Reminiscing......

After a quick run to Publix to pick up some black-eyed peas and other munchies for tomorrow....I started to look back on 2008. It occurred to me that I am looking forward to the new year more than usual this year. 2008 hasn't been a great year. It hasn't been terrible...Tim still has his job, we are all healthy, etc. But it hasn't been great....it's definitely been a struggle at times. The best things about '08 are that we have all been healthy, and meeting our new friends - Famille Thomas from France. That was certainly a highlight and we feel blessed to have become friends with them. We look forward to many more years of exchanges wih our children and our families. Paige's dancing really progressed a lot this year, so that is a good thing as well. Both kids are good, polite, sweet kids...even with our challenges with Clay! Clay will say that getting his braces off in '08 was a highlight! All in all, we are lucky. So....onward to 2009. Tim and I will celebrate our 19th anniversary in February and Clay will start high school (yikes!!) in the fall. Hopefully it will be a good year. We wish all of our friends and family a happy, healthy and prosperous year!,

Whew!

Today has been a busy day....first of all, I am (finally) writing this on MY laptop - which has been out of commission for a while due to a virus. I knew I had a virus, but just didn't have the time or the money to deal with it...so just wasn't using it. Finally had our computer guru out to fix it today. If any of you are also dealing with viruses...apparently the new one going around for the past couple of months hitchhikes in on java updates - and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.

Today was Paige's appointment with the scoliosis specialist at Nemours. The bad news is that her curvature is a bit worse than we originally thought - about 25 degrees, and she will have to wear a brace. The good news is that (for now) she will only need to wear it at night. She will need to go in and have x-rays every 4-6 months to follow the progression. The hope is that the brace will help prevent any further curvature while she is still growing (probably another 1 1/2 to 2 years). Also, she can still do ballet - which was a huge concern to her! So now we wait to hear about an appointment to have her fitted for the brace, then we wait for it to be made...she will probably be wearing it in another couple of months.

So those were the big things today - my laptop and the doctor visit. Tim left for work this morning and will be back late on the 1st...so I will have the Hoppin' John waiting for him! He is terribly superstitious about what he calls my "southern voodoo"!! We fnished our Lord of the Rings marathon last night and now I feel bereft! I am already missing my LOTR fix! I am defnitely gonna have to get those books back out and re-read them.....

The Two Towers was fabulous - can't wait to see the final part of the trilogy tonight. Legolas is still my favorite character....I can't believe I've never seen these before!

So yesterday I swept up the pine needles, vacuumed...and then went and read a book! I'm so bad! But really, what's the point while my kids are still home from school? I figure I'll get everything spic and span then....it's not like the mess is going anywhere....

My whole bookworm family has been lying around reading since Christmas - hard to resist a good book when everyone else is reading too! I think I may go back and re-read The Lord of the Rings (AGAIN!!).........

Yesterday was spent packing some of the Christmas stuff away - Tim has to go to work in a couple of days so we need to get it done. The house always looks so large and empty when everything is packed away! Naturally, there are now pine needles and dust everywhere so today I am planning on getting some cleaning done.

Last night we watched The Fellowship of the Ring. Although I have read the books several times...somehow, I never saw the movies. Tonight we will watch the second one, and tomorrow night, the third. What fun! I'm glad I didn't see them when they came out...and then had to wait a year for the next one. This is much more satisfying...and, can I just say...I love Legolas! Definitely my favorite character.

Tomorrow, Paige has another rehearsal for her Grand Prix variation and after I drop her off I am planning on heading out to Sephora to use my gift card, then some grocery shopping, and more cleaning! Tuesday is Paige's appointment with the scoliolis doctor at Nemours - I am anxious to hear what he has to say.

Well, enough procrastinating! I'm off to vaccum, dust, sweep, mop and do a bit more packing!

Clay and Paige Speak Again.....

PAIGE: Christmas was awesome! I got a Vera Bradley backpack-y thing, and a bunch of Vera Bradley notebooks and stuff, and a really cool calendar. And a bunch of other really cool stuff. Like new pointe shoes with expedited shipping! Ha ha. But now I have a cold....and I don't feel good. Poor Paigie. I got a bunch of books for Christmas too and they are really good....so I am going to go get back in bed and read them!

CLAY: Christmas was good. I got a stereo and lots of good books. I can't wait for my French friend's package to arrive. My sister is getting sick. My dad got my mom an ipod, and Paige and I got her an i-tunes gift certificate. I also got a "clocky" which is an alarm clock with wheels. You can hit snooze one time and then the clock rolls all around beeping until you get up and turn it off. Oh joy. We have had lots of friends visit and it was fun to see everyone. Oh yeah, my braces are off now. My teeth feel slimy! For Christmas, my uncle and his fiancee came over for Christmas dinner. We ate a lot, but still have a lot left over. My mother is an awesome cook!

I'll write again NEXT YEAR!