Gnome Sweet Gnome

Our gnome, Homie Gnomie as the kidnappers named him, is home again. Meg found him hiding in a nativity seen in Dinuba on Christmas day. It was later revealed that Tim and Sharon were in cahoots on the kidnapping. Luckily, our gnome was unharmed in the ordeal. He actually got a vacation out of the kidnapping. Tim took him to Hawaii with him and his two friends on vacation. He stayed at Sharon's house and had some fun on the beach. We were given the vacation photo collage, which I am having trouble uploading but here is one of the photos.
We all had a lot of fun with this kidnapping. On our drive home, Tina mentioned that we should continue the adventure and take our gnome with us whenever we go on trips. I agreed. Meg does not want to put him back outside yet, even though she said that he watches over our home.

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It's Christmas!

It is Christmas morning. We sort of had a white Christmas this year because it froze last night. The grass and plants in the back yard are all white with frost. It would be really great if it snowed one year.

Christmas is a time for giving and I did my part yesterday afternoon. I volunteered at the Visalia Rescue Mission. I thought that I would be serving meals, but I ended up taking care of a few tables. I went and ordered the plates of food for my guests and made sure that they had a drink, utensils and a hot plate of food.

I was very surprised at the whole thing. For one, I thought the people would be lining up and getting their food themselves. That was not the case. The volunteers did everything for the guests. The other thing that surprised me was who exactly was getting the meals. I expected it to be a lot of really rough looking homeless people, but it wasn't. It was just a bunch of "normal" people who are just down on their luck for one reason or another.

Tina and Meg volunteered with me. Tina saw several families from her school. Most said hello to her and a few even gave her a hug. I don't know what exactly I expected to feel after volunteering, but I didn't feel as good as I thought I would. It made me feel like I was not doing enough. In the car on the ride home, Tina and I discussed what else we could do to help people more often. I don't think it is out of the question that we volunteer once or twice a month. It would be a great example for our children.

Meg is still not up yet, so we are waiting on her and Chachi so we can begin our Christmas day. It should be a great one!

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Christmas Eve is Upon Us

Are you feeling the Christmas spirit yet? It has been a little slow to come around in our house, but I think it is finally here. We have been very busy this year and we have let some things slip a little bit. Not on purpose, but just because we have been so busy.

The whole foster care/adoption process has really overwhelmed us both physically and emotionally. We have had classes to take, paperwork to complete and a lot of thinking and talking to do. It is a little disappointing that we will not be able to have a child before Christmas, but we will take one whenever they come to us. We just can't wait to share our first Christmas with a new child.

We opened gifts at Tina's parents house last night. The kids all got really excited. It was great watching there enthusiasm and patience. They are all growing up and exhibiting a lot of self control and patience.

Today I am going to the Visalia Rescue Mission to help serve lunch for the homeless. I am really looking forward to this. Tina and Meg are coming along to help. I think it is going to be a very positive experience for us all, especially Meg. Everyone needs to have a slight readjustment of priorities this time of year and this should do the trick. I want Meg to grow up appreciating all of the things that we have and understanding that not everyone is as lucky as we are.

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The Gnome Tome

So...we still do not have our gnome back yet. I am hoping that we will get him back before Christmas, but you never know. We all miss him very much.

As a matter of fact, we miss him so much that Tina actually bought some new pajamas with gnomes on them. Meg and I were shopping with her when we found them. We all got excited about them, so Tina bought them. I would not say that we are trying to replace our gnome, but we just felt, and still feel a little empty.

If our gnome kidnappers don't return our gnome this weekend, I will need to find a replacement. I just can't deel with all the sadness in our home any longer. We are all on edge. The kids have been really grumpy for about the last month or so. I didn't put two and two together until today. The grumpiness is caused by the feeling of loss in all of us. Please return our gnome so that our household can be normal again.

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'Tis the Season for Tamales

I love this time of year for one major reason...tamales. I cannot get enough of them. Tamales are probably my favorite Mexican food.

This year, The Queen and Chachi are making them with The Queen's mom. They are making some pork, some cheese and jalapeño and maybe even some beef. I personally prefer the cheese and jalapeño and the beef. I had a few of the first batch today for lunch and they were great.

If we end up with enough, I may share. There just aren't any guarantees though.

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All I Want For Christmas Is...

I wouldn't say that it is all I want for Christmas, but I would like to get our gnome back. He has been missing for quite some time. I have not heard from him lately and I fear something bad has happened to him. Maybe he is bound and gagged by his kidnappers?

Christmas is a special time of the year and we can't imagine not sharing it with our garden gnome. I look for him every day when I leave the house and then again when I return home at the end of a long day. His being gone leaves and empty place in our hearts.

If you have seen our gnome, please reply to this post so we know he is OK. We just can't imagine losing him forever.

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The Holiday Season

I am not much of a fan of the holidays. I think Christmas is so commercialized that it really does not matter much to me. I do get joy in seeing the look on my kid's faces as they open their gifts. I got this from my dad.

Growing up, and even today, my dad loved Christmas. I can remember him sitting next to our tree with a cup of coffee passing out gifts to my siblings and me. He loved to pass out the gifts and watch us open them. He loved to see the looks on our faces as we opened them. The only thing he loved more was disguising our gifts and confusing us.

I never remember my dad putting our correct names on our gifts. one year I might have been Charlie. Another year I could have been Sharon or even circle. He always kept us guessing. The story is that he started doing that because my mom was very impatient. She could not wait to open her gifts under the tree and sometimes opened them before Christmas morning and then wrapped them back up.

The other thing my dad did was disguise our gifts. He might have wrapped a shirt to look like a baseball bat. Or wrapped a football to look like a dinosaur. You never knew what you were opening would turn out to be. He continues to do this today. He disguises the gifts for my kids and my nieces as random, funky shapes or animals. He loves to see their reactions and guesses as to what they are opening.

He makes it fun for all of us. We are always wondering how he will out do himself this Christmas. I haven't inherited his playfullness in this respect because I just don't have the patience with gift wrapping. Maybe I should start.

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