Holidays

by Mothersense, posted in Uncategorized

From December 18th:

 

Christmas has kinda snuck up on us here in the Roeber home.  We have been reading about the coming of our Lord and Savior, discovering why there is a holiday season to begin with and now it is only a week until Christmas is upon us.  We have not rushed out to buy presents, but I suppose we will need to go shopping at some point.  Mostly this year the kids want practical things, which is great because its easy to buy practical instead of the “gotta have” items that lots of kids ask for and then leave their parents to scramble to find it.  I love that so many times my kids are practical with their choices, knowing that it makes more sense to ask for things they will actually use instead of something that the “new” will wear off of and then it will be set to collect dust or worse.  And by practical I don’t just mean clothes or shoes, but things like an MP3 player so they can listen to their tunes, or a Wii for the whole family, movies to add to our collection, not too bad overall.  I actually look forward to the last minute shopping, call me crazy, but it makes for some very interesting people watching.  I don’t do the “Black Friday” sales because I believe they are just asinine and I do not like mob scenes.   I have experienced one “Black Friday” and vowed then and there it was not worth the hassle and the crowds to arrange a babysitter for the kids so we could save a few bucks, and actually when you break it down, that is all it is.  We don’t really shop for the big ticket items at Christmas, it isn’t the time for new computers or a new tv or blu ray player, those items are usually spring or summer buys and I find that we pay about the same, without the hassle of the mob.

Other than Christmas slowly sneaking up on us, my dear husband has finished his first semester of college with A’s and B’s!! Kudos to you honey! My youngest son has begun confidently walking about the house.  So now I will be chasing him a bit now.  We will be taking family pictures this week-end and then I will be on cloud nine as I sort through the shots and edit them and ready them to be printed for our loved ones.

I think I might post some of them as I get through, but for now I am going to head to bed and hope that sleep finds me, and if not I will catch up on my reading.

Happy Holidays!!!

Sugarplums and such

by Mothersense, posted in Kids n such

My husband and I finally got to do some Christmas shopping!! It has been a tough year financially however boy we sure have been blessed.  Despite Jarrett’s illness, and all of the hoopla we have had to go through, he made good grades this semester at college!  Lots of hard work and I believe my oldest has successfully completed his first semester of high school.  But back to sugarplums and shopping….

We go shopping and when I drop the kids off at my mothers my oldest daughter has secretly brought my ready-made gingerbread dough with her in the hopes that they can make cookies.  Well initially she is disappointed because my mother had given me her cookie cutters to use with the dough at my house, and I have the rolling pin as well….this did not stop my children.  As their mother and to prevent a fuss for my mother to have to deal with I tell them to get creative, use a butter knife, or a plastic knife to cut out the desired shapes.  Ok, so this does leave my mother in a bit of a pickle, but hey she’s had to deal with worse, she raised 5 kids.  So we get the kids settled at my parent’s house and go about our business.

We don’t know where to start.  We have five kids of our own and the money is kinda slim….but we are used to that so we start thinking of a blend between Santa and practical.  I won’t go into details but I think we did quite well and I don’t think the kids will be disappointed one bit.  Well maybe the oldest, because he thinks he HAS to have an ipod or he’s gonna die.  But I am on the fence about that because he has nooooo idea what is in store for him and NO it’s not an ipod, because Santa is on a budget, but it is hopefully gonna blow his socks off.  We did good, I am convinced of that.  I am also convinced that in the end, the kids appreciate the gifts but know the real reason we celebrate Christmas.

 

A blogging we will go….

by Mothersense, posted in Kids n such

Well it is the first day of winter and it is 80 degrees outside!! OK this IS NOT California people, but on the bright side, it IS Texas, so if we wait just a bit it will change!! My older girls stayed up into the wee hours of this morning to watch the lunar eclipse.  They thought it was awesome, and quite incredible.  I couldn’t believe they were able to stay up so late myself, I was pooped.  It is wonderful that we are able to take such delight in the simple beautiful things the good Lord brings into our lives.  I don’t know if or when I will witness another complete lunar eclipse, but I will most definitely not ever forget this one.  I came inside and dozed off for a bit only to be awakened by my delightful girls showing off their Solar System!!! The two girls who are normally at odds, worked together, laughed together and played together for several hours this morning, and it was a beautiful thing!  Their solar system was complete with the moons and everything they could remember to include.  I will delight in that moment every time they fight or tattle on one another over the next few months. Or at least the next couple of weeks while they are on holiday from school.  Kids just grow up too fast these days and I will help them hang onto it as long as they are little.

It is tough growing up, every year brings more responsibility until you are a grown up and then you just about beg to go back to that childhood place before you had to do it all.  I am going to let them hang onto that piece of childhood.   Just like I let my 15-year-old son pretend and play in the leaves, it’s allowed because all too soon they will be in my shoes, with a family of their own, and I will still find myself delighting with the little ones and showing them all the wonders of this fabulous world the Lord has given us.

Hello world!

by Mothersense, posted in Uncategorized

I have begun a blog in an attempt to be able to hone my writing skills and be able to get input from readers and keep myself sharp. Good writer s write something every day even if it is nonsense so I am told.  If you can get something from it, great.  Most of it will be anecdotal, but some of it will be my more serious writing once I can resurrect our other computer and get it uploaded to this blog.  Either way please feel free to comment or critique as I prepare to learn whether or not I have something people will read.