Chinese New year Celebration

The new battery in the car.... did not help. :(     Today the car still would not start. Grrrr..... Uncle K came and looked at it. He had a couple ideas of what the problem could be and ruled out what it wasn't. Not the battery, not the starter and not the alternator. Definitely a problem the dealership will need to determine. Cha-ing (sounds costly already!!)

Had a very nice dinner tonight at Skip's. It was part of our Christmas gift.... special meals at their house once a month.... we'll call them "Skip's Supper" here on the blog. We celebrated Chinese New Year this month. Good stuff!! Won Ton soup, sweet and sour chicken, Braised Pork, rice, almond cookies.... Skip is an excellent chef. She really gets a good workout adding our family to hers.... it makes 11 all around the dining room table. We are quite a large group! I feel guilty just standing around in her kitchen watching her cook.... she is quite efficient though and never looks like she needs much help. I am better at clean up and dishes anyway!! 

The kids really look forward to the dinners. Dill, Pete and Macy all got invited to go to a basketball game tonight with Uncle K. They all love basketball, especially Macy. They thought about it and said, "We'll miss Skip's Special Supper!!" I said yes, they would and then Uncle K said he'd buy them hot dogs at the game.... no way. All the kids opted for the supper. Uncle K said he'd try again some other time.

My two fortune cookies said: "The object of your desire comes closer" and "After all is said and done, often more is said than done!" Hmmm, that must mean I should be done typing and head to bed with the rest of my family. Tomorrow I deal with the car again!!

Happy Chinese New Year!!

Secret Identities

If you are still reading this you are probably either a relative or a friend so you problably wonder about these names. I didn't know if it was a good idea to use everyone's real names for this blog so today I talked to the kids and we came up with secret identities. The kids loved the idea... don't know if they really liked the names I decided on. Oh well, they never got to pick their real names either! I will hopefully keep them all straight in my head so that any readers that do not know my crew does not get confused!!

I had an interesting chat yesterday about relationships with a friend from church. A couple in our church recently broke up and while their college age son is handling the break up well, the high school aged daughter is not. My friend feels that the parents should have stayed together, however unhappily until the kids all moved out, I think the parents needed to make sure the kids know they are loved, a plan set for how they will be cared for and the parents need to handle the situation as maturely as possible... but care for their own needs as well as the kids. This is a very sensitive issue and we both feel strongly about our opinion. At this point, we have agreed to disagree but eventually we will touch back on this topic. BTW to any friends/family reading this.... both Skip's relationship and my relationship with pepper are just fine. It is just an interesting intellectual conversation. :)

Today, we drove around to various relatives houses to celebrate the holidays. First we stopped at Dad D's family compound.... lots of people live there so adding our 7 was not that big a deal. It is amazing how loved our kids are. Sometimes it is easy to feel like Pepper and I are wading alone in this crazy kid populated place as we deal with day to day issues.  We forget all the support and love they get from our huge extended family. At Dad D's all the kids got a scratch off lottery ticket... which they all love because it makes them feel grown up. Plus they all got clothes and gift cards. Kiwi got a great shirt that said "I am famous... in Europe!" which she loved. Macy got a hoodie that she kept hugging and asking everyone to feel how soft it was.

At Dad B's house the kids all had hot chocolate and cookies at the big dining table and a card with money in it. More money than I'd expect, even Kiwi. I love that our extended family included all our kids and that all our kids feel so loved... I think it will be the best gift I get all year. We are so lucky!! :)

Our last family stop was to Uncle K and Aunt L's house. Macy said something funny that I will share.... Dad B asked, "What did you all get from Aunt L and Uncle K?" Dill replied, "I got a REAL bow and arrow set... it is so cool!!" Pete added, "I got one too, they are for hunting, the arrows are really pointy and sharp!" Macy said, "I got a shirt with a big target on the back." Everyone laughed at her quick wit!!

The kids did an excellent job at their pageant at church this afternoon and all the kids stayed awake through the candlelight service.... first time for Dill! It was very nice... I love all the lights and the familiarity of the service. The priest talked about the benefits of hugs.... which I loved because I am a big fan of hugging!! Well, kids are all asleep and we grown-ups need to get things ready to help Santa.... 

Thanks for reading..... Merry Christmas!