PS

If nurses, doctors, or pretty much anyone else in the science field were as inaccurate as weather forecasters, I feel confident in saying they would probably be out of a job.  If I was only 10-20% accurate in starting IV's, or doctors were only 10-20% sure on diagnoses ( though there are times I think that's the case..), we would certainly not succeed and thrive in our respective fields. They call weather forecasting a science but it seems like there accuracy rate, at least locally, is really poor.  How do they still have jobs or is it really not a science?  I am baffled and perplexed by how often they are actually just dead wrong.  Not even close.  Its like saying you have a brain tumor when you actually have the flu.  Though obviously not the same degree of seriousness, still it seems that they should have some level of accountability and improvement for their complete inaccuracy.  Yet, I haven't seen much change in the last few years.  Since in all honesty I hardly ever pay attention to the weather, for that very reason, maybe I am not a good measure of whether there has been improvement.  Maybe they have improved and I just don't pay any attention. Or maybe I am rambling on because I actually have time to write.  Better stop writing so that I don't confirm to everyone how certifiably crazy I am!

A week without Jeff

Well we have survived almost a whole week without daddy home.  Jeff's travel schedule seems to have picked up a bit and we are pretty used to him traveling.  But this week he left on Monday earlier in the day to beat the storm that never happened to materialize on Monday.  He was scheduled to fly out at 8:45 Monday night but instead he came home early from work and was gone before the girls got out of school.  He left early so that he would actually be able to get out before "the storm."  "The storm" was going to be 1-3 inches of snow followed maybe by some ice.  It was "supposed" to start Monday evening during the rush hour commute and close schools for the following day and apparently cause utter chaos.  The last time I looked out my window, prior to heading for bed, there was no precipitation falling from the sky.  I got up the next morning and wonder of all wonders..still no precipitation of any form falling from the skies.  The kids had school but it did start snowing around 10 and some schools did get out early but not ours.  However they did manage to cancel afternoon preschool and kindergarten throwing a serious wrench into my plans.  I have a sitter who comes on Tuesday for 2 hours.  She gets Ellie on the bus and transport Ainsley to school and then leaves.  I had already left for work even though it was snowing because it wasn't snowing the hard.  I get to work only to find out that they cancelled afternoon preschool and kindergarten.  I only worked 45 minutes or so before I had to turn around and head home because my sitter had to pick her son up at preschool and didn't have enough car seats for all three (my two and her son).  What normally take 30 minutes, took over an hour.  Mind you there was less than an inch of snow but apparently this warrants all the crazy people to take to the roads and drive 5 miles  and hour!  I think there are certain states, meaning any states that don't receives tons of snow, that should require special driving permits when they do receive snow.  The only people who are allowed to be on the roads are people who were born in states that did receive lots of snow and they actually know how to drive.  All other people should be forced to stay home.  By the time I got home, I was tired and a bit frazzled and had only managed a mere 45 minutes of work!  So what is one to do in that condition..play in the snow!  Since my sitter put Ellie down for a nap prior to me getting home, Ainsley and I went and played in the snow and then she helped me shovel the driveway:)  So needless to say, when it was time to pick up the other kids from school, the snow had stopped and the roads, though not perfect, were definitely ok to drive on.  No more snow since then thankfully!  I would like to get to at least Christmas break without having to go to school in June.  The schools here don't build in snow days anymore so every time we use a snow day, which was fairly significant last year, they just tack it on to the last day of school.  That would seem to make sense if you don't use a lot of snow days but they use a lot here so it makes no sense to me.  But then again, there's a lot of things in life that don't always make sense to me so it's probably just me!

The rest of the week has been busy but we have survived the week without daddy and everyone is very excited that he is coming home tonight!

