Volunteering

Last year I got this cute card that said, "Stop Me Before I Volunteer Again!"

I didn't quite "get" this until recently. Volunteering is a passion of mine. I love to work with different people in the community. Over the years I've really enjoyed involving myself in different organizations I care about. I particularly love getting to work side by side with other volunteers. This fall I went a little overboard when four, yes four, of my volunteer projects overlapped. I am so thankful for a husband that is supportive and an easygoing family. I was demanding a lot out of myself, but they were not. They were a constant support to me. My children were blessed with good health through the craziness and I am so thankful for that. I have been struggling with a pinched nerve and osteoarthritis since the diagnosis in September, so having my children healthy has been a real blessing. Also, the people that came along, other volunteers, to help carry my load, I can't thank enough. There are some really amazing people out there! A few just seem to always be there when you need them.

So, I will never "stop" volunteering, but I hope I learn to "yield" more in '09!

Kitchen Face lift

You can't really call it a "remodel" but we did give our kitchen a bit of a face lift. Unfortunately, our dishwasher died on us over the summer and we replaced it with a stainless steel model. Honestly, I was a bit bothered, because we had white appliances and a bisque refrigerator. However, I felt we would eventually convert things over to the updated look of stainless steel. Then our refrigerator started acting up and finally broke down and we were told by the repairman to get a new fridge. He couldn't fix it. So, we ended up with a new stainless steel fridge and that called for a fresh coat of paint. Eventually we will get window coverings, but haven't figured out what we want yet. I really wish our refrigerator hadn't broken, because I loved my old one, but it was fun to get a more unified look in the kitchen.

Halloween!

This year the WHOLE family wore costumes. Steve only occasionally wants to get a costume and this year, he was in the mood. He came home one day and said, "I want to be Shrek for Halloween." I figured he'd get over that. Then he said it another day, so I figured he was serious. I asked him (innocently), "who is going to be your Princess Fiona? Ashley?" He responded, "I was kinda thinking you could be Fiona." Well, it was a lot of fun, we turned some heads, and got a lot of laughs. I was glad I could be the ogre version--much less stress!

Ashley came up with her own costume as "Little Miss Muffet." She looked great! Alyssa was perfectly happy reusing her hippie outfit with a few embellishments. Arianna was Lucy from Chronicles of Narnia. DJ was Captain America! We tried hard to convince him to try a different costume. Alyssa proclaimed it as "hideous," but in the end he had his heart on that one (one size too small--the only one in the store) and I let him have it. After all, this is for the kids people!