So much to blog, so little time

So much has happened lately, I haven't had time to post. So here's a bunch of unrelated stuff that has happened.

Here's a picture of Anika. She went ice skating on Tuesday and got a bad sprain, we thought. She still couldn't put any weight on it by Thursday, so we took her in to the instacare at the clinic. The doctor showed us the X-rays one by one and the first four showed nothing, which probably explains why he sounded surprised when we got to the last one. "Oh, that is fractured." It wasn't in her ankle, it was on her shin bone. The swelling in the ankle was from twisting it and landing on it. The fracture was from whacking it hard on the way down. She doesn't complain much except when Meredith or Anderson jumps onto the couch, which has been forbidden to them, and bumps her leg.

Here's a picture of the snowload on our house. And Lissa on the way to school as Casey is shoveling.

I have gotten my cars stuck in the snow more times in the last month than in the last five years. It makes for a really stressfull day when I have to call the flute teacher or piano teacher (again) to tell them we are stuck in our driveway and can't come. Even more stressful when the van battery is dead, Casey is in Salt Lake, it's parent teacher conference and I'm not sure if I'll make it there. I had to leave some of the kids home because I can't fit them all in the car and Anika had to be in charge from her bed on the couch.

Okay, so it took me three hours just to write this much. I get interrupted a lot. So I'll write more later.

Snowed In

It's been years since we had this much snow. And this picture only shows half of what we've gotten so far this season. We've been trapped at home at least three seperate days waiting for the snowplow.

Jealous?

Actually, I don't mind it. We have really needed it these last few years. The water table has been dropping. Some of the old cottonwood stands were dying off. And greedy developers were about to put a bunch of homes in a flood plain nearby. Hopefully they will get flooded out this spring. I don't believe in stopping all development in the valley; afterall, we built here recently, too. But I think it's dishonest to build a housing development in what they designate a "100 year flood plain" just because "it's only been 20 years since the last flood, therefore there are 80 years to go before the next one."

Double Cousin/Nephew

So, my brother Joey has a new baby boy. So does Casey's sister Katie. It's the same baby! Our kids' first double cousin! Okay, so most of you already know that my brother married my husband's sister, but I still get a kick out of it. They named the baby Luke, and he is stinkin' cute. (Babies are stinkin', and cute, but rarely as cute as this, stinkin' or not.) Of course, he's got good genes. We should know.

Luke, I am your aunt. And your other aunt. In honor of Christmas, you are my nephew Luke, and my nephew Luke II.

Snowball Fight

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Sing a Songer Merry Christmas 2007

Merry Christmas!

To all our family and friends we wish a joyful season. Hopefully you've been able to pause amid the hustle to ponder, and remind your kids, the real reason we are celebrating Christmas.

Casey and I have been married twelve years. We celebrated by giving each other one dozen eggs. No, not really. Actually, we bought ourselves the first season of MacGuyver. We like to spend time together watching cheesy television without benefit of commercials.

Casey is still working from home as a computer programmer. He's so good at what he does that now he has to spend a lot of time on the phone telling other people how to do it. He's still the scoutmaster, too. And an all around good dad and husband. Some things just don't change much from year to year.

Edith is still a full-time Mom only now we have five kids. I seem to have reached some kind of sustained crisis as far as parenting vs. housework goes. Luckily, I feel this is a temporary situation. Once the baby learns to get around on her own, I can go back to cooking (and cleaning) two handed. I'm really looking forward to having my closet back when we move the baby to her own room.

Anika is ten years old! She gets top grades in all her subjects even though she doesn't like math. She enjoys playing the flute and has a private teacher at last (no more beginning band!) Her Christmas play was one of just a few chosen to be performed by her grade. She is conscientious and responsible and wants to learn to do everything.

Clarissa turned eight and was baptised this year. She has made amazing progress in piano in the year since she started. She still loves to improvise more than to practice. She's already written songs of her own. She's very social and I can't count how many people have told me how much they enjoy Lissa. We enjoy her, too.

Anderson is five and started Kindergarten this year. He is learning to read faster even than Anika did. He is an absolute perfectionist which can be a real trial to him (and us.) He draws really incredible monsters with scads of eyes sticking up everywhere. And he makes sticky-up eyes to wear on his own head, too, out of pipe cleaners and googly eyes. He's very creative, very dramatic, very intense, and pretty lovable, too.

Meredith has turned three. She loves the baby, but doesn't love how much attention the baby gets. She loves to play with her cousins, who live close by. She still wears princess dresses, but not every single day. I could have started her in preschool, but I like to have her home with me. They really do grow up so fast.

Rosalie is the newest member of our family. She is six months old now and just learning to crawl. She is a very content person. She doesn't laugh easily, but she smiles whenever you look at her. I'm almost glad she doesn't sleep through the night yet, as that is about the only quiet time we spend together when I can just enjoy how little and dear she is.

Best wishes to all,

The Songers

Halloween Costumes

Clarissa made the ears on her costume herself and was so proud--her first sewing project!
Anderson bugged us about this costume for two months straight before Halloween. He was so happy when he finally got to wear it. He really wanted the Venom version, but I told him he had to be the good Spiderman--he doesn't break character and it can be dangerous.

Meredith took a break from being a princess to be a fairy--so pretty.

Anika is "bed head"--her cousin dressed this way last year and Ani thought it was cool.

Casey was a pirate and I was a witch but we didn't get any pictures. And Rosalie was the pumpkin that I already posted.