time flies

Wow- almost two month since my last post- its amazing what can happen in an instant and how fast time can pass you by.

Our home computer decided to die on us Halloween night (well actually- it was murdered- by Kevin - trying to fix something else on it LOL - I tried to tell him he's NOT a computer guy and that I think made him try even harder to fix it- which failed miserably!) So we have been on and off with computer access for the last two months - sharing my moms laptop (thanks mom!) and crashing peoples homes to use their computers - we finally have one that is kinda working - but I have an inkling its not going to be able to do all I need it to do ;)

Have you ever had a phone call that took your breath away and made your head spin? Our family got that call in the begining of November- from my brother. He was at work (2 hours from home) and he got a call from his wife that she had just come home to see that their home had burned down- completly to the ground - nothing left at all! After the shock of that they were now without anything but the clothes they had on and relieved they had all been out of the house for the day (they also have 4 kids)- we became extra thankfull a few days later when we learned that not only was it burned down- but it wasnt just a typical house fire- there had been an explosion- an explosion that was heard for miles around - an explosion that had anyone been home, well..... lets just say I said an extra prayer thanking Jehovah that they were all out of the house.

Sometimes it takes a tragedy to realize what we have- even in the little things - things like cleaning supplies, cereal or a toothbrush. We use them everyday without thinking, we throw them in the trash without a second thought, but what would it take for you to replace it all? You soon realize it takes an outpouring of love and compassion- from family and friends - even long lost and unknown - and its that outpouring that takes your breath away- only in a good way - it makes you see that there is good left in this world and that Jehovah will always care for his flock by any means possible. In the end - a tragedy can strengthen your faith, your love, and also your courage- because it takes a lot of courage to stay strong and move forward from something like that!

In our own house- we have been busy. We had friends out to visit from NY (who should be moving out here very soon *hint hint*) and loved seeing them again. Myles and Molly have been on the fast track for growing (Myles has grown over an in in the last few months, and Molly has grown almost 2 inches in the same amoutn of time!) and they have been learning new things ar alarming rates (I say alarming because if they keep it up- they will be smarter then me in just a couple years- if not sooner LOL). Molly wowed us by suddenly coutning in spanish (thanks Dora!) and Myles has become quite good at reading and writing his letters and numbers (thanks Super Why) - if you spell something out for him- he can write it - and he can figure out how to spell a lot more small words by sounding them out on his own! He will be 5 in just a couple weeks (in which I am in shock over - I will have a FIVE YEAR OLD- ack!!!) and I am debating putting him in early kindergarden or waiting it out till next September- he is really wanting to start school - but Im not yet ready to let him go.

When I lasted posted- I was wanting to basically gut our house and start over- get totally organized. Well, Im still working on it (though Kevin Im sure thinks it will never be done) but we did get all the bedrooms swapped around. The kids had been sharing the master bed room and they were really needing their own space- Myles needed somewhere he could go and play quietly without being bothered, and Molly needed to learn to sleep on her own - which meant possibly crying it out. So I made the choice to give up my office (so sad) and let Molly move into there and Myles took the other small bedroom (where Kevin and I had been for the last year) and we took the master bedroom back. The final things are still being shifted around and I cant wait to decorate the kids rooms, but I think this will be a very good change (Im still trying to convince Kevin it will be worth all the work and chaos). Its causing us to downsize stuff we dont need and rethink how we use things (A nightstand is currently being used as my printer stand with the office stuff stored in the drawers!). I am excited about it and hope it will be done within the next couple weeks!

So since moving into her own room- Molly has been learning to sleep in hew own bed and has been sleeping in there longer and longer every night! It will be SO nice to finally have my bed back to just me and Kevin- its amazing how much room a 2 yo can take up! Something that I thnk has helped learn to start sleeping longer at night on her own is I at long last got her weaned from nursing. Yes - I let her nurse for over 2 years - but I am glad I did, she loved it, and for the most part - I loved it too. I never in a million years expected her to nurse for such a long time, but she is stubborn and determined and she just did not want to give it up. It was a good run- but I am glad to be done now.

We are now looking forward to my sister coming to visit for the week- so I am sure that in addition to all our regular stuff that keeps us busy- we will have a lot of added activities that will keep us occupied. But hopefully- I will be able to post again soon and not take 2 months to get back on here!

Hope everyone is having an enjoyable winter