Very old picture from Uncle Willard's visit. Dad sleeps and Uncle Willard fixes a clock on G'pa and G'ma E.'s front porch.
Girl party time! Tam, Bev, me, and Alissa.
Derrek getting Haddie to howl (much to the dismay of her parents).
Reatha showing off her maturity level.
A few of my random cousins: Brandis and Reatha.
Sierra and Haddie play memory with great-aunt Arlene.
Brandis enjoyed my camera.
G'pa K. reading a magazine.
The traditional 42 game with Derrek, Brendon, Wendell, and Jacinta.
The girls loved playing with great-uncle Keith.
Haddie climbing over the chair...
...and into his lap.
Sierra getting her share of the fun...
...and chatting.Chilly weather settles like a lazy fog on the bitter Illinois ground. Farmers rush to finish harvest, spinning tires in the mud and staring glumly at the falling rain. Traffic floods the streets as employees work extra hard to earn their Christmas bonuses and shoppers get a head start on Christmas. And somewhere within that maze, each individual lives an individual life. And we are daily faced with countless pressures, duties, and opportunities. Such is life: crazy, fun, and ultimately under the control of a loving God. My life has picked up a bit since I've last written. Of course, I can barely remember the last time I've written.
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I battled sickness for two long months. My cough and cold got worse instead of better. Finally, with a cringe of a tightwad (frugal missionary blood still runs through my veins), I visited a health clinic where the doctor diagnosed me with bronchitis and put me on some strong (and expensive) antibiotic. Praise God that he chose to work through the antibiotic! My second day of antibiotics (which happened to be my birthday) I had energy for the first time in a month! Since then, I've been taking it easy but gradually getting back into real life.
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Two days a week, I've been babysitting 11-month-old Andrew. He's been growing up so much. He pulls himself up on things and moves around so fast! He gets into everything, especially window blinds. Sometimes the day is filled with chasing him around and keeping him out of trouble. He loves books now... and not just chewing on them. He likes to listen to me read them. Did you know that cows say "Mooo!", sheep say "Baaa!" and three singing pigs say "LA! LA! LA!"? He is extremely ticklish which makes him fun to tease. And he loves to be chased: "I'm goina GETCHYOU!" And he also loves to be "eaten". I don't understand that. What is in a little kid that makes them love to be "eaten"? But he giggles happily when I stick his toes in my mouth and make loud munching noises. He discovered the joy of climbing stairs which may drive me to an early grave. He's sure the way to go down is headfirst and wonders why his babysitter never lets him try it. One day I arrived to find what I assumed was Asta. She looked like a shorn sheep, as Janelle so accurately put it. Nicholas (Andrew's older brother) informed me that "Her was groomed!" Unfortunately, poor old Asta's health has taken a turn for the worse and she now has to be kept in her kennel all day due to accidents she leaves behind on the floor. Maybe her health changed the day I chased her around the couch and coffee table twice before I caught and spanked her for biting at Andrew. Perhaps Janelle and I have been causing her excessive stress.
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My birthday passed uneventfully. It was a perfect day. Nothing big and exciting happened but nothing bad happened either. I spent the morning in the semi with my dad, going back and forth to the elevator. We had delicious cake and ice cream at youth to celebrate. Friends and family made me feel very special!
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I worked a day at my old job as a receptionist at the dentist office. Working there brought back a lot of memories... good and bad. Unfortunately, that was the day that I came down with a fever and went home to go to bed.
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Mom and I have done a lot of house-cleaning. When we cleaned the living room, we ran into Dad's record collection. Mom put on Handel's Messiah. Bradley once described the singing as: "By the time the singer finishes the word, you forget what the word was!" "And he will be chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanged!" Mom and I laughed ourselves to tears when the record stuck, and we barely managed to save the repeatedly dying orchestra. Another winner was some sort of homemade record from one of Mom's friends. He whistled one song. Mom looked a wee bit melancholy at the thought of giving up the record, but I assured her that she was making the right decision. Dad sentimentally turned on Johnny Cash which sent vibrations throughout the entire house. "Because you're mine... I'll walk the line!" It was an interesting finale to finishing up the living room cleaning.
~~~
Janelle and I celebrated the fact that we both had a day off and got together to bake cookies and then pass them out to the people we knew in town. It was a good day, although I silently wonder to myself how in the world we managed to spend so many hours in the little village of Roanoke. Lots of fun though... Thanks, Janelle!
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I've been doing lots of reading since I've been home, due to my sickness and partially un-employed state. I love libraries and renewed my card with much anticipation. Although my life is getting busier now, I still try to squeeze in some reading time. I'm working on a few old and "modern" classics that I'd always wondered what they were like and never had time to read. I can lose myself in books like The Pearl by John Steinback and Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. Other books like The Jungle by Upton Sinclair and The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck are harder to enjoy. But I like to analyze why these books are considered classics.
~~~
Janelle and I went out to eat with a couple from church and their son (Davis, Marilyn, and Jonah to those of you who know them). After the delicious Indian buffet, Davis, who hates any animals with hairless tails, somehow led the conversation astray. Without realizing what he was going to say, he burst out with:
Davis: Have you girls ever eaten possum?
Jonah: DAD! Why are you talking about this?
Davis (sickly): Oh dear. (Looks at Marilyn) Dear, do you have a piece of candy or something? (takes a sip of Jonah's Pepsi and silence reigns as Davis tries very hard to think about something else).
~~~
One Monday night, I stopped to see my sisters at work. Tony, their boss, was making out the schedule and offered me a job as a hostess. So I trained with my sister on Tuesday night and worked on my own on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. I think I'll enjoy it. I noticed that people are generally amiable because they've just eaten when they come up to the register. (Very different from my job as a receptionist at the dentist office: "I have a toothache! Get me in right now!") Also, several of the workers speak Spanish (some of them ONLY Spanish) which will be good for me! At first I thought I wouldn't tell any of them that I had lived in Mexico and sneakily eavesdrop on conversations about the waitresses. Unfortunately, as soon as I clocked in on the first night I heard "Tree-see-uh!" and the bus boy started talking with me in Spanish. My cover was already blown. Bummer. The two dishwashers are the most fun to talk to; they say absolutely nothing and give me terrified glances whenever I say something to them. I've discovered the joy of bussing tables when the bus boy has a day off. I also found out that the waitresses tip me for bussing! I've already made some crazy mistakes so that Tony has had to drop his work to straighten out for me. He's been very gracious... so far. I'm enjoying learning to know a whole new group of people.
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On Thanksgiving Day we had the entire Zoss (my grandma Kennell's side) family over to our house for dinner. We had a gi-normous spread which tempted us all into (or nearly into) gluttony. With so many people in the house, the noise level was louder than the orphanage right before a meal (yikes!) and the temperature rose to Mexican summer heights. I didn't mind the temperature part so much! The great-grandchildren charmed all of the adults as we played games and ate food. I spent most of the afternoon in a loooooong Apples to Apples game.
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Have a great week or month everyone! Be thankful for all of your blessings even in the midst of the Christmas rush!
