Still kicking'

Well sorry folks for not keeping up with the blog...since the holidays it has been quite interesting here. We have had our ups and downs to the start of the new year. Ups include getting an extremely reasonable hot water shower for the enclosed cockpit..as much as I am sure it is good for the skin, cold water in the middle of winter is not my cup of tea! We found a propane ready camping shower, similar to a sun shower but it is aluminum and immediate heat. If you are looking for a reasonable back up I suggest you go to camping world and take a look! Now that I am all spoiled with fine weather and warm water I will tell you about the rest of the ups...the kids are doing great and are already ahead on their schoolwork for the year. It is sure nice having online school again as the harder trig and calculus classes are coming up and well I am good with numbers, but not that good! The weather has been lovely but we are starting to get some of the rain and winds associated with a typical SoCal winter which means getting out a wool cap, putting on pants for a while (except for Neil who wears shorts year round!) and digging out the heavy sweatshirts! Ugh, what a chore! Haha. Now for the downs...

We had an engine mishap. It seems our little 2 horse Honda kicker took a nose dive and threw a rod...it basically went " thud,crack,boom,smoke,big boom,cough,dead " I think that about covered it...it is still under warranty but it is a pain getting all that in order here...so hopefully soon we will see some progress on that one. We still have the 15hp and good old fashioned oars, so we are not at a complete loss...but this is par for the course.

Sad news for those who knew we had a little pup named "Mable" who was a darling little sweet thing and well God just wanted her more than we did..she had been a little gift, and was not in the best of health being born too early...it was sad to see her pass, but we are sure thankful for the time we had her to snuggle with, play, and lament over...r.i.p. little one, you are missed.

We are still playing the waiting game with Neil. He is still awaiting clearance for surgery and we are really starting to feel the effects, mainly Neil. He is in a lot of pain, and I would say on average he is up for 3 days and down 4 most weeks...keep praying for a resolution soon.

With the passing of a pup and all the emotional baggage going on with seeing friends head off into the sunset for a trip we have had planned for a while it is certainly starting to wear, but we are keeping it on a positive..we saw just how fragile your life really is and that without a doubt no matter how painful or troublesome it tends to be, this is it fellas, one shot,one chance and well you'd better darn well try to enjoy it!

We know our day is coming soon, but until it gets here, we just want to say just how much we love and cherish each and every one of you. God bless, and here's to a Happy New Year!

simple does it

This year we kept it very simple...homeade cards(which I had a ball getting up early Christmas Eve to paint), we played some great games, and had even better egg nog (one for big kids and one for little kids and both with lots of whipped cream)! We had a fun time remembering past Christmas's and I was sad to discover that perhaps the kid's were well aware that dad and mom were realy Santa a lot sooner than I was willing to admit...at least they kept quiet and let me enjoy it for a few more years! haha. The dogs had a little feast of pig ears and the boat's lights sparkled on the water on a very warm and rather calm night. I am truly thankful to our friends and family who wished us well and to you all I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Below are my homeade cards for the kids...

Stewarts card:

Katie's card:

MeRrY cHrIsTmAs!!

Family traditions...everyone has them. It may be buying special jammies handing them out  and wearing them as they drink hot cocoa, open family gifts and enjoy the spirit of Christmas Eve. All the while anticipating Christmas Day where by some miracle, no matter how old or how small, there is at least one gift or more from that mysterious man in red. This year we have a lot to be thankful for. Great friends, a wonderful family and most of all life. In our family, tradition has mainly been about making good memories..no matter how minute they may seem. We realy don't have a routine, in fact, some years Neil and I can't wait to share and Christmas comes almost a week early...other years a few days after...either way, it's all about building lovely memories that will last long beyond any gifts.

Below is my Christmas painting.

We were quite bummed when they cancelled Neil's appointment with the surgeon once again...but we are looking at it as "it wasn't in the plans." HIS plan. What is HIS plan for us? At this point only He knows...but as always, I am glad it is in HIS hands...takes a lot of pressure off, huh? haha...and with that let us all celebrate the "Reason for the Season," and I hope that all of our friends and family have a wonderful Holiday!

MeRrY ChRiStMaS from "Hand Full."