Happy Thanksgiving From the Workman Five!

*Thanksgiving Desert Style*

*What a lovely dinner*

*MMMM. This looks good! *

*Fine China*

*Happy Thanksgiving From The Workman Five*

We had a great day today. The Thanksgiving dinner I prepared was lovely. We even ate off the fine China. Mae helped me set the table and get everything ready. Rusty and I are stuffed. Notice how I didn't include the kid's here. Thanksgiving food isn't their favorite. Oh well. We all had a good time and are so so thankful for all of our many many blessings.

Happy Thanksgving Ya'll!

New Traditions!

I've been cooking all day so far. I've made the asparagus casserole, the sweet potato casserole and most of the dressing. I've cooked my hen. She's ready to go. I'm on my way. I'll be pretty much finished up tonight. Corn pudding...finish the dressing.... then wait until tomorrow to do the green beans and heat everything up. Oh, and the rolls. I can't forget to do them. Thanks to Sister Schubert we will be having some nice homemade tasting rolls.

This is the first Thanksgiving the Workman Five will be without the extended family. How weird, a little sad, and a HUGE job! We are looking forward to just being with our little family, though. This is actually the second time I've spent Thanksgiving away. I was in England one year. Now, that was weird! Weird and sad because no one was celebrating. My students bought me a bottle of wine and a pecan danish (the only thing they could find with pecans---my favorite Thanksgiving treat) This was all so thoughtful, but I missed home. This year being "alone" for Thanksgiving won't really be "alone". I have my little family.

We are going to have a blast. I may even make everyone dress up. We may even eat at the dining room table. We may even break out the fine china. Come to think of it.... I've never actually eaten off of it.

What a time to start!

It's Beginning To Look Alot Like Crazy!!

All of you who know me know how crazy this time of year is for me. With three people in my little family of five having birthdays in December plus Christmas plus Thanksgiving makes me a crazy person. I vow every year to try and scale down, to not get stressed out, and to just relax and enjoy the holidays.

Well... I'm not off to a good start. Every year at this time something happens to my brain. Call it information overload or whatever you want, but I seem to get overwhelmed to the point of forgetting things and becoming all panicky. Everything always, always works out. I just need to learn to relax.

This year we are having Thanksgiving on our own. Simple? Right? Well... Not really. Having Thanksgiving on our own means I (little Ol' me) has to cook the ENTIRE dinner on my OWN! Not only do I have to prepare all this food, but my little family doesn't even like half of the traditional Thanksgiving fare. Oh Well....too bad! I'm cooking it anyway. It just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it. I guess I'll just have tons of delicious leftovers to feast on till, till....well, Christmas I guess!

Then there's the birthdays. John Russel, Mae, and Rusty are all a week apart. The two children each wanted their own parties this year. I was going to oblige, much to my dismay, but, thank goodness that the park we are going to have the parties in is totally booked the first weekend so too bad! One party it is. (Thank the Good Lord) We will have the kids' party on the 13th! (Choir sings)

We are also flying back to the south on Christmas day. I'm stewing over luggage and packing gifts and buying gifts that will fit in a suitcase. I'm also concerned about flying with three young children and all the gear that this entails, and worrying about layovers, and ears hurting, and..... I could go on, but I'll spare you my craziness!

We will make it. I will survive. Please pray that I hold it together and realize the real reason for this wonderful time of the year. I can't wait to see all my family. I can't wait to see all my friends. I can't wait to eat food that I don't have to cook. I can't wait to have a free BABY SITTER! I could go on and on.

The season is here. I meeting it heads on. Crazy or not, here I come!!!

Volunteering

I just got home from volunteering in Mae's class. They had a Fun Fall Day. Her class and three others took turns going from class to class to do fun Fall Projects. I helped in her classroom making fall wreaths. Will came also. He just played around the classroom very well. It was so fun. It reminded me of my teaching days. I enjoyed conversing with the other teachers. I enjoyed helping the children with their craft. I enjoyed seeing all the finished products. I enjoyed seeing all of their sweet happy faces.

