Since the last month was so crazy with holidays and travel and parties and family, I am going to start with the most recent stuff and work my way backward. You can pretend you are reading consistent, individual blogs over several days than just one giant glut at the end of the year.
Returning home Dec. 31,2009
Upon returning home I have composed a song to remind me of the 12 reasons why a person should not leave their house alone for a week, especially in winter.
On the twelfth day after Christmas, I returned home to find…12 soggy newspapers
11 loads of laundry
10 dirty dishes
900 emails
8 car problems
7 moldy yeast rolls
6 bags of mail
5 overdue bills
4 feet of snow
3 withered plants
2 dead birds (actually one dead and one missing. Where IS that smell coming from? The heating vent?)
and a broken fridge full of spoiled food.
Happy New Year! We’re off to a great start.
Stuck in Iowa, December 30, 2009
I am writing this from a less than super 8 motel in Lamoni, Iowa. Bored out of my mind, waiting for the van to be fixed. So bored in fact, that I read the hotel manifesto and learned this used to be a Mormon settlement. It’s named after some king in the Mormon book of fairytales. We knew we had car trouble when the van started sounding like it was driving over an unending rumble strip, even though we were in the perfect center of the lane. Thought it was a tire issue. Nope. Maybe a brake issue. No, that would be too easy. Turns out it was a wheelbearing issue that was causing a brake and tire issue because the bearings had seized up and melted together.
So there we were, in the middle of nowhere, Iowa, just after closing time and at least 10 more miles to a garage that would help us and a place to sleep. We considered our options: Drive slowly with hazards on down the freeway for 30 more minutes to a real city and risk breaking down or wrecking. Not too appealing, since it was dark and had started sleeting. Call around and try to find someone local and risk hygiene standards to eat and stay in unknown places. We decided on the first plan, but the clanking was so loud, we realized we’d never make it. So, Jud called around and I prayed for guidance. God guided us to two Christian folks, a helpful man and a mechanic that worked after hours. We stayed at a Super 8 that had no pool (hence, our boredom) and wouldn’t let Charlie stay inside, even in his kennel. Poor fuzzball had to sleep in his kennel wrapped in blankets in the van. He survived. The hotel folks felt bad so they let us stay beyond check out time without charging us while we waited for the van to be fixed. Poor Jud had to drive back and then go to a New Year’s Eve allnighter with the teens. He’s sleeping now. In hind sight, we praised God for our protection. We lost count of how many vehicles went in the ditch during that freezing rain, the rain we would have been driving in, had we not broken down.
In Missouri, December 22
We had planned to leave for MO on Christmas Eve eve, but a massive snowstorm was headed our way over the rocky mountains and across the fruited plains. Huge snowfalls were expected in the northern cities, and sleet and freezing rain in the lower states, such as Missouri. Several people advised us to leave early to avoid the storm. I was a bit irked, since I would not be able to get us ready to leave a day early. We had just returned from a fun overnighter to a waterpark with the Wenigers and all that laundry had to be washed. We were rushing to finish Christmas projects (like the quilt), I had to do the newsletter, the house was a mess from all the coming and going, and on top of all that, Mackenzie had a violin recital to go to. My to do list was so long, it would not fit in my Google widget. Leaving a day early was out of the question.
However, not going at all was also out of the question, so I started furiously attacking my list. By Tuesday afternoon, I was frantically throwing clothes from the dryer into the suitcase and ordering the children around like a drill sergeant. I had to let some things go (like some dirty dishes in the sink and an unvacuumed floor.) I had planned to have all the Christmas stuff packed away. Forget that one. And I never found anyone to check on the birds, so I just loaded their cage up with food and water, which as you have already read, did not work out too well. We arrived late to the recital, Mackenzie played beautifully, and we left immediately after, beating the storm. About 30 minutes after we arrived at my folks’, it started pouring down rain and sleet and eventually snow. They had a white Christmas, which was unusual for them.
We had a great time with my folks. The weather kept us from doing much, since they don’t really plow the roads and the roads are rollercoaster hilly. Mostly my mom cooked while I worked on my scrapbook. The kids played with Emma and got caught up on SpongeBob reruns. Jud put together a puzzle and my Dad kept getting called into work. Toward the end of the week, we ventured out to do some shopping and Jud got to eat at Ryan’s and have a big, fat yeast roll with honey butter, a treat he hadn’t enjoyed since South Carolina.We also visited the grandparents in the nursing home. Grandma didn’t know us, but Grandpa was overjoyed to see all the kids.
December 2009
The month started with a bang. We were coming off Thanksgiving break (which we celebrated with family at Jared and Meghan’s house) and right into the last few rehearsals before the children’s Christmas program. This was the first time (since we’ve been here) that the kids did the whole show and my first time doing a musical. The kids were all dressed as different Christmas ornaments. Duncan was a big red ball, Lauren was a Minnie Mouse souvenir ornament and Mackenzie played two parts: a bell and Mary. She also had a solo, which rocked! The kids had a great time. The costumes were awesome, and so was the stage decoration–a huge ornament box tipped over and a massive Christmas tree. The biggest mistake was when Joseph (Samuel Spangler) was very late on his cue and the other actors had to keep "fighting" for what seemed like an eternity until Joseph ran in all out of breath. Everyone laughed when Frosty (Mitchell Bakken) said "This is not good." Despite it’s many shortcomings, the message got across and all was going well until Pastor decided to break the news to all the visitors (many unchurched) that Santa was not real. Ooooh that made some mom mad when all her kids looked at her with questioning eyes. Sigh.
Two weeks later, the Wenigers treated us to an overnighter at a hotel/waterpark. It had three great slides and a lazy river. The kids swam so hard, they were exhausted for two days afterward. Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa!
