It's all about Family ~

I've realized that my life pretty much revolves around my family. My mornings are spent helping get Kristine off to school, sometimes I'll get her breakfast, and some days I just visit with her while she gets ready. Most days she drives herself to school, (which is wonderful on these super cold days when I would really rather stay inside where it is warm) sometimes I will take her and we enjoy talking together all the way to school. Then I come home and get to be Grandma and enjoy playing with Kaden for a bit while Jennifer is getting ready for work. Then it is time to help bundle him up and get him and his gear ready for the day. Then I have the rest of the day to myself, well, me, the laundry and the dishes. So I have time to clean up after the morning rush and get ready for the afternoon. Sometimes Rod or Jen will stop in on their lunch hours, but they are pretty self sufficient and can get their own lunch, so it is just fun to have them here for a short visit. Then it is time to get Kristine or even better, to wait for her to get home. Her afternoons are pretty fun, movies and snacks until dinner time. I either have dinner doing by now, or work on it then. Dinnertime at our house has really become a ritual. It is always ready about 10 minutes after Rod gets home from work. The older kids knew that if they weren't here, there would be leftovers waiting for them. Brad has moved into an apartment in town and is starting his new job, new ward etc., and we have really missed him being here and coming home for leftovers. But that has it's upside too. Yesterday, since he just moved about 4 miles away, he was able to come over for Sunday Dinner. Don't you think that sounds like a great new tradition. To add to this fun routine, Michelle and Alex and their little girls live just an hour away and are usually in town a couple of times a month, so I am always ready to drop whatever I am doing (which you can see isn't hard to do) and play with little girls. I love to hear those sweet little voices when they open the front door and say "hello"!  After dinner it is homework time up on our bed. I don't know how that ended up being the favored spot, but it works, and we enjoy the family time. In the middle of all of this, I have Gus, my sweet Basset Hound to keep me company. He loves sleeping in his bed by the fire and when it warms up to 10 degrees he likes to play outside. If you are wondering what I do in the big empty time in the middle of the day, well, that varies, lately I have been doing some Mixed Media Art pieces. Kymber saw some that I'd done and was ready to take them home, so I made one for her last week. Can't wait for her to see it and finally be able say yes, you can take it home. Hers is the one with the flowers. Yep, I am pretty lucky to be able to be here and take care of my family. They are all self sufficient and could really get by, but I love being able to be home and do what I do. You see it really is all about family!