I've been operating under the assumption that you instinctively know about what's going on in our lives, but comments from some of you have led me to believe you are not, in fact, aware of the haps at our house. Strange! I thought you were supposed to read minds, and it appears as if you are not equipped with that ability. So, sorry. Maybe after the next full eclipse you will inherit the superpower of omniscience. Until then, I will try to keep updating you.
First,the most oft-asked question: is Abe back to work? Yes, he is. As a matter of fact, it was the shortest layoff ever. For two weeks, he suspected layoffs were imminent, and only worked three days a week. On the Friday of the second week, he was officially pink-slipped. We feared the worst. Abe is a good worker, though, and I knew that if anyone had an opening, he'd be snapped up in a jiffy. He was--by Wednesday. That made for a total of six days without work. Right now, he's working for his former company on a new nursing home being built approximately 4 minutes from our home. Please forgive me--seriously--for not updating you about this. I know many of you have been praying, and I didn't mean to leave you hanging.
Second, I'm having arthroscopic knee surgery tomorrow. I'm not sure at this point what I've shared and what I haven't, but for those of you who don't know, I tore my ACL (and a whole bunch of other stuff) playing volleyball in January. I put off going to the doctor because I was pretty sure they'd tell me to suck it up and heal, but after being pestered by a whole lot of well-meaning mothers in my choir, I went. After a month of physical therapy and an MRI, the doctors that be determined knee surgery was essential. The strange thing is that I've been getting around just fine lately; apparently, the ACL is not necessary for walking. But if ever I wanted to play sports again (I do) or chase my kids again (sounds nice), surgery was the only option. So tomorrow at 2:30, I'm going under in an outpatient procedure to repair my meniscuses (menisci?) and graft in a new ACL. Hopefully, I will be as good as new before all of the summer fun.
Why are all of those pictures in a bunch? I don't know. That last one is the tile in our entry way. Abe just completed that tile and the tile in our laundry room and the main floor bath. The paint in the addition is almost completed, and the next task will be his installation of hardwood flooring. Our addition is nearly complete. (It has only been TWO YEARS.)
We got a new camera--a digital SLR. It's a Nikon D40, and I couldn't be more excited. A friend of ours, Jim, was upgrading and sold us his still-relatively-new camera for a song. I will be taking my sister-in-law's senior pictures (and those of a friend of hers) this summer, so I'm trying to do a lot of practicing; unfortunately, I've been quite busy lately, so I haven't been able to play with it as much as I'd like. I feel much cooler now that I have a "real" camera, even if I'm still a very amateur photographer.
Anyway, on to the kids:
Charis...
...has been accepted to the Charter Academy we were hoping to send her to. Applications exceeded available spots, so the school held a lottery to determine who would be allowed entrance, and she made it! I am so excited about this school. It is not a Christian school--which we'd love, but cannot afford--but the principal is a believer and has made it her mission to create as "Christian" of a school as she can within the confines of the law. We know several families whose children attend school there, and they've all been overwhelmingly pleased. Because Charis made it in, this guarantees admission for Judah and Ruby, should we still be there when they are school age. Charis will go for testing near the end of April, so we've been really working hard on letters and numbers and such. With her June birthdate, she would be eligible for the Young 5s program if testing proves she's not academically or socially or emotionally ready, but I don't honestly see that happening. She's as smart as a tack, and as social as anyone I've ever met.
I recently taught her our address to the tune of "Skip to my Lou," and now she will never forget it. In fact, when I ask her what our address is, she always sings it back to me.
Judah...
...had a birthday! I've been so frantic trying to get some cleaning projects and whatnot done before my surgery that I haven't had time to construct his birthday post, but that is not a reflection on how much we love him, and how grown up he is getting. We celebrated with Abe's family the Sunday before his actual day, and had our own pizza party on his actual birthday. Judah received lots of "Cars" items (his latest favorite thing), and some sporting equipment. So far, he has played basketball with Daddy and tee ball with Mommy and Charis, but he hasn't had a chance to test out his (REAL) golf clubs. I never knew they made golf clubs that small! He also received some wiffle golf balls and some tees (which he calls "golf nails").
He still wears a diaper for naps and bedtime, but other than that, he is undie-clad. His favorite undies are "Cars"-themed undies. The only problem is that the picture is on the back, so he prefers wearing them backward. I figure that as long as he makes it to the bathroom in time, it's not really important how he wears them.
Lately, when Judah wakes up in the morning, he comes down to our bedroom and hops in bed with me for a good cuddle. I'm not kidding--it's a pretty great way to start the day hearing your 3 year-old say first thing, "I LOVE you, Mama."
Ruby
What can I say about Ruby? I already told you she's crawling. She is getting pretty speedy at it, as a matter of fact. She has also started trying to pull herself up on chairs and coffee tables and such. She doesn't quite make it--she gets stuck on her haunches--but she's still trying!
She still has no teeth. What's up with that? Ruby's lack of teeth have little effect on her appetite--it is not uncommon for her to eat a cup of food at a sitting. Where does it all go, I wonder?
Her eyes have stalled in their color-changing process; I'm not entirely sure what color to call her eyes now. Hazel? Greyish brown? Herman?
WHEW. I think that about covers it. Now you're all caught up. You know, I get frustrated when my friends don't update their blogs very often; I never thought I might be causing the same frustration to some of you. I will try to post more often, friends! (Unless that superhuman knowledge thing works out for you after the eclipse. You let me know.)
