Goodbye 2011....

Hello 2012!

May 2012 be a year without fear for us all!


We did have a wonderful Christmas. A fabulous knitter and her husband made it possible and a group of knitters/crocheters banded together to help in another area. Please take a minute to check out my knitting blog and read all about it. Click here :-)

Life goes on...

Exciting news! Henry lost his first tooth! It had been loose for a while and I thought it would be some time before it came out. Then on Monday night it came out while he was in bed. No tears, no pain. He came down with it in his hand. We made a big deal out of it and had him set it out for the tooth fairy. In the morning there was 4 quarters waiting for him.

Last Saturday the town had reindeer on the Riverwalk by our house. We stopped and got Shelby, my sister-in-law's youngest, and went to pet them and take pictures. Santa was on the Showboat but the line was crazy long. Instead we got in line for a carriage ride. It was very cold while waiting but once we got in the carriage there were blankets. They had lined the Riverwalk with luminaries and the horses took the carriages down the Riverwalk, behind the old school and eventually onto the main road then past the library. It was fun, we sang songs and Henry even sang a song for us. It was so worth braving the cold!

On Thursday we went to Henry's school for his concert. They sang several songs. Henry sang every one and even did all the hand motions. I was thrilled. This is the first time he has participated in any school sing. I was so proud of him. I love the teacher he has now and I hope she is able to stay with his class for the rest of the year. She took over the class in October when the other teacher went on medical leave. The old teacher is supposed to come back in January. I do not want her back! She was not good. Anyway, it was important to me that Henry be able to give this teacher a gift since she is the reason he is doing so well. I knitted her gift and you can read about it at my knitting blog.

Henry's class had a party that we were invited to before the concert. Irene joined the group for the yummy goodies.

And, as usual, Henry made a goofy face for me when I took his picture.

I am still hoping and praying for some kind of Christmas miracle. I know I go on and on about it here. I just want my children to be able to come down on Christmas Day to find some gifts under the tree. Is that selfish? Is that wrong? All I know is that I want them to have no worries, I want them to have the joy and fun. I've tried many different ways and things to come up with some money for gifts. So far nothing has been successful.

I've tried talking to family about our situation. I'm not asking them to solve our problems. I'm just asking that they listen like I would listen to them. Instead they either quit talking to me, or completely gloss over the bad stuff like I never mentioned it. Oh, and don't send my kids cards saying that you hope Santa gives them lots of great gifts when you KNOW Santa can't afford to come here this year!

Gingerbread Houses and Reindeer

I know I've had a bunch of sad and whining posts about how difficult things are and how I don't know how we're going to "do" Christmas. Yes, things are still as they were, BUT I have a post about happy things!

This morning, while Henry was at school, we took Irene and Gavin to the library for their Gingerbread House program. The librarian read a story and then the kids each got to make a gingerbread house.

Everything was provided for the kids; frosting, gumdrops, chocolate chips, coconut, candy of all kids, fruit loops, marshmallows.

We were there for about an hour and came home with two super cute gingerbread houses created by my elves.

When we picked up Henry from school we drove to the little town that is about 6 or so miles from our town. The town is so small but they are part of the Kent District Library system and actually have a really cute library. This afternoon they were having reindeer visit!

Two reindeer stopped by to visit. Bronner was an old pro but this was Velvet's first year. Each child was able to pet the reindeer and my three kids were eager to do so.

The children were actually allowed as much time as they wanted for petting the reindeer. No rush, no pushing. There was probably less than 20 people there which wasn't surprising when you think about the town size. However, I expected more people since it is only one of 4 libraries (out of the 18 in the KDL system) that is hosting the reindeer.

Gavin had been napping when we got there. He was about half awake when we went outside. We showed him the reindeer and then I asked him if he wanted to pet them. He immediately answered with "Yes!" He actually petted the reindeer then went back to pet him again.

Overall, I'd say we had a pretty great day and both activities were free!

Still Going...

