in our new home by Friday. Our exile is ending!

Elizabeth's Busy Day

2009-02-12T18:25:00.006-06:00

Elizabeth had her 3 Year appointment at the doctor today. No shots were needed, but that didn't make the appointment any less a traumatic ordeal. The fix: Elizabeth's favorite food and most frequently requested shopping item.

ICE CREAM!!

Over at the mall, one of the shops clinging to life (the mall was barely surviving during the oil boom due to poor management) is a sweet shop with Blue Bell ice cream. Two scoops of Dutch Chocolate turned out to be two *big* scoops, but Elizabeth hadn't had lunch and had worked up an appetite playing on the nearby playground.

After ice cream, we headed to the other playground on the opposite side of the mall. Along the way is a large carousel. It was in use by another group of kids, so of course it captured Elizabeth's attention. We've always talked about letting Elizabeth ride, but now we're getting ready to leave the area. Plus Elizabeth had some money from Grandma and Grandpa Blair for her birthday and Valentine's day.

First time around Elizabeth enjoyed the spinning seats.

Elizabeth wanted another ride, and climbed up onto the horse herself. Such a big girl!

Elizabeth then went to the playground nearby, then hit the arcade next to it. Elizabeth loves the Deal or No Deal game. She won almost 160 tickets, which added to her previous winnings in the diaper bag came out to 400 tickets. After a few more rounds playing on the playground with the other kids, she picked her prize.

It's a giant crayon bank. Elizabeth is using it as a running stick in the picture. She ran the entire length of the mall back to the van. She had such a fun time she didn't mind leaving to do some quick shopping and come back home.

Once we got home, she went and got her piggy banks down from her dresser and emptied out the elephant one. She and Amelia have spent the evening putting the pennies in the crayon, dumping them out, then putting them back in.

Amelia can't wait for her next turn for a Daddy day!

Update again!

2009-02-09T15:49:00.002-06:00

I got the confirmation on the second training, but it will be in March at another location. It will be right after the training in Austin, so everything will be in sequence. This will put me a bit behind my co-workers at the new facility (they'll get me up to speed real quick before the training, I'm sure) and it also gives us more time on this end to find a place and get there.

Update!

2009-02-09T14:20:00.003-06:00

I finshed the previous post just in time to get a phone call from Austin. Arrangements are being made on the training side of things. So far they'll let me take the training out of sequence because they think I'm smart enough to handle it. I'm waiting for the confirmation for the training scheduled in Gainesville for next week. The training scheduled for this week was full, but instead I get to wait until March 18-19 and take the training down in Austin with all the fancy people there.

Zip Squeal

2009-02-09T13:27:00.006-06:00

Quick updates on stuff:

1. Travels: Special thanks to the Colemans for letting a grumpy bear hang out in their house last week.

2. Transfer: I received a call on my way to the interview in Concord. TYC offered a transfer to a facility in Gainesville, but I had only 24 hours to accept the offer (including signing the paperwork). It took some juggling but Christie was able to get the form, scan and e-mail it to me, so I could print it and beg Katie to get her printer to scan it so I could e-mail it back, and then Christie turned in a signed form to the HR office the same day.

3. Interview: I applied for a Youth Counselor position, and flew out to Charlotte for the interview. The job description sounds like almost exactly what I do here with TYC (except less garbage, hopefully). When I got there, the description they gave me at the beginning of the interview sounded more like a Youth Services Technician. In TYC, we would call this a Juvenile Correctional Officer, or "babysitter". I was told I was interviewing for a 2:30-10:30 PM position, which required me to spend my entire shift with my assigned 4 juveniles. No idea when I'm supposed to do the case management part of the job, except maybe after I tuck them in at night, but then that means I can't coordinate with all the resources in the community (parole, MHMR, etc.) that they'll need when they go home. The more Christie and I talk, it sounds like a bait and switch.

