Christmas and so on

Christmas was nice - all were healthy, youngest was Joseph at the Christmas Eve family service, complete with WILD wig, and Oldest read scripture. Middle kid helped husband move scenery (one backdrop) and i wrangled kids and sprinted up the aisle after missing my cue to read a prayer. In my defense, I was helping a wise man.
Last night we had the wonderful opportunity to see old friends for a night as they were driving to VA beach. They'll drive back through here in a week - YEA!
We have a new mattress - isn't that thrilling? It's a Tempurpedic...still getting used to it, but so far so good.

We even got snow - snowed about 3 inches, lasted a day, and now has melted quite a bit. Probably about half of it melted - and it was the best kind of snow, where it didn't stick on the street.

We went up and saw my family pre Christmas. My mom is doing okay, getting weaker physically but is still "there" inside. Its good to see her, but still hard in some ways. I don't know what I'd do without my sisters - they really do the lion's share of the work. ALS is a wicked disease, and I wish I could change it. But I can't. So we deal with it.

It's been interesting - for the first time in the kid's lives, I've had to go to work when they were home on vacation. But it's good too, because it makes them connect more with their Dad. I'm hoping tomorrow they can all go do something fun.

Wondering what to do for New Years...Oldest leaves that night for the Sugar Bowl. I'm more nervous about that then when I sent him to Bulgaria on a missions trip!

Dogs, Cats, Goats

So I didn't get dogs, apparently. I got goats. These puppies will try to eat ANYTHING.
Especially fond of carrots, however.
And cardboard.
And my purse.
So here's a funny video...about cats. Because cats are far funnier than dogs :)

And here's a seasonal one. My sister reminded me that this was why our tree was always wired to the wall when I was growing up. Our cats used to knock it down!

Lack of Mandatory Fun is actually quite....perplexing

So, when you are in the Navy, or your spouse is, there is a certain level of "mandatory fun". Those squadron parties, dinners, open houses, children's christmas parties (that you are usually helping to put on, etc) while are all fun, are sometimes a burden on your time, energy and finances.
This year, we have none of that. Zip. Zilch. Nada.
We've had two parties that we *chose* to go to. One was a church one, my sunday school class, which was a hoot and I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe. They are fun, funny, and verrry silly.
The next was a neighbor's open house. That was today and it was just so low key and fun.
And holy cow, the Matthew McConaughey commercial for dolce and gabanna just came on. Whew.
Okay, distraction over.
Anyway, the point is that this year, it is completely different. No mandatory things to go to. It's nice in a way, but ODD as well. I wonder if that is part of the reason I can't quite grasp the nearness of Christmas.
The fact that this has been a year of change might be another.
Advent is so important, that preparation time. I just feel like this year I could use 6 weeks of Advent, not 4!
Tomorrow, barring some odd snowstorm (no, not expected, just wishful thinking on behalf of my kids) I am finishing Christmas shopping and stuff like that. And doing the cards if I can FIND them...

Moods

For no reason at all, I am in a mood so foul the only cure is to go to bed. So the house will remain in an unpicked up state, I will let the dogs out one last time, and I will take my tired body and go to bed.
And so help me, if the two oldest children are still up when I go to bed....because I love my kids. But I don't want to see you awake past 930. And certainly not past 10.
Heh. I don't even want to see myself past 10 most nights.

The good thing, however, is that moods pass and that tomorrow will be a better day.

Questions

So, somewhere else, there is a meme that involves questions. I will post the question asked of me, and then you answer it for yourself as well.
Then, I will ask YOU a question in reply, and you answer it on your space - your blog, your journal, or right here if you don't have a "space".
And as people answer YOUR question, you think of something you would like to ask them, and so it continues.

The question asked of me was...
What is your dream occupation once your sons are out of the house? A well-founded dream and a completely fantastic dream, if you like. :)

My dream job? Being in charge of Children's Ministry at a mid size church, with unlimited and committed volunteer base, a reasonable budget, totally supportive congregation and lots of freedom program wise. Okay, you peeps with church backgrounds can stop laughing now. 
Realistically, I would love to go into Children's Ministry. I enjoy that field immensely and am reasonably good at   it :) I also think it would be easier to do with no children at home of my own! 
However, I am also finding my office work very enjoyable. It's low stress although busy, and I get to do a variety of things for a good wage. I can see me doing this job for many years. 
So if I could do both, that would be ideal!