A whole new year

Well, here we are three months later and I almost feel like I'm going to throw up as I type this. Obviously everyone who knows us knows that the "procedure" on October 2nd didn't go so well. It involed 13 days in the hospital and an agonizingly long recovery at home even after that. Part of why I've not blogged since then is because I didn't want to have to get into explaining it all again. Another part is that we've been having a lot of trouble with our computer (that I think is finally resolved). ANOTHER part is that even when they don't involve recovery and homeschooling Oct-Dec are generally the busiest months of the year anyway, and when your husband, soulmate, and love of your life almost dies, everything gets put into perspective and I've spent a lot more time appreciating my family and less time (or no time) writing about them. I've actually even become one of those people who doesn't check email everyday. I've been fairly unmotivated to do the house work that needs to be done today, and spent sometime on the computer catching up on friend's blogs that I hadn't read since at least Nov, and I got inspired to blog again.

Besides recovering from pancreatitis, here's what is new with my family....Mike is back to work full time and doing very well. He lost a lot of weight while he was sick and has been able to keep it off thus far and plans to stay that way. He's got a closet full of new clothes. The rental house that was hit by the tornado just before Mike got sick is empty again. The tenants couldn't afford it (unfortunately we can't either!). Mike and the big kids plan to finish the painting that we started there a few days before Christmas tomorrow (I get out of it because I'm taking Jake to a birthday party). Pray that we find a renter soon!

Jonathan's biggest news is that he's been saving a lot of money (helping to work at the rental houses, birthday and Christmas money, and even cashing in some saving's bonds from when he was a baby) and has bought himself a laptop computer!! (So now even if I do have computer problems I'll have another option!). It even has a webcam and he's already started making movies of his brother and sister (the performers that they are don't mind at all!). Now that Mike has gotten smaller and Jonathan is continuing to get bigger, I have to look at the tag to figure out whose jeans are whose. The kids' theatre will be having a big fund raiser at the end of the month and Jonathan has been asked to "do the lights" for it...he loves that!

Madi was invited to be in a special adults and kids production of Annie, but it ended up being cancelled. She and the other kids that were picked did get to perform some of the songs from it before there Christmas performance and at some of the performance troupe performances that they did in December (I actually lost count of how many performances they did in Dec!). Madi got to sing a solo (I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus) at some of the performances and was asked to do a solo (Stranger in White from Once on this Island) for the fundraiser. Meme and Grampa Carlie gave Madi the new Julie American Girl (from the 70's) for Christmas, and she is loving her! She's reading the first Julie book (I've already read the first 3!).

Jake had his first Theatre Recital in early December and did GREAT!! He's a natural. He was then a Shepherd in his preschool's Christmas Pageant, and a Donkey at St Patrick's Christmas Eve Pageant. (Jonathan and Madi were both narrators in the Church pageant and all three also performed in the AWANA Christmas program)...can you see now why I haven't spent much time at the computer?

Memere decided a week before Christmas that she would fly down here on Christmas Day. This meant she also got to come with us and my parents to our timeshare in NC for New Years...she even bought us all lunch in Tennessee! Mem has wanted for a long time to ride a horse and I was almost able to make that happen today, but it didn't work out. We are however all going to eat at Outback tonight! She flies home tomorrow. In NC Mem told us some interesting stories about her growing up. I hope to blog about them soon as a way to remember them.

I'm starting to feel more and more like normal each day, but still do a lot of worrying about Mike. It was a very trying October to say the least. The kids and I did finally get back to homeschooling sometime in Nov and even schooled through most of Dec. Of course we all know that they learned a lot even when we weren't schooling (important stuff about life that most people don't consider school).

I just might attempt to get some pictures on here today and who knows I might even blog again before another 3 months goes by....