Of Good Report

So we had our annual pumpkin carving extravaganza last night.  I remember when we would purchase one large pumpkin to carve and maybe a small one for each child to decorate the porch with.  Destry or yours truly, more often than not, because he wasn't available would cut scoop and carve the jack-o-lantern face into the thick orange flesh.  I have never been a fan of slimy, smelly things and pumpkin guts are both, but I "took one for the team" each year.  Now we are up to five large pumpkins carefully selected by each individual carver/painter.  Taylor was ill when the rest of us went to select the pumpkins, so we were instructed to text pictures of possible choices to him for review.  Luckily for us, he liked the first one we chose for him!   After our traditional Monday night taco dinner was consumed and cleared from the kitchen we laid out old towels, carefully washed the pumpkins and located carving tools, seed and gut containers and paint supplies.  Both Estelle and

So today, as part of my usual Thursday morning routine, I volunteered at the school for Miss Eliason in Sarah's first grade class.  I was signing in in the office when the vice principal informed me that there would be a fire drill at 8:25 and that I would be required to leave the building with the students.  Okey dokey.  I went into the classroom and received my assignments for the day and decided that I needed to warn Regan Holdaway, my sweet four year old charge on Mondays and Thursdays, of the loud noise that would be blaring in about 20 minutes.  I dutifully went about my volunteering when the alarm sounded as promised.  A couple of children were startled, but no one was out of sorts.  Miss Eliason instructed the children to get their jackets; I forgot mine, darn, then to line up at the door.  There are only nine students on her "A track" roll so it was very easy.  We all filed out the front door with the other classes who are assigned to exit that door.  It probably

Tomorrow will be my oldest daughter's 11th birthday.  She is a middle child and oldest daughter.  I was so happy to meet her and to see that she really was a girl.  At the ultrasound her legs were crossed when the technician tried to show us so we couldn't see for ourselves, but she assured us that she really was a girl.  I didn't dare get my hopes up too high, knowing mistakes are made.  However, I bought plenty of pink outfits.  I am also pleased to report that she was by far my easiest delivery.  Taylor had come nearly three weeks early and I was hoping to get at least a week from her, but no such luck.  She came 2 1/2 hours before her due date. The waiting part wasn't easy. My labor started in the afternoon and I realized that a trip to Walmart was necessary before she came.  I prepared dinner and my hospital bag.  We had a meeting scheduled for a financial planner  at seven that evening.  Destry didn't make it home, so I tried to discretely count/time contrac

I began this blog one year ago this month.  This is my 31st post.  That puts me at exactly 2.4 posts per month.  Not a world's record, but a personal best.  Up from the zippo I had before.  I started it so that my children would have some record of their family's life.  I haven't been very good at journal keeping in the past.  I have been hit or miss at best.  What I hadn't anticipated was how much I have enjoyed writing and reading this blog.  I have reread my posts, some of them several times.  They have made me laugh, cry and reminisce about my life.  I like to write, so it should not have been such a surprise.  But for some reason or other I didn't realize how much I would benefit from it.  Maybe next year I will average a 3 or even 4 posts each month.  I have ideas and notable life events that I could write about, but we shall see.