Just snipits of life--

Packages in the mail always produce squeals and jumping at our house. This is from my Mom- filled with clothing, books and other odds and ends. the packing material proved to be the most entertaining- This "bear food" was scattered all over the house-

These are the kids planting Christmas tree seeds. I hope they grow! My daughter sitting in my childhood rocking chair wearing my ballet slippers-

As with many other people, our recent focus has been on $$, the lack of it, and how in the world we are going to get more with the holidays coming. In that, God continues to be faithful to provide. I have started teaching piano to a girl at our church. Her mom asked me if I would be interested after she heard that I had once played. I told her that I could NOT sit down and play her anything right now, and that it has been over 10 years since I really played. The girl has had only a few months of piano classes, and I am confident that I can advance her knowledge and skill, despite how long it has been since I played. I am also doing some fill-in babysitting for a friend while she is on vacation for the next two weeks, which will provide a decent chunk to put into the fund. Plus, look at the baby I get to watch- She happy and easy to take care of-

I tried to taper off the anti-depressant that I started taking after Thomas was born. It did not go well, so I am back to the full dose. I don't want to have to take it, but I do NOT like how I feel and how short my fuse is without it. Sometimes I think I should have never started taking it, but how long would life have been miserable then? I really was miserable. So, I'll keep taking it, and maybe try to ease off again later.

Chad is taking a photo shop class right now. His work is paying for it- we are excited about knowing the program, and applying it to some of my pictures.

The days have been wet and dark lately. The hills are still brown. I wake up each morning expecting snow. It is really cloudy today, and it snowed very lightly earlier today, so maybe tonight is the night. On Saturday a lady from our church offered to watch our kids so we could go on a date! We went to the bigger city 1.5 hrs. away. We bought a bunch of stuff to winterize the house and then had dinner at Chili's. Chad bought three of these heaters, to put in each bedroom, because we are using the fireplace for heat instead of the furnace so the bedrooms have been really cool. They produce a really nice warmth, and don't dry out the air as much as the furnace does. Chad talked to the landlord about insulating the attic and crawl space, and she gave him the go-ahead, so he met with a guy today. It will be interesting to see how much of a difference all these changes make in the heating bills this winter.

Our cats slept like this all day yesterday. they usually do not snuggle. We have been letting them stay in at night. They sleep quietly and still at the foot of our bed. I like that they create heat for my feet! So-that's all I've got for ya-nothing special, creative or exciting, just a bit of life!