December 20, 2008

Uncle Enos' 80'th celebration & Aunt Glennys' 78'th.	Went to Barnwell for church Sunday morning.  Patrick came up during Sunday school and said that I was needed downstairs.  It turned out that Savannah had had a major blowout and gotten all of her clothes really nasty.  Ina Sue ended up taking her home to get changed and cleaned up.  She made it back in time to take in most of the sermon.   Carl preached on "The Blessings of Productive Old Age".  We came home and ate a quick lunch of spaghetti pie, salad & green beans.
Dad & Mom stopped in a little later.	Took a very quick nap then loaded up the children and went to the school for Uncle Enos' 80'th birthday drop-in.  Spent a short time there visiting and eating the finger foods then came home.  Dad & Mom stopped in for a hour or two after the party and visited with us.  They left in time for us to go back to church for the evening service.  It was a panel discussion on "How to be an Effective Witness".  Interesting.
Carl's orange orchard is under wraps..	I was back to fasting again on Monday.  It seems almost impossible for me to keep to my weight loss goals without skipping food entirely for one day a week.  Ina Sue did the laundry today while I went to work.  The weather has bean lovely.  The children spent most of the day outside.  We spent the evening at home.  Ina Sue mixed up a batch of gingerbread dough so the children could help her make gingerbread men tomorrow.
Making gingerbread cookies.	Tuesday was another beautiful day.  70 degrees plus.  I had a full day mostly on the road.  Ina Sue spent the day baking in the kitchen.  After she made up a batch of bread, she and the children made the gingerbread men.  Ina Sue cut them out, Carolina Sue put the buttons on them and Landon ate them... :) Ina Sue made us a delicious stromboli for supper along with fresh broccoli.   Savannah was really fussy in the late evening/early morning and kept us up a while.
Some of the celebrants....	We both got up in good time Wednesday and I helped get the children all ready to go with Ina Sue.  I left for work around 8:30 and Ina Sue and the children left soon after.  She dropped them off with Norma Hochstetler then drove on over to Hephzibah for Janice's 30th birthday party.  Jenn Barnhart hosted it at her place with about 15 ladies in attendance.  Ina Sue said they served a delicious lunch of subs, chips and cheese cake.  It was about 4:30 before she picked up the children and got back to Govan.
....and the birthday girl with her sisters, niece & nephew.	I had a nasty cable running job in Fairfax and got covered with insulation dust so I came home early to wash up.  In the evening our small group met with another group at Ivan Skrivseth's to go on a hay ride/Christmas caroling.  It is still unbelievably warm for December and the evening went very well.  Savannah started off the evening pretty fitfully with a stomach ache but after some gripe water calmed down and seemed to get along pretty well.  We ended up back at Ivan's for refreshments and fellowship.
Christmas caroling and hay ride.	I had another full day at work on Thursday.  Marcia volunteered to keep the children for a while in the morning and lunch, so that freed up Ina Sue for some sewing.  The children had a big time at Marcia's making animals.  Carolina decided that she likes Marcia's house better then ours.. :(   After their afternoon naps Ina Sue loaded them up and brought them in to the shop to meet up with me.  I swapped vehicles and brought the children home while Ina Sue went to the back doctor for an appointment.  Ina Sue had already fixed us a delicious supper of ham biscuit roll-ups and field peas so we ate quick then played a game of Chutes & Ladders, then read stories.  Ina Sue also went to Walmart & CVS so she didn't get home until about 9:30.
The snack & fellowship afterward.	Friday was ordinary with me at work and Ina Sue doing the normal Friday cleaning.  It is still very warm.  For supper Ina Sue fixed us a new recipe that I absolutely loved.  It was an Italian stir-fry with onions, peppers & sausage that you then ate over top of parmesan grits.  Delicious!  Carolina had helped make up a batch of brownies that we ate for dessert with cool whip and thickened cherries.   Ina Sue is making the children small customized pillows for their beds for Christmas and trying to keep them a surprise.  To aid with this, I took the children all for a long walk after supper while Ina Sue sewed.  Savannah seems to have come down with a fever/congestion and has been very fussy.
Saturday evening walk with the family.	Savannah woke up several times during the night and after Ina Sue fed her early in the morning, she threw up on the bed.  You could tell that she was feeling terrible.  I had to go to work Saturday morning.  Ina Sue spent her day taking care of the children and wrapping a few Christmas presents.  The children are so thrilled with the presents.  Landon just can't stop playing with them, carrying them from room to room, and stackint them up.  I got home around 4:00 from work and we worked around the house straightening up and getting ready for Sunday.  We did take an hour or so and took the children on a pretty long walk.  Savannah is still not feeling well and the walk was a nice diversion for her.