Thanksgiving

I wish I could say I am thankful for the health of my family, but.... We are now on another round, but this time, I think it is just a cold. Or a couple of colds- Aaron and Clark. It might be bad allergies, but we are taking precautions. Quarantine isn't too strict, is it? I have had to buy another can of Lysol. I spray the couches every night. If I could get them to bathe in it, I would.

On another note, the play is over and Aaron did a great job. He did props with two other kids and for the most part things went smoothly. One of the young ladies is a very good friend of the family and she had a story to tell me one night. It seems the other young lady was feeling her power and said some unkind things to Aaron. On several occasions. When I asked Aaron about it, he confirmed it. I asked him why he didn't say anything and he said that he did not want to get into trouble and just ignored her. I am of two minds about this. It is good that he can ignore her because I am sure that chaps her hide even more. However, Mama Lion says to tell her to stop it and to shut her mouth. But as a dear friend tells me, I cannot fight his battles. So when the young lady in question came up and confronted me, I held my teeth as well as my tongue and went on. It was very hard! When he was younger it was so much easier. I got involved in all the battles. I think I am doing okay with this growing up thing. WHATEVER!! I am lucky Lauren and Alex are still young. Lauren seems to be able to take care of herself, though. We have had a conversation about getting the teacher involved before it comes to blows. Just on her part. I am glad she can take care of herself, we just have to walk that fine line.

On to other news. Heather, my step daughter will be moving in with us at the end of the semester. There are many reasons for this which we will not discuss, but we are very excited about it. Aaron and Alex will be sharing a room and Heather will be moving into Alex's room. We will be going through everything and paring down a great deal. There has been an ongoing joke that we have a toy store in our house. It might be true. I never realized how much stuff we have. I spent several hours deep cleaning the front room and going through everything. There was a bunch of stuff that has seemed to wander into that room from other places in the house. Now to be honest, it was not a straight several hours. I did have to stop for the stray Popsicle, snack, or referee. Not for me, for the seven children that were in my house. I am going to be working my way through the rest of the house doing the same thing. It should be an adventure. Sounds like fun, huh.

I have noticed that now that school activities have settled down,the holidays are coming up. How is that fair?

In an effort to make everyone happy, I have failed and made no one happy. My husband may have to work the day after Thanksgiving, we are not sure yet. If not, we are going to see his grandmother in Tennessee. If he does, we have the option to go to my brother's house with the whole family. I love my family, but sometimes it is nice to have a toned down holiday. Well, that seemed to upset everyone, so I said that we would have dinner at home and go to my brother's for dessert. No good. I was told that if we don't come for dinner, don't come. GRRR!! I understand what everyone has to say, I just don't want to be in the middle anymore. I am done feeling like I have to choose. I feel pulled apart. I know my family will be reading this and I hope that no one gets upset, but it is easier to explain in print. We have a very tough couple of weeks with everyone being sick and stressed at work and school. I just wish they could see it and understand. Well, I'll just put it in God's hands and let things go. I am planning to enjoy my holiday with whatever family I am with. Big Sigh!!

I am now off to explain to my six year old that she is not old enough to stay up past 10pm even if it is vacation. It is hard when you feel that you are older than you really are.