Ollie's latest shenanigans...

Ollie made Ethan two angry birds.  The yellow one was first and then the next night, he made him the "bomb" bird.  Ethan was so very excited to get them and was hoping that Ollie would do all of the birds from one of his favorite games!  :)

Last night, Ollie decided to have a little fun with our family photo from a few years ago.  He did some funny stuff and Ethan thought it was pretty funny!  Luckily, it was erasable!

 

This is what Ethan will find when he wakes up in the morning.  Ollie saw the little bathtub that holds our lotions and toothpaste and thought it might make a perfect bathtub for a bubble bath for himself this evening.  He even found himself a mini-wash cloth and a couple rubber duckies.  :)

My good friend SBW

I wanted to take a minute this morning and write about my friend Sarahbeth.  We went out for lunch yesterday and talked, laughed until we cried, and enjoyed some wonderful conversation (and the food was TO DIE for!) and catching up.  I told her that I had been bragging about her a couple days previous and was actually a little bit shocked to find that she was really quite surprised by the idea.  She couldn't understand why I would brag about her.  Sarahbeth was in an accident and burned over 50% of her body about 3 1/2 years ago.  After 36? surgeries, Sarahbeth has good days and bad days, but she's more than just a survivor, she's a fighter.  I thought it interesting that SB would find it strange that I would brag about her.  The more I thought about it, the more I thought that a lot of people probably only see the strong, awesome, rockstar SB and don't know all the reasons she really is incredible....other than surviving her trauma.  I thought I would share some.

1) Funny as hell.  She WILL make you laugh until you cry!  and sometimes it's ever so subtle...you don't even know it's coming!
2) Open.  She doesn't hide much.  She's open about her scars, her healing process, her feelings, her emotions, how she feels about the friendship you share with her, all her dreams and passions.  That is a rare find in a friend these days.  We are all so filtered.
3) Honest.  SB doesn't sugar-coat things.  She tells how it is.  Don't get me wrong, she's super nice, but she also has an honesty about her that is refreshing.  It's one of the things I love most of all.  She'll tell you her honest opinions and feelings.  She is also honest about her feelings and that is also rare.
4) Talented.  Before the accident, SB did many things.  She was a musician, a swimmer, an actress...her dream is to be back in that life someday and she's doing the dedicated hard work it will take her to get there.  Those talents were not burned in the fire.  She spends her time these days crafting, playing piano and singing, and doing what she can from the comfort of her home in the body she has right now and every month, that body gets more and more cooperative.
5) Dedicated.  She is dedicated!  Dedicated to her healing, dedicated to her friends, dedicated to her recovery.  I have rarely seen such focus in anyone else I know.
6) The best fan EVER!  If you ever have a fan club, you want my friend SBW to head it up!  She has never missed an episode of Criminal Minds (not even re-runs) and I have seen her get up before the sun to watch Rafa play tennis.  I doubt she has missed a match.  However, there is no comparison to her love and support for Jack White.  :)  The man of her dreams!  :)
7) Brave.  This is where I will put all the awesome rock-star SB things that the fire has brought out in her.  She is just about the bravest person I know.  She experiences fear and lots of it, but she doesn't let fear stand in her way.  She goes in for surgery after surgery knowing that her body doesn't heal the way it should.  Knowing that she is a "hard stick" for nurses and difficult to intubate. Yet, she goes in and lets Dr. Garrett work his magic in spite of her fears.  I think that is the definition of brave.


I really could go on and on, but mostly I wanted to record some of the feelings I have for my friend Sarahbeth and let the world know that I think she's incredible and I consider myself very lucky to be her friend!  If anyone reading this blog wants to get to know Sarahbeth, CLICK HERE to read her blog.  You can also find her on facebook.  She's a great friend...everyone should have one like her.  :)

This is better than Santa! :)

I haven't posted an Ollie update in a while, so I'll do that first.  :)

 Ollie decided to read a lot of Ethan's books overnight on the night of the 9th. He must have had plenty of work to do on the evening of the 10th because we found him sitting on the kitchen table where we left him (after a few glasses of wine and some pinochle with friends) the night before.


Last night, he made Ethan a perler bead angry bird.  Ethan was pretty darned worried this morning when he couldn't find Ollie.  We looked everywhere!  We even checked downstairs and on top of the hutch...everywhere and we couldn't find him.  Then we saw him sitting on the table in the spare bedroom and he had made this great present for Ethan.  Which made Ethan's morning!!  :)

Ethan has written Ollie a letter and we'll see if Ollie writes back today.

As for other goings-on, I just finished submitting my grades and am officially on Christmas break!  :)  I plan on reading, finishing up gifts, reading some more.  There will probably be some cleaning, laundry, and rotating my tires in there as well, but we'll just focus on the cup of coffee and a book for now.  :)  I'm sure I'll get bored soon enough.

