Thankful Thursday

I'm really thankful that Ted and Victoria made it home safe and sound from Seattle around 8:45pm last night, that the audit at work is going well, and that we had a fairly trouble free time back at the "ranch".

It has been a busy week so far.

After our great day out on Saturday, I awoke around 3am Sunday morning to the sounds of a loose dog running about downstairs. I decided I should probably go check it out . Suffice is to say, the carpet cleaner and I spent the next two and a half hours cleaning up the "messes" Lucy had made while we slept:( After church and a homemade taco lunch, Ted and Victoria left for Seattle and I can't remember for sure what all the rest of us did on Sunday afternoon. (Probably from sleep deprivation!) I do remember that Timothy fell off the back of the sofa in the loft and hit his head good on the wood floor at impact:( (It hurt him until the next day, which had me a little worried. But he seems to fine now.) In the evening, we decided to start a new puzzle I purchased after Christmas last year. It is a really cute one of about six labradors hanging in Christmas stockings. We set up in the loft so that we could watch some movies while we worked. We began on the border as we listened to Bambi and an episode of Little House on the Prairie. The puzzle is absolutely crazy! It is the weirdest puzzle we have ever seen! The border is not square or rectangle, it is a "shaped" border that doesn't have all interlocking pieces. Some of the pieces just "sit there" in between two other pieces, some are shaped so strangely, and some of the pieces are so tiny, you just wouldn't believe it. So I'll just have to show you pictures . . . .

On Monday, the kids did school and I worked alongside of them balancing three months of our finances. I had really let the check-book go, and I also had an American Express bill to reconcile with our receipts. I am ashamed to admit this whole process, with three different calculators, took me about three hours! Well, for some of this time, I was consumed with trying to log on to my B of A online account. It had been so long since I had signed on, that in the interim, they changed the ID system, so I had to go through quite a lengthy process . . . .first trying to figure it all out online, then finally having to speak with a B of A representative. Actually before I began this task, Timothy had requested a little trip to DeGoedes. He loves going there to see the Koi fish and to get a cookie (or two, or three!) I love it, too, so Timmy and I had a delightful little outing together. After that, Lydia and I started to cut out a denim tier skirt from some fabric we have had for a very long time. Thankfully, Valerie wanted to make a chicken, rice, and broccoli casserole for dinner, so I let her have at it! What a blessing! Then, more "puzzling" to the sounds of more Little House on the Prairie.

After a sleepless night, (insomnia for no particular reason), Tuesday morning I was on a mission to complete Lydia's skirt before leaving for piano and violin lessons. She really wanted to wear it! And with her help, we accomplished it! We left for lessons at 12:30, and after lessons went to Walmart to try to find the rest of the fabric we need to make the Bowes girls' Christmas skirts. I found two yards of it at Joann's on Saturday, but I need a total of about 6-7 yards. They did not have it:( Valerie wanted to make dinner again . . . yahoo . . . so she made homemade macaroni and cheese! Yum! Then, more puzzling!

Wednesday, I spent the morning calling around to try to find someone who has the fabric we need. I found three and a half more yards at a Walmart in Olympia. So, thankfully the nice Walmart associate said she would hold it for us. Ted was able to pick it up on his way home from Seattle! He also brought home my new, new camera. (Redundancy intended.) He was able to return my first new camera and purchase the same camera at their $30.00 off rebate price:) Now I'm even happier about my new camera!!! Then us girls spent some more time planting the rest of our bulbs. In the process, Lydia thought of a fun idea. She wanted to find a bulb that would represent each one of our family members. So she asked if we could go to DeGoedes and pick out a bulb for each of us. So off we went and when we got home, we put them safely in the ground. Daddy is a beautiful blue iris, I am a purple and white iris, the girls are all tulips in their colors (except Caroline, who will be white, since flowers aren't usually green:) and the boys are all the same small blue irises. Shhhhh . . . this will be a spring surprise for Ted. We only have a few more daffodils and tulips to plant now. I'll try to finish them up today.

While I did some weed eating around our new rock flower bed, and our big rock at the front of the driveway, and other rocky areas, Lydia and Valerie made several batches of frozen apple pie filling and a fresh apple pie for Daddy's return home. We were thankful for all the fresh apples that our piano teacher gave to us from her trees to do all of this. They are so juicy! And we still have some left, so we'll be making more apple-somethings today! Just before making egg Mc muffins for dinner, Timothy and I had fun flying a kite for awhile. It was the perfect conditions for it!

Well, better sign off for now and get our thankful Thursday underway! I have lots of grading to do today!