Sick of being Sick!!!!

We have not blogged at all this month because much of it has been spent with someone in the house sick. First we got hit with a round of the stomach flu which everyone got over the course of a week-wait before that it was a cold, then the stomach flu, and as I write this Jennifer and Samantha are downstairs sick-we think with the real flu!! So much for the girls getting perfect attendance this semester. Well other then that there have been a few things that have happened of note this Feb. First of all is that Todd decided to not continue on his path to becoming a Sergent in the police department. He realized that politics was not his thing, and so he is back to doing what he loves which is being a police officer. This of course means more changes of schedule, but whats new in the life of a cops family right? On the major plus side he gets to go back to church which had been really hard on him. (And me) Also he gets to see all the girls weekend activities like games and such. I'm back to being a single mom four nights a week, but at least as the girls are getting older that is getting a lot easier! The other thing to note is what is going on in the world around us right now. Obama has spent his first month as president trying to fix the economy-remember according to everyone Obama can fix everything! I sure hope "they" are right because right now this country is a mess. I am very grateful for Todd's very stable job-because many are not so lucky right now, with job loss starting to hit home around our circle of friends. We have seen the affects as we looked at our retirement account that is now almost half of what it was 7 months ago. Yikes. We also refinanced our house this week and were shocked at what our house is really worth. It appraised at 320,000, but would probably only sell for around 310,000. When we bought this house four years ago for 285,000 it was under priced. We then put in 10, 000 work on it (which would have cost more had we not done most of it ourselves) by adding almost 300 sq feet of space and a computer nook. I tell you they said prices may fall to a three year ago price, but they are already down about four years when I look at it. Moving is not in our future that is for sure! I find thinking about the economy so depressing that this week Todd and I have spent way to much time debating the outcome of the reality t.v. series The Bachelor. Somehow it is so much easier to wrap our minds around. With that being said Oregon of course is leading the nation in not putting education first, but cutting more from the states already small education budget. What worries me the most is how this will affect the girls school. It is already running on such a small budget that if more gets cut in the years to come, I don't know if it will be able to operate. They are doing so well there that I would really hate that. Well, I am rambling now and hope to have less sickness this month and more positive posts!

And another one down!

The start of 2009 has started and we've said goodbye to 2008. The girls are all growing up so much, its hard to believe. Samantha started Kindergarten this year and she loves it. She gets to stay full day two days a week, but she wishes it were all week. I'm afraid its a little boring around here without her sisters. She did soccer in the fall, and although she was pretty good, and made several goals, she spent most of her time dancing on the field....So we put her back in dance where she belongs. Now she prances around the house all the time. Sam is growing into her tall body, and has found her own sense of humor. The other day she asked why her name wasn't spelled Samanthe with an e at the end because she knows how to spell THE, and it sounds the same. Funny girl! She is taking more responsiblity around the house, now if we could only teach her not to hide her sisters stuff all over the house!
Jennifer is in first grade and thrilled to have her teacher Ms. Jensen. In fact she wants to be like her so much that she got a guitar for Christmas. Jennifer has given up soccer and is taking a singing/acting class and hip hop. She finally gets to put all that drama to good use! She is also really looking forward to turning 8 and getting babtized. Jen is trying hard to make better choices, but boy sometimes its soooo hard! It's a good thing she so cute, or she might be spending a lot more time in her room!
Kaylee has finally grown taller then Megan, which she might consider her greatest accoplishment yet! She is in third grade, and following closely in her mothers footsteps, doing as little as possible to still get a good grade! Ooops. She is a great soccer player, and has enjoyed trying goalie and defender. She also has reached new heights climbing to the top of the first two rock climbing walls, and taking a swimming class at the YMCA. She is very funny, and loves to find the answer to abstract problems. If she would sleep a little more, she would be close to an angelic child.
Megan is on the verge of officially becoming a pre-teen. Even though she hasn't gotten much taller, she is really growing up, and her mood swings prove it!!! She is a great student, and trys hard at everything she does. This fall her soccer team went undefeated, and even won several tornaments. We were even more proud that she chose to not play the Sunday games, even though it was really hard not to. She is looking forward to 6th grade, and going into young womens. She is lots of fun to be around (when she isn't having a mood swing), but her sisters think she reads too much! (just like her mom) She is a big help to me around the house, and I call her my alarm clock. We would never get anywhere on time if it wasn't for her. She has also started babysitting and is enjoying some extra spending money and freedom!
Todd has been promoted to sergeant, and is in his year of training. He has had some bumps in the road, but things are going great now as he has found his groove! He is enjoying seeing the girls more with his new schedule, and is a big help to me running them around! He is also enjoying his big screen TV, and new Ipod touch. WE love having him home at night (when we can pull him away from mob-wars!) He is the assistant scout leader for the 10 year old boys, and is clearly going to learn alot from that!
Jenelle is having a taste of the empty nest syndrome, and loving it. With all the girls at school, she is keeping up with things at home better, able to volunteer at the school, go to the temple, and enjoy time with girls when they get home!

