Merry Christmas!

We have had a very nice Christmas Day!  Of course, I had to stay up until 3:30 a.m. for the past two nights in order to finish up all the projects I had planned for gifts.  We spent Christmas Eve at Amy’s house, eating a nice supper, opening presents, and playing games.  Amy, Jessica, and I won the Taboo game – Amy’s game from 1989. 

Jessica also played Twister with Abby and Megan, and Bubba and Sayaka played Betty Spaghetti with the girls.

Abby got glasses on Monday, and this was the first chance we had to see her wearing them.  She looks so cute!  

We didn’t start opening presents this morning until about 11:00.  It’s nice to be able to sleep in after staying up so late the night before!  Sayaka bought Scrabble for Bubba so they played a couple games of it this afternoon.  I played part of one game and didn’t do so well.  I went around and helped the others during the second game and had better luck then!  The kids enjoyed running around and also playing with their new toys.

I made some gifts this year that seemed to be much appreciated.  I’d made some fingerless gloves for Amy who said her hands get cold when she’s typing at night, so the gloves would be perfect for that job.  Sayaka and Jessica liked their fingerless gloves, too.

I made Jessica a scarf from a soft merino yarn I bought in Italy this summer. 

I think that’s the nicest yarn I’ve ever worked with!  The sales clerk tried to convince me to buy more of that particular yarn and I wish I would have listened to her.

Jeremy, Lois, and Peyton also visited us today, and brought food to add to our meals.  Peyton has an active imagination.  He kept “losing his leg”  and then he would suddenly have his leg back!

Tomorrow morning, we’re going to take a quick trip to visit Brian and his family.  Becca would like to have some leg warmers, so I hope to get them started (and hopefully finished) on our 5 hour trip to their house!

I AM Still Here!

It’s been a while since I’ve written because  I’ve been very busy at work.  The teacher I work with has been in the hospital, so I’ve had a lot more responsibilities than I usually have.

On December 9th, John and I went to Peyton’s Christmas program at his preschool.  He was one of Santa’s reindeer and did a very nice job of it!

After the program, Peyton got to visit Santa Claus,

ring the jingle bells,

Peyton and his teacher, Miss Ruth

and play with some toys.  He lined up twelve vehicles on the floor of the school toy room and had a great time playing with them.

Last Friday, we had a two-hour delay for school because we had gotten about five inches of snow with some ice mixed in.  The trees looked so beautiful with the snow clinging to them. 

We drove to Altoona Saturday afternoon and noticed the sun shining through the trees and the ice on the branches made the trees look like glass.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me so I didn’t get any pictures of the trees on that trip.

We’re getting some precipitation tonight too; a mixture of snow, sleet, and freezing rain.  I would like to have another two-hour delay tomorrow morning so I can sleep in!

It’s Friday!

Even though I only worked three days this week, it seemed like a long week!  We didn’t have school Monday because it was the first day of buck season.  (Jeremy got his buck early Monday!)  Tuesday, John and I went to Altoona for my yearly allergist appointment and a day of Christmas shopping.  I had hoped to accomplish a lot of shopping but didn’t get as much done as I wanted to.  I hope to decorate the house for Christmas this weekend, after I get my winter clothes out of the attic.

Yesterday afternoon, I went to see the doctor for a check up on my ankle.  He told me the reason I’m still having trouble with my little toe and the two toes next to it is that I probably had some tendon damage.  The physical therapist had told me I’d feel back to normal in three months from the time of my accident, and the doctor pretty much confirmed that.

This afternoon after the kids left school, the staff got together to practice playing xylophones for the Christmas program on December 19th.  One of the teachers sounded like Scrooge, grumbling about participating.  She was able to play the jingle bells instead of the xylophone, so she’s happy now!

For the past two years, Bubba, Becca, and a few others have played Becca’s Pretty Princess game on Thanksgiving day.  Bubba won for the second year in a row!

Bubba won this year's game

Bubba won last year!

(I had another picture of Bubba from last year with the necklace on, but he has one red eye I can’t edit out!)  I didn’t play this year’s game so I don’t remember how it’s played, but I do remember that the object of the game is to win all the pretty jewelry.  Bubba is obviously a good player!

Busy Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a nice, busy Thanksgiving weekend.  John, Jessica, and I left after church Wednesday night to go to Brian’s house in Toledo.  Bubba, Sayaka, and Adam arrived several hours earlier than we did.

Thursday, we had the usual good meal and did a lot of visiting with Michelle’s relatives.

Grandpa and Becca played

This year, we played a couple group games that ended up being a lot of fun.  One game was called Umbrella, where you had to say a word, and were told whether or not you said the right word.  It was frustrating for me because Jessica might say “computer” and be right, then I’d say it and be wrong.  After I figured out why she was right and I was wrong, it all made sense!  (I won’t write why she was right in case someone plays this with you!)  The next game was to pass a pair of scissors around and say whether they were “crossed” or “uncrossed”.  I remembered this game from long ago parties so I knew the correct answer.  The last game was a “psychic” game where John had “the power”, and if others thought they had the power, they’d leave the room.  After they left, John would tap someone on the head.  When the others came back, they’d know who he had tapped.  It took me a while to remember what the trick to this game was.  The majority of the time, Uncle Phil is the one John chose.

On Friday, I went to a couple yarn shops, Uptown Fibers and Yarn Cravin, and also to Hobby Lobby with three women I met on Ravelry (a knitting site on the internet).  I had a great time with them and felt like I’d known them for a long time!  As usual, I bought a lot of nice yarn and patterns.  While I was gone, John and Brian built new steps for their front porch.  The old ones had crumbled and weren’t safe anymore.  That evening, I stayed at the house and watched a couple Christmas movies, then Monk and Psych, while John, Brian, Jessica, and Adam went to a game night at church and Michelle and the girls went to the zoo to see the Christmas lights. Bubba and Sayaka left for home and got lost for a couple hours!

Saturday morning, we walked to Emily’s school to watch her play basketball. 

She played several games against two different teams and improved the more she played. 

Next we went to a restaurant that specializes in hot dogs to have a nice lunch.  After that, Jessica, Adam, and I went to the mall for a while.  I got a pair of Gore Tex lined boots to keep my feet warm this winter!

Yesterday, we had a potluck after church then went bowling.  This was the first time I’ve tried bowling since I broke my ankle.  I had to shorten my approach and had to bend over to throw the ball since my foot still isn’t working properly.  Bill, Diane, and Mark went along with Adam, Jessica, John, and me.  After that, I was ready to go home and relax for the rest of the evening.  Unfortunately though, we got a phone call from Jessica that she and Adam had a wreck in Pittsburgh and totaled her car when she rear-ended someone on a ramp.

Pittsburgh is definitely NOT a good place to have your car towed!  John had to drive to the place where her car was towed today to pay $150 in CASH for her towing (even though our insurance includes towing) and pay $40 for TWO days impound fee (even though it had only been there a little over 12 hours!!!!).  Since he took the car title to them, they’ll forgo the impound fee and crush the car – but we won’t get any money for the car.  What a rip-off!  There’s nothing we can do about it, but we will get at least $75 of the towing fee back from the insurance company.  Jessica was really shook up and her wrist was swollen.  After she got back to Athens this afternoon, she went to the hospital and got her back and neck x-rayed.  She’s sore and has some pain killers to take. The x-rays came out all right.