.... Sorry.

Our wonderful tree!

It's not as if many people read this anyway, so my guilt in not posting for three months has been assuaged. Mostly. I had made a promise to myself to post at least once a week... and we see where that got us. :) well to update you, we had a very rough month from Nov.-Dec. Low on money, work hours, energy, you name it. Just being spread very thin due to a raise in child support payments. It's a vicious cycle, but we love the kids, and anything is worth having them in our lives.We had no money for rent for December, or for Christmas presents for the kids or our families. I was stressed out and sick over it, and Jeff wasn't much better. But through the wonderful gifts of some anonymous people from the church where I was working on The Sound of Music, we had a wonderful Christmas. We had a home, heat, and some very special gifts for our beautiful children. That was so inspiring. I forget sometimes that there are people out there that still do things for other people for nothing in return. There are no words enough, or thank you's more profuse for what they did for our families. I was at the end of my rope as a mother and as a person, and they came through for us. I can only hope that I will have the opportunity to pass on the kindness someday. Things have really improved though... we kind of just needed a leg up out of the hole we were in. We now have all of our bills caught up, some payed up in advance (Like rent! YAY!) We have cupboards full of some stored up dry foods, and gluten-free foods. We got our cars fixed and a few other odd things done. Now we have a bit of money in savings, and are able to have an anniversary celebration. It's amazing how things can turn around better than you thought. We owe some lovely people a big thank-you. :)

Captain and Maria are wed!

Von Trapp Family at the Festival

(The show did go wonderfully for any of you who were curious.) The Sound of Music was a huge success. The actors were fantastic... the costumes came together nicely. Admittedly there were a few times I was up all night freaking out about them, but all in all, it was one of the better shows I have ever worked on. I was particularly impressed with all of the kids. What talent!! It actually got me another job at St. Mary of the Woods, doing hair and makeup for their production.... of....guess what...... The Sound of Music! Just when I thought I was done. :) I am happy to be involved though. It looks like it is shaping up to be good as well!

Me as a dinosaur

Link and Lily in the CAT front-loader.

January was inauspicious.... Link turned 3, we had a lovely trip to the children's museum and a delicious gluten-free cake. The kids always love the Discovery Cove, and the play area for smaller kids. Link loves trucks and tractors and anything to do with farms. He has a blast getting into the CAT front-loader thing there. Lily loves the Carousel of Dreams, and playing in the waterworks. I personally enjoy the part where I got to dress up like a dinosaur. All the other little kids look at me like I'm crazy. When we headed home, he dove into his cake, and got covered in pink icing, as per his request, and Lily got terribly sick. A rough day, but we celebrated the birth of our beloved little boy.

He geeked out a little.

So now it is February, and Jeff and I celebrated Valentine's Day a little early, having dinner at El Sol de Talla. It is a really awesome authentic Mexican restaurant. Jeff loves the Tacos el Pastor, lingua style. Which in english for the rest of us, means tounge tacos. As in cow tounge. (Feel free to gag. I did.) But he seems to like it. I usually go for their fantastic tortilla soup. It comes with queso fresca and fresh avacado on top. Yum! He got me a series of books that I had been looking for for ages at a secondhand book shop, and I got him a used set of Star Trek Voyager. We are learning that it is the thought that counts, not how much you spend or how new it is.
On a side note, Jeff has had a leather jacket for a while that is old and junky, and doesn't zip. He had to drive the kids home from Muncie in his car (which has no heat) and he nearly froze to death. When I took the kids to Walmart the next day, Lily pointed to a jacket on the rack and said, "Daddy needs one of those. Daddy wears brown coats." So we bought it for him, and he loved it. I can't get over how perceptive that Lily is. She saw that he was cold and that his coat was broken, and had the concern to pick him out a new jacket. I am so grateful for a lovely compassionate daughter.

Madonna's gladiator litter-bearers.

Me, fixing the horse-hair helmets.

Superbowl!!! For all of you who don't know, Madonna performed at the halftime show.... and I was on the wardrobe team!! I spent the week of the Superbowl helping prep and repair the costumes and helmets for the gladiators. It was one of the coolest experiences ever. I got to see Cee Lo Green, Nicky Minaj, MIA and Madonna. I was completely blown away. I saw the performance from the field, got to meet the amazing designer Bea Ackerlund... it was a once in a lifetime kind of thing. Hard work, but what a thing for my resume. 

Hoping to see the White House!

New for the month of March (up coming) we are going on a trip to Washington, D.C. We are going to all of the free exhibits, and got a great deal on a hotel for two nights. With Jeff's car being diesel, we are only going to be spending a few hundred dollars! We have never been on a trip together... we never went on a honeymoon! We have been saving a little back from the last few paychecks.... and we are lucky enough to be able to do something like this. A few months ago, fresh veggies would have been a luxury, and now we are prepping for this cool experience together. We feel really lucky. I will post pictures!!