Christmas Day Part 2

Merry Christmas All!

We have had a great day filled with presents and Asian food. Why Asian food you ask? Because we had traditional Christmas dinner last night at Ken's parents house. We loved it but wanted something different so we got an assortment of dishes and prepared them including: lettuce wraps, yakitori chicken, Kung Pao Chicken, Sesame Ginger Chicken, Pad Thai Noodles, Spicy Peanut Noodles, Pork and Seeds and Pumpkin Pie. Ok the pie wasn't Asian but we didn't have pie for dessert last night and we need pie for Christmas.

Santa was very generous with us this Christmas and we all had lots to open. Ken said he didn't know what to get me. He said I am picky (really?). We went to Target together and I put several things I liked into the cart. I told him I would walk away and he could choose things from the basket and I would be surprised and he wouldn't have to guess. He just bought it all. No complaints here, I loved all of it :)

I think I surprised Ken with a few things and the kids had enough presents that they didn't know that we have been on a Christmas Diet this year. We spent less overall than in years past.

I think a good time was had by all. I have enjoyed talking on the phone with many of you and I hope that you have had a very merry Christmas. Best wishes to all of us in the New Year. Hopefully we will be in better economic times next Christmas. We love and miss our extended family and wish them all the best. We would love to see you in the next year. Who knows what 2009 will hold for our families.

Much Love, Cindy

Christmas Day Part 1

A couple of weeks ago my family and I were invited to two different White Elephant Parties. Ken dreads these because he said he always comes home with junk. I love them. The first party we went to Ken scored this cool "immunity idol" knife. I got the Reindeer Poo (whoppers). The second party Ken and I both got HUGE size chocolate bars and the kids all got something that they liked. It was fun at both parties.

Most people I talked to wanted to know what to bring to these things. I will tell you some of the things that showed up at the parties we went to so next time you get roped into going you know just what to wrap.

2 live gold fish swimming in a mason jar with a bottle of tartar sauce and a fork.
2 plastic ice cream bowls and a scoop in a hideous bag
a water filter system and an extra filter
an old Shirley Temple VHS tape
a flu test
Love Darts game for your spouse
BBQ set (fun in the dead of winter)
2 HUGE stuffed animals
a set of coasters
1 large can of baked beans and an air freshener
a Toiletry Kit
an iTunes gift card
VHS learn to read tapes
free stuff with company logos on it
extra diapers
a puzzle that has been opened
an exercise band

These were all fun gifts that I saw. So next time you get the White Elephant invite come to my blog and look over what others have done and hopefully you come home with something fun.

'Tis the Season

Last night the kids decorated the gingerbread house. I hate them so they are not a temptation to me. I do, however, love almost all other holiday foods. I think of them throughout the year and long for the pumpkin pie and snack mix and homemade carmels that symbolize the Christmas time for me. I have many days blocked out for parties and other events that will have delicious opportunities to eat. It is only December 4th. I even have the candy for the stockings purchased. All my favorites are waiting in the closet for their turn. I love food!

My husband doesn't get excited about food the way I do. He has no concept of how much I look forward to the yumminess. I think of events and look forward to the food almost more than the people I will see, that is how much I like it. I secretly think I have a different DNA strand than others because I enjoy food so much.

I went to my Weight Watchers meeting today (I have been a member since spring of 2005). I am at a healthy weight and I plan to balance my food love with my desire to have my clothes fit next month. In the meeting there are other food lovers like me. We try hard to eat the right amount of food and support each other. The most important thing I get out of the meetings is the accountability. I have to stand on a scale and look at the number. I can go for weeks in denial, eating too much, and not face it. Weight Watchers taught me that I need to face reality if I had any plans of changing things.

This time of year I really miss my mom. She loved Christmas and was always sewing and creating many gifts in preparation for the big day. She had many health problems due in great part to choices she made with food. I want to be around for MANY years to come. I want to see my kids have grey hair and I want to hold my great grandkids. In order for this to happen I am taking measures now to ensure my body's strength and health for years to come.

