Kendric, chattering as he watched me crochet: "My best thing to do is the swings. My second best thing is swimming in a pool or hot tub."
Me: "What if you had a swing over a pool?"
Kendric: "Whoa. That would be so cool. That would be... zero in command. You know the lower the number is, the more in command it is. So zero is the most. *laugh* Second in command is really third in command."
I love the way he thinks aloud. 
Friday: Kirby's home! He brought home samples of the parts he's making:
Jeshurun... Murphys'... Dotys' new calf... Snowy drive home...
Saturday: The kids played outside:
Kirby, Bri and Mari went tree hunting:
With temps below zero, we tucked ourselves into the house, stoked the fire and decorated the tree:
Bri noticed the moon and its impressively huge halo, "Mom! Dad! You've got to see this!"
Bright snow, bright moon... The hillside was clear as day. A beautiful sight, but waaay too cold to stand there gawking. (Our thermometer said it was -12°F. Brr.) I grabbed the camera, found the moon in the viewfinder, clicked the shutter then rushed back into the house. *chills*
Sunday: Bri and Myra did the advent reading, Kendric got to light the candles... Naps for everyone...
White Christmas was playing in the background as we worked together to scrub the kitchen. Bri was inspired to "dance to Christmas music," which she did -- the moment she had Free Time.
Bri brought out her collection of Nature Friend magazines. "Guess how long I've been getting Nature Friend?" I don't remember. Three years? "Two and a half. See? Here's my first issue, July 2006." She pointed out the difference between her old, scuffed magazine and her new, shiny magazine. She has cared for them well and amassed quite a collection.
As I think about moving, it strikes me that though I've made every effort to not be a packrat, to streamline our posessions, my book collection alone is ... it's huge. It just melts into the edges at this house, but in a smaller place, every cubic inch counts. The globe -- and the moon globe -- will probably seem hugely frivolous.
Friday: Kirby brought Tom to look at our Fixer Upper. Tom said he could fix it in a flash, but he suggested that for the same $$, he could find someplace that didn't need so much work. I hadn't looked in Rathdrum because, distance wise, it was out of my search radius. Speed wise, though, it's a faster drive to Kirby's work. So instead of 10 acres of vertical land (4x drive, total home remodel, early sunsets, etc.), Kirby is looking at a 5 acre ranch (level, already fenced!, ready for horses, cows, chickens, geese, etc.) that's move in ready. He sent pictures. They look crummy, I think muchly because of the poor camera quality, but -my- only criteria is that I can let my kids play outside without shushing them. As long as Kirby believes he can make the place work, heating, electricity, repair wise, I am willing to live any ol' place. (Besides, I prefer a fixer-upper. I like to have an excuse to make things the way I want them. If a house is laid out stupidly, with yucky colors, but in excellent physical condition, one can't really justify ripping things apart and remaking them.)
We invited Jemimah and Delancey to come home with us after the homeschool potluck. Knowing that we'd be short on room, I left Logan and Wilson with Mom. Yeah, they were pretty excited about that. It was so easy watching out for only big kids. Ahhh. Then, we got home about maybe 10, 10:30, and the girls danced. Cotton Eye Joe, of course, then Jemimah taught us a new line dance. My eyes wouldn't stay open, so I went to bed at about midnight. The girls didn't go to bed 'til 2 or so, dancing and stomping and tumbling around upstairs -- with the music full on -- and I heard nothing. I was dead asleep. Ahhh.
Saturday: Kirby came home. Or started to, anyway. His transmission gave him trouble; after a detour to the transmission shop in Missoula, he didn't get home 'til suppertime. Chicken and rice soup, half of Three Ninjas, and we had to return Delancey to Safeway. Jemimah gave us a mystery on the way. Tightrope walker, music. Good 'n'. Went home and watched The Hulk.
Sunday: I decided at the last minute that my two pumpkin pies would not be enough for potluck, particularly if there were some who did not care for pumpkin pie. I baked an empty shell and brought cream filling, intending to top it with cherries. Forgot the can of cherries. Poo. Peter Daly spoke during the service, showing pictures, answering questions about Angola. One missionary in 1908, died of malaria, now the country has some 80,000 Christians. The government is not restrictive, the biggest problem there is that there are so many illiterate people.
Went to Vern and Audrey's to bring some of the Harvest Dinner to them. Audrey looks so frail. She asked the girls to sing a song for her, so they sang John 3:16 and the Singer, Swingers and the Saints. Mari was really affected by Audrey'sfrailty...
Picke dup the boys from Mom's house. I walked in, and Wilson was coming down the stairs, "Hey, Wilson, would you like to see Daddy?" His face lit up and he started running, "Yeah!" Cute stuff. Kirby had to start for Spokane right away, took forever to say goodbye. We just kissed and held each other on the front porch for a good 15 or 20 min.
Mari, Bri, Myra stayed at Mom's to help her decorate her tree. Then they got to go to town, to McDs and DQ! Now they're watching Pirates of the Carribean.
Don't let me forget that tomorrow, Alisha is coming up for supper with her girls...
This morning, before breakfast, Kendric geared up in coat, boots, gloves, hat and went out to shovel the deck. Without being asked. Without even any hint of a suggestion. Wow.
Also, Kendric has been learning to whistle. Practicing constantly, sometimes to my irritation. This morning, the shrill monotone was a sweet sound. (I think it helped that he was out on the deck and not five feet from my ear.) "Whistle while you work..."
I lost my driver's license. No, I didn't commit a felony. No, I don't have a stack of DUIs. I literally lost my license. Lost the whole little card-holder part of my purse, actually. (I think I accidentally tossed it when I was cleaning out the car.) So yesterday, I drove to Polson to get a replacement. As I waited for my turn (they've got a number ticket system now, but people still pay attention to who was there before and who came after; the numbers are pretty much pointless), I studied the message board on the wall above the desk. Among other things, the board announced, "Applications are on the north wall." While the not-as-cranky lady was printing my temporary license, I broached the subject, "Have you seen the show Monk?" 
Whew, she had. "Well, at the risk of seeming painfully Monk-ish... I think the applications are actually on the west wall." Cranky Lady said, "You climb up there and change it." Not As Cranky laughed and said, "Yeah, we moved the applications, didn't we?" I wonder if they'll change the chalkboard or just return the applications to their old location...
There was a nice, horizontal snow blowing through as we started for home. I had planned to stop at Jackie's, just to say "hi," but I was having second thoughts when I realized my kids weren't dressed for a blizzard, and they'd all be stuck inside. We stopped anyway, and gave Jackie every opportunity to turn us away. 
Myra stayed overnight...
Stopped at Sheila's... Brought Tina and Veronica home to our house... When Mari and Bri learned that Tina's full name is Martina, they decided to call her Martini. Ha. ... The girls shoveled the deck, then played outside in the snow 'til midnight.
Kendric, apologizing for spilling the cereal: "I was trying to put it up by the Frosted Flakes, but I made the top point to the floor. Sorry."
today: The kids played outside. A lot. (Kirby has my camera in Spokane; otherwise this space would be full of pictures of Logan and Wilson bundled up in their snow gear. So sweet.) The snow isn't deep, but there's enough to sled down each space once. They came in after they'd used up all the snow...
When I drove down to put girls back in the right places, I went to Sheila's first -- via Dan and Jackie's road. Myra and Jeshurun were playing near the end of the driveway. The look on Myra's face as she recognized us then saw us drive by ... *laughs... sighs* ... priceless. When I did return to get Myra, Jackie invited us in for a cup of tea.
Currently Watching: Captains and the Kings
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