News!

So many things have been happening the past month and I just haven't had time to write any of it down.  I still don't have time! Haha! I figured I better take a quick five minutes to write a few highlights before I start forgetting. Here goes...

1) We had two songs come true for Christmas for our family. Joe had lost his two front teeth in previous months. Christmas week the two teeth were coming in strongly. We also got a hippopotamus for Christmas in the form of Baby Jim. His two front teeth came in the same time Joe's were coming. But unlike Joe, Jim has a big gap between his front teeth. His sisters have laughed and laughed about it. They say that when he smiles he gappy teeth make him look like a hippo. They are right! It is quite funny to see. The sight also makes my pocketbook happy. He's the first kid to have gappy teeth like his Mom...which translates into He will probably be the only kid out of five that won't need orthodontic work. ;)

2) My Sister Bee had her Baby! The Babe is 3 1/2 weeks early and weighs 9 lb, 7 oz. Yowser! I just laughed when my Mom told me. Not because I'm mean, but because Bee is carrying on the Big Early Baby tradition in our family. Haha! All of my Mom's babies were HUGE and we were all super-early.

3) I got a new church assignment for this year. I say assignment because the calling is the same. I'm a "Primary Worker". As such I spent 2009 in Nursery and 2010 teaching CTR 7. This year I am thrilled to be the Music Leader.  Hooray!!!  I have wanted to do this calling for YEARS! The desire was cemented when watching Nancy Face in action. She was truly the best Music Leader EVER!

4) I was accepted into NAU's Master of Education in Elementary Education program. Sheesh, what a mouthful! I begin the MEd program next week. I am ecstatic. I have felt so in limbo with my life. Hubby described it as "stagnating". He's right. I was in the Waiting Place for People Just Waiting. I am so happy to get out of that place and into something that will challenge me and help me grow.

5) We got stuck in a snow storm two miles south of Payson on the eve of New Year's Eve. It was crazy! We passed two semi's (one with wheels spinning) jack-knifed on the road. We were fortunate to get past them safely. I thought we could make it all the way to Payson before the storm hit. Our kids all wanted to spend New Year's in the snow. We knew that the roads from Payson to Strawberry were closed so the cabin, which was our original plan, was OUT. But we thought we could get to Payson and just spend the night there. WRONG! When the storm hit it was the perfect mixture of cold enough to snow and for the snow to stick, but also warm enough for the bottom snow to melt just a bit and then refreeze as ICE! Aargh!

At one point I lost control of the van. The wheels lost traction and we started fish-tailing. I got control back and kept plugging along because we were almost there! But after another mile my tires started spinning but wouldn't grip at all. Meanwhile some four-wheeler trucks were trying to pass me. All I could think was, "You Dummies! You'll be lucky if I don't smash into you."  At that point we just pulled over to the side of the road to wait for the snow plows. After thirty minutes there was a line behind us as far down the road as I could see.

Thanks to a Cute Young Guy in one of the crazy four-wheel trucks, we were able to get back on the road. The guy stopped to help another motorist behind us. They couldn't be helped. Then he moved on to us. He let a bit of air out of our back tires and told all the kids to get in the back seat to add weight. Our van is rear-wheel drive. He and Hubby then pushed us back onto the road. I thought Hubby would run around to the passenger door and jump in. Nope. Instead he hoisted himself onto our back bumper holding onto the luggage rack to keep himself there. He figured his weight in the back would help more than the weight of all those skinny little kids we have. He was right. What he hadn't figured on was the icy wind blasting him and freezing his knuckles in place. Poor guy. He was a trooper (or maybe just scared for his life) and held on tight the whole time. While traveling those last two miles I saw a snowplow going the opposite direction. I pulled in at the Casino, which is the first traffic light in town. Hubby jumped into the van (he could barely get his door open) and we decided that we were NOT going to spend the night in Payson. We slowly hightailed it after the snowplow and were able to get back to Mesa safely. What an adventure!!!

We were sure grateful to the Cute Young Guy. His idea to let air out of the back tires was genius. After that guy got us on the road, he jumped back into his big truck, passed us, then PURPOSELY put himself into a skid...TWICE! What a goofy young guy. :)

And that is the end of my time.