Maybe some of you are looking to make a change in the new year. I have some friends that are giving up on things until after January 1. They say it is too hard to diet in the mean time. I have learned I can do hard things. Starting now or starting next month doesn't really matter. Starting is the important thing. I want my family members and loved ones to live a long time with me. Please take care of yourself... I don't know how I could make it without you. :)

Cindy

15 Years ago yesterday...

My baby Katie was born. She wasn't really my baby. I was 18 years old and I became her nanny. Katie was a tiny little thing when I first saw her. She was just over 6 lbs when she was born and when I met her she didn't seem much bigger. She was a delight to care for. I loved and took her places. We started out just hanging out and she slept a lot. Soon she got a little bigger and she we took a baby massage class. I learned to massage her to soothe her and we both liked it. A couple of months after that we joined a baby swim class and then a Gymboree class. We did everything together all day long. We both had light hair so when I was out with her people thought she was mine. I loved being a nanny.

I lived with Katie and her awesome parents for almost a year and a half. It was one of the best jobs I ever had. Over the years I have seen Katie some and we have talked on the phone. I still like to keep tabs on what she is up to. She has become a young lady overnight (it seems to me). I have a hard time believing that it was so long ago that I looked into her tiny face and fell in love. I have since gone on to have my own baby and I recalled my experience with Katie. She helped me to learn how to be a mommy.

Katie, I hope your birthday was the best. Hopefully you got some cool presents. I miss seeing you and I wish that you and I lived closer. I haven't been to you part of Oregon in such a long time. How I would love to get together sometime. I hope that school is going well and you are doing well with your friends and parents. You have two of the best parents in the world. I hope the best for you this year, as you are learning how to drive. Your life is wide open to wonderful possibilities.

Happy Birthday,
Love,
Cindy

Julie - You are the Best!

I hope your birthday cake looked as good as this one! I spoke to you briefly on the phone yesterday to wish you Happy Birthday. You were gonna call me back... :) It is fine, I can call you on another day when you are less busy.

I want to take this opportunity to tell you how much I love you. You are the best older sister a girl could have. You have always set the example of how I should live my life. I admire your strength and fortitude. You have had to endure some tough things in your life and lately things seem harder than ever. I wish that you could have everything that you ever wanted. I hope that in the next year of your life you are able to see beyond the mountain in front of you. There is an amazing view after the hard climb over. I know that it seems impossible from where you stand now, but you are so strong. You can move from the crazy work and the heartache that seems unbearable. You will move on to a new place in your life and it is going to be great! I love you tons and I am wishing the very best to you in the next year of your life. There is so much possibility and you will amaze yourself with what you can do! Thank you for always being there for me, you give such great advice.

There was an old sitcom episode where the character set out to have the year all about them. Let this be the YEAR OF JULIE! Make it count because you will never have another one like it.

Happy Birthday,
Love,
Cindy

I have been busy...

We had SNOW last Friday! Can you believe it? I love the fall and I love the snow. It just lasted a few hours and then we went back into the 70's this week. It was a nice winter preview. I got out my pumpkin candle and began to think about Thanksgiving.


Ken got a job! Yay! He started 2 weeks ago but we just got his first check today so now it feels more real :) It is the same type of work - testing printers at HP as a Manpower Contractor. It pays almost what his last job did. We made some adjustments in our budget and we are making it work.





Do you remember these? My parents used to buy them when I was a kid. They were sold at Costco and they were cheap so we got to have them a few times. I loved them. Sunshine Cookies was bought by someone a few years ago so they stopped making Hydrox. There was a huge response from the public asking them to bring them back. They did but just for a little while this year to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the cookie. I bought some last month and ate them with delight. YUM!

Other cookies that might go away are Mothers Cookies & Archway Cookies. They quietly went bankrupt a few weeks ago due to the credit crunch. Buy your Animal cookies and Taffy cookies while you can (those were my favorite). I also like the Archway Mud Pie Cookies. I cannot believe that my kids might not grow up with these favorites as I have. How will I make mom's famous carousel cake??? I wish they had just put out a plea - I could have spared $10.00 to get them through and I am sure there are at least a hundred thousand others that could have as well. I seriously hope that someone buys them or they can come back from their financial disaster to make some more cookies. :(

The kids are all doing well in school. Brady is loving preschool and is reading 3-4 letter words now. Emmalisa is so happy most of the time that when she does have a bad day it takes me by surprise. She is writing more at school now and struggles with that. Sebastian had his 3rd grade singing program last Thursday. He is a really good singer. MaKayla is navigating the mine field that is the 5th grade social intricacies. Getting along with your girlfriends at that age is hard. Some are more mature than others and there are so many changes to face. We have long talks about what is right - there is a lot of pressure to behave in a certain way. Some of the kids in her class are "going out". That freaks me out. We talk about waiting to date until 16.

