I'm hobbling around this morning with an achy back. The last week and a half I've been packing and moving boxes. I don't realize how hard it is on my back until I try to get out of bed the next morning. So we're finally making progress on this move. It's hard to believe that we're finally doing it, finally selling our house. We've talked a out it for so long, but never could bring ourselves to cut ties to the city. We still havent found THE HOUSE, but we have zeroed in on an area and will most likely buy there.
In other news, Brian's fortieth birthday is Thursday. I am so grateful to Hod for blessing him with these forty years, and especially thankful that I've had the privilege of knowing him for half those years. He is a solid, faithful leader of his family. He is gentle and patient, and always sees the best in people. He never shirks his duty. He's generous to a fault (if that's possible), and always takes time for people. He's respected in is field and at church where he serves as a deacon. I feel so honored to be associated with him. I know him better than anyone else and know his faults and struggles, his areas of weakness, but still admire him more than anyone else I know.

I painted two rooms this week, the utility room and the main living/dining room. Still not finished with either, t nearly. Amazingly Hazel didn't get in any of the wet paint.

I've been having a hard time with my colitis lately. I had a bout with it for several months starting right after I had Hazel, then as suddenly as it started, it stopped. It flared up again in October and had been progressively getting worse. The constant bleeding and alternating constipation and diarrhea is really getting old and leaves me feeling both irritable and weary. Its especially been hard for me to push through my marathon training. I have a GI appointment in February right after I run the marathon. I would've liked to get in earlier, but that's the soonest he had an opening.

Last Saturday Brian took William and John to Corpus for an overnight cub scout outing. It was only maybe the third night Brian and I have spent apart in the nearly 16 years we've been married. We survived alright. Margaret had a soccer game. Mama and Brian's parents came to watch, then mama stayed the rest of the weekend with Samuel, Margaret, Hazel, and I. We went to lunch with Thomas and the kids. Meredith also came along. I hadn't spent any time with her since before Christmas. She's still doing her thing: having an affair, but she put on a good face and they all acted like family. Thomas' birthday was on the 23rd. Apparently he was pretty low that day. The whole thing just makes
me sick inside.

In one week four appliances were out: the dryer, the fridge, the oven, and my new blender. We replaced the washer-dryer set with a set from Craigslist for $200. The dryer is like as plain Jane as they come, a very basic Hot Point, but dries like a Cadillac. The washer is a new (less than a year old and still under warranty) Maytag and works great, too. We had the fridge repair man come on Friday and it's so nice to have cold foods after three days of soggy or warm foods. The oven part is on order and hopefully will be here this week. This is the third attempt to
Get the right part, so I've been without an oven for nearly a month. I'm really
missing baking things! Thankfully it didn't go out until after Christmas. Still waiting on my replacement blender to arrive in the mail. I'll be happy to have all my little servants up and running again! Was starting to feel like a opener woman for awhile there.

Margaret and Samuel are doing well at
O. Henry. They ride the bus across town and back most days. They look so grown up going off together. I'm so proud of them and how they've jumped into this new adventure with both feet.

Schooling William and John is going well most days. Today I'm just letting them play outside because mama needs a break. They're making good progress in their math and decent progress in their grammar. I plan to have them each repeat a grade anyways, so whatever they're learning this year is kind of bonus. They're youngish for third and fifth graders, both of their birthdays being at the end of the school year, and they're rather immature for their age (in a good way), so being held back once they integrate back into the classroom will be a positive thing. I hope.

Well, I guess that's all the news. Off to conquer the laundry!