Wow.

So I haven't posted since Christmas. Sorry about that. Things that have been keeping me busy:

*I finally got a new oven. After going what seemed like 28 years without, I am able to bake once again. And boy, have I ever been baking!! Bread, cookies, cakes, lasagna, casseroles, pies, you name it, I've probably been baking it. And gaining 42 pounds in the process.

*I have three kids under 7. They are crazy little people. And they keep me busy.

*Christmas, New Year's, family, friends, and organizing everything in my life. Each year, I take the week between Christmas and the New Year and do some major cleaning, organizing, and throwing out of lots of stuff. It's such a wonder feeling!

*We got a puppy! Her name is Brownie. She's black and white. She's about 6 weeks old, and we got her just over a week ago. I love her. A lot. We've been crate training her (which I've never done before; that's a fun new experience, let me tell you!), and that takes a lot of time, and in some ways, my friends were right. It kind of is like having a newborn!

*One of my best friends is Becky. She and her family came with us to the river this summer. She's my awesome Barnabas friend that isn't afraid to call me a dumb ass when the need arises. Her husband works for APD. He's also in the Navy reserves, and he's being deployed. Tomorrow. For a year. To the Persian Gulf. So we've been trying to help them out in any way we can before he leaves. All of their kids were over here Tuesday and Wednesday, to give the wonderful couple some alone time before he leaves, and let me tell you this: that in one incredibly delightful family. I really do love them all, very dearly.

(Please keep Ralph and Becky and their kids in your prayers.)

*I FINALLY BOUGHT MY TICKET FOR OHIO!!! (Sarah, you didn't think I'd leave you out of another post, did you?) I leave in less than four weeks, and I'll be gone from my family for five full days. I've never been gone for that long. I wish I could say that I'm really worried about leaving them for that long ... but I'm not. I'm a bad mom, what can I say? :) While I'm there, I get to hang out with my amazing best friend, who is not only lovely and pretty on the outside, but has the most precious spirit of anyone I know. I get to stalk Ryan from This Is Reverb. His church has a Saturday night service, and Sarah and I are going to visit for that. Who knows, we might let her husband come with us, too, if he behaves himself. And I get to see another old friend from high school, and I' m looking forward to that.

*We started school on Monday, with a new schedule, and it's been going wonderfully well.

*My closet is still clean. Not 'I've been trying to be less messy' clean, but 'really, honest-to-goodness, totally spotless and still organized' clean. It's been amazing. And the person who is ever more surprised than I? My dearest husband.

*Lots of other things. I just can't think of them right now because I need to refill my coffee, let the chickens out, take the dog out for a walk, feed my hungry children, fold some laundry, sweep my floors, bake some bread, work on our memory verse for the month, and start school.

It's only 8:15, and I think I need a nap.

:)