I think that is the update for now. :)

Last night I had a dream...

I died. I woke up crying and I cried the whole time I was in the shower. In the dream I had a little time with Brady and I held him and cried that I would not be the one to raise him and how sad that was. I got to call one of my sisters and tell her how I wanted the funeral to be. That was it, I was gone.

I write to you about this because it is my way of making sure that the dream doesn't happen and if/when it does you will all know how I feel. I shall start at the top:

Dad- you have been the best father I could have ever hoped for. You have been an amazing example and have always had wise counsel for me in all my life adventures. You are the greatest and I am so grateful for the upbringing you have given me.

My dear sisters - you have made my life! You are the best of friends and I can't wait to go on though out eternity being as close as we are now. I hope they have phones in heaven so I can call you like I do now - or maybe we could live close (all 4 of us). Please dress me in my two piece temple dress. Even if I die later in life and the dress doesn't fit well, just zip the zipper as far as you can and call it good :) That is my favorite dress and if I only get one outfit to wear for a really long time I want it to be that one. Don't forget my bra either.

My dear brothers - Please make sure that you arrange your life in a way that we can be together in heaven. I know that both of you are not close with the gospel at this time in your lives. You both know that it is true. Do not let the atonement be a gift that you don't open. It is there for you, let it change your life as it has mine. Ed - who cares if there are too many hypocrites at church. Ignore them and go for yourself. No one is beyond redemption.

My wonderful husband - You are amazing! I love you and I want you to be so happy. Please find a way to locate me when you get there. There will be a lot of people and it will be hard but please keep looking. I will look for you too. Don't let your hurts keep you from being your best. I wish you didn't have to go through all the hard times. I hope that you get to work at a job you love sometime in your life. I hope you get all the camera stuff you want.

Kayla, Lisa, Bastian - you are my wonderful children - I hope I get to keep you for always. Your life is so hard because you are torn between two homes that are worlds apart. People who should be a righteous example to you are not. They will tell you to do what feels good and ignore the teaching of the church. Don't. Choose the Right. The Lord will not let you down. I love you!

Brady - I think I love you more than my whole life. I never imagined how amazing it would be to be your mom. I cherish every second I have with you. I want you to be a very strong boy and grow up to show others the way. I hope that one day you will attend a mission and graduate from college. Always stay close to the Lord, you will have nothing to fear if you do. I will be with you constantly to watch over you. Love, Mommy

Marnie - You are the my best friend. We have been together since 3rd grade through thick and thin. I love you and I will be waiting when you get there :)

Ingrid - the sister I never had. I can't wait to see you again. We can talk and eat French pasties together. I miss you in my life.

Katie McFall - You are like a baby I gave for adoption. I loved being your nanny. I still feel bonded to you like you are my child. It has been so cool to see you grow up. Live life to the fullest and be so happy. You have great parents - I love you all.

My step & extended family - there are so many of you and most of you are not living close to me. You are wonderful people. I am glad I met/got to know each of you. I can't wait to have a big family reunion in heaven to see each other again.

To my friends from the many wards I attended- Thanks for becoming my friends and showing be how to be a better person. It seems that most of the ladies I have met at church are so much better than me. Thanks for the example.

My friends at CMS - there are so many of you. I think working there was the best job I have ever had. I miss hanging out. I will look for you in heaven.

Sorry if this has been a downer to read. I feel better now. I plan to be at least a hundred years old when I die, I don't want to miss anything.

Love, Cindy

My Kitchen Cabinets

I am back to work on our home. I mentioned before that I wanted to fix our cabinets. Here is a picture of why. They are stained darkly and they have wear marks where you open them. When I took this picture I noticed that I am also missing a piece of the upper layer of the wood in the corner.



I have 25 doors and 9 drawers. It is going to take a long time. Ken and I thought about what to do to fix this problem for nearly a year. I took one of the doors and stripped it with chemicals. That removed the outer varnish but not the stain. I bought a finish sander with a bottom that resembles a clothes iron. I sanded the one door that I stripped with 60 grit sand paper.



