Wow!  Where has the time gone?!  My blog has been grossly neglected.  If there's anyone out there still occasionally visiting me, I'm so sorry to leave you with the Christmas List That Wouldn't Go Away!  Blech!  Also, I apologize in advance for not including any photos or links in this post.  Those would both be immensely beneficial, but in the advancement of time, I'm gonna leave them out.

Anywho... let's see, what's new?  Well, for starters, we bought our first home.  Hubby and I have been married for almost 15 years and we've been renting all this time.  Not so anymore.  We're  in our first mortgaged home.  Our plan is to pay it off in less than seven years, following Deuteronomy 15's seven-year forgiveness of debts command.  So far, it looks like it'll be possible in less than five years, God willing.  Of course, "Boast not thyself of tomorrow..." right? (Proverbs 27)

Where did we go?  I'm so glad you asked!  We're in a house exactly two doors down from our 12-year rental and it's exactly the same size as our last home... except that one had NO basement, and this one has a FINISHED basement!  So, in essence, it's twice the size!  We love it here.  We knew quite well the previous owners (We miss and love you, Pansy and Evert!), and they took excellent care of this charming little place.  If you're nearby, you should TOTALLY pay us a visit!

Let's see, what else has been happening?  Well, my dad had two by-pass surgeries in the last few weeks; one on his femoral artery and the other one was a quadruple on his heart.  He's home now, praise God!  And he's doing well.  He responded well to both surgeries, with almost no complications!  We pray daily for his continued healing.  Love you, Dad!

Epiphany:  Life does not stop when you move.  Did you know that?  Aside from all the painting, wall-papering, packing, un-packing, etc., associated with moving, there's still the dishes, laundry, shopping, cooking, cleaning, and homeschooling that has to be done.  Who knew?  Oh, and the kids had basketball season during all this, too.  I know, I'm a glutton for punishment.  On the plus side, I think we're almost completely moved in.  Hooray!  We just have one small 8' x 9' room in the basement with storage stuff.  You know, things I don't need right now, that I need to reduce, and then stick up in the attic.

Last, I wanted to share with you something you probably already knew.  California just did a crazy, crazy thing.  Unless you have a teacher's certification, you can't educate your own kids anymore.  Dr. James Dobson did a discussion on it, and the HSLDA has a petition on their website.  You should check it out, get angry, and then sign the petition.  Also, pray.  That's always a nice thing to do.  Without ceasing, if I remember correctly.  ^_^

Trying to stay focused on the good, pure, and lovely,

~Christi