Blustery Day

Blustery...that reminds me of Winnie the Pooh:) It is definately all that and more. There were several times I thought my large pick-up might just blow off the highway. It didn't. After a short reprieve of 40 degrees, we're back below 20 and snowing wonderfully. Ahhh, that's more like the Michigan I know and love.

So I've had a little bit of writers block - as you can see by the scarcity of posts lately. This is also affecting my ability to write a decent Christmas letter for our family and my business. Do I dare skip a year with no letter accompanying the card? This slacking may just become a habbit if I do. What a dilemma. I guess at least I should get the cards ready, huh. I'm actually way ahead of my usual pace when it comes to presents and wrapping. Maybe I just work better under higher pressure situations.

So since I can't write, I'll post a few pics, if I can locate my camera once again. It has like 8 legs between myself and children and tends to walk to strange and undisclosed locations.

What's been going on lately.

C.J.'s birthday party. He had a baseball cake (I'm sure he'll never have another). I'm a wimp and stripped him down before allowing him to dig in. I'm not very good with stains, so I figured that way I could just toss him in the tub. He was actually quite neat compared with the girls. He would lick his fingers after every bite.





Gabby's birthday - she doesn't like cake, so we get to be creative with her birthday dessert. This year it was apple pie. Gigi was there for the afternoon. She will be 94 in May.

My mom is a stickler for the 4 generation poses.

Gabby's friend birthday party was at Bounceland - a place with a whole bunch of inflatable toys. It was a lot of fun - I even got into the slides and obstacle course.

On another snowy day earlier this month, I went with Gabby's class to the Delano homestead which is like a pilgrim farm from the 1800's. The kids made gingerbread cookies, carded wool, made candles and played old-fashioned games. It was a neat field trip.

Steve's 9 point buck that he shot out at our property on opening day!!! His first Michigan buck! And his mean wife won't even let him mount it for the wall.

So what has Rylee been up to? Well, I put her to work. Someone's gotta clear the snow.

Is it REALLY winter?

Yes, the answer is yes, unfortunately. I think I had a post like this last year which would lead one to ask the reasonable question: why do you live where you live? Still no answer. You know it's bad when you're already looking forward to March. The new vet that works for us kills me - I ask him what he thinks of the 19 degree blustery day "Nice!" He's from Idaho and maybe froze some brain cells. We've already had over 12" of snow. Please, someone in charge of global warming, send it to Michigan along with a new governor, an auto bail-out, and some jobs.

Ahhh, despite my gripings, life is good. I am blessed beyond what I can imagine or deserve. This time of year makes that evermore apparent.

I actually have most of my Christmas shopping done, which is nothing short of miraculous. Usually Steve and/or I have to make a Christmas Eve run for all the people we overlooked, but I can honestly say I think I have it covered and December just began. I ventured out semi-early on BlackFriday (6:30). I had to work at 8:30, so I only went a couple places but still found a few things and got in and out of Best Buy in 15 minutes which surprised me. I'll post some Thanksgiving and Birthday party pictures later. I don't feel like uploading.