Rain, rain, go away...

Really. I mean, I think my front yard has turned into a sponge. Far be it for me to complain about the rain, but the kids need a break!

Hyrum punched my tooth out!

You noticed, I am sure, that in the pictures of Joy's birthday, she was missing her two front teeth. The morning of the day before (I know, confusing) she was only missing one of those front teeth. The remaining tooth was quite loose, but as John has a thing against pulling teeth, Joy was hoping her tooth would come out on its own on her birthday. So, Thursday morning, I was upstairs for a minute, and I was interrupted by a cry from downstairs. No one sounded hurt, but Joy was definitely excited. I ran down to hear Joy yelling, "Hyrum punched my tooth out! Hyrum punched my tooth out!" She was playing with Hyrum and he was reaching his hand back and forth from her face. As was inevitable, he made contact, and the tooth came out. Joy was ecstatic, as was I. However, as penance, Hyrum cut TWO teeth on Joy's birthday.

Joy's Birthday

Today was Joy's 7th birthday, and she couldn't have been more excited. I wish I could think of something more interesting to say about it, but too many long nights in a row have rendered me mentally exhausted, so you will just have to get the jist of things from the picture!

Ain't gonna be no carolin' tonight y'all

We reckon it's done gotten too durn cold to be out traipsin' around in the snow bellowing at the top of our lungs for other people's entertainment no how.
- JohnBob

Job hunt continues

For those of you who know that John has been pursuing a consulting specialist position with Gallup, I thought I would give you the update. John went out to Omaha, Nebraska on the 3rd and had a good round of interviews there and we were very hopeful for a positive outcome. In fact, they all but offered John the job, telling him who his supervisor would be and that they were looking forward to having him in the office. Then, on Tuesday, we received a call informing us that they had not selected John for the position. The news came as a surprise, but we are doing fine. In the beginning, John applied for a position as an associate analyst, and in the process of interviewing, Gallup requested him to apply for the consulting specialist position as well. John is still in the running for the position he orignally applied for. Unfortunately, they are not hiring for that job until May 2009, so there is a little more wait involved. Oh well, life goes on and we are moving forward. Instead of a setback, we are viewing our position as still being on track for what we originally anticipated.

Kindness

We got snow today, a very rare occurrence in these parts. Not just snow, but about 5 inches of it. Last night, Paul was sick, so I took the kids first things in the morning down to my parents house to keep Joy, Brigham and Hyrum off of Paul. When we came back for lunch, I noticed that someone had started shoveling our walk. I figured it was just the neighbor who had gotten going and not realized how far he had gone. After a while, I heard shoveling outside and figured it was our neighbor working on his driveway. When John pulled in the drive, I went out to meet him. And, there was our neighbor, who I have never met before, just finishing shoveling our driveway and walk. I could not hold back the tears. We have lived here for over a year, and I have never gone and introduced myself. I have waved in passing, but with John gone for a year, meeting your single, male neighbor isn't the world's best idea. And yet, when it snowed, and he didn't think John was here, he shoveled our walk. That gives me hope. Sometimes the world seems full of hostility and frustration. It is good to be reminded that there are others there as well. Thanks Matt.

Let it be stated up front that I am not just a snob. Okay, that said, I have not read Twilight. I started it last year while I was on bed rest and read 30 pages before I got tired of it. Yes, I was in the middle of reading book 5 of a 12 book series I was really enjoying, so I may have been a tad biased. But, I just didn't go for it. I mean, it is vampires in high school. Well, I am now out of reading material, so I thought, if I could get it on CD from my library, I would go ahead and listen to it. I don't really have enough time to read it, but I thought listening to it would be a way I could give it a second chance. I mean, EVERYONE I know loves it. Except my brother Charlie, and it actually worries me a little that I am with him on this one. So, I got it today. And, while I make cornbread for the ward Christmas party tonight, I am going to listen. Wish me luck!