Faster than a speeding bullet

Sometimes I am completely and utterly perplexed as to where the time goes.  I am amazed to get to the end of a week and not remember how on earth I got there.  The last few months have been a whirl of activity for me and I am learning yet again how to balance my time.  About two months or so ago I started working part-time as an administrative assistant for my church.  Now I am know that some of you are wondering why on earth  I would do this when I have a perfectly good 4 year degree in Nursing.  I wondered it myself.  But since I hadn't found a Nursing job that I even remotely liked, it seemed like a good option at the time.  And in reflecting on this choice, I am so thankful I took it.  I LOVE my job.  I do things that fit with my personality and my gifting and it is fun.  I never have been able to say that about Nursing.  Though I would love to find SOMETHING in nursing that I like, for now I am content and even happy not to be in the field:) Which leads me to this post.  Though I love my job, learning how to balance working part-time with all the others things that I do has been rough for me.  I only technically work 10 hours a week.  But since our church office building is 30 minutes away on the days that I work I have to an hour for travel.  I also swap child care to be able to work because even though I think I am fairly paid, I am not raking in the dough by any stretch and can't afford any kind of traditional childcare and actually bring home money.  So I swap child care with a good friend of mine.  She watches my two youngest on Friday and I watch her two youngest on Wed..for 6 hours.  So that knocks off some time that I can accomplish much.  Her youngest son is a gem when he is a asleep but when he is awake, he is a gem that is a hurricane of activity.  I am pretty sure he will have something to do with engineering in his future...and he is also very cute.  I am certain that is what saves him a majority of the time.  Her daughter and Ainsley are close to the same age and usually do great together.  They are like two peas in a pod, which causes conflict some of the time but most of the time they go off and I don't hear much from them accept when can we eat:)  So learning how to use my time more effectively has become my goal.  What I have found out for me is that I truly do need to let some things slide.  I can't do it all and still function properly.  I can't have the perfectly clean house, with every one's stuff in the perfect spot, time with the kids, dinner on the table, devotions and exercising done...you get the drift.  I just can't and trying to makes me frustrated, snappy and crazy.  So the cleaning is not going to happen as often, and I will have to learn some other concessions so that I don't give up one of the things that really matters to me...my family.  Spending time with my kids and watching them grow up.  Not missing the day to day fun time of playing hide-and-seek with them.  Playing Memory and Go Fish as often as they want without feeling like I have millions of other things I could be doing.  Just hanging out on the couch and cuddling with them.  Not acting like a drill sergeant in the morning because we always are on the go means that I have given up going to the gym as much as I would like for right now.  But it is only temporary.  Someday my kids will be in school all day and I won't have the same opportunities that I do now.  And so for now I want to be able to enjoy just hanging out with my girls and Jeff without the constant stress of something else I need to do.  Taking more time to just enjoy life, reaching out to those in need around me and being sensitive to what God has for me each and every day are some of my goals for 2009.  

More Thanksgiving Pics

The girls also had to get pictures taken in the matching dresses that my mom bought last year since we forgot to take pictures last year.  They all look really cute!

Back again

 We had a really great Thanksgiving with our family.  The weather was beautiful except for the last day and the kids had so much fun with their cousins.  Janice and I went out shopping the day after Thanksgiving and had a lot of fun.  We left really early...somewhere around 4:30 but honestly were done before lunchtime!  We got some great deals and had fun.  I did have to wait for what seemed like forever at McDonalds for my cappuccino though as they had to change something out in the machine and it took them a really long time.  I thought that might be my biggest wait till I was standing in line at the Christian bookstore.  Those lines were lengthy and they only had two cash registers going even though there were more people there that could run one.  Janice and I couldn't figure it out...but it was still lots of fun!  Janice also gave all the girls haircuts.  I didn't take any new pics of Mackenzie or Ainsley as it wasn't a big change.  But Ellie looks really different with her hair in a bob so I took a few pics!  We have been busy since getting back and I think I am looking forward to the weekend already!  I helped out in Ellie's class yesterday and tomorrow I am helping out with Santa's workshop, where the kids can go buy cheap gifts for people they want to buy something for Christmas.  The girls decided to buy for their sisters this year:)

Here are some pics from the Moody gathering.  Hope you enjoy!  

Jackson, Madelyne, Mackenzie, Jessica, Ainsley, Molly, Ellie, Jenna

  

Ainsley

Mackenzie, Madelyne and Jessica

Ellie

Jessica, Ellie, Molly and Jenna