New Year, new outlook?

So, it's been a while since I posted last. Christmas and New Year's have come and gone. My brother & sister in law will be returning to California tomorrow. It's been a busy couple of weeks!

A little recap-

We opened gifts with the kids Christmas Eve morning, since Bubber & Bug had to go back to their dad's on Christmas Eve, and Nans was going back to her mom's Christmas morning before Bubber & Bug would be back.

You got your tickets?

You know, for the GUN SHOW?!?!


AHH...HBC products - a girl's best friend!!!


A monkey for our monkey!


The whole crew- from left to right...
Puckey, Bubber, Nans, Bug, and The Jib

Christmas Eve night we went to my mom's, because my aunt who usually hosts our family on Christmas Eve fell and broke her leg. (We've all told her that she didn't have to break her leg to keep from having to host us all...she could have just said she didn't want to...LOL) So while we were at my mom's, Bubber started acting up, so I made him go sit in the other room. A few minutes later, I went out where he was, and told him that if he was ready to apologize to me, he could get up. Bubber just sat there biting his fingernail and ignoring me. That's when I noticed my stepdad in the kitchen watching us. So he pipes up with, "What did he do, Julie?" in a very antagonistic tone. I said, "He was backtalking me". My stepdad then rolled his eyes and turned around in a huff. This is the same guy who encouraged my ex husband to call Child Protective Services on me a few years ago when I spanked Bubber for getting caught forging my signature TWICE at school, plus lying about the whereabouts of his report card. Yeah, he's a real piece of work! So anyway, Bubber spent the rest of our time there sitting in the chair because he refused to apologize (or even speak) to me. But, then when we got home, Bubber came up and wanted to hug me...yep, he's all about acting up in front of my mom and stepdad so that he gets in trouble, and I am OF COURSE the bad guy in the whole thing...but when we get home he's all sweet and agreeable. It drives me nuts!! Fortunately, God has really worked in my heart about the whole thing with my stepdad and Bubber's behavior, so I can stay really calm during situations like that. (Well, at least on the surface. I pretty much wanted to deck my stepdad, but what good would that have really done?) At least I had a nice visit with my grandparents, two uncles, an aunt, and my sister & her family!!


Puckey & Great-Grandma


My niece wearing her brother's football helmet

Christmas day was unusual. We went to my inlaws and cleaned out their upstairs bedroom and attic. I got quite a laugh when I ran across some love letters that Ande's ex had written him YEARS ago....my new word is now "Schmeeky" (That's how she signed the letters!) I was totally cracking up reading them. Ande, on the other hand, didn't seem to find as much humor in the situation. We also found this:


Yes, folks, that's right. An alligator purse, complete with tiny alligator. It's sorta creepy, if you ask me.

My brother and sister in law arrived from California on the 28th, and we got to meet our youngest niece for the first time (she's 8 months old). Puckey and our other niece, who is 4 months younger than her, had a blast in the snow.... It was cute, because it was the first time our nieces had seen snow!


Tracy, Ben, and baby


Girls getting pulled by Ben & chased by Bubber


OOPS! They took a spill off of the sled!


Good times, good times!!

So, New Year's Eve was spent with Ande's family. It was chaotic, but fun. There were 11 children there under the age of 4 (9 of them were 2 and under). I think my favorite part of the day was right when we arrived - one of Ande's cousins shouted to me "You're HOT! I'd date ya!" I guess spending the extra time on my hair was worth it?!? She's a silly girl.

Saturday Ande and I started on the bowling league we signed up for with our church. We had a great time! It's a mixed doubles league, and we ended up partnered with some people from another church. Our team lost, but I bowled pretty decent (well, for ME anyway) with a 138, 132, and 117. Okay, so I'm not a very good bowler, but I had a good time!!! (Added bonus, I beat Ande!!)

Today I stayed home from church and took care of the Jib, who caught a cold from her CA cousins. Poor baby.


Poor Jib!!

So, Ande's heading to CA on the 16th for the NAMM show. It's a pretty big deal in the music industry. Ande built an amp that will be displayed by one of his suppliers. Here's the amp (plus a SWEET guitar that a good friend of ours built).

You can also check out our website (it's not much, but it's there), and the website of our luthier friend. He makes some beautiful guitars!!!

We're pretty excited about this opportunity - not just anyone can get into this show!! So, he's going out there and staying with his brother & his family (the ones who are here now). It's so awesome that the show is not terribly far from where they live! This could be a major turning point for us, if there is a lot of interest shown in this amp.

So, back to the title of this post...it's a new year, and I "resolve" to have a new outlook! God has really blessed our family this year, and even with the "bad" stuff, we've still got it so much better than some. And the best part of it all is that we have a great family and body of friends who are right here with us, cheering us on!! I want to be more, do more, love more, laugh more, praise more, LIVE MORE!!