the story of my life....

I took a picture of this crooked bookcase yesterday, and said it should be on the cover of my book, which might be entitlted , "The Story Of My Life..." ha. I just bought this bookcase from Target less than two years ago. Are there too many books on it or something? I guess so. I would really like a real wood bookcase, not just this laminated laminate, but $$$$$$. Anyway, it is the story of my life to have things never perfect. I try...but. But. This is our new friend Stine, pronouced Steena, from Norway. She was room mates with Emily for 3 or 4 months. She is in town visiting for the holidays, and came over yesterday for the afternoon, dinner, and the evening. The kids LOVE her. And she likes them too.

Emily on the couch, Sonja playing with Rosie.

I took this yesterday, the snow was falling gently and it looked so classically Christmas-y.

So last night we celebrated Margaret's thirteenth birthday, which is today! I did not take any pictures. We also couldn't find any birthday candles, which she did not want anyway. But we did sing some hilarious versions of Happy Birthday. Oh my goodness, picture 19 people (well, 17....Ben just laughed, and Paul didn't know what to think) singing in a in a downstate accent (Heyappy Boithday to yous, deah Mahgret).....and then we did one in mixed opera and screech....it was so funny to see Margaret laughing like that. Camille did not know what to think either. We had Wegman's donuts, one dozen cut in half. They are excellent donuts, and they were decorated in green and red and pretty sprinkles.

We had taco salad last night, and it was sooo good. Emily and I had gone shopping yesterday, and did we shop! Ouch, I shouldn't step foot in a store for like a year after yesterday. We left the little girls home, regretfully, since they were tired from Sunday, and Camille really needed her nap. Abigail and Mirielle watched them, (although when they were cleaning, which they did wonderfully, it was CLEAN in here when we got home, the little girls went in my room and opened lots of presents, and got into Suzanne's lotion that she just got on Sunday) Anyway, Emily and I went off on our own, in her car......

We started at Target. I got something for Abigail for Christmas, and Margaret's birthday present (a hat, mittens, scarf, and a new skirt. I also gave her $20).....It is so much easier without kids, but not as fun. I was walking by myself, and almost saying out loud, "Isn't this fun? Should we look at the toys next?"

Our next stop was PriceChopper, one of the best stores there is. I had a $12.50 off my total bill coupon from my last shopping trip, and they give a ten cents off per gallon gas discount for every fifty bucks spent. I just had $2.10 off per gallon last week, and filled up the big van for $13. I have 40 cents off a gallon again already, which I can use now or keep accumulating. We got some nice things for Christmas in there, like good beer, soda (which I rarely give them, so it is a treat for Christmas) and chicken for the Jerk chicken I am going to attempt to make.

Next stop was Aldi. Pineapples for $1.79, some kiwi, shrimp, and lots of fresh vegetables. And some good cookies.

Next was Wegmans. Wegmans is a classy store. It is warm in there, winter or summer. Just a warm feeling. I always look around and wonder how a grocery store can convey that feeling of warmth, and I think it is the soft lighting and the brown color scheme. In this particular Wegmans, there is a Wokery. We were getting pretty hungry by this time, so we splurged and got a little bit of sesame chicken, and some spicy chicken....and a few green beans just to be healthy. We got our burger in there for the taco salad, and some Greek olives and Feta cheese for Paul for Christmas, and some more of those little battery operated votive candles. I think they are so neat! The warmth of candle light without kids playing in wax, and worrying about the house catching on fire. The kids like them too, they had them all in the hall way with the lights off, playing.

Our last stop was at McDonalds, I had a buy one get one free coffee coupon. Our ride home was lovely, drinking our coffee and catching up. Emily is excellent company. She has a fine sense of humor, but she is truly rooted and grounded in God, and the wisdom she has come to at such a young age is amazing. One thing we joked about was how our house just is never all the way clean, to put it mildly. I told her it is the thorn in my flesh. (Paul in the bible mentioned he had a thorn in his flesh, something that was always a battle for him, but he never mentioned what that thing was...I wonder if everyone has one)...anyway, it seems like a constant battle for me. I have come to peace about it, yet I haven't given up trying to get it cleaner and more organized, yet it doesn't DRIVE me. It is a daily struggle for me to find that "middle of the road" in it all. I don't want it dirty, or gross, (okay, I admit it, I want it spotless and sparkling, but that just isn't realisitic all the time, I would be a basket case and so would the kids)....but it does need to be clean. So I told Em about a time years ago when I was talking to two friends about cleaning, and these two ladies have immaculate homes. When I explained my way of looking at it, one of them said to me, "Well, then you are training your children up to keep the house the same way!" (as if it was a crime). Well, yesterday I remembered that comment, and I thought, rats, I am teaching SIXTEEN people how to keep house....well, clean.....but not organized....and not messy, but not....well, not so great. Then I thought of all of them getting married and having families and them passing that down to THEIR children....oh boy, I could be responsible for THOUSANDS of messy houses!!!

I finished the wrapping last night, then Abigail told me about the things she still has in her room. She is going to wrap them for me. Oh, and there is one nice dolly in my room that the girls unwrapped and opened up. And, I have to fill the stockings. I bought some nice things for them when Joseph was working at the Walmart store last month and I spent four hours in there. If anyone has any clue where those bags are, let me know.

It was nice to have Stine here last night. Jonathan wanted to know how to say lots of things in Norwegian, and Emily was talking to her like she has been speaking it all of her life. She is a nice girl, Stine, and she has the kind of humor that fits right in here. She said she likes dogs, and that her family has had cats, but they all died. I asked her if they ate them, and she said ,'Yes, of course"...and the little kids are like, "You did??"

Well, Miss Charlotte Claire wants mommy's attention, and Mommy has things to do. The cut out cookies I made last week were inhaled, so I am thinking about making more today....they are so time consuming though. If everyone has three cookies, that is 54 cookies. So if a few hundred cookies are eaten in a few days we aren't REALLY being too bad.