Weekend Update

Whew! I'm almost relieved that it's Monday! What a busy weekend, but full of fun too.

Friday we went to get our passports (just in case we get an overseas position next year) which required almost as much effort as a constitutional amendment and surely more effort than getting on the ballot to run for elected office. Well, I may be exaggerating a tad but you try getting Andy and I to be at the same place, at the same time, by 4:00 on a weekday AND have all three kids with us. Then, try to manage those kids in a quiet waiting room while the documents are processed. Then, just add in a 2 1/2 year old who doesn't own an "inside voice" and you'll understand the difficulty. But, it is finished. At least the kids' are submitted. Andy and I are mailing ours in because it is a renewal and it is cheaper to mail it.

The kids got to go with Andy to A-Ha while I went to the grocery store. Then Andy had to work at the station so we had pancakes for dinner complete with strawberries and whipped cream -yeehaw!

Saturday, we got to see my niece Justine play basketball. She's in 5th grade and even though she's tall, she was still a really good dribbler! She is also a very intense defensive player, she was always guarding her man and had her hands out in the defensive stance. Wow!After that we went to the Humane Society to donate the money we made at the lemonade stand / bake sale. Yes, that one. Click here to read about the story but just ignore the fact that it took place six months ago. We made the donation and even added in some extra for the interest they would have made over the last six months!

The kids had a great time petting kitties and then, despite temps in the 40s, we did get to walk some dogs. Ever since Muffin got to do this in August, Doodle has been begging to "walk the dogs". So she chose the first dog and even though he was small, he was fast and tough and the moral of the story is: when a child who has never walked a dog before does it for the first time, make sure it is a relatively calm pup who won't yank the leash out of said child's hand, running off in the mud, causing mom to frantically chase the dog, get muddy and said child to cry. I thought that our day was over but she came around when we got a quieter dog out and gave it another try. Mator is just like her mom and detests the cold so she was done rather quickly. Andy took her to the car while we finished up.

Doodle got the hang of it and tried walking two dogs in the pen!
The Humane Society Agent who accepted our donation.
Mator walked the crazy dog while we were in the pen and he couldn't escape.Muffin giving a kitty some love.

Then we went back to the church where Justine had played basketball so that we could watch our nephews, Will & Ben play. They were awesome! Will is a dribbling fool, driving from one end of the court to the other. Even though the other team was considerably taller, he didn't hesitate to shoot the ball a couple times either! Ben was a defensive machine! He was always in his man's face and never let them get far from him. Plus, despite a lopsided scoring advantage for the other team, they were having a great time.
Ben taking a pass before dribbling down the court.I love how no one in this picture is even looking at Will despite the fact that he dribbled around them all and took a shot!

After the game, the girls went to Grandma Sue's while Andy and I went out to a late lunch and shopping spree. Old Navy had all their jeans for $19 and I really needed a pair. I almost never buy myself clothes, (I hate spending the money) but Andy insisted (could it be the tears in the bottom of the jeans I wear all the time?). I picked up a couple shirts too and I had to laugh as I considered a t-shirt that was strictly for layering purposes (very skimpy). I thought, "Hmmm-$5. Do I really need this?" Then I realized, if I had seen a cute shirt for the girls on clearance that was $4, I wouldn't hesistate to buy it and here I was debating the validity of spending $5 on three times as much material!

Saturday night we had a movie night at our house after we picked up the kids. We got to see the much anticipated "Barbie Mariposa".

Sunday, we had week two of our parenting Sunday School Class. We are basing this study of a book called "Shepherding a Child's Heart" by Tedd Tripp. This is a great book for all parents but especially those with children 5 and under since it is talking foundational issues. This week's class went very well with a lot of input from the others.

After church, Muffin was going to go to a friend's house for the afternoon but just before heading out the door my mom called and said that my 99 year old great aunt Elsie was probably in her last moments. This was pretty shocking although when you're 99, a trip to death's doorstep is probably not all that unusual. Only this time, she was only knocking, not going through. She had fooled even the hospice nurse because by the time I got there (with Muffin and Doodle) to say our goodbyes, she was awake and asking to EAT!!! When my mom asked her if she knew that she had been there for hours talking to her she said, "Yes, I could hear you but you were far away. I was way up in the clouds and I didn't want to come back." Wow. This is a woman who knows Jesus, knows where she's going and knows a lot of people who are already there. I can see why she wouldn't want to come back, but she did. And selfishly, I (and the kiddos) am hoping she hangs on until April and her 100th birthday.

Speaking of birthdays, we celebrated my mom's last night at LaCascada. We go there often as a family, all 16 of us. Not because the food is so great (it's not) but because it used to be a Chi-Chis and when we go there, we take over the whole closed off section that used to be a bar and let the kids run wild. Well, it's the truth. There aren't too many restaurants THAT kid friendly so if you serve beer and your food is OK to pretty good, the Fosters will be there (that's my maiden name for those of you wondering who the Fosters are!).

One last thing that was cool. The TVs in the bar area were tuned to the Indoor Track and Field Championships when we sat down. Andy noticed that a local guy, Rob Myers, was running the 1500. We watched as he pulled out a great win. What a weekend for him, and what a weekend for us. I'm tired just writing about it!!