The Indianapolis Star

Our co-op homeschool group went on a field trip to our newspaper, The Indianapolis Star.  (We were supposed to go to a local TV station too, but that got postponed.)  A few of the moms in our group know the editorial cartoonist for the Star.  He is a Christian.  He showed us the news room and then took us to his office.  We also visited one of their conference rooms where many famous people have visited (the first one he named was Bono; all the kids said "Who is that?")  He showed us some of the cartoons he was working on and explained to the kids how the cartoon got to be in the paper.

 A few side notes:

1. You can follow Mr. Varvel and his cartoons on Twitter.  His "handle" is Varvel.

2. Mr. Varvel and his sons have started a Christian movie company that has produced one movie (The Board) and is in post production of the sequel (The War Within).  The Board is a very good movie depicting the inside story of the human soul, represented by a board of directors including Mind, Memory, Emotion, Heart, Will, and Conscience. Check out the movie company on Facebook: House of Grace Films.

Stop growing!

Everyone has commented lately about how much C is growing!  I know!  His too-short jeans are proof!  According to his 10 year doctor check up, he has grown over 3 inches since May!  I can believe it.

Another proof of him growing, is his changing eye sight.  His prescription has changed twice a year for the past 3 years.  And of course insurance only covers once.  Plus, we always have to change his sports glasses too.

So about a year ago, C started asking for contact lenses.  We felt he wasn't quite ready then.  But when his appointment for this year came up, we decided to give it a try.

So off C & I went Thursday morning for his appointment at 9 am.  We didn't get home til after 11!  The doctor (I love our eye doctor!) took his time, did his exam, and said "let's try it!"  So then we went on to one of the employees teaching C how to put them in and take them out.  C did such a great job for his first time!  I remember how hard it is at the beginning. Then the doctor examined him again and decided to try a little different prescription in the one eye.  So back out we went; this time C worked on getting them out.  He got the one, but the left was just stubborn.  So the employee took it out and suggested he go home with no contacts in--just to give his eyes a break.

Those are some cool looking glasses!

It's harder than Mommy and Daddy make it look.

Got it!

His one eye is pretty bad.  Hoping contacts slow down the progression.

Later that night, after dinner we had a "contact-putting-in" party.  Reminded me of the days when my brother first got his and COULD NOT get them in, due to his -- ehem  --  fat fingers.  So Sissy and I put them in for him.  For many days.  He since has had laser surgery.  Lucky.  Anyways.  This post is about C's contacts.  So he wore them for about 2 hours that night.  Getting them out was just about as hard.  Daddy had to get the last one out for him.

Friday morning C tried to get them in before breakfast.  After about 40 minutes he was frustrated and I was hungry.  So we took a break to change and eat breakfast.  After breakfast, he tried again.  6 times on the one; 1 time on the other (but then it popped out and he had to do it again--again on the first try)  They bugged his eyes a little but eventually it was all good!

It's so strange to see him doing stuff without them on.  I keep saying "C where are your glasses?'  And he says "I don't need them.  I have contacts!"  He sat down to watch a movie and said "Me and my contacts are going to watch Star Wars."  Funny boy.

Very proud mamma

My C got baptized this last Sunday night.  It's been a few years of explaining to him that this is something he needed to do.  But, not surprisingly, he was very cautious and wanted to know all the details first.  So rewind to LAST Sunday night.  We had communion.  C did not have a class during church.  So he was sitting in with us.  Right before communion started, I leaned over to remind him that he could not participate (something he had been told before).  It took a little reminding from me, but he remembered   And then his next question was, "what do I need to do to participate next time?"  After a little explaining, he and Daddy met with our youth pastor after church and got it all set up for this past Sunday night.

Sunday night there was one baptized before C.  Once C got in the water, the youth pastor told this story.  "Last week C and his dad told me they needed to talk to me after church.  My first thought was "oh dear.  Did C steal something and he's coming to confess to me?"  Really.  That was your first thought.  But then he went on to say how much he appreciated C and that C is a good kid; he excels in whatever he does.  I really like our youth pastor.  Crazy guy.

New friends

A few weeks ago, an acquaintance from church sent me a message over FB asking if we'd be interested in watching their kiddos while they went to a SS activity.  This is a much younger couple than us, who we know only slightly (C's school definition of acquaintance).  We have gotten to know them a little better recently; they are great people.  Anyways.  I said sure.  I'm willing to help out.

