I would love to know who the 1168 different individuals are who have
viewed my site.  I set up a per-distinct-user web counter, not a
per-hit counter.  So, unless I am very mistaken, many folks have
stopped by this snowy woods, and my little self doth think it queer
that I only can account for about sixty folk.  Then there are the
serendipitous, like Zach, who know me and wandered here by accident.

But, now on to the real issue I come to address in this post: do you
think my font is too small? I’d be glad to make it larger for better
read-ability, but I don’t want to make you feel as if you’ve stumbled
into the Large Print section of Xanga.  (Does anyone else put a
book back on the library shelf if it can only be had in large print?)

Tomorrow night is the big, annual New Year’s Eve bash.  The good
doctor is leading the prayer service at church before, so the
festivities won’t start until 8:15 or so.  Thankfully, I do appear
to be healed, so I’ll be able to play Trivial Pursuit until 4:00 A.M.
like last year.  Bring on the Boggle!

We finished listening to Inkspell
tonight. It was wonderful, but it had too much swearing. Next time,
I’ll have to read it aloud myself and edit judiciously as it turns out
that Inkspell is the second
book of a trilogy!  You should have seen the looks on Nathan and
James’ faces when the story just ended with all those loose ends. 
“You mean we have to listen to another fifteen hours?” And then, when I
said the third book wasn’t even written yet, the looks of disgust were
even more pronounced.

I’ll end with a favorite joke.

Two goldfish were in their tank. One turned to the other and said, “You man the guns and I’ll drive.”

I am sick, for those who are interested.  I slept 14 hours
yesterday and 14 hours the night before. But, today, I feel better for
the most part.  We’ll see how my healing progresses. I haven’t
even wanted to read!  Hopefully, I’ll be all healed for the big
New Year’s Eve party at our house.

Also, Rachel had her follow-up in Hershey yesterday. It seems the
surgery was mostly-successful, so on February 2, she’ll have “the cat
mask” again.  (She calls the surgery which uses anesthesia to
knock her out “the cat mask” because the anesthesia mask is a “cat
mask” to her.)  The doctor feels that after this round
of outpatient surgery, 100% of her reflux will be gone. 

We just watched the Clean Flicks version of Monty Python’s Holy Grail.
If you are ever feeling low, just invite Michael to sit on the couch
with you and watch this movie. He laughed hysterically through almost
all of it.  The introductory credits almost had him in tears of
uncontrolled laughter. 

Christmas was delightful this year.  I thought I’d show you everyone with a favorite gift.

Rachel received a REAL American Girl Doll from my mom, Grammy Peep, and
Papa John. She hasn’t yet decided what to name it and is debating
Courtney or Megan.  Many new doll outfits were also unwrapped.

Libby got the long-desired American Girl Doll horse. She purchased the
AG pony for Rachel, so we now have a full stable behind our living room
couch. 

Here’s Michael with his new electric motor scooter. David got one
for his October birthday, and Michael had wanted one ever since. 
December in PA isn’t the best time for an outside toy, of course!

Nathan got several wicked-looking knives and a saw. Here he is with the retractable deer-gutting knife I got him.

David got a Game Boy Advance from my Peep and Papa John.  We
occasionally hear him speak, but mostly it’s, “Oh, did you see that!”
directed to Michael, who is usually peering over his shoulder.

James poses with his new flip-phone from Tracfone. Now he won’t be so out of style lugging around his big, old cell phone.

Here I am with the pillow sham from my new bedroom comforter set. 
I’m so excited!  I’ll have a new look to the room. Plus, the set
is much nicer in person than it was in the catalog, a fact which just
tickles me!

James, that dear man, took Nathan and went on a Wal-Mart run for a milk, OJ, 
and Nyquil run. I would have gone, but I feel lousy. I need to rest up because
tomorrow Rachel and I head to Hershey Medical for her follow-up visit
from her surgery two months ago.  This visit will tell us whether
or not the surgery was successful and if she needs to continue her
maintenance antibiotics. Rachel is looking forward to the visit because
we hopefully will finally get to try out this new restaurant we’ve been
meaning to try on our last few visits down. It had been closed before
(family business on vacation!), but hope springs eternal.

The kids have worked hard today and seem to have all caught an
organizing and cleaning bug. Wish it were contagious and long-lasting!
Right now, they are having a break and are watching the Jim Carey Grinch movie. 

Thank you to all who sent Christmas cards, letters, pictures, and email
greetings. It was so fun to catch up, even if only a little bit.

Today was a lovely day which was not spoiled even though it included a flat tire and a 35 minute wait in a Sears Auto Repair center watching Country Music Television.  Every year for many years now, my mom and I go shopping for a whole day, usually on the 23rd of December. We didn’t have a single thing we needed to buy, but we enjoyed spending the time with one another, eating out, looking for good deals, popping Day-Quil, and asking, “Do you have a tissue?”  It seems that both of us were in the throes of miserable colds, so we both had noses like Rudolph and sounded like Typhoid Mary as we phlegmatically made our way through the mall in Altoona. 

