So Much Has Happened!

Ecclesiastes 3:11-13

He has made everything appropriate in its time

He has also set eternity in [our] heart[s],

yet so that [we] will not find out the work

which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

I know that there is nothing better for [us] than to rejoice

and to do good in [our] lifetime;

moreover, that every[one] who eats and drinks

sees good in all his labor--it is the gift of God.

Well I've gone through a lot of difficult times in the last year. I'm probably not out of the woods yet, but I think that it is time to start acting like I'm a pretty normal.

Yesterday Annie ended up babysitting both Emily and Caleb. At about 10 o'clock Christian called and asked if I could give him a ride to school. They had late opening and he needed to transport his basketball shoes and his basketball. When I got down stairs to leave to get him I discovered that the temperature in the house was at least 80 degrees and the thermostat was not functioning at all. After dropping Christian off at school I hurried home, not wanting the house to get much hotter. I called Riley and he said to turn it off at the fuse box, which I did.

Having taken care of the heat, I headed for Annie's. She wanted to be able to get out for a walk, and of course she couldn't do that with only Caleb's stroller. I packed up some food that I thought Emily would like, put her stroller into the back of the car, and headed out. The kids were glad to see me, and that's always nice. I suggested to Annie that we feed them. I made Thai romen soup with vegies and an egg for Emily, and Annie made a grilled cheese sandwich for Caleb. I fed the soup to both kids and myself. I should have fed some to Annie too, as in the hubbub she forgot to eat. I think she was thinking we'd go to County Cork for lunch.

Well we finally got the kids ready to head out. First we stopped at Sophie's, a lovely boutique on Fremont. They are having a big sale - 35% off everything. I bought a pair of socks. Next we started to go to County Cork, as Annie was hungry, but they didn't open until 3 on Wednesdays. So we headed for Starbucks, where we had an eventful time. Emily kept me very busy. She seems to be struggling a bit with life. I think she misses coming to her Nana's every day and getting just one on one attention. She gets a bit naughty, and then she snuggles up and is very still. At first she said she wanted to be a naughty girl, but later she changed her mind.

After she spilled her hot chocolate all over the floor and I got it cleaned up, we headed for Whole Foods so I could get come new vitamins. Annie and Caleb did there own thing, and eventually they headed out without us, so that Annie could get him to fall asleep. They headed for my house, and then Emily and I headed towards Annie's house, as my car was there. By the time I got there Emily was asleep. She only woke up momentarily as I lifted her into her car seat. She sure weighs more than she did when I stopped babysitting her in May.

When I got home I discovered that Riley was there. He had come home to fix the furnace. Fait accomplis! He's such a clever man. But that aside, I had him get Emily out of her seat and carry her upstairs and put her into the guest bed. All went well, but when Annie showed up a couple minutes later with sleeping Caleb and I told her to put him into the crib in the guest bedroom, he let out a big howl as he was laid down. That was certainly enough to wake Emily. Caleb could not be coaxed into taking a nap. He knew he was a Nana's house and that there were so many things he wanted to do. Emily, on the other hand, stayed laying on the bed while I laid there with her. She snuggled up and said to me "I love you so much". That was so nice to hear. She also said she didn't want to be a naughty girl.

It wasn't long before we got up. Caleb heard us up and came upstairs to be with us, with Annie hot on his tail of course. We all went into the sitting room, where lots of toys are kept. That's Annie's favorite place to be when watching children. When they were settled in, I left to go down and see what Riley was up to. He told me all about the thermostat and what he did. I then remembered that Annie was probably hungry, so I got out leftover curry and rice, fried the rice and headed the curry. Just as I had it plated up Annie and the kids came down, as Emily wanted to be where I was. We all sat at the table. Annie was so glad to have a highchair to put Caleb into, as she had to use his stroller at her house. Eventually we ended up in the living room, and soon Stephane and Parker arrived to pick up Emily. They stayed around for a while, and we finally gave Stephane one of his Christmas presents - duck comfit. He seemed to like it very much. Now we have just one more present for Stephane, and one more for Parker, and one more for Caleb, and ... one more for Heidi. We do stretch Christmas out a bit.

Soon after Stephane and Parker and reluctant Emily left (about 5:30), then Sarah arrived to get Caleb. She also stayed around for a while, and Riley showed her his silly videos and she almost fell off the couch for laughing. But she eventually needed to leave, as Zac was due to arrive home at a decent hour this evening. So Annie, Sarah, and Caleb all bundled up and headed out. I had had a lovely day with everyone, but it was good to have some quiet also. Riley gave me a foot rub while we watched and episode of "House Hunters International", about a couple with children and grandchildren buying a house in the countryside in Portugal. I have to say that that was the first time I watched an episode and thought I could like to live there. They got and absolutely fabulous family home in the countryside about 30 minutes outside of Lisbon for about $465,000. Six bedrooms, two or three terraces, a library, a swimming pool, etc... I think at least I want to visit Portugal.

Then we went out for dinner, eating at Pasta Pastini. That's not the real name, but that's what we call it and we can never remember the real name. We got to sit in a booth (our favorite seating), and we had a wonderfully chatty waitress, and we played gin rummy and for the first time ever Riley absolutely creamed me, and we each loved our food. Riley said he now has a new favorite dish. I thought I don't remember him having an old favorite, so I asked what it was. He then said he didn't have one. I had brushetta classica, which I love. Toasted Italian bread with an eggplant spread and an Italian tomato salsa with balsamic vinegar. Yum!

Back home we watched Jeopardy, then turned off the tv and dinked for a while. I worked on my Dad's sweater and read an old knitting book I love. Then we headed upstairs to get into bed and do a crossword puzzle. Then I read my Bible for a while and went to sleep. It was a lovely normal day, and I never felt tired or anything.

"There are two ways to live your life -

one is as though nothing is a miracle,

the other is as though everything is a miracle."

Albert Einstein