I was advised to add to my applications everything I've ever done that involved working with people, as this would directly increase my starting pay. I've cranked out two extra pages, and I just now remembered another page's wort of tings I could add. But unless I can get some answers and a heck of a pay offer when they call back for the pee and psych testing, the deal is off.

4. Back to the Gainesville transfer: I have to report at the beginning of March. So that leaves us less than 3 weeks to find a place, pack up a truk, get there, and unload. Which would be fun enough except I need to attend two different two day blocks of training for the new program we're rolling out this month agency wide. I'm trying to make arrangements to take the training up in Gainesville, so we can house hunt at the same time, but that means we'd have to leave *tomorrow*. Right now I'm waiting on someone in Austin to call and give me permission to attend training at my new duty station, because I'm requesting it less than 10 days from the training. So now I'm stuck in my office waiting for a phone call which can change our plans for the rest of the month. I didn't even leave for lunch today.

5. Church: Just to make things extra complicated, Feb 28 & March 1 is a Texas-Wide Stake Conference. In other words, right when we probably need to arrive an unload the truck, the entire state of Texas will be in stake conference! Yet another reason why being able to attend training in Gainesville is so important; otherwise I'm stuck down here in training right when we need to leave.

We've started contacting the wards we might possibly live in, and so far Denton 3rd Ward, which is possible if we don't live in Gainseville itself, might be a good fit. The Bishop's wife reports they are a young ward with lots of kids. The Bishop called back this morning because he didn't get a chance to call last night. They both sound very friendly.

Yesterday was a very rough day at church for the whole family. I'll leave it at that for now.

6. School: I complete my training for Axia College - University of Phoenix today. After that, I spend a week with a mentor, then I start teaching.

Gainesville is advantageous academically because on of the universities in DFW (UT Dallas I think) is preparing to open a PhD in Criminal Justice program. This (and UT San Marcos) will be the first programs in the state outside of Sam Houston State University, which has had a political stranglehold on the possibility of other schools getting programs. SHSU has been going downhill hard and fast lately, so these expansions are long needed.

7. Family (Texas, etc): Gainesville is close to some of the Jeppson clan , and is a few hours closer to my parents. We're right on I-35 and DFW airport isn't that far off, so we can make it just about anywhere else we need to go to be near family for special stuff.

8. Other stuff: Still waiting to hear on other job applications I sent out. Best deal wins. Gainesville sounds like it will be home for the next while, but if someplace else makes an offer I can't refuse, we'll pick back up again.

9. RenFest!!! We can actually go to Scarborough Faire this year without having to take a whole week off from work! Just looking for more bright sides to the transfer.

Jedi Academy

2009-02-04T14:28:00.003-06:00

So I'm hanging out at the Coleman's, waiting for a job interview tomorrow and catching up on sleep and my Axia training. I'm also helping out with the Colin's Star Wars training. This includes figuring out Jedi names for everyone. Here's what we have so far:

Colin: COLCO WACHA of the planet Worm!

Gabe: COLGA WHCHA of the planet Worm!

Oliver: COLOL MOCHA of the planet Tylenol!

James: BLAJA FOCOP of the planet Pepto!

Chad: COLCH POCHA of the planet Roomba!

Katie: COLKA WICHA of the planet Chocolate!

Katie says she has the best name, or at least the best home planet. I think we also figured out why Oliver is so peppy all the time: Cola & Mochas!

Something different

2009-02-03T12:53:00.002-06:00

Pineapple Enchiladas

I think I might try this while James is in North Carolina. Sounds quite different and good, yet easy to make. He doesn't like sour cream, so best to make it while he's away (also plan on finishing up the fish in the freezer).