You want to know what I enjoyed the most?

--Being able to come home with the realization that I don't have to go back tomorrow!

I loved being a teacher, but boy does it wear you out!!

Curse Words!

Will has a new curse word. I can't stand it. At first we tried to ignore it, but unfortunately that didn't make it go away. It's actually two words together. He says it when he gets mad. He says it around his brother and sister and their friends to be funny. He says it randomly to make me crazy. I think he learned it from a friend of the older kids, or it could have been anywhere actually. See.....some people don't think it's a bad word. Rusty and I constantly tell him, "We don't say that!" We try and be as serious and stern as we can. This is usually very ineffective because whoever is around us is falling out in laughter.

What is this horrible word....or set of words? I'll tell you, but you cannot repeat it. OK?

Baby Butt!

Now go wash your mouth out!

The Light

Last night I was watching my new favorite show, The Unit. It's this crazy military show about these guys who are special agents of some sort and their families that are having to live in the witness protection program. Anyway....last night's episode was a continuation of last week. One of the special agent's daughters was kidnapped. She is in the military as well. The show basically consisted of the agents rescuing this young woman. The mother of the young woman wanted to help, but couldn't because it could blow her cover. So, they sent this scientist woman to talk to her. She explained that some family members have this special bond that extends the physical realm. She compared it to the theory that some twins can actually feel each other's pain. So she asked the mom to go back through her memories of her daughter and find a time when they really connected, good or bad. She thought back to this time when the girl was young and the car broke down with just the mother and the little girl. They were in a bad neighborhood and a guy was trying to break the back window of the car. The Mom told the little girl that she was going to get out and talk to the man, then they were going to walk to the phone booth just down the street to call Daddy. She then told the little girl to lock the door and not to open it for anyone but her. The Mom then went to the back of the car, gave the man her purse and wedding ring, and then matter-of-factly told the man they were going to walk to the pay phone. The Mom then went to get the little girl out of the car and they both slowly walked to the pay phone. The Mom was confidently reminding her daughter that everything was going to be all right, just walk slowly to the light (of the phone booth), and to not look back. The young woman was rescued by her father and the agents and then the Mother got word immediately. She thanked the scientist woman and said she didn't know if it actually helped her daughter, but it helped her get her mind off the present situation. When the Mom was reunited with the daughter, the young woman said, "Mom I remembered what you always told me. I stayed strong and walked toward the light."

This crazy TV show reminded me of a time when I had to be super strong for my daughter when I didn't want to. I wanted someone else to take over and make things better, but only I could do it. Thank goodness with God's strength I was able to do it. When Mae was a baby my mother and I had to take her to see a doctor in another state. In order to get there in time we had to leave very early. It was still dark out and unbelievably foggy. The fog got thicker and denser the further we drove. I could not see a thing. We couldn't pull the car off the road because someone else could come along and hit us. I got so scared. All I wanted to do was curl up and let someone else take charge. Then we saw it. It was a faint small light. It was the tail light of an 18 wheeler up ahead. Mother and I prayed and followed that light. Those two tiny red tail lights were the only things we could see. God had given me the strength to go on by giving me a light to follow. The situation reminded me of all that I had to go through to get her help. I felt I had to be strong for her and to do anything in the world for her. I have told her this story and will again many times. I hope that she will remember it when she has to be strong for her own children one day.

Now, of course, I don't believe in these crazy powers, but I do believe that we give gifts to our children in our parenting and in our everyday life. God offers little miracles every day and if we share them they continue to give us and the ones we love around us the strength we need in those times when all we have to follow is a little light.