This is what it looks like now (in the pictures it looks darker than in real life. When sanded it looks much lighter than the stained doors. To get another door to this state it would take about 1 hour worth of my time. I am debating how to proceed. I NEED YOUR IMPUT! Even if you do not ever respond to my blog I need your thoughts and experience if you have any... PLEASE!

My problem is that when I sanded it did not get all the way into the crevices where the raised ridge is. I could get ahold of a Dremel type sanding tool and work on it to make the stain completely gone. I could sand some more with the 120 & 240 grit sand paper and get as well as I can into the crevices but leave some there. With both of these options I would then varnish with a clear varnish letting the light wood show though. The other option I have is to sand and paint the cabinets white. We are obviously going to get new knobs and do something about the gold hinges since the new knobs will be brushed nickel. If we paint the cabinets white we are also going to force ourselves to redo the cream colored counter tops and sink. We want to do that anyway but with the paint it is going to look like crap in the mean time.

Has anyone done this type of thing before? Do you know anyone that has? I need advice badly. If I end up painting do I need to sand with the finer grits of paper? How fine do you go? Anyone have thoughts on varnish? One coat? Two? More?

The last thing to mention is that we may not live in this house forever. It is too small and if the market were better we would consider selling now. I need the kitchen to look neutral enough for a buyer. That is why I worry about leaving a little stain in the crevice. Maybe someone else might not like the antique look.

Thanks in advance. :)

The Air Show

Last Saturday we went to the Air Show. It was at the Air Force base in Mountain Home about 30 miles from here. It was free to get in and I must say it was the best free entertainment I have seen (possibly ever). They had 20-30 aircraft that were on display for tours or looks into the cockpit. There was a helicopter and some tanks too. We had a blast. While we were touring the exhibits we took in the show in the sky. I can't remember all the names of the planes we saw but there were some old style "barnstormers", lots of F-whatevers, a thing called a thunderbird, some blackhawk helicopters, and multiple guys willing to parachute out of a perfectly good planes. The did a pretend war: bombs and smoke with rescues. Parts of it were really loud. It was amazing how fast they went. I loved the ones that went so high so quick that they stalled the engine and dived back toward the ground only to recover at the last minute. I loved all the patriotism that surrounded the whole event. I am so grateful for the men and women that serve(d) our country. To all of them: Thank You!

Brady is hilarious...

On Wednesday I needed to go shopping. I took Brady with me and I needed to concentrate so I let him pick out a treat that he could eat while I rang up our stuff. He chose some larger Hershey Kiss things. At the next store we went to he was sitting in the cart and he held two of the kisses in his hands and licked the bottoms of them. He then proceeded to stamp his face with them. Less than 5 minutes later he informs me that on his next birthday I can call him Taco Bdoco. I was instructed not to call him that until then. Last year he wanted me to call him Tottis Sil Lettuce. I do not know why he is like this but it sure is funny.

Done!

Yesterday I finished reading the book of Mormon. 531 pages read in 16 days. Today I did two sessions at the temple for our Stake Temple Day. It was good to feel closer to the Lord in his holy temple. Ken and I ran into his attorney while we were there in the evening. He is a really nice guy and gave us some advice on our current child support/unemployed situation.

This past Sunday was Fast Sunday and I appreciated the opportunity to add something more to my prayers for our family's situation. I had a deal with MaKayla that I would bear my testimony the day she got up the nerve to bear hers. Sunday was the day. We both went up and Sebastian came up too. It was a great day. I also had the opportunity to visit the Young Women and be a guest teacher for my old class the 12-14 year old girls. I sure miss working with them and it was nice to teach for a change.

New Hair

I cut my hair off! It was shoulder length and today I was going to get a bob and it turned out a little shorter than I thought. The good news is that I will not have to go in for a trim in two months this should last for four :)

Yesterday, Ken wrote a list of things he wants to do. He is going to try to get his photography business off the ground. Yes, we know that it will be hard. This afternoon I asked him if he would rather work one job that he hated or two jobs that he loves. He chose two. He might get his wish :)

Sunday August 24

I haven't blogged lately and I have to tell you why. On the 24th my family and I attended the dedication of the Twin Falls Temple. This temple has become special to my family and I since we toured it.

The morning after I posted last about Ken's layoff I went to the temple in Boise. As I prayed and contemplated what to do now that we have no income I had a few thoughts. We will be guided though this. I know that. I wondered why we had just spent some of our savings on a family vacation. I wondered why we had just bought a van. It became clear to me that these things were supposed to happen now, before the layoff.

