Rachel made me cry!

I was baby-sitting on Monday afternoon while Deb had a doctor appointment.  All the kids had gone downstairs to play and it as just Rachel and I upstairs.  Rachel had made her way on top of the kitchen table, so I grabbed her.  I was holding her and Klove was on so I began to dance around the house with her.  I wouldn't say she 'loved' the experience.  She just sort of looked at me, half smile here and there.  But she didn't protest.  So I kept twirling around.  I started tearing up an everything.  I haven't nailed down why.  Did I cry because -I don't have my own little one to twirl around with, and oh how I want one - or because I've never really twirled around with Rachel before so maybe I feel like man I don't even know this one! - or maybe it reminded me of my dad and Abby.  I don't know - but I did cry (thank goodness everyone else was downstairs), and she just let me twirl as I wanted.  It was a great moment.  I stopped a minute to take a picture because I wanted to remember it.

We got a new van.  Well you know what I mean - used, but new to us.  It is a 96 ford windstar.  It is a year older than my white car - but a year newer than my old van. We sold our car to Manny who was happy to have a car - although he needs to practice driving stick!  The experience was a great reinforcement of the FPU principles of not borrowing money.  I was telling Jorge "can you believe this van is a year newer than our old one - and we paid way over 3x as much for our other one because we financed it - and not to mention got a good deal for paying cash on this one."  Manny was also happy to have a car without a car payment.  So its light blue, tinted window, and has "captains chairs" - only  a bench seat in back, middle and front have separate seats.

So what do you all eat for Christmas?  I am wondering what we are going to eat for Christmas? I'm not really wanting a "thanksgiving round two" - I'm not much of a turkey fan, we too have turkey still in our fridge.  What would be special - not so ordinary.

Oh, Susan - I hope your new job is all you hoped and more.  Also we're trying something new out with our dog.  We've fixed up the front yard for her so she can run around unleashed - hopefully she doesn't push too hard on the front gate - or realize that if she stands on the steps she can hop over the fence (that's how her backyard jumps started at mom's, standing on something and realized she could).  We do let her in quite a bit now -since yesterday.  We'll see how it all works out.  Just thought you'd like to know since you were so concerned with "being tied up is no life".  Hopefully she is enjoying her life more.

Oh yeah.  My kids got sort of unnerved by a car that past by.  They were all playing in the snow yesterday morning and a car at the stop rolled down their window and said "aren't you kids supposed to be in school - did you get kicked out".  Cathy came running in to tell me.  I asked what their reply was - none of them said anything back.  Cathy didn't want to go out anymore.  She sat at the window and said she saw the car come by a few more times.  Jorge didn't care.  He said he was going to say "we're home-schooled and we're at recess".

Ok.  That's all.