You've Got to Have Friends

I love friends. I like meeting new people and finding things in common with them. Living here in the Southwest is VERY different than the Southeast (as I've explained many times before) so, making new friends has been different. I wouldn't say difficult...just different. We met our neighbors the day we moved in. They had just moved in the week before. That was easy and fun. Carrie, my neighbor, has become my dear friend. Having someone you can count on right next door is priceless. I've also made some new friends through PTO and volunteering at John Russel and Mae's school. These moms and I have an instant bond. Our children. I've met people at our community club house. These are my "work out friends". These people I usually just say "Hi" to, but I see them almost daily and sometimes at random places like the grocery store or the park. There's this one little old man that is so sweet and always speaks to me and Will. We saw him at Wal-Mart (I know I go there WAY too much) and I think we made his day. So cute and sweet.


Then there's my old friends. These are the friends that I've known awhile. Some I think I've known since birth and no matter how long it's been we can pick right back up. I have so many friends that I can count on for just about anything. I love catching up with them and chatting on the phone. I also love to see what they've been up to thanks to Facebook! These friends are absolutely priceless. I love them all so much. Most of these friends are in the Southeast, and I can't wait to see most of them this Christmas.

Then there's my family. I'm so close to my sister,Selle and my sister-in-law, Nanci. I talk to these wonderful ladies all the time (by phone of course). I don't think I could get through the day without hearing from one of them. I have such unique relationships with so many of my family members, and I not only love them because they're my family. I love the friendships we share.

God has blessed me in so so many ways. I am so thankful that He has surrounded me with so many wonderful people to share my life with. No matter how small, each one has added something special to my life.

If you're reading this, I want to thank you for being my friend!

You're A Grand Old Flag!

Today the Sahuarita Primary Kindergarten classes had a program for veterans. They only sang a few songs. The Sahuarita High School Drum line came and played as well. The color guard displayed the flags. It was a very short and very sweet little program. I loved it.

I don't know why...call it being a mother...but I cry every time I hear my children sing. I always do it, and I always feel so embarassed. Here I am sitting on wooden bleachers boo hooing to "The Grand Old Flag".

Oh well....I'm sure I wasn't the only one sitting in those bleachers shedding a tear.

Happy Veteran's Day!!

Our New Baby

We have a new baby in the house. I know, I know. You thought this impossible, right? Well....Will has adopted (borrowed) a baby from next door. He sucks a pacifier (just like he does) AND he sings! He LOVES, loves, loves his new baby. He makes me wrap him up just like an infant from the hospital.

What's his name? Oh! How could I forget this most important bit of info.

Why....It's Baby Elmo.

Of course!

I Voted!

Today is election day, as you all know. Rusty went to vote this morning before work. An hour and 45 minutes later he was able to vote. I went to work out at our clubhouse and remembered it was a voting sight. That was fun working out with a line of people watching me run/walk/sweat to death on the treadmill. (I'm sure when these people recall this year's election they will think of a sweating woman trying to kill herself on the treadmill) My neighbor Carrie and I took turns watching the children so we could go vote in peace. We voted at a different location also in our neighborhood. The line went pretty fast, but voting actually took a while due to the length and type of ballot. It was a paper ballot that you filled in the little circles. (like those bubble in tests we used to take) The ballot was also two sided and contained some rather interesting propositions that took some reading. Needless to say, voting this year was rather intense for me. When Carrie went to cast her vote a kid pulled the fire alarm--twice. See....It's a good thing we didn't take our kids!



We'll see soon how it all turns out. Now, I'm off to Starbucks for my free coffee. (Did you know that you can get a fee cup with your I voted sticker?)

Halloween Happies

Trick or Treat!!

Donuts for Dads!!

Halloween Fun at the Grocery Store. (I know...but they had all kinds of fun and games.)

Here are a few pics from our Halloween adventures. Now it's on to Thanksgiving and BIRTHDAY SEASON!!!! If you didn't know John Russel, Mae and Rusty all have birthdays in December that are all a week a part. This year I'm going to tackle separate birthday parties for the big kids! Yikes!!!!