Brown Bear, Brown Bear

2009-01-30T19:23:00.003-06:00

As I was working on the endless task of packing up the library the other day, I found this book and immediately knew it would be a hit with Elizabeth. Boy, was I right! I probably read it 100x in the first 2 days after I found it! The first and last pages are filled with color stripes in the order of the story. Elizabeth loves to point to the colors and say "Brown bear, red bird, yellow duck," and so on down the page. She also sits and "reads" the story to herself and to Amelia. This is really fun because Elizabeth is NOT a story girl. She likes to talk about what she sees on the page much more than actually listening to a storyline.
When I did her hair this morning I picked out a white hairtie and she said "White dog!" and kept talking about it the whole time I did her hair. James has read the book to her a few times and uses funny voices for each of the characters and sometimes when she reads the book to herself she does that, too. For quite a while I was concerned because Elizabeth didn't know her colors. Then, one day she did. And they've been dear friends ever since! A good portion of what she talks about each day has to do with colors.

Cool Pro-Life Ad

2009-01-29T16:58:00.000-06:00

Love what they did with this ad.

Interview in Concord

2009-01-29T10:09:00.002-06:00

Charlotte folks, check your e-mail. I sent the details, along with a plea for rides.
James is interviewing for a Youth Counselor position at the Youth Development Center in Concord one week from today. The euphemisms may be totally different, but the job description is the same as his current position as a Case Worker at a State School.
Wish us luck!

And the rollercoaster continues

2009-01-28T13:58:00.002-06:00

The statewide vacancy list came out yesterday. Turns out most of the promising openings are in Gainesville, 10 miles north of where I taught high school for 4 years. Housing costs are reasonable there, there's a ward and a Wal-Mart Supercenter, and James recently found out one of the supervisors there is LDS. The hospital right next to my old apartment (30 minutes from Gainesville) has a new Level III NICU. It all seemed to be falling into place.
I was on my way to storytime when James called. Voicemail from NC...not just NC but Concord...the job that is the closest to what James does now, in the location closest to Charlotte. This is the job that has a continous posting rather than a specific opening listed.
Oh, and the lady who called will be out of office until Friday.
ARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHH!
Still going forward on the transfer request and will carry on with that plan as we see if North Carolina can pull off a last minute steal.

Amelia's Laptop

2009-01-24T21:17:00.003-06:00

Daddy set it up right at her height!

Dancin'

2009-01-24T11:48:00.004-06:00

A favorite activity around here. Notice that Elizabeth wants a partner, but Amelia isn't cooperating. And, yes, that's pretty much what our living room looks like by the end of every day. We NEED a playroom (and we have an extra bedroom, but our books live there!).

Wouldn't it be cool?

2009-01-20T17:16:00.003-06:00

Just realized that I could have a 09-09-09 baby. That would just be 2 weeks early. Elizabeth is o2-04-06, so that's cool. Amelia has an airplane theme going on with 7-20-7. Hmmm...maybe I shouldn't go for a VBAC just so I can schedule a C-section on that date? Of course I wouldn't do it for that reason, but if I end up needing another C-section I'd totally think about it!

Full Circle

2009-01-17T10:11:00.003-06:00

We moved out here shortly after we found out Elizabeth was coming. Guess this is another sign it's time to move on. EDD Sep 23, 2009.

Official now

2009-01-15T15:07:00.000-06:00

Got his letter. A list will come out next week of all the vacancies in the agency and we'll see if there's anything he wants to apply for. The RiF letter attached to the application will automatically get him an interview.

It's happening

2009-01-15T13:14:00.002-06:00

The RiF is in process. Effective Mar 1st, so better than we were expecting. James hasn't been called up to get his letter yet, because the admins' tummies couldn't hold off on lunch for an hour to finish the process.
Yeah, real leadership out here.

Handedness

2009-01-14T21:21:00.003-06:00

So at Elizabeth's speech appointment this week she was coloring, because that is what Elizabeth's doing these days...she's finally taken an interest.

I asked the ECI coordinator if she'd noticed if Elizabeth was preferring one hand over the other. She said she was definitely using her left hand almost exclusively to color and pointed out that she had a perfect grip on the crayen. That made me smile, since I hadn't noticed that part. I'd been a bit worried about Elizabeth's fine motor skills.

