First off, I need to apologize. A couple of weeks ago, my column was a repeat of the week before, which caused some disappointment for those of you who read it. Last week it was overlooked, or there simply wasn’t room in the paper for it, so it did not run. I’m sorry. I looked over and over that paper from a few weeks ago and could have sworn it wasn’t there, so I told them to run it. Cheryl was right. I do need a break!

Every week things seem to get crazier and crazier. Most of the time, I’m questioning whether or not I did the “this or that” which I was supposed to do. I’ve been so focused on getting the house ready to move into that I’ve lost my sanity, or at least what I had left of it. God knows I am ready to slow down, but life doesn’t seem to let up.

A couple of Sundays ago, we set our Christmas tree up at the Money Pit. Jacob had his girlfriend Savannah over along with her mom, Vera. My mom came over as well and brought brownies and Rice Crispy treats. We listened to Christmas carols while we decorated the tree. The traditional carols are my favorite! We had a lovely evening. Vera has been popping in from time to time over the last couple of weeks, helping me slap paint on the walls. The first time she came by, she said she was just coming over to chat, and before I knew it, she had a brush in hand.

Remember the Wednesday windstorm? Well, before the wind worked its way up to hurricane strength, I was rushing around to get papers delivered. Newspapers and high winds don’t go together. In my head, I imagined piles of newspapers blowing out of my car and having to chase after them. Wouldn’t that have been a comical sight! After getting all the papers to where they needed to be, I headed to Sutton to pick up a pair of jeans for Jacob. He wears a 29x33, which has been a difficult size to find. Thankfully, another mom has a tall, skinny son who grew out of his before all the goodie was used up, and I could snag him a pair for Christmas.

That week was a blur. Our phone service was moved on Thursday, but nothing seemed to go right after that. I did manage to get the Christmas gifts wrapped and a few other things accomplished that needed doing. Saturday, we were in Omaha with the two youngest. It was Nicky’s 12th birthday, and we had breakfast for lunch at a truck stop and opened birthday and Christmas gifts. All the grandparents sent money to purchase the kid’s Christmas gifts. This year we took the boys shopping for new bedroom sets. Jack and Nicholas have grown out of the Spiderman sheets we purchased 10 years ago, and Jacob’s bed set was plain worn out from use.

On the way home from Omaha, we stopped off in York for an hour to visit Robert and Stacey. Robert is on holiday leave. Sadly, I am no longer the most important woman in his life. His first stop was to see his sweetheart. She is a cute little thing, and I have a feeling he may have his hands full with that one. Dynamite comes in small packages, you know.

On Sunday, we got off to a late start, but we got our bed, and a few necessities moved into the Money Pit, like the coffee pot. Our pickup wouldn’t start, but thankfully my friend Linda had brought hers. Getting a queen-size mattress and box spring up the stairs was a bit of a challenge. It had to be lifted up and over the banister, turned on end and pulled up the last set of steps, then laid back on its side the long way to go through the hall and door. It’s never coming out! After the bed, the rest was fairly easy.

Once we were all done moving stuff around we, let our kitty out of her crate. The first thing she did was bolt to the basement. So after her, I went. I saw a shadow dart across the floor as I switched the light on to the basement. Down the steps, I was saying to myself, “Please be a bird. Please be a bird.” It wasn’t. Of course, it wasn’t! It was a bat. It wouldn’t be my life if it weren’t. So I squatted down close to the floor so the scared little rodent wouldn’t fly into me and caught the cat. I took her up to the bedroom and locked her in. Heaven forbid I lose my husband’s cat!

Down to the basement, I went broom in hand. The frightened little creature that had been shivering on the rafter was nowhere to be found. I got a canvas drop cloth and stapled it all around the door to the dungeon and opened the outside door in the stairwell. George and I spent a good half hour trying to locate the intruder and finally just gave up.

As if moving into a construction zone and finding a bat in the basement wasn’t enough for one day, Robert and Stacey decided to come home for a few days and “help out.” Robert had originally planned to come home Tuesday and help move the washer, dryer and freezer. They brought their dog with them. A family on the base where he is stationed gave him the dog. She is a Great Parranese, border collie cross. Our house is not exactly pet friendly at the moment and we already have a cat and a bat living with us. Willow, the giant baby dog, had to sleep in the garage. I say sleep lightly as she barked most of the night as I waited for a sheriff’s deputy to bang on the door because of complaints.

The next day we got things cleaned up and allowed Willow inside. None of us had gotten any sleep Sunday evening because of her constant whining. Tuesday, Robbie, Jacob and I moved over the remaining appliances, and the boys hauled my trash down to the compactor. After that, it’s again a blur. Even though we were missing several of our kids, we still had a house full. Maybe we should have gotten a bigger money pit!

For Christmas this year, my best friend gave me a gift card to the hardware store. She knows me so well! So George and I picked up a few things we needed to get the oven installed and finish the plumbing to the kitchen. Well, we still managed to get off with the wrong coupler, and on Christmas Eve, we visited the only person I knew of who might have one. Sure enough, Bill Blauvelt had the part we needed. Sadly we interrupted his dinner, and I hope Rita can forgive me for that one.

We are still lacking a kitchen sink, so I am washing dishes in the bathroom. That’s a pain in the neck! We had absolutely no plan for this holiday, and yet it still came. Memories were made, and we all survived. Mom thankfully volunteered to make Christmas dinner, and it turned out amazing. It was a last-minute decision, and she pulled it off quite well. She has been our saving grace this past week, letting us use her washer and dryer and doing some of the cooking for us. I’m so thankful to be just across the street. I am hopeful the family dinners become a tradition.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and your new year is full of blessings and new adventures. X’s & O’s.