I gotta get outta here

John's DOD was in town the other week. (DOD stands for Dear Old Dad.) He evaluates physical structures and determines the cause of damage (for insurance companies, court cases etc.)He and John arranged to meet for dinner with the boys. (Unfortunately, I was in rehearsal.) Well the fellas met for pizza and had a great time. John says the boys were a bit confused that we didn't take a long trip to get to see their Papa.

Jack is nearly beside himself in his desire to go to work with me. He doesn't understand I can't take him to rehearsals. He keeps asking me how many days till he can go to my work. We are finally in performances though, so I will be able to take him on Saturdays again. Here comes the unsolicited plug people; come see Little House this year. It is truly a show to warm your heart and share with the people you love.

John got in his truck Monday morning to take the girls to school and within seconds discovered he didn't have breaks. (The boys call John's truck "Mavis" because Mavis is a black engine and John's truck is black) Anyway, John spent a good part of the day at home repairing something. He tried to explain it, but I glazed over. Anyway, it's fixed.

Jack has been attending Sunday school with Abby & Connie for a few months now. The gentleman who leads the kids is Mr. Curtis. Last Sunday Mr. Curtis told my folks that when it was time for the kids to say the Creed, Jack jumped right up and led the kids through it. Now, for those of you who don't know, the Creed is a pretty long recitation. I don't know how much Jack knew, but it was enough to impress Mr. Curtis. I try to keep the kids involved during mass. I think it helps them keep up their behavior. I say the responses and prayers to the littler kids and encourage them to say it with me. I let them have snacks, but they have to put them down during the Gospel and Communion. Jack knows that when he turns 5, he won't be able to take snacks to Church anymore. (I picked this trick up from my sister, Melanie.) Jack has already started the countdown. He has asked me to show him how many Sunday's he has left before he has to give up his Church snacks.

Wy has taken to responding to nearly every comment made to him with "in a minute."
He has taken to calling Libby "My special cat."

John takes the kids to Beth's house on Thursdays and Fridays. This week he decided to swing though the car wash on the way out. He wasn't sure how the kids would handle the car wash, so he started to holler "AAAHHH!!!" in a way that said he was having fun. So John yelled, then Devlyn yelled, then Jack yelled, then Wyatt whispered "I gotta get outta here."

Mom and I have started a little tradition of a themed Christmas tree. This year Mama thought it would be nice to decorate a tree in honor of my sweetie. So we are doing a cowboy tree. It can be pretty expensive going out each year to buy ornaments that fit a new theme, so we have tried to use lots of things that can carry over from year to year - simple garlands, simple but pretty colors etc. Instead of purchasing ornaments this year, we have started making them. John has tons of cookie cutters that rarely get put to use. I thought we might combine cookie cutters and the holidays when I came across a cinnamon salt dough recipe on the internet. Friday night the kids and I rolled out a cinnamon salt dough and cut out about two dozen ornaments. I thought it would be loads of fun, maybe it was for the kids, but it was fairly stressful for the grown-ups. I was glad when it was over. The finished product isn't nearly as nice as I thought it would be. These things all look deformed in some fashion. I didn't think they would be pieces of art, I just didn't think they would be so awfully awful. John and I are thinking of painting them. And, if they are still awful, then oh well. The kids will still love them.

And here is a little bit from my Mama;

Jack puzzled me for a minute Saturday. He kept asking for something, but I could not figure out what he wanted. First it sounded like Rushland, and Rush Limbaugh popped in my head. I knew the darling boy could NOT be asking for such a vile thing, so I listened again to what sounded like Brushling, Rushland, Rushlan - then it finally hit me - he wanted the Russian nesting dolls! I have two sets - one is a snowman set that was Mama's, the other is one I bought at a Russian shop at Christmas on the Cove in Pacifica, CA a couple years ago. So I got them down and he and Abby sat and played with the Rushland dolls for an hour or so.

Tonight we did battle with Abby and Connie over folding clothes. They each had one basket they were supposed to fold. I finally said, "The first one done gets to stay up 15 minute past bedtime tonight." Well, they got busy, then Amy popped in from the kitchen and added, "And TWO pieces of chocolate!" Well, Connie started crying (cause it's what she does) that Abby would get done first. Abby whispered to her sister, Connie stopped crying, and they both got busy. Then they shouted that they were both done at the same time! (Abby helped Connie so they would tie) I said they both got the 15 minutes AND the chocolate.

OK - I know I don't have any photos - I will do better next week.
Love and blessings,
Amy & the gang.