Christmas 2008

What a wonderful Christmas week we have had. It truly will go down as one of the most memorable ones ever. Having to be shuttled back and forth in Grandpas 4 wheel drive was exciting, if not a major hassle. Having a white Christmas for the second year in a row was amazing, even if it put a kink in some of our plans. Personally I enjoyed cutting back a little, and not being able to stress if things weren't perfect. Even my mom did a great job of being flexible with the weather. We enjoyed spending time with Family, without a whole lot of extra fluff. (I do enjoy a little fluff once in a while, but life and Christmas still go on without it.)
Christmas eve we played gift bingo and had lots of fun. (Only a few tears from Megan over a stolen Taylor Swift cd that Uncle Jack thought was funny to do, but the pre teen Megan didn't.) We ended up with lots of fun gifts including a burts bees pack, a gingerbread gift set, a gumball machine, Hairspray the movie, and Todd picked a look alike leg lamp (from A Christmas Story) that he thinks would be funny to put in our front window! (Don't worry-the girls have plans to accidentaly break it if that happens.) We also did a great nativity story, with the best costumes you have ever seen. Grandma Milne made them and as the snow got higher, the cosumes got more elaborate! You could really feel the spirit in the room. The whole family was in new Christmas pajamas as we went to bed and awaited for Santa to come. It was a little wierd because Samantha is the only one left in our house that still believes in the big guy. By next year Santa may be a thing of the past, which would make it a little easier to concentrate on the real meaning of Christmas.
Christmas morning the girls were very suprised to find that Santa had gotten Daddy his big screne TV!!!!!!! We are all enjoying how clear everyone looks. Today I told the girls when they have kids they will tell them ,"When we were little we had to watch a t.v. that was square, and the people didn't look clear at all." Isn't technology amazing? I can't imagine how much change my grandparents have seen in their lives! Speaking of technology Kaylee got a robot from Santa, Megan a kids video camera, Jenelle a new camera yeah!, and we now have to buy stock in batteries. Jennifer finally got the guitar she wanted, and Samantha was thrilled with yet another baby doll. We marveled at how quickly this Christmas came. Wasn't it just Christmas of 2007? After picking up most of the mess me were shuttled by Grandpa over for the Milne family Christmas. We had the traditional sausage egg cassarole and cinnamon roll Christmas tree for breakfast before tearing in to the gifts. Actually Christmas was not crazy this year as all of the kids (except Kyler) were old enough to have patience and we enjoyed opening each and every gift. Most of the day was then spent watching the girls play with their cousins on the dance dance revolution they got from grandma and grandpa for Christmas. We even got Grandpa and Uncle Jack to do it! Then we ate too much for dinner and tried to stuff even more in for dessert! We especially enjoyed spending time with Kacie and Andrew who finally arrived via Boise and Seattle. We are sad they are going back to Utah on Thursday. On Sunday we were able to have Christmas with the Christensen side. We heard about everyones Christmas, and the kids spent lots of time playing in the basement while the adults talked about politics, and of course the Portland Police department. After dinner we opened presents, and the big highlight was Megans bike! It was nice to visit with family that even though live close, we don't see often enough. We had a wonderful Christmas and hope anyone reading this also enjoyed lots of time with friends and family.