Snow Day

Dearest Joshua David~

Hello little man!  Our alarm went off this morning and we found ourselves in a little 'Winter Wonderland' outside with snow on the roads!  Dr. Rickert, the dental director at the Community Health Center where I work, called me and said we were on a two hour delay.  We let Penny know but also told her to be safe because daddy could work from home.  Her husband was going into the office, so he was planning on dropping her off here on his way in.  So, I got to spend some extra time with you this morning!

As the day went on, it continued to rain and appeared to be sleeting rain with some ice in areas.  I called Grandpa Jim since his office is on the road I would need to travel.  He said to be careful because some spots were still slippery.

Penny came here around 9:30am.  Daddy was still here because he wanted to make sure she got here safely and that I could leave safely.  But, he had been on the computer since 7am so he was already at 'work' for 2.5 hours!

I called Dr. Rickert to see what the status was with the rest of the staff.  I spoke to a few of the assistants, and it appeared that only one, maybe two, were even coming in, which would mean we wouldn't be fully staffed.  I was still concerned about the weather .... and mostly Peanut in case something were to happen if I drove .... I talked to Dr. Rickert more about it, and since the schedule at that point was falling apart, I decided to just use some of my PTO (paid time off) hours and stay here with you!  Family comes first and I felt it was too risky to go out with Peanut on the way.  I still have more PTO hours to use later for maternity leave, so it was ok to use some now.  Better to be safe!  We'll be 30 weeks gestation on sunday, which is how far you and I made it .... so I definitely didn't want to jeopardize that.  :-)

Just as I got off the phone with Dr. Rickert, Mike and Jose pulled into our drive way!  We weren't even expecting them because of the weather!  They came to finish up the floors .... which also meant daddy was blocked in the garage!  Ha!  So, daddy ended up working from home .... I got to stay home and be with you .... and Penny got to play with you until 11am when her husband came back to pick her up!  We were thankful Penny was able to come though just in case we both had to go in .... we'll need to give her a nice Christmas gift!

The floors were done within 2 hours!  They look really good too!  They left a few tools in the bonus room in the doorway, so I called so they would know we have them. 

We now have beautiful engineered hardwoods in all three bedrooms and hallway .... and two freshly painted bedrooms for you and Peanut!  

I vacuumed all the baseboards and window sills once they left.  The blinds are still dusty and it'll take a while for all the dust to completely settle, but I needed to go ahead to get some things cleaned up.  I also swept everywhere and ran a dry and wet swiffer duster over all the floors.  Then, daddy helped me clean the hallway bathroom so it's functional again!  Which means .... you got a bath this evening!  :-)  The bathroom was dusty and dirty from all the work that was going on and we still had our paint cans in there from before .... but everything is clean now.  They left us some extra wood pieces, so daddy moved them into the garage.  Also, we took out all the trash from the upstairs rooms to help clean up. 

I got an email from the MOPS group about a 'Christmas Version of First Corinthians' .... I thought it was special, so I wanted to share it with you:

"If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights

and shiny balls, but do not show love, I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals

and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love, I'm just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in... the nursing home and give all that I have to charity,

holiday parties and sing in the choir's cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.

Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband.

Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way.

Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can't.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust,

but giving the gift of love will endure.

God Bless, Merry CHRISTmas and Happy New Year"

I thought the part that states, "Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way" was very touching!  Daddy and I continue to give thanks to God for you and Peanut .... our miracles and blessings .... and we continue to pray that you all remain healthy!

Daddy made dinner this evening and then we camped out in bonus room again.  We don't want to move the furniture yet until we have things to protect the floor first, so we're going to work on that more this weekend. 

Oh, and guess what else daddy did today .... he started to sand down the mandolin kit!  He worked on that as I gave you a bath and then took a shower myself.  :-)

Tomorrow you have your urology appointment .... remember how Dr. Medero referred us in October?  This was the earliest appointment we could get.  :-P  Hopefully everything will run smoothly!  :-)

Sleep tight little one!

I love you!

~Mommy