About a year ago in sacrament meeting our Stake President asked each of the members of our stake to prepare to gather in the temple one year from that date on September 9th. He challenged everyone to set the date and go. We were also challenged to read the Book of Mormon in it's entirety by then. My family and I had already started reading it so we have kept up. We should finish it by the end of the year.

After I left the temple on the 23rd I thought about how many days were left until the Stake Temple Day. I thought that if I started reading the BOM on Sunday at the dedication of the temple that would have 16 days to finish the book. I made a little challenge for myself. We arrived early (as we were supposed to) to the dedication and I read through 1 Nephi 17 that day. Since then I have averaged 35 pages a day and I am on track to finish reading it the morning of the 9th.

That is why I haven't posted. I tell you this not to brag, but to testify to you of the difference I have felt in my life. I am not finished yet but I have already gained so much. I have learned so much and I have placed so many other projects aside and focused solely on this.

Yesterday we all had the day off so we took our kids to help Ken's sister and her husband move. We are tying to teach our kids how to work. It was amazing. There was no contention among them the entire day! They all said that they loved the experience.

I had originally thought to sell some items on eBay to help with our financial situation. Since reading the Book of Mormon I have had thoughts to give these things away and I have been been impressed to give certain things to certain people. I have also felt moved to increase my fast offering. I kind of feel like I am flying by the seat of my pants but I feel sure that this will all work out. I just have no idea how.

The last time I read the BOM on a time schedule I received so many blessings in my life. It was a really hard time and at the end of reading the book that time (Sept 05-Dec 05) my entire life had changed. So MANY wonderful changes occurred. I am not expecting those miracles to happen again. I know they are possible. I know that the Lord loves me and my family. He has a way for our family prepared. I am hoping...

Ken says he feels like the Brother of Jared. He just has to figure out the way to light the ship. I challenge all of you to read the Book of Mormon. The greatest blessings of my life have come when I have chosen to draw closer to the Lord.

Last Sunday we also had an opportunity to attend a very special baby blessing. Sweet Ryelee Mae was blessed by her father at the home of her maternal grandparents. Ryelee was born May 14 at about 26 weeks gestation. The fact that she is alive and thriving is a miracle. We are so blessed to have her as part of our family.

It looks awfully dark ahead...please hold my hand.

Today we found out that Ken no longer has a job after 9/19. :( We had no knowledge of layoffs in the past two weeks when we purchased a new (used) van and when we took the kids on a family vacation to Yellowstone (which we loved, by the way).

We are now looking for new jobs and amazingly I feel rather calm about the whole thing. We have a plan that we can stick with until unemployment runs out and then we will be in a real bind. We are prayerfully seeking the way to go. On the upside, Ken has hated that job for years and it did not provide paid time off or insurance that was affordable. I am trying to look at this as a positive move to get us into something better.

Since I last posted we had a great trip in Yellowstone. We saw so many sites and we stayed at some fun places and had a great time as a family. We visited both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. We saw the new Temple in Twin Falls and I was able to revisit the Idaho Falls Temple. We went to the new Rexburg Temple too. I think our kids saw all the temples in Idaho in the same day. Our new van worked great and we loved the trip and time away.

Upon our return we have gotten ready to head back to school on the 25th. We met the new teachers today and we saw the new desks. I think the kids are excited. Brady may not be attending preschool this year. With the job loss I will only be able to send him if I can trade babysitting for his tuition. While we were at the school today I found several Preschool & Kindergarten books on the free table. The books contain enough that I could teach Brady at home if he cannot attend preschool.

We are excited to attend the Twin Falls Temple Dedication Ceremony on Sunday. Ken, MaKayla, Sebastian and I will be able to attend the broadcast at our church building. We love to hear the speakers dedicate a new house to the Lord. We were able to attend the open house so this temple has become very special to us.

We would ask for your prayers at this time of need. We really need to find another job for Ken. We have been paying our tithing so we know that the Lord will take care of us. We are really grateful that this is happening now and not in November or the holiday season. Hopefully by then we should be in good shape with something new.

We are truly blessed.