We've suspected Elizabeth might be left handed for a long time now, but it's been very hard to be sure since she really wasn't interested in things like coloring or using utensils. Amelia, on the other hand, is clearly right handed (and already colors better than Elizabeth did a few months ago).

Of course "handedness" is a big deal for Jeppsons...coming from a family evenly split down the middle with both lefties and righties. Mom is right handed, Dad is left handed and there are two left handed boys, two left handed girls, two right handed boys, and two left handed boys.

Other than Elizabeth, any other lefties in the next generation?

A glimmer of hope for the NC dream

2009-01-12T11:32:00.003-06:00

I just found more jobs James is qualified for in North Carolina. The RiF announcement is expected to come today or tomorrow, so he's sending out as many applications as possible. We started this weekend with less desirable jobs in Texas, including the adult system, but these jobs I'm finding now in NC would be a lot better. There's one in Statesville which is about an hour from Katie and on the way to the mountains, which would be perfect if Levi and Audra move there!
So, for now, the suspense continues, but I am happy about finding some new jobs in North Carolina to apply for and these are actual vacancies, not just continual postings.
Oh, and another is in Fayetteville, which is where James' brother is.

Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad!

2009-01-11T16:59:00.002-06:00

So, this is really old picture, but it has a temple in it, so it's fitting, right?

Ball Popper

2009-01-01T18:40:00.003-06:00

Amelia got this ball popper from Granny and Grandpa. Both girls love it.

Update from (behind) the Magic 8-Ball

2009-01-01T10:10:00.004-06:00

I had a Magic 8 Ball when I was in the Hunstville Institute. Told the girls to use it to answer their guy questions instead of going through three layers of "what ifs" and getting upset over guys who weren't even there.

Of course, we haven't seen the 8 Ball since the fire....

Anyway, this is what we were told Tuesday, second hand from the Executive Commissioner:

The RiF will be announced next week. We weren't told the numbers, but the JCO supervisors were, so we know 6 Case Managers are getting the RiF. Just as we originally thought.

Anyone RiFed will be offered a spot in the agency, or possibly with another state agency. One of our veterans pointed out that the "other state agencies" line is an empty promise.

Anbother veteran who had been RiFed previously mentioned that if we get relocated to another facility as part of a RiF transfer, we'd get reimbursed for the move. One of us youngbucks who did some proactive research pointed out that the reimbursement is only $500. (I was the one who quoted the policies on RiF determinations and notifications. My officemate offered to show the run down on who was where on the RiF rankings. It was almost funny that the people on the chopping block were the ones that had done the research, but the ones that should be safe did the most panicking.) We were then told that the EC stated she didn't know if they would be able to provide that benefit for us.

The Sunset Review panel will meet again on January 15th, after the new Legislature is seated. We should know by the end of January which facility, if any, will be closed. There are at least 3 on the chopping block. We're on it for purely political reasons. It has been noted that the lege gave us a budget that was short by exactly the amount needed to keep WTSS open. The EC has stated that she might decrease each facility's budget a bit to allow all to remain open. She likes defying the lege because she know the Senator behind all this is a pompous jerk.

Whichever facility gets the axe will be closed in short order. No dragging things out; it'll be done by March. Just enough time to make arrangements for prison buses to move the youths to the other facilities. Last one out, turn off the lights.

The EC's main concern for here is Specialized treatment (licensed counselors doing specialized programs such as Chemical Dependency, etc.). My officemate has his license, and can also supervise counseling interns. We can have specilized programs in place in 30 days if they'd let us. Our Superintendent went out of his way to point out these facts.

Of course, depending on how they count the Security Case Manager positions towards the RiF, my officemate may get cut. That's when things will get messy, because for him to get cut, they'd have to assign a Security CM to a dorm caseload, even though her disabilities are such that she can't do the job at all. She is already heavily accommodated in her Security CM job. She is close to retirement, and could buy out her remaining 18 months. Of course, she was also oblivious to the RiF as of Tuesday. When I explained the situation to her, she was saddened that I was on the chopping block and commented that they should keep people based on how effective they are.

