My older son's spacebar is filled with, well, probably jelly and Steve's whole keypad is this rubbery, bendable thing, so words like "sunset" and "boogiemanbottomfeeder" should be separated.

I will never forget the winter of 77/78. That was da bomb. My school burned down during that time, too, so I got a month off of school and when we went back, we went to Millett Hall in a very makeshift school with classes partitioned by ropes on the concourse. It was sooo awesome for us seventh graders and thinking back, I wonder how those poor teachers endured. But I'm sure they also enjoyed the month and guess what, we didn't have to make up ANY of it that summer- we got a special sort of official governmental school-board top-secret meeting clearance and I have missed a month of school in my life- can you tell? I'm just a liiiiiittle slower than the rest.

MOm didn't want those details "out there" and I respect that. I apologized to her because I offended her.

Today we finally have some quantifiable snowfall for the first time this winter. About 4 inches-enough to slow down a Sunday. Micah and Kross built a snow fort and sledded down the hill. Nathanael had a sore throat but still went outside and declared himself at last "satisfied" with the first real evidence of winter. The snow is the packable, wet kind- fun for snowballing and easy to wipe off vehicles. It was exactly 32F as the sunset so a nice fog was rising. I wonder how much of this wetness will refreeze overnight.

We finally had to get something of a storm, though it won't inconvenience us as much as the kids had hoped. :) After having less snow than even Los Angeles, it was finally time.

Mom says she is doing fine and wants to end this blog entry becauseboogiemen bottom feeders might be reading,but really only about 4 people ever read my blog...so that is it.

Changes

So many changes- and I don't have enough time to do them. Trying to follow up on Nathanael's college applications now, and get the tax paperwork (FAFSA and the like) in to each college he's interested in- exhausting. Trying to apply for this and that grant, scholarship, etc. Knowing that no matter what, the first semester's tuition of someplace is going to still be astronomical, if it's one of the private ones. Knowing we will have to come up with thousands of dollars this summer for just the first semester. Knowing all of what we have actually saved could be eaten up just the first semester.

Trying to get the house in ready condition, and spurring it to get sold. The bathroom is redone. I need Dan to come out and see it and make his recommendations. We need to finish the back patio and we're almost good to go except for painting and cleaning.

Changes in my family of origin. The dynamics are different. The most positive change is that my brother Dave is a Christian now. It is incredible and God advances his kingdom person by person. Everything, even the terrible stuff, works out for the ultimate good for those who love Him. (Yes, I paraphrase from the Bible...I stopped long ago trying to be the person who can parse it chapter and verse...but for those who can, that IS a good thing, because you really have an ORGANIZED arsenal against the lies of the world.)
The unpositive things are health challenges my parents are dealing with. More later.