I just love snow. It's so...peaceful.

We are settled in CO--back in the Denver area, which is nice as I have two sisters and a pack of small nephews here as well. It's beautiful, and we get ever so much more snow than we did in Grand Junction.

Aedan is growing - he's quite big for his age, and still adorable and perfect (well, at least I think so, but E says I have baby pride...hmmmmm).



I've started writing again, and am really getting into it. It's nice, because for a while there, my dreams and imagination seemed stale, but since I've taken it up again, my dreams have become the adventures in other worlds that I have missed and longed for. Nightly journeys to discover the great and the fanciful.

Back to Aedan (as I clearly have not much else going on right now) - he is starting to sit up and will most likely be crawling very soon. I had him standing yesterday and my nephew who is 13 months older is only an inch or two taller. Nice. I always wanted a big baby...I am so lucky and blessed.

My law office wants me to come back to work part time and I'm thinking about it. I want to and I don't. I think that I might miss Aedan too much, but it would be nice to bring in some extra cash for the enormous student loans we will likely be paying on till we die...sigh. But, I have time to think as it wouldn't be until summer.

Mmmmmm...summer.../lazy kitty stretch/... and now one more pic of my little Buggaboo, and then all is well, as it should be.

My husband called me up this morning and told me that if I was willing, that he was going to put in his notice at work. I was thrilled. Yes, that means no more income for a little bit, and stretching money as far as it goes, but who needs money? I would so much rather have my husband back. His work had gotten out of control and I haven't seen him in ages. Yes, I am so pleased that we will be together albeit poor as church mice. We are going to move in with my folks while hubby looks for a new job. WOW, this is such a blessing for us. I know that he feels somewhat a failure for not providing once his two weeks are up, but in the long run, life will be so much better for us. I mean really, how long can you go before enough is enough? Luckily, enough was enough today. Hubby will again get to go to church with his family, see us daily, find a job that will support us without us never being able to see each other. I think that is worth a little bit of poverty. I am so happy, and a little bit emotional. I now have two weeks to pack all our belongings, deciding which must be with us and which can be store, arrange for a moving truck, figure out final bills on utilities, all for our 6th move in 3 years of marriage, but each was worth it. This one especially.

I am so happy.

Well, it has been a long time. The baby has now been born - Aedan Kai, 8.04oz and 21 5/8 inches. He is beautiful, but I won't make you take my word for it, so I am attaching a picture my sweet husband took of our super adorable baby. I love this picture almost as much as I love the baby himself.




Now, my husband keeps wondering if we are those parents who think their little troll is a beautiful baby, but I have assured him that in my extensive baby knowledge, that we do not have a troll baby, and that he really is cute. He is also amazingly calm. He has had high bilirubins, and thus had a lot of blood drawn from his heels, and never has he cried from being poked and prodded by needles...we are the lucky ones here. Oh, he is just so sweet and I can't believe he is here and ours!

Family is kind of a funny thing. E and I are expecting our first and he has been hoping beyond hope for a little girl. He claims it is because all girls love their dads more than their moms (though I have explained that a girl can be a daddy's girl or a mama's girl, as can a boy (be a daddy's boy, not a daddy's girl)). In any case, we have found out that we are having a boy (Aedan by name) and now E believes that the boy will hate him and he has accepted it. I think, why would Aedan hate E? No reason that I can come up with.

However, E does not like his father, has not spoken to him in about 10 years. Maybe E assumes that that is they way families are.

I can't imagine growing up in a family where you didn't feel loved and cared for and safe. My babies are going to have the same type of love and care that I felt--not just by me, but also by E, who try to deny as he will is totally in love with the idea of being a father. I know he wants to show the world (as he always has) that just because you have a crappy childhood doesn't mean that you have to be, or rather as the world states it, that you cannot help but be dysfunctional, cannot help but to inflict the same kinds of abuse on your kids, and that your adult life cannot be fulfilling. One of the things that has always attracted me to E is his way of taking responsibility for all his own actions, and demanding that of others. No, "I couldn't help it, look at my childhood...look where I grew up..." or any other such nonsense.

And yet, for all his strength of mind and character, he still only has his childhood to go on. Only his to know what childhood is like. How sad is that? Anytime I talk of how things are (in my mind) he cannot see it, believes that I am completely abnormal, and that my childhood is unlike anyone else's in the world...maybe. I did/do have two absolutely amazing parents whom I dote on and love, and feel secure with.

My family, for all its independence is very close knit. We have our problems, but we also know that by sticking together, everything will be all right, even the hardest trials will prove ok as we have this support. E has never had that...never. And, even though we have been married almost three years now, he has just barely begun to accept the fact that my family is there for him and loves him as they are and do for me.

I guess I simply feel super grateful that I am allowed to be part of such a great family--twice, the one I grew up in, and the one I will help raise.

Soooo...when E was transferred, we were informed that he would be receiving a moving bonus. Great. We planned to fix our car, pay off the credit cards, and have a little fun. So...where is it? We moved on November 1. It is now December 1. No sign. E had me call a phone number he had gotten in an email and the lady I spoke with said that he was not yet transferred on the system. Ok....Sigh. I am now hoping that things will be worked out and figured out by next paycheck time so that we can have a little Christmas. It appears that all of our bills (yes ALL) are due the first half of the month. Unfortunately, that means that this month, having no padding, and paying the final bills from TX and the new bills from CO... well, you see my predicament.

Also, being as we had to pay two rents for Oct and Nov., my dear sweet mother, Lady Hoo, offered, and advanced the deposit for our place here in CO back in October. I promised to pay her back with the bonus...alas and alack...I hope she won't mind too much that we still haven't gotten it.

