Oooooo oooooo oooooooooh I know the answer to this one - pick me! Pick me!

Oh, wait. You already did.

There's so much I could update on. We've had an extremely busy year+. Plenty of trials, and the blessing of having each other to rely on during all of them.

Back in June, my grandpa died. AJ & I hauled him back to Wisconsin for burial, strapped down in the back of our cargo trailer. One of those awkward family moments I wouldn't trade for anything... I mean, how many people are lucky enough to have a husband that when his IL's start talking about a do-it-yourself hearse service, immediately volunteers to be the driver? Me! That's who.

The writing is coming along, as well. For the first couple years post-A I couldn't bring myself to write, beyond my many posts on here. Once I finally started trying to write, it was like pushing cooked spaghetti uphill. I started one book project, and it kept bogging down over and over again.

Trying to think outside the box, I decided to set the larger book aside, and write a shorter bit of juvenile fiction. I thought that being able to finish quickly would jump-start my motivation. And here we are approx 3 years later, and no book finished yet.

BUT THERE IS FINALLY PROGRESS TO REPORT!!! I'm almost done. So close to finished I can taste it. It's taken years instead of the few months I expected, but I'm only a few short chapters from the end. I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In his spare time, AJ is working his way through a course to become a certified Christian counselor, so I'm extra-super proud of him. It's been one more thing that my best friend and I enjoy talking about with each other.

I'm so thankful for everything God has blessed us with. Not with wealth (in fact, we're usually blessed with anti-wealth), but with the things that really matter: faith, hope, love, and family. Most of all, each other.

<3

So happy to hear, neak! I'm excited for you about the book. I always enjoyed your stories about the kids.

How are Dervish and the others? Still having adventures?

Oy! Oh, yes, on a daily basis. If you can believe, the Dervish will be turning 13 in a few weeks. (He still doesn't act like it.) The Princess is freshly turned 15 and wrote 2 beautiful songs in the last week, and Mr. C will turn 17 in March. He hasn't been doing as well as the others, and got into a fair bit of trouble Oct/Nov, but has been making a huge effort to turn himself around.

Neverending insanity round these here parts.

Have you exposed at the workplace yet?

Please ignore.

(wrong thread...Doh!)

Lolololol!!!!!!Um, the only thing I have exposed at the workplace is that I'm wildly in love with my husband, and he with me.

put down the crackpipe!!!

I don't think he meant *THAT* kind of exposure!!

There was that time with the speakerphone...

Whenever someone talks about "exposure" with Neak, it's always best to clarify...

tl

Did she "turn the other Neak?"...

What a delicate way of putting it!

tl

Happy birthday, tl!

Thank you. I am attempting to age with grace, of a sort. It's a work in progress.

tl

Happy birthday!

On a completely separate subject, AJ's dad died today. His mom didn't call anyone to tell them he was doing poorly and in the hospital, so no one got to say goodbye. Of course the family are all distraught.

I haven't said anything on FB yet in case some haven't heard through better channels than social media. This unexpected death would have been sad enough without the ugliness of...whatever that was all about.

AJ

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Time for my yearly-when-I-think-of-it 9 years past D-day update. And really, February 12 has come more to symbolize a reminder to update, rather than the actual D-day itself.

Even 7 years ago I'd never have believed this possible, but sometimes the whole day and more goes by, and I don't even remember. If I don't see the date to remind me, it doesn't cross my mind. In fact, the only reason I managed to remember this year was because I rented Cool Runnings after the kids asked why it was such a big deal to have a Jamaican bobsled team. The rental expired on the 12th, and the kids were counting the days down, trying to watch their new favorite movie as many times as possible before it went away.

Now, here we are, up in the middle of the northland winter, with little pasty children running around, "Ya mon!" "Dervish, you dead?" "Ya mon!"

I don't have time for a long update. Having just finished the taxes, there are few clean clothes in the house and even fewer clean dishes. The Dervish is home sick from school, (and will be sick still on his 13th birthday tomorrow, poor guy) and Mr. C is recovering from a long bout with some Oklahoma plague. The same plague he passed on to his little brother, oh joy.

Much of the year has been awful. We've been under some pretty heavy-duty testing and trials. AJ and I have been blessed to have each other through everything that's happened, and we appreciate each other now more than ever. We're still wildly in love, and expect to be in love forever now that we know how to make it happen.

In two more years, we will have been together half our lives. In six more years, we will have been married half our lives. This summer will be our 18th anniversary.

God is good!

Neak! You wrote

Auto correct? It made me chuckle!

Ack yes stupid autocorrect!!!!!!!!!!! And not wearing reading glasses so ididnt even notice.