Short Update ...

Not much has changed ... we still have one Christmas to go, the one with our best friends.   All three of the family gift exchanges has happened as of Saturday night.


The weather has been COLD.  Normally at this time of year, we are still getting our fair share of days with temps above 60, but not this year.  This year we've had more than our fair share of nights below freezing and days that don't top 50.  Not fun when you don't have many "winter" clothes or coats and your home is on the drafty side.   Most winters, we don't really need much in the way of coats and winter clothes - as it is rarely super cold for more than 4 or 5 days in a stretch, and our deep cold is rarely more than 4 - 6 weeks of January and February with a smattering of really cold wet days for up to 6 weeks before and after that chunk of time.

We have a water leak - and its been there for 3 weeks - most of which has been far too cold for anyone to climb under the trailer and find and fix it.  I know approximately where it is ... I can see the puddle "moving" and I can hear the trickle of water.  I guess on the flip side ... maybe it's helped keep the lines from freezing farther.   I just hope we remembered where all the water pipes were that needed covered - I know we didn't unwrap most of them this spring/summer - so I hope they are still covered.

We do need the cold - the bugs were getting REALLY bad.


So far, we've had a pretty good Christmas.

Kendra bought her first wish herself, and then got Wish 2 and Wish 3 granted.
http://weshallmountupwithwings.blogspot.com/2013/11/kendras-dear-santa-christmas-wish-list.html
But she now wishes she had put the computer laptop bed desk closer to the top of her list.    Maybe for her birthday in 5 weeks?


Vannan got lots of make-up, which was her first wish ... and warm socks, her 3rd wish.  http://weshallmountupwithwings.blogspot.com/2013/11/vannans-dear-santa-christmas-wish-list.html
She's still wishing for horse shirts and learning materials.
She is hoping to go job hunting again shortly - but has really been fighting asthma with the cold.  I think she needs her own humidifier, because I'm really missing mine since she has borrowed it.  ;-)


Joel got the #4 umbrella and #5 water bottle that he wanted from his list ... and $60 toward the Android Tablet.  He needs at least $40 - $60 more ... depending on which model he gets and to cover taxes.
http://weshallmountupwithwings.blogspot.com/2013/11/joels-dear-santa-christmas-wish-list.html
He's still hoping for that Android Tablet.   And he's hoping Grandpa gets him a knife of his own soon... because Grandpa gives away lots of knives he says.


LaRue got her #2 wish ... a Boogie Board (and she LOVES it).   She was also pretty excited to get a special case for her Innotab and her own Big Girl Water Bottle.
http://weshallmountupwithwings.blogspot.com/2013/11/larues-dear-santa-wish-list.html
She's still hunting for that Twin Size Super Soft Pink Blanket, the Strawberry Shortcake horse Honey Pie, and the ragdoll with a warmable tummy to keep her warm at night.   But she's got a LONG wait to her birthday.  I'm sure she'll have many new ideas once she approaches 5.


For anyone who missed the Christmas Newsletter and the update on how the trial ended ..
http://weshallmountupwithwings.blogspot.com/2013/12/christmas-newsletter-and-updates.html
We have a small stack of Christmas cards that still needs to be mailed out ... once Kendra remembers where she stashed them, and I hope we get a box mailed to my sister this year, but I'm hoping to see if I can find the boxes with the last several years of Christmas gifts to add to the box first.  Sigh.


And if you missed all of the Thanksgiving pictures that I posted of the younger cousins, just go to the main home page of the blog http://weshallmountupwithwings.blogspot.com/
and start scrolling backwards.
I hope to get the rest of the Christmas Thank you posts up very soon.


We're going to delay starting back to school for one more week and MAYBE get rooms cleaned and Christmas stuff put back where it belongs.  But currently, 3 of us have colds and Vannan is fighting her asthma, coupled with the extreme cold and rain expected during the week ... we might not get a lot done.   Maybe we can at least get the school room back in order.


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone.   Many hugs and much love!