But, if nothing else comes from this holiday, I have my Christmas Tree! Man, I love that tree. It is so pretty, and its mine, and it makes things feel and smell very Christmas-y...I love Christmas.

So, you would think, that since I am unemployed and housebound that I might write more...Apparently you would be wrong. I find myself wasting (yes, wasting) time in incredible amounts. Why, just today I spent 2 hours playing an older game that E got me started on (Morrowind), then 2 hours on the phone with my brother helping him write his paper, then Morrowind for the next...6 hours? Whew..and yet, I enjoy wasting my time. And yet again, I don't...a quandary. I need a job.

On a happy note, E got me a Christmas tree! Our first tree. Yes, this will be our third Christmas, but you know... Anyway, its beautiful. About seven feet tall, green, and, if you look at it from the right angel, covered with lights and ornaments and half covered with bead garland. I love it. Just don't look from the wrong side because while the tree is still beautiful, you can definitely see my lack of ornaments.

Ahhh...pretty tree, lovely pine smell...twinkly lights...

My parents purchased a baby turkey this past spring with the intent of eating him come Thanksgiving. They appropriately named him Dinner. This past week, they took him in to be beheaded and befeathered in preparation for the upcoming holiday. They hoped for a 20-25 pound end result, and instead they got a 35 pound turkey! 35 pounds of turkey...what do you do? Now my dad is talking of taking his reciprocal saw (is that right?) to it and chopping it into pieces... well, it is only Lady, PJ, and Chunk left at home and 10 pounds+ of turkey per person may be taking this holiday a bit too far.

E and I will be celebrating Thanksgiving on Saturday. E works Thursday and my sis her husband will be coming down this weekend, so Saturday it is!

Also, E doesn't like pie, so I have found a pumpkin marble cheesecake recipe that I will be trying out. It sounds quite good.

Speaking of pies: PJ called me today to get my pie crust recipe and to find out how I make pecan pies...mom had told me that he had been making pies lately (mostly rhubarb, but Lady loves a pecan pie (must be the southern in her)). Also, a good friend of mine, Gail, will not be going home for Thanksgiving and she and her sister and roommate are going to have an all you can eat pie buffet...fruit pies, cream pies, veggie pies (the sister is vegetarian and G loves her veges)...sighhh. I would make pies and bake like I love to do, but E refuses to eat any of it and so I eat it until the rest has to be tossed...and do you know what [Indignation] E had the audacity to tell me that he thinks I overeat because my baked goods were gone! I actually got quite mad and pointed out to him that it took me a week to eat half and then I had to toss the rest. But, since then, I have not been cooking like I like. On a good note, he will eat cheesecake.

Has anyone seen a box? Beyond the large supply of moving boxes that we had in our storage area in TX from our move there in May (which the very helpful movers brought with them to Grand Junction for us), we also have a seemingly never-ending supply of boxes in the process of being emptied... why, we have (seriously, I was curious and a little bored) 82 book boxes (now empty) in the apartment, and that's in addition to the who-knows-how-many are sitting on my back deck (the temporary box supply room). Also, I have noticed that unpacking is time consuming... One more also: Somehow, I have ended up with stacks of books that don't seem to fit on my shelves and I have a dish box full of hardbacks (yes, the packers were kind enough to load one very large very heavy box of books for me!)--how did I have these placed before so that they all fit?

Beyond that, I am unpacking at a snails pace...I simply don't want to.

On with the reading books that have been sitting on my shelves unread, I am reading Hans Brinker, Or the Silver Skates...a book I started when a child (I got it for my 10th birthday) but never finished...I must say, I completely understand why I never finished it. The book jumps suddenly and confusingly to people you only have a vague notion of, and the main characters (Hans Brinker and his fam) are thus far (about halfway through the book) a very small part of the story...which seems to revolve around a trip by skate to a city taken by a large group of boys, not including Hans. It also appears that these boys do nothing but talk about the history of Holland--which, while being interesting, makes me wonder at its accuracy as the book is written by a 30-something farmwife from NJ in the mid 1800s who was not from Holland...

Well and well. We made it. The movers came early, the packers early and then we were off. Spent two days with sis' in Denver and then here. We have also discovered that the lady who rented us our place was a wee bit...creative(?) with her description of the apartment. The place is ok, price great, area...slum-like...well, as slum-like as a smallish town can get. Ah well. Not working...unpacking...E is gone to work and will most likely not be home for days now, but the good news is that when he has days off, they should really be days off and not pretend days off (ie he would have to go in to work on his days off).

In other news, I now have more cable channels than I have ever had before and still, there is nothing to watch...an anomaly. When I signed up for the cable, I had no idea that the package I was getting had so freaking many things to watch...I am not a huge TV fan, but E insists on cable (I never had it before I married him, and would be perfectly happy without it but...), but tonight, with him gone overnight in this questionable neighborhood...well, TV can be a comfort. Of course, I have had to rely on old favorites on DVD (Harry Potter tonight) and not so much the tele. Also, When I was talking with the cable people, they asked what channels I watched and I specifically said BBC America and I have yet to find that one listed in my guide...Oy.

Finally! I just got the call. Our move is finally arranged and none too soon! The packers will be here tomorrow (yes, tomorrow) morning and the movers Weds am and then...blow a kiss goodbye to TX and all things large--we are on our way back to Colorado. Home sweet home. I am hoping to convince E that since our paltry possessions will not be delivered until Mon the 6th, that we should spend a couple of nights in Denver seeing my sisters...maybe Weds and Thursday evenings?

By the way, I made Shepherd's pie the other night (first time, using my sister-in-law's recipe)...not so good, and I even doctored the recipe so that it would actually have more flavor than what was called for...and yet, still too bland. Ah well.