Scuttlebutt from my dorm's JCO supervisor who was RiFed from our boot camp program last year was that they were given only 2 weeks to get out of housing. Of course, their facility got closed out from under them (they did it to themselves by panicking and not coming to work when there was only the slight hint that they might close).

Boils down to this: Worst case scenario is we're out of here by the end of January. The facility itself may close by March, so surviving the RiF may just be delaying the inevitable for a few months.

Still no calls for interviews, but they'll probably happen when the holidays are over and people get back into full operational mode. We know the Lord has a plan for us. We're just chomping at the bit to find out what so we can slap the details on the bug-out plan and make it happen.

On the Axia front, I start my final 4 weeks of training on January 13th, then I'll start teaching classes and getting paid. Just in time, it seems. I found this out the same time we were getting some official info on the RiF.

So, should we start taking guesses as to the whens and wheres? Don't forget I might take a RiF job offer just to buy a bit more time. Not exactly feeling very loyal at this point.

I did it!

2008-12-31T21:09:00.003-06:00

Met my goal of indexing 10,000 names this year! Actually, I exceeded it by 32, making 15,032 names total. I kinda want to make next year's goal 12,000, which would be 1,000/month, but I think I'd better just stick with 10,000 again because I don't have a nursing baby to keep me at the computer for hours at a time.

Where's my crystal ball?

2008-12-27T22:13:00.002-06:00

I want to know when the RIF will happen. I want to know how long we'll have once they announce it. I want to know for absolutely sure whether or not James will lose his job (pretty sure on this one). I want to know what (if any) position they will offer him within TYC. I want to know where that position will be.

I want to know if a Youth Counselor position will open up in Concord within the next few weeks. I want to know if James will get an interview for that Court Counselor position in Charlotte that he applied to. I want to know if it would be worth it for him to fly out there just for an interview.

I want to know if we're moving to North Carolina, or possibly some other place in Texas just until the end of the summer and then to McAllen if he got the South Texas College teaching job. I want to know for sure when/if we'd lose the Axia thing if he took that job.

I want some idea of what the future holds. It's been 3.5 weeks of nothing but questions, questions and more questions. The closer we get to getting some answers, the more nervous I get.

Sigh. At least tomorrow is Sunday. Sounds like I need it, right?

Christmas Eve

2008-12-27T09:27:00.010-06:00

Elizabeth had been so enamored of stacking/restacking and distributing/redistributing the Christmas presents that we had to take them from under the tree and lock them up in the library for a while.
On Christmas Eve we let her put them back under the tree.

As you can see, they didn't stay under the tree for long. Both girls got tons of enjoyment from all their gifts while they were still (mostly) wrapped.

As bedtime approached we let them open their matching Princess PJs and Daddy read The Christmas Story (I can't wait until they're old enough to start acting it out!).

Elizabeth was determined NOT to go to bed. She was not leaving her treasure hoarde! We let her sleep like this for a couple of hours before Daddy carried her to bed, protesting loudly even half-asleep!

But of course she had to go to bed so Santa could work his magic. (Pretty gender-balanced for a house of 2 little girls, don't you think?)

I just indexed Edward Cullen

2008-12-19T20:32:00.003-06:00

Ok, this is too cool! Working on a batch of Massachusetts death records from 1915 tonight I just indexed an Edward Cullen. Cause of death? "Cerebral Hemorrhage"

Yeah, not making this up!

"You can't stop the signal"

2008-12-16T20:22:00.002-06:00

Mr. Universe isn't the only one hooked into everything anymore.....

I have my new toy up and running. I'm on "exploding appendix" duty at the hospital with a youth, so here is my chance to hack into the hospital servers and discover what really happened to the Reavers....

....err, I mean, I can use the hospital's free wi-fi link to go only and find things to do for the next 12+ hours. Yes, I just barely got home from work when I got the call, but hey, it's overtime that has to get paid, and I get to work on my Axia College stuff, watch movies, and take a nap all on the clock!