Tomorrow being Christmas Eve Day, we will visit my dad and family.  My step-sister Ashley is a dead-on present-buyer. She seems to instinctively know what each of my children would want, and usually it’s something I hadn’t even considered myself! She introduced us to the Barbie movies (which, despite my initial prejudices, I found to be quite entertaining) and David to a portable CD player.  So, I’m excited to see what wonders she thought of this year. 

Christmas Eve we will either spend at Faith Baptist Church or at home doing our own Christmas Eve service complete with lit candles and the singing of Silent Night. I will have to bake the birthday cake for Jesus so that the kids can decorate it. 

Christmas morning, for the second year in a row, we will open our Sellers’ presents here at the house. Then, we will load up and go to my mom’s to be joined by my Grandma Norris, Grandma Wright, and Aunt Kay Kay for the opening of presents again. After feasting on ham and cornflake potatoes, we plan to head up to my Grandma and Grandpa Bressler’s house to visit with my dad’s side of the family.  Then, it will be back to my mom’s house where we will lounge around for the next day or so, possibly going to the movies the night of the 26th.

So, there you have our Christmas routines. 

I ran across an interesting column by Anna Quindlen which you can read HERE.  I found the second half, beginning with “The cycle of the devotional year…” quite interesting.

“I haven’t any right to criticise books, and I don’t do it except when I hate
them. I often want to criticise Jane Austen, but her books madden me so that
I can’t conceal my frenzy from the reader; and therefore I have to stop every
time I begin. Everytime I read Pride and Prejudice I want to dig her up and
beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone.”

Ah, that Twain!  Personally, I’ve never felt the need to exhume an
author to beat her with her own bones, but it makes for fun imagining.

Despite these aspersions, Jane Austen  was and is loved by
many.  If you were to read an Austen novel (and there are only six
of them not counting unfinished ones),  I’d start with Pride and Prejudice,
her most famous.  But, you might want to just watch the movie
first. If you hate the movie, then you’ll more than likely not enjoy
the book.  Take the easy way out!

I am pleased to say that I finally finished the Hamilton bio. I learned
so much about Federalists and the early formation of our government
system and…wait! Wake up!  It really was quite interesting. I
recommend the book wholeheartedly. 

I got a treat in the mail today, a book I ordered from Amazon which
wasn’t supposed to arrive before Christmas. It’s the final book in a
trilogy telling the story of Pride and Prejudice
from Darcy’s point of view.  The first two were great (okay, the
first one and one-third were great), so I’m eager to dive in. 
(See what passion Austen devotees have?  We spend $15.95 for fan
fiction!)

Tonight was sibling night, the evening the children exchange presents
with one another.  We played all-family hide-and-seek and several
rounds of Boggle (Guess who won?) and dined on Papa John’s pizza and
had milkshakes.  Libby delighted Rachel by getting her an
American Girl Doll pony and AG doll eye glasses.  Legos,
Playmobil, an antler mounting kit, a wallet, and a watch comprised the
other exchanged gifts.  Tim223
joined us one year for this event.  Here’s a picture of the
picture David drew for Nathan as one of his gifts.  Unfortunately,
it’s not the best shot, although my camera flash resembles a sunset.

A special welcome to anyone who is reading my blog due to the Christmas letter. Welcome, Lydia!

Yesterday afternoon, the kids and I went to see Narnia.  I liked it even better than Lord of the Rings!  I thought I might really enjoy it when I was crying at the second scene. Fortunately, I didn’t spend the rest of the movie weeping.

But, why wouldn’t I have enjoyed the film? I have my own Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. (And a Mr. Tumnus, as Michael said he would like to be)  Is it such a stretch to imagine Nathan as Peter, the older, slightly bossy brother who is willing to take up the sword to defend country and family? It’s not impossible to picture David as Edmund who makes an unfortunate choice, tries to make it right, and winds up being just as brave as the rest. Or Libby as Susan, the sometimes-snippy older sister who deep down is wonderful. Which leaves Rachel as Lucy (sans glasses), precocious, wanting to be believed and believing. As I watched it, I was imagining my own family in similar straights, but I was still enthralled by the action on the screen.

Rachel, on my lap, covered her head with her coat through some parts. There are real battles and hacking and chopping, the scene where Aslan is killed is creepy, and there are numerous “surprises” in the movie guaranteed to make one jump in her seat!

Hopefully the movie will be at the Ritz Theater in Clearfield on the 26th when we are at my mom’s after Christmas. We can all see it again and take the good doctor for his first showing. I love to go there–$3.50 movie tickets, a large drink and large popcorn total $3.00, and all refills (drinks or popcorn) are half-price.  

This month has been such a delight. We have had more evenings at home
just relaxing and hanging out than we had in the past five months
combined.  Last night after supper, we all assembled in the living
room–Christmas tree lights glowing, the fireplace flickering, and the
house smelling of vanilla and buttercream–to listen to Inkspell
on tape.  Then, James challenged all the children to a wrestling
match. If they could flip him onto his back in fifteen minutes or less,
then everyone would get ice cream.  David tried to organize the
kids into a powerful juggernaut, but they just randomly exerted force in
opposing directions. James was laughing so hard, he was almost in
paralysis, so they eventually pinned him. 

Here’s a great picture of the kids I got last Sunday after church. 

Apples of Gold, our monthly babysit-a-bunch-of-kids-at-church ministry,
went extremely well yesterday, except for the pizza.  It seems the
order called in right before our order for eight pizzas was an order
for 18 pizzas!  Needless to say, we had to wait a while. 

Tonight is  Nathan’s Homeschool Orchestra concert. He’s got his
trumpet all ready for those yuletide carols and gay apparel is all
ready to be donned. (Well, except for his shirt and pants, which are in
the dryer…)  Before the concert, the good doctor is taking us to
Denny’s for Kids Eat Free night.  Now that we only have three
“kids,” it’s not as much of a savings. I’m really looking forward to a
Nilla Chilla–a vanilla Coke. I had one a few weeks ago and have been
dreaming of it since.  The taste from a can just isn’t the same!

Last night at dinner, I asked the family, “What Christmas present do you want that you KNOW you won’t be getting.” 

James–Our mortgage stamped “Paid in Full”
Mary–A three-month sabbatical to England/Europe with all expenses paid
Nathan–A 243 Winchester Model 70 paired with a Bushnell 4x scope
David–Imperial Star Destroyer from Lego (the $299 one)
Libby–A baby sister
Michael–A dog
Rachel–A baby

So, what do you want?

Today, I am working on the Christmas letter, some AP things, and the calendars.  What are “The Calendars,” you ask?  Since Christmas 1992, I’ve been making photo calendars for various family members.  It started out with my taking 12 photos to Kinko’s and having them make the calendars to what I have been doing ever since I got “computer savvy,” which is to design and print them myself.  (Someone else still binds them.)  I enjoy the process, but it seems to be taking an unusually long time this year to assemble the pictures from my computer. Before, I’d just visually scan the photo album and then computer scan all the worthy pictures and go from there. Since I have my digital camera now, everything is already on the computer, so I just have to search for things, even though all the pictures are tidily organized.

Speaking of tidy, would any of you describe me as a “neat-freak”?  I thought not, and, Mom, you can stop laughing.  Yes, I’m organized, but that does not make one a neat freak. For example, I have a tidy pile of DVD recording things sitting on the floor by my DVD recorder area.  Tidy? Uh. Organized? You bet!   Why am I blathering about being labeled a neat-freak?  I took a personality test. If you take it,  share your results. I couldn’t get my results to paste onto my site. 

I am just about totally finished with all my Christmas shopping.  In lieu of gift cards for some family members, they are getting cash in a pretend “gift card” envelope.  Cash–the universal gift card!  But, others get gift cards and presents.  I’ve been wrapping as I’ve purchased, so I don’t even have anything to wrap.  I do have to unwrap a few things and return them to the store as the Christmas snow pants are unnecessary as I found free ones at church.  James vehemently dislikes the constant clothing exchange happening at church–and he’s right; it does look messy–but I really appreciate it! 

The Christmas cards are starting to arrive, including an ADORABLE picture of LoeschDogg and kristenloecher‘s kids.  My kids marveled with open mouths (particularly Libby) at how big Kendall was and how much she looked like Kayla. Again, I was asked, “When are they coming to visit?”  (Consider yourselves invited!)

It’s not at the Sellers’ house, for sure, as we ate our first meal ever
of venison! Nathan shot a five-point buck last Monday, and I finally
crock-potted the meat into a tasty meal.  We even shared some of
it with our new neighbors who seemed to like it as well. Maybe they
were just really hungry… Actually, it was quite tasty, and the good
doctor even ate it. Considering his squeamishness, it was a personal
triumph.

To read the most entertaining Xanga post I’ve ever seen, go HERE.  The good doctor was prostrate over his laptop.  I think RJDohner wins for the renaming. 

Yesterday, I cut Rachel’s hair. I want it to be pretty, but it is just
like mine–thick, slightly curly, and very inclined to frizz. Plus, she
is also blessed with several cowlicks to add to the hair melee. 
Since Rachel cares very little about her hair and would be happy with a
buzz cut, I took the scissors to it.  What do you think?

Strangely enough, I am all caught up with my AP work. I still feel as
if I have a ton to do.  It must be like the phantom pain people
have when they’ve lost a body part. There is nothing there, but it
feels like there is.

I’m still working my way through Alexander Hamilton and am learning so
much. Did you know that one of the most controversial issues of our new
government was whether or not we should have a national bank? Also did
you know that Alexander Hamilton and the Treasury Department created
the Coast Guard?  Such fascinating bits of history!  (I can
feel your fascination from here.)