back in the saddle

My old laptop had become impossible.  It overheated every five minutes, then I'd have to wait for it to cool down, take ten minutes to get it sarted up again.  It wasn't worth it to even bother anymore so I took a break from it.  And as much as shopping on Black Friday is just about the perfect version of my worst nightmare, Kevin went out at midnight.  Rather than stand in the cold for six hours (and it is freezing here in Utah), he offered two high school boys who were standing in line at Office Depot $20 if they'd get a voucher for us.  They were more than happy to and Kevin came home and slept until 5:30. 

So here I am, typing away on a cheap but new laptop and it feels like heaven.  I'm sitting on my couch, because this this laptop is wireless enabled and I'm no longer tied to the desk near the drafty window.  Life is looking good at this moment.  I'm out of the blogging habit, and have barely read anything online in the last 3 weeks.  I've missed this.  I've missed you.  Now with such easy access at my fingertips and no threat of sudden shut-downs, I don't even know where to start. 

As a quick blanket statement catch-up, I'll just say that things are great.  I'm getting huge and have a feeling that these last 7 weeks will go by pretty quickly, with Christmas fast approaching and so much to get done.  I haven't even thought of gifts for the boys yet...and yes, I know how bad that makes me sound.  They love playing in our basement lately.  We started converting one room into a playroom about a year ago, and that was great.  But soon after that it became a bedroom while Kristen, Mikelle, and Abbie were staying with us.  Now it's just a room with an odd collection of things and I want to restore it to it's original purpose, only better than before.  Maybe that, along with a few new things, will be their Christmas this year.

I love the innocence of Christmas with my undemanding boys.  I want it to be wonderful in their minds, as every mother does, but I hope to keep things simple (gift-wise) for as long as possible.  Soon they'll have friends who will ask them what they're hoping for for Christmas, who will be happy to plant grand ideas in their minds.  They'll look through the catalogs and know for months in advance what to ask for.  So far this year, they're just excited about the lights that are appearing on the houses in our neighborhood.  A few weeks ago, when our neighbor put up his lights, the boys lugged blankets out to the porch and sat watching them in the cold for ten minutes before I insisted it was time for bed.  I never knew a simple string of blue lights that doesn't even blink could be so thrilling to watch, but I love that they think so.  After thanksgiving dinner this year, Tays immediately said "are we going to put up Christmas lights now?"  When I told him it was too dark and we'd have to wait he said "but we had Thanksgiving already!"  He's excited to get the show on the road and I love to hear it.

As catch-up posts go, I feel like this one hardly scratches the surface of all I'd like to record...but it's a start and good enough for now.  I'll try to post daily again, like I did once upon a time.  I like this blog better when it is a daily snapshot of my life rather than a less-personal overview.  So, same time tomorrow? =)