We are heading to Sam's parent's house in Goldendale for Christmas and I am really looking forward to it!  I really am.  That's not even sarcasm.  :)  It's been AGES since everyone has been together for Christmas and I'm excited for Ethan to have a slew of cousins to play with.  At my mom's house, he's the oldest grandkid and at this house, he's in with the crowd of "youngers".  I'm looking forward to him spending some time with everyone.  We have pictures on our fridge, but that is just not the same.  :)  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone as well.  I do have a few things I am a little worried about, but I don't plan to spend a lot of time dwelling on them.  We will be taking Ollie with us as he said he's here until Christmas day.  I hope it doesn't create too much of a problem.  Sam's family never really celebrated "Santa" although, other than Christmas being focused on the birth of Jesus and the important religious celebrating, I'm not sure why.  I hope it's not the dis-approval of the idea of an elf that comes to your house while you are sleeping.  :)  I figure that Ollie really isn't all that different than the idea behind the movie Toy Story.  You can't tell me that you haven't wondered if your house comes to life when you aren't there to see it.  :)

I am looking forward to catching up with the in-laws.  It's been far too long since we have been together.  I am sure we can all get along for a few days.  :)

Well, I'm off to enjoy the rest of this cup of coffee and then...a tutoring session on the tips and tricks of Quickbooks with a friend from Baker City.

Hot Chocolate, Finals Week, and JC Woodworks

Ollie left Ethan some hot chocolate and his name in marshmallows this morning.  He seems to have had a little trouble getting the cocoa IN the cup as it was all over the counter, but Ethan was really happy and grateful that he thought of him.

On another note, I gave my last final yesterday at 3:00 for both my voice classes.  The singing went well and mostly I was really excited for the progress that each person had made.  It's fun to watch them accomplish so much in 10 weeks and have them seem pretty proud of what they have done.  I know I was pretty proud of them!

The other update is that JC Woodworks has taken off at a pretty steady and consistent rate!  We opened our doors October 22nd and since that time, they have sold several kitchens, a few commercial cabinet sets, some bathroom vanities, and a good number of custom furniture pieces including a dressing chair, a set of mirrors, some bookshelves, etc.  On the money side, we are all taking home our planned-for income per month AND paying all the bills with the money that comes in so far.  :)  It's all in the "still scary" place financially and we are hoping that in the coming months, we can build up a little bit of a cushion to help ward off any mishaps.  They guys are working well together so far.  Everyone wants to make more money, but that is a little farther down the road before that can happen.  I am happy and Sam seems happier than he has been in a long time.  He gets along with his partners, enjoys the work, and is making a living doing what he loves.

So, with that update, I will get down to grading.  I will be reading papers and grading notebooks from the studio for most of the day in order to get my grades turned in on time.  I'm looking forward to the end of this term as it's going to be an extra-long break!!  EOU doesn't start up again until January 9th!!  That's an entire month off!!!  :)  YAYAYAYAY! 

Trouble

Ethan came running into our room this morning calling out that we just HAD to come and see this!  Turns out, Ollie got a little bored last night and rounded up some friends to play with him.

Ollie's Here!!

Well, Ollie has arrived!  He's all set up in the kitchen with a project for our family to do together this evening.  :)

I am really excited to have Ollie here for the rest of December and I know that Ethan will be when he gets home from school!  :)  Tavi came over to play yesterday and it was one of the only things they could talk about.  Neither of our households do "Santa", but it is fun to have something they get excited about!  Tavi's family is Romanian, so they have Saint Nicholas Day and he comes and leaves them treats in their shoes.  Ollie and Nikoli were the topic of conversation yesterday.

The tree is up at our house.  The outside lights are on the list of things to do this weekend and there is a bit of snow on the ski hill.  I think the winter and the Christmas season have finally begun!  I'm finishing up finals week today and tomorrow and hoping to settle in to some fun stuff during the (extra long) break!

Cookies, cakes, and transitions

Well, Ollie left us a note again today.  It's clear he's been checking in even if he's not here yet.  :) It would seem he was trying to help me with my menu.  He left Ethan a note and a picture and a cool lego contraption in his room.

On another note...my little Eman gets a new teacher today.  I love his school very much and so does he, but it's hard to switch teachers in the middle of the year and this is the second year it a row.  I'm sure he'll do just fine, but it took some getting used to for him last time and I am anticipating the same this year.  He was a little anxious about school this morning even though he knows the new teacher (she's been in his classroom for a couple weeks now).  What is it about us as humans that makes new things so hard?  New friends, jobs, schools, teachers. cities.  It's hard to transition.  I'm sure he'll do ok and he loves Mrs. Trotter, but he is already missing Mrs. Fager.  Time will help.  And maybe Ollie.  :)