The Skinny

Ok, so here's the skinny on what we've been up to, and what's happening in the near future.

I finished up my long-term subbing job on December 16th. It was bittersweet. I will miss those kids, and the staff that I worked with. A small part of me will miss the routine of going to work, and feeling satisfied in earning a substantial income. BUT...I am looking forward to staying home with my boys very much! I truly missed them these last few months. I felt like the only time I was spending with them was always rushed, or when we were all exhausted (early mornings or late afternoons and nighttime). This last week since I've been off has been nothing but wonderful. The boys have been in great spirits, we've done some fun things (playdates! art! long walks to the park!) and I just get to see how much they are learning and growing each day.

We took a brief retreat with the TRFC staff up to the Cannon Beach Conference Center last week. It was a nice break from everything at home, a beautiful place to stay, and a whole lot of fun with the camp staff!

We have officially decided to move onto the camp. Jeff has been putting in a lot of hours fixing up the house. He and his dad tore out the linoleum in the kitchen and the carpet in the dining room and put down a nice laminate wood floor. He repainted almost every room in the house, fixed up and painted all the kitchen cabinets, installed new lighting, replaced all the baseboard heaters with Cadets, and put a fan system to blow the hot air from the wood stove to the back bedrooms (I wish that I had been better at taking before and after photos of the house, but we'll just have to take some photos when we get all moved in). I am so thankful for all the work he has been doing to get the house ready for us! I am blessed to have such a handy husband, and we are blessed by the staff at camp who have been helping and giving Jeff the time (and $) to work on the house.

We are looking forward to spending Christmas with Roger and Louise, the Tippins, Anthony and Aunt Dianne. We will all be together at Harbor Villa for 5 days, with other extended family popping in and out throughout the week. Then we will spend a few days utilizing all the extra hands to help us pack up our Bay City house and move over to the camp. We hope to be totally moved by mid-January so we will have a little bit of time to clean up the Bay City house to get it ready for renters (which we still have not found, but we hope to soon!).

I think that about sums it up! Merry Christmas everybody! I will be sure to post some pictures of our Christmas adventures.