an update...

since miley updated her blog (shocking!) i guess i better do mine! lol! we had a great thanksgiving with mimi and papa. our best cooked turkey ever! we have a saying in our bagel group about ovens. well mostly it's about cameras, but it refers to an oven. when people tell us our pictures are great just because we have a good camera we say, "no one would say our cooking so we must have a good oven." and i agree with that whole heartedly. especially since i'm a bad cook. but in this case our cooking was much better because we had a good oven. hee! well we were comparing to last year's turkey. which was not only not completely and totally thawed, but also was cooked in our old oven that took over an hour to cook a lasagna. so maybe our turkey wasn't so perfect, but it was compared to last years!

since then we've been trying to decorate for christmas, get our shopping done, and fight of colds and sickness. we haven't been very successful on either of those fronts. i think we're close to having gifts done for the kids. i wanted to get theirs done first since i was nervous about a few hard to find items. i still have the adults left to do though. and i know i still have a lot of time, but if i want to go during the week i have to take wilson (aka the world's worst shopper) with me. and i've tried bribing him, letting him ride in the front part of the cart and bringing snacks along. nothing will get that boy to want to shop. i think it's a guy thing!

we are expecting an ice storm tonight into tomorrow. that should be interesting! i'm glad for the chance for us to just be all home together without the pull for us to be out running errands. but we're also hoping to go downtown: me to see the denise at the hot shops open house, and the whole family to see curious george at the children's museum. so we're not sure how that will all work.

tonight we got a call from uncle charley (my brother chuck) who lives in connecticut. i'm so glad christmas is almost here and we'll get to spend some time with him and my whole family. chuck was asking ella about presents, i think, and she was telling him a few things on her list. but then she said, "but christmas isn't really about the presents." and he asked what it is about. and she said, "it's about love and God." isn't that sweet?! anna had ccd this week and they talked about that in class. i guess ella was really listening to her sister and i discuss that. now know i'm not naive enough to think ella really would be ok without presents. but i'm glad at least that thought is in her head somewhere. and since she is the one who thinks her bosses are, "God, Jesus and Santa," we do know where her priorities lie. ;)

anna is doing great too. i'm so amazed at her reading. i have a few sets of american girl books and she can read one a night without any problem. when i worked in school there was a girl who started reading those in second grade and we were in awe. and now here anna is in first and able to read them so well. and i know quite a few kids in her grade read chapter books too. it's amazing what is expected of them in school at such a young age. she has no problem stepping up to the challenges they give her. she's really enjoying all of her extracurricular activities and is asking to sign up for more. for our own sanity we've decided to limit her to just a few things. we feel like we barely get to see her anymore already! first grade is too young for that!

hee - well and now that i've written a book and a half i'll sign off. hope everyone has a great weekend! and that everyone here in omaha stays safe!