We are getting ready to go on a family trip to Yellowstone next week. Due to the fact that we had an old van we decided to rent a van to give us AC & to make sure it would get us there. We looked into rental prices a few weeks ago and it didn't seem to be too much. When we went to reserve our rental last week the cost had doubled. We looked into fixing up our van to make the trip. When the mechanic was doing a transmission service he found a disturbing thing. We had parts of our transmission in the pan. He showed me. There was chunks of metal and parts of gasket. The mechanic put it back together and said it would probably lose transmission function very soon. Ken and I drove it straight to the dealership. We were offered $700.00 for the van on trade. We were thrilled about this because we had only paid $900.00 for the van a year ago. We purchased a 2007 Toyota Sienna. Ours is like the one pictured only it is white. We will be making payments on it for some time :) We love it though and we hope to drive it into the ground 20 years from now.

The monthly payment made me think a bit and I was mental inserting it into our budget. As soon as we got home I received a message from a lady in our ward that is going to do preschool next year. I called her back and it looks like it would be free for Brady to go in exchange for me watching her 2 littlest children. That puts $75.00 a month back into our budget that I would have paid for Brady to attend the same preschool he went to last year. I also worked a deal with the kids mom to let me watch them on her weeks instead of having them go to daycare. That should give me another 120.00 per month. These two differences and some of our other money should cover the new payment. We are so blessed. The Lord truly knows our needs and watches out for our family. We felt guided in our decisions. We are so grateful that this problem was discovered before the van stopped functioning. We were able to get very good money out of it and get a great van that will last a long time and we should be able to go on this vacation and many others in it.

Home Improvement

Our home was built in the early 70's. It was outfitted with stylish fixtures for the time. They were mostly golden in color and are now out of fashion. Our light fixtures also had very little wattage. So it was unattractive and very dim.

Over the time that Ken has owned this home he has replace several fixtures and almost all of the door knobs. We really like the look of brushed nickel so we are switching to that.

We have two sliding doors on the rear of the home that had vertical blinds covering them. Our front window also had vertical blinds. Last summer Ken and I replaced the vertical blinds in the front of the home with some sheer curtains and a brushed nickel curtain rod. We loved the difference but decided to wait to do the back two doors due to the cost of acquiring something new.

A few months ago I purchased some table cloths in a pattern I really liked. They were about $5.00 each and they came with napkins. They were so large and so inexpensive I thought I could use the material to make drapes. I procrastinated for a while and the table cloths sat waiting for me to get started. A couple of weeks ago I decided to do it. We bought some brushed nickel curtain rods and some clip hooks and about an hour later I had completely changed the dining room. The next day I bought more supplies and did the family room sliding door too. I used the matching napkins to make small curtains for the octagonal windows in the family room.

The following weekend Ken surprised me when I came home with a new light fixture for the dining room. Together we selected a fan for the family room and a light for the entry way. The picture above is my new dining room light fixture and curtains.

This is a shot of the family room with new ceiling fan and curtains. This light has a remote to operate it.


This is our new entry way light. I love it because it has one bulb that shines into the hall closet. In this picture you can see some paneling and some spindles and that lovely '70's popcorn ceiling. We still have some jobs to do.

In our kitchen we have darkly stained cabinets. On my last trip to home depot I purchased some stripper. I have one door that I am experimenting on right now. I am going to strip, lightly sand and varnish them. That is my next project. I am waiting till the kids are back in school full time to really get going on it. I will take some before and during pictures on that one so you can see the difference.

Anyone with advice for my cabinet project PLEASE post a comment or email me. Even if it is just to pity me for all the work (24 doors, 9 drawers) place your bets now on how long the job will take to complete...

Multitasking...

I have been encouraged to begin a blog. My sisters all have one and I have contributed to one but I have never sought to create my own. I guess I have been unwilling because it seems arrogant to think that what I have to say would be important to the rest of the world. My father recently encouraged me because he felt it would keep our family in better touch and I could show others an example of an woman who belongs to the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. (I have no horns, my church isn't a cult, yes we are Christians, ect...) After considering these things, I thought of a few things I could accomplish by having a blog. This can take the place of a family scrapbook. I can keep in better touch with my family and friends wherever in the world they reside. I can post a Christmas message on the blog and not feel guilt over the holidays when I fail (yet again) to send a Christmas greeting by mail (think of the postage savings!). I can post pictures and document our life so my kids can see that we are an active family that goes on vacation and does fun things a lot. Since I love multitasking...here we go.