December 29th

Brad and his mom left early this morning to get her to the airport for her flight. The boys were up early, too, They watched some shows on the Disney channel. Ava came over for a piano lesson at 9am. Then the girls and I walked up the Parkway to meet Miranda's friend, Elizabeth, who got a puppy for Christmas. She wanted Miranda to meet Blitzen, a yorkie/shitzuh mix. Miranda and E walked back down to our house to show the boys the puppy, while Lina and I continued up the Parkway and walked to Starbucks. We talked about puppies and dogs and breeding, and ended up having THE talk.

We both got hot cocoas and then walked around the block and back home. It was snowing a bit, just a slushy mix that didn't stick. I started some laundry when we got home and sent a couple of cards (thank you and VT). Then I made a card from some scraps on my table. Brad and the boys played Star Wars Lego Complete Saga on the Kinect.

Merek wanted Mac-n-Cheese for lunch. So I made that and Brad put a plate of fresh veggies on the table, too. I've been reading a book on healthier eating and feel like it would be good to transition to that over the next month. I feel like we need to get all the junky food out of the house. It probably would be a good idea to just throw it away but maybe we'll just eat it all and then buy healthier stuff (wishful thinking).

Miranda's friend, Charlyn, came over so they could work on their Sunday School lesson for tomorrow. The kids in the class are teaching in pairs tomorrow. I can't believe it is already the last Sunday of the year!

Merek wanted me to read him a story, The Shy Little Kitten. So we sat on the sofa in the toy room to read. Afterwards, he asked if he could watch a show.  He said I could pick between Doc McStuffins or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I chose Doc McStuffins. While he watched, I started working on using up another kit (Paper Posies Sept. 2011). I made two layouts using photos that had been sitting in a basket in my scrap area for awhile (Lina's 2nd grade concert and 1st grade class photo). Then I made four cards and a mini counting calendar for Merek. All the while, Merek watched his show and the other kids came upstairs and watched Sophie the First, too. I still didn't use up the kit but managed to get through enough of it, that I will file the remaining items in my stash and consider it done.

At 5pm, we all got ready to go to the church. Tonight was our family's turn to help with the building cleaning. We got there and worked out a system--the kids collected the erasers and chalk to return to the library, wiped down the boards and folded up the chairs, I collected the garbages, Brad vacuumed, Miranda dusted and cleaned the glass doors. Once we got going it worked pretty well. Another man, Bill, was there and helped, too. It took us about 2 hours. Right when we were about done, Chris, who oversees the cleanings each week, came with his kids to get started. He didn't realize we had come to help and I think it made him happy that we had finished so much of the work. They really didn't have much to do. I'm really glad we went to help so that he could go home and have more time to spend with his family tonight.

We went to dinner at La Costa. Merek wanted a gumball from the machine so bad! But I told him he had to behave during dinner to get one afterwards. Well, he wasn't very well behaved and we had to not get him one. He was so sad! I tried to explain to him that maybe next time he can try again to get a gumball. When we got home, as we walked into the house, he said, "Mom I really want to go back to the restaurant." Poor little guy. We put all the kids to bed as soon as we got home. They have had some late nights.

I folded some laundry and took a long shower. Brad and I watched some of the Gladiator and A Few Good Men--movies that were on TV. I'm looking forward to tomorrow, to Sunday.