Winter is Here! Dang it!

I guess I shouldn't complain. It is after all FEBRUARY! We just had our most significant snow on Saturday. 11.5 inches in well under 24 hours. It was just crazy. The wind wasn't awful, so we didn't end up with the terrible drifts that we had the last two winters. Thankfully Jeff was home and able to get the driveway cleared before leaving for Washington State... again! This is his third week-long trip to Moses Lake, Washington since the beginning of the year. Good times.

On the work front, besides going out of town ALL. THE. TIME, Jeff was recently promoted to the position of COO at DBI. This all transpired after Erv passed away. Hopefully Jeff will take well to this new role.

I am still staying busy with my medical transcription work. It has been very interesting. I am down one client, but I am totally fine with that. With Jeff traveling a lot for work, it helps that I can get done a little earlier so that I can go pick Josh up.

Speaking of Josh... he is doing fabulously! He is enjoying school and Cub Scouts. The Pinewood Derby is coming up this Sunday. It was originally scheduled for last Saturday, but with all the snow, it was postponed. He and I recently got our library cards, so he has been reading... a lot! The past couple of days have been spent building a huge fort and throwing snow balls at Bella.

We were able three weeks ago to see our niece Hannah get baptized. Pretty neat. We are preparing for a short visit from my sister and her two kiddos, Niko and Natalya. We can't wait. They arrive on Friday early in the afternoon and leave early Saturday morning. We are going to get the kids pictures taken. So, hopefully I will stick to my word and actually post some pictures on this blog! I am just terrible about that!

Where Does the Time Go?

I cannot believe that October is already almost half over! Like the blog title says, "Where does the time go?" Tonight will be a quick update on the happenings with our family. I hope to update later this week after Josh's birthday... the big 8!

Jeff is staying busy with work. He is travelling a lot. He has taken on the role of Den Leader for Josh's Cub Scout Wolf Pack. We just had our first meeting last Friday night. It was only organizational, so totally boring for the poor kiddos, but I feel like we got a lot accomplished, and I know that Jeff is up for the task. He is very organized and can delegate like it is nobody's business!

I am staying very busy with my work as a medical transcriptionist/chauffer (for Josh). It is so nice being able to stay at home to work. I don't make nearly as much money as I did at my previous jobs in KC, but I have to say, it is a heck of a lot less stressful (the majority of the time). I do miss the adult interaction (a lot). Listening to doctors all day just isn't the same as actually being able to have a conversation with a real, live human being! Oh well! I am enjoying the occasional "Ladies Night" with my good friend Jen. I am so glad that I was finally able to find someone that I can relate to up here, and that lives close! She has it timed... 7 minutes from her door to mine. She is awesome. And I just adore her boys!

Now, onto the most important member of the family, Josh! Josh is doing amazing. He is loving school. We are struggling with getting him to LISTEN to directions and take his time. The teacher assures me that this is normal for boys, but that doesn't make me feel any better about it! Josh is counting down the days to his birthday... 4 more! Closer to 3 now! He is super pumped, as he is having his birthday party at LaserQuest this year. It has been three years since he has had a birthday party that included his friends. This year, he is having his friends, and he is having his cousins Allen, Allison, Brittany, and his "brother" Brice. So, since they are coming, it will be an even more special day as he looks up to them so much! I am really excited to give Josh one of his gifts this year. He is SUPER into anything related to the weather. This is going on 2+ years at this point. Last year for his birthday we went to the local TV station in Lincoln and he spent the afternoon of his birthday in the Weather Center with the chief meteorologist learning all about how they do the weather forecast. Well, since then, he has found out that about The Weather Channel (TWC). He is OBSESSED with TWC. He knows all the programs. He knows all the TV personalities. His favorite is Dr. Forbes, the severe weather expert and creator of the TorCon (an index that can predict the likelihood of a tornado in your area). Josh made me "friend" Dr. Forbes on Facebook. I was able to get in touch with Dr. Forbes and find out an address for TWC. Jeff wrote a letter explaining a little bit about Josh's passion about weather, and how much he respects Dr. Forbes. Dr. Forbes quickly sent a personal letter and autographed photo back. We didn't tell Josh about the letter that we sent to Dr. Forbes. We are having the letter from Dr. Forbes and the photo framed for his birthday. It is going to be awesome.

In September over Labor Day weekend, we surprised Josh with a trip to Kansas City to Worlds of Fun. He hadn't been since he was 3 (I think). He actually braved the Mamba and the Prowler. He wasn't a fan, but was so brave! We also got to see our friend Jenny, her husband Scott, and their daughter Elizabeth. They are having a baby in December, so it was fun to be able to see them on our trip down there!

My dad and Pauline are doing okay. Dad is super busy with harvest. He loves it. Pauline is busy with work (as usual) and with the city commission. Not much new on their front.

My sis Kara and her husband David, and Taly and Niko moved to Dallas at the beginning of August. They are living with my aunt Linda and her family until they are able to find a house. They haven't been having much luck on that front. They are hopeful that they will have something figured out by next Friday. They did find out last week that my nephew Niko might be deaf or hard of hearing. We are saying lots of prayers that he is not. They have an appointment with the specialist on Halloween.

So much for a short post! Oh well!

Kate