filling in the gaps

So --- it would be an understatement to say that we haven’t been busy. I would say, “…busy here on Woodburn Drive…”; however, we have not been “here on Woodburn Drive” very much lately. Apart from being busy --- it has been a long time since I have really posted. Putting the holidays aside for just a minute, I will attempt to fill in the gaps of the last few weeks.

I guess the last thing I really delved into much detail about was Ammon’s birthday. Apart from the holidays, we haven’t really done anything huge since then. But we have done lots of little things – lots of seemingly miniscule, but nonetheless meaningful things.

We got our Christmas tree before our trip, of course. A few days after we had it up in the stand, half the lights got put on. A day or two later, the rest of the lights went up. And, yet another few days later, the ornaments were there. This sluggish tree decorating has never happened before – I toss it up to my lack of Christmas spirit – and because of it we only really got to enjoy our tree for a couple of days before heading out of town. Nice.

Also before our trip, we went on a double date with Shelby and Clay (our cousin and her boyfriend). We ate at Ruby Tuesday’s, wandered through Target and Best Buy, and went to a movie. You guessed it… Twilight. Shelby and I both wanted to see it again… and going with our significant others would be an added bonus. I don’t think that either of the XY-chromosome-types would have gone without the other, so it worked out perfectly. We had such a good time that night. And the movie was so much better the second time around. Truly – a different movie for me. I caught so much that I had missed the first time. And the boys both liked it! Or at least admitted that it wasn’t as bad as they thought it would be…

We also went to look at Christmas lights with Brian’s parents and his brother’s family before heading out of town. We did it one night for Family Home Evening, and we had the best time. We drove through the Trawick’s lights in Enterprise. Then we went to a little Christmas village nestled amongst the pine and oak trees of Wicksburg. Truly, a Christmas wonderland full of vibrant lights. I fell in love with the lit stars and balls that seemed to hang from every tree. If I had trees… my yard would be alive with these lights. And the (for lack of a better description) beaded light strands just made me pure happy. We had such a good evening with our family – it was nice to feel that sweet, pure Christmas spirit just radiate from our niece and nephew. It was the nudge I needed to get out of my Scroogy mood. And by the way --- Ammon loved the Grinch, with his odd green face; however, he freaked out at good ole’ Saint Nick. Go figure.

Then this past Friday, Ammon and I went to the park with our pals, Kristy, Kate and Caleb. It was so, so very nice seeing them again. And it was so, so very nice catching up with Kristy. I missed that adult-girly-conversation while they were out of town. Ammon and I then went to lunch with my mom – where Ammon had black beans, cottage cheese and a hamburger for the first time. No more baby food for this little guy. That night, Brian and I went out for a date night… “date”, indeed. Grocery shopping is more accurate.

Other than all this fun, we have been spending a lot of time at home. Prior to Christmas, I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off… trying to get everything ready to go (didn’t happen, by the way). And since, we have just been adjusting. A lot has been going on here on Woodburn Drive.

Brian is officially back in school… this time as a graduate student. Ammon is reacting exactly like I thought he would: Awful. For instance, on the first night Ammon sat in front of the door for 15 minutes, pounding on it and screaming at the top of his lungs, “Dada… Dada… Dada, Dada, Daadddaaaa, Daaaddddaaaaa, Daaaadddddaaaaaa!”. Double nice.

Brian’s last day at his current employer is the 19th of this month. He has taken a job with SpectraCare, where he will be a Case Manager. His main focus will be to assist mental health patients in becoming self sufficient. He will not be in an office setting – he will be travelling to their homes, and will be servicing both Henry and Barbour County (at least an hour away from home). Insert my panic here. He is very excited. I am excited for him. We know that this is a blessing from our Heavenly Father. And even though we are taking a huge leap of faith, we are extremely grateful for this blessing.

So --- needless to say, we have been busy. Healthy, happy and thriving… but busy. Stay tuned for all the details of our holiday escapades. I am getting closer to being done. Probably this week sometime. Bets, anyone?