Mark, Gavin and I have been fighting a nasty cold and cough. We ended up not going to any of the past weekend's Santa activities. The town had a parade, meeting Santa on the Showboat, crafts, etc. going on. It was cold and rainy and Gavin was so miserable that we thought it best not to go out. We are finally starting to feel a wee bit better. Unfortunately, I've had another little medical issue come up.

Not much else has changed here. I am still praying for some kind of miracle to happen so we can give the kids a Christmas. Between the stress and uncertainty and now the illness, I am feeling quite "down in the dumps." I find that I am on the verge of tears almost all day long. I'm trying to keep a happy face for the kids and Mark. I keep on knitting as much as possible since that is a huge stress reliever for me.

I'm trying to think of something fun or sweet to share. I don't want to be a "Debbie Downer" but at the moment I just don't feel well enough to make the effort. The next post will be better, please stick with me!

Ugh!

Through all this uncertainty I have been trying to keep positive. Right now, I am finding it rather hard to not cry. A black crayon went through the wash today and has coated our dryer in black goo. Unfortunately, the children's clothes were in the dryer with the crayon. School clothes, play clothes, pajamas, socks, underwear all coated in black crayon.

I have no idea how to fix this. I have no money and there is no way I can replace all the ruined clothing. Plus, what happens the next time I use the dryer? Will the next load be coated in black? Of course, I cannot afford to go to the laundromat to dry clothes.

I'm finding it hard to be thankful or cheerful right now.


Edited to add: My mother-in-law came over with a lot of goo gone spray and a tooth brush. She helped scrub the clothes and the clothes are in the washer soaking. I am hoping this works! The dryer is still coated but we dried some of Mark's clothes in it and they came out (as far as we could see) clean. Mine are in there now so we shall see. I have some pretty wonderful friends that gave some suggestions to me through Facebook. I am no longer on the verge of tears.

Last week we went for a walk around the downtown area of town. It was surprisingly warm that night and lots of people were out. The town has decorated the Showboat with Christmas lights and on December 3 Santa will be there to visit and have cookies with.
There is also a big tree right on Main Street that has been decorated. We walked around checking out the lights and enjoying the warm-ish weather.

Now that the neighbor's tree has lost its leaves we can see part of the lights on the Showboat from our house. I think they've decorated the town quite nicely.

The kids enjoyed the walk and although it looks like we were out late it is actually around 6:30pm. I hate that is gets dark so early! Today I am taking Henry and Irene to the library. The are having a program on Legos and the kids get to design things with them. I'm not totally sure what is going to be going on but I knew they'd want to check it out. In two weeks the library is having a Gingerbread house program. Henry will be in school during that time but I've signed up Irene and Gavin. They get to make a little gingerbread house and I think there is an exhibit of some kind.

Our current situation is still the same. Thankfully, we still have Internet and tv. My sister-in-law actually pays for Dish Network and since we live next to her we have a receiver. We have Internet and wifi set up so both places can use it. Without Internet connection we would be so cut off from family and the world. Mark does his entire job search online. And yes, he is still searching, sending in multiple applications every day. And no, we still have no idea how we are going to give the kids Christmas. I'm praying for a miracle.

Still, I am thankful for the little things :-)

Trying To Find Relief

Unfortunately, life keeps sending us more bumps. If you've read my last post you know that things have been very difficult for us. Well, life is about to get even harder. We are about to lose our vehicle. It isn't really a surprise since, with absolutely no income, we've not made payments in months. It is just when you see it in black and white and know that at any moment they'll be coming that it really sinks in.
There isn't anything we can do. We just have no money, no income and no way to change it. Even if one of the 90 jobs Mark has applied for was to hire him tomorrow we still would not be able to change this.
Of course, no car will make getting the kids to and from school quite difficult and I'm not sure how we'll get groceries.

Sooo...not sure what else to write. The mood here is a bit glum so I am putting up some cute pictures of my kids. We need some cute right now!