So Saturday they dropped their 2 kiddos off.  AB is 3 and JB turned 1 Christmas Day.  Cute kiddos.  And let me tell you--they loved C!  I have really seen lately how good he is with kids!  He will make a great dad one day.  He reminds me a lot of Daddy and how he is so good with kids too--always was (something I noticed back when we were dating).  Again--anyways.

We had a really good time with the kids that night.  They are good kids.  Pretty easy.  And they went down to bed around 8 and 8:30 and slept til mommy and daddy got here about 10:30.  Easy, fun night.

C loved this puppet, prolly more than the kids.  He played with it all night and kept cracking himself up.  It sings a song and you can make it sing fast or slow.  Mommy said they have 3 others at home.  Oh dear!

Snow!

This past summer we were in a drought due to the lack of precipitation.  We are now just fine due to all the snow we have had.  In fact this winter, we had what was named "The Blizzard of 2012."  It was named that before it even hit.  It was a very snowy and blowy day. We got close to 8 inches in one day!  My mom and GiGi were here to experience it with us.  My mom actually got out and helped shovel.

Daddy and C built this cute little guy during one of our snow storms.

And here he is after C repaired him once.

And here he is today.  It is 45 out today.  By the weekend it is supposed to get to 57!  Crazy Indiana weather!!

$$$$$$$

Since C's birthday is so close to Christmas (exactly 2 weeks before), he usually ends up with a good bit of money to spend.  And of course, it burns a hole in his pocket until he can spend it.  This year he also ended up with some iTunes gift cards/certificates.  He has been obsessed with trying to find something to spend it on.  He has bought a few games and one movie.  The movie took a good chunk of his money.  Now on to  his cash and Target gift card.

Friday night we decided to go out to eat (thanks to a gift card) at Olive Garden and then do some shopping. C had $65 cash and a $15 gift card, Daddy had $10 cash and a $25 gift card,  and I had $10 cash.  Something just doesn't seem right.  Oh well.

After dinner (which ended up only being $17 due to server error), we headed over to Target.  C took his time looking at video games and Legos and Nerf guns and back to Legos.  He wasn't exactly sure what he wanted.  He we carried a few things around for him to think about and then he saw it: a large Lego Avenger set that was $70.  It would take most of his money.  So he asked our opinions:  Daddy said "if it was him, he would rather get a few different things instead of one big thing."  I said "if it was me, this is your one opportunity to get a big set like this because you have all this money."  We came home with the big Lego set.

Daddy was also able to get a nice sweater for $9 (the tag said $14) and another shirt for $5.  I came home with some Christmas items for 70% to be used next year.  Again, something just doesn't seem right. Oh well.  I didn't have to cook.  And I brought left overs home for lunch next week.

PS: This is what is happening on my kitchen table today.

And this is the end result.

Happy Birthday!

To my favorite brother.  Never mind that he's my only brother. He'd still be my favorite. He's getting old!

2013

Welcome to 2013. Hard to believe.  As a friend said, the world was supposed to end twice last year.  But yet, here we are.  2012 was a better year than 2011 but still hard.  I've already cried tears over 2013--it's one more year away from the last time I saw my girl.  But it's also one more year closer to the time I will see her again. I'm hoping it's soon.

In the meantime, I'm hoping to be a little more consistent on this here blog thingy. Prolly not every day--our lives aren't that interesting.  As our Preacher said "don't make New Year's resolutions; make New Year's decisions.  I have a few, mostly personal.  And I even started on them yesterday.  Woo Hoo me!

One thing our family is going to be doing together this year is a "blessings" jar or basket or container or whatever I come up with.  Each night as we get ready to put C to bed, we are going to ask if there is something that was a significant blessing that day.  It will get written on a piece of paper and put in the container (note to self: GO BUY ONE).  December 31, 2013, we will read through all the papers in the jar and remember how the Lord has blessed us this year.  It can be something as 'small' as a good grade on a math test or as 'big' as someone handing us a $100 bill.  I had seen this idea all over Pinterest and thought it was a neat idea, but my thought was "what if we have another crappy year like 2011?"  Then my thought was "but the possibility of something bad shouldn't keep me from not counting all the blessings that will happen."

So without further rambling, here is what we did New Year's Eve.