Snow?
We were expecing 3-6 inches of the white fluffy stuff overnight. But alas, the temps did not drop enough, so we got a good, soaking rain. The kids were disappointed to wake up to rain instead of snow. But it did snow a bit when we were coming home from church. It's 39* here right now.

Thanksgiving was fun...and cold. It was warmer in NY than here...there's just something WRONG with that! We had my mom, step father and stepbrother over, along with a friend and her 6 children. Their dad is an Air Force chaplain and is currently deployed to Qatar. So we had a total of 11 children and 6 adults! It was a great time.

Emma was on one of our local news channels on Friday. She and another cast member were promoting The Nutcracker. She did a FANTASTIC job. One more week until we move into the Auditorium and begin the daily 5 hour rehearsals before the curtain goes up. I'm really enjoying Nutcracker this year...mainly because my only responsibility (other than getting Emma to/from rehearsals) is to sell the DVDs! Quite a difference from being in charge of props last year!

Erik starts basketball practice in a week. He's been practicing this fall with Doug's jr high team. Doug's team is 1-3 and he's still having a good time with them ;-)

Had Erik's birthday party yesterday. He invited 7 boys and they brought new unwrapped toys for Erik to donate to Toys for Tots. They had a great time...even though it was cold and rainy and they had to be inside...the...whole...time. One thing he really liked was the special cake I made. It was made from a mix, but one specially formulated for folks with egg, milk and nut allergies. I wasn't sure what the guests would think. Erik was thrilled that they ALL liked it! "Nobody ever wants to eat my allergy food. I can't believe they liked it!"

That's all for now.

Back from our trip off the face of the earth...

Not really, just busy. Seems most of my computer time lately is with one free hand...the other, holding Elisha. It's not very easy typing with one hand ;-)

Here's a glimpse of the last 3 weeks:

My stepbrother, Jason, visited for a week. He is a Marine and just finished his SECOND 6 month tour in Iraq. The kids loved spending time with their Uncle Jason. Erik even tried on his pack filled with tools Jason used to break down doors, etc when he would 'sweep' neighborhoods...It was HEAVY.


Then my Aunt Lou and Uncle Ed came down to TX for a long weekend. They were only here in S.A. for 2 nights, but we spent a whole day with them. I think they enjoyed the 3 ring circus that is my life. I haven't seen them since Everson was an infant. It was a great time. I think the kids especially liked being treated dinner at Olive Garden!
Two days after they left here, my brother, Dhamon rolled into town. He spent a week here catching up with family and playing with my kiddos. Here's a pic of Dhamon and Erik playing HORSE. Emma suggested that they play ESOPHAGUS if they wanted their games to last longer LOL. They had a blast with Uncle Dhamon...and Grandpa Quale. My dad drove into town 3 days after my brother...in my brother's truck with a special bed that he has had in his garage for us since BEFORE we moved here over 2 years ago. It didn't fit in our moving truck...so he brought it down himself. They left on Saturday.
Here's Everson on his new bed...did I mention that it's a WAGON?!?!? There's even real wheels!
Oh and Elisha continues to be a sweetie. He loves the kids and is quick to flash a smile for them.