We are alive and well!!
We are having the wood floors refinished in the Living room, dining room and Catherine's room. So all of the furniture is stuffed into our room the office and Christopher's room. What fun!! We should have been able to move back into those rooms on Monday but, we weren't happy that the floors seemed a bit rough. They came back yesterday to put another coat on but forgot a few sections of the living room...augh! They are coming back tomorrow to fix that. Which means we could potentially move things back in on Friday morning!
I must say that I love the floors, they look beautiful! We didn't put stain on them just polyurethane and I love the lighter color against the darker trim Yay!! So this weekend I'll hopefully be settling into our new home once again!
With nothing to do at home I have been able to get work done at church so that has been a plus!
Sorry, no pictures but....soon...once our computer is more accessible! (I'm on the church computer right now)
The kids are handling the upheaval pretty well. Christopher was sick over the weekend and had to miss his basketball game...fortunately they won anyway!! He has been quite the super star on his team, scoring quite often, even making 3 pointers! It has been fun to watch him play sports. Baseball sign-ups are going on now and I was so tempted to sign him up again, but Calixto put his foot down and said no! Last year was horrendous doing soccer/baseball at the same time. Calixto reminded me of that and was able to make an objective decision without the emotion that I had a hard time letting go of.

Thanks to my sister-in-law, here is a picture of Bruce. Thanks Roni!
We look nothing alike, you can't even tell we are related. I'm not sure who exactly he looked like...maybe my mom's side of the family. I love that he has a little grin on his face, it was always hard getting him to smile for pictures!

Today is my brother's birthday...he would have been 43! I wanted to post a picture but the only digital pictures I have of him are when he was sick, I didn't want to post one of those...because they don't reflect who he was! He was not characterized by being pale, weak and thin, as he looked at the end. In fact his face was usually red from doing year round construction work in the cold wind in the winter and the sun in the summer! He was a big guy with a big voice and he was anything but weak!
I have so many memories of us together as we were only 21 mos apart and in the same grade. He taught me how to whistle and how to blow a bubble with bubble gum. At school, he ate the parts of my lunch I didn't like, and showed me it was best to eat the food you don't like first and save the best for last! We skipped school together when we were late for the bus, hiding in one of my dad's old dump trucks. We ended up staying in there for hours as we waited for my mom to go to work, apparantly she went in late that particular morning! He also helped me climb in his window and hide in his closet when he stayed home sick from school, I can't remember why I skipped?! Ok maybe we didn't always make the wisest choices back then!!
He took me to Disney World with him and a friend after picking me up from college and he paid for everything! He seemed to always have money, as he always had a job. His first job as a kid was a paperboy. He got up early every morning for years to fold and then throw papers. Man, I hated it when he got sick because my sister and I would have to take over for him, ugh! I remember he was dearly loved by all of his customers (both him and his dog)! He certainly was a hard worker. But, he also loved to watch television...we took our lives in our hands if we ever changed the channel on him, ouch! I learned this the hard way as I didn't want to watch Spiderman anymore one particular day...I did indeed change the channel, a decision I later regretted!!
As we both grew spiritually we were able to talk about spiritual matters, church and serving God. He humbly shared Christ with others much more than I ever have! People listened to him and responded. God certainly used him to influence people's lives for the Kingdom.
Bruce had a huge impact on my life! He wasn't perfect and neither was our relationship, in fact he could really be a mean big brother, especially when we were little and I was the annoying baby sister! But, I am grateful for his precense in my life as my big brother. It was comforting and reassuring to know he was right there to protect me if needed. I do miss him and wish we could continue to grow up together. I went to his grave while I was home and that was hard! I didn't expect the tears to flow, it was not easy to see his name and his dates etched in granite...so permanent, so final!
But...Praise God that his name is also permanently etched on Christs' palm and in the book of Life!! What a time he must be having up there with our Savior! Happy Birthday Bruce!

We are closing on this house tomorrow!! We move on Saturday!! We have already moved some things over with the help of Calixto's employees...they are great. I am working on getting everything packed but, it seems to be slow going!
The paint is going up nicely but, I am second guessing myself with every choice I have made (of course!) It will look beautiful once the furniture is in and arranged.
It seems very unreal that we will no longer be in this house and this neighborhood. We will miss it very much. I am sure we will all shed a tear as we empty "ourselves" out of this house! Calixto is very nostalgic anyway so this move will be difficult for him. A few years ago we got rid of an old, ugly, green chair that had unremovable spit up stains from both our children, to make way for a new chair. He was so upset about getting rid of it...I had to take one last picture of him holding Christopher on it, before a friend came to take it away!! I can only imagine how he'll be on Saturday! It is funny how attached we become to things!
I have to get back to packing...or go take a nap...

Wow...I feel lost in time somewhere!! Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! We left for NJ on the 22nd and returned on the 2nd. The drive up was uneventful, Christopher rode with my parents which made for a quiet, argument free truck for us! The drive home was a bit rough. Catherine had a cold and the day before we left she began running a temp of 103, thankfully by the morning she was fever free. But that is when Calixto started to feel ill. We left anyway and pressed on for about 10 hours and finally called it quits in North Carolina (earlier than we had hoped) that is when Christopher started running a temp.!! Everyone hit the sack early as I searched in vain for a pharmacy to buy "Advil cold and sinus". I did find a CVS but, their pharmacy dept. was closed. Since people began getting high on cold meds they now keep that advil off the shelf!! Poor Calixto, the other meds just didnt' do the trick! After a good nights rest and hot bath he felt ok enough to head out. But, since we had such a short day on Monday, we had about a 14 hour drive the next day. The kids were both better and Calixto managed to drive all the way home with the exception of 1-2 hours when I drove. When we got home the kids were so excited to sleep in their own beds!
Calixto is still sick, he felt well enough to go to work but progressively got worse throughout the day. Catherine came down with an ear infection and made a costly trip to the Dr. and pharmacy, since we are w/o insurance right now.
Ok, this post is rambling on...here are a few pictures of our Christmas...
We gave the kids their gifts the night before we left for NJ. Cat loved her new doll bed!
We were very tired after working on the house all week that we put some of the soccer players in wrong on this 10-in-1 game table when we put it all together, oops!
Here they are in NJ, ready for church on Christmas Eve
Christmas morning!
The next Chris Tomlin!! Now, we need to find a guitar teacher
*See the basket on the floor...I made that several years ago when I used to weave baskets (yes, I did take a basket weaving class in college...it was a left over hippie school!!) My mom won't return it to me, but someday I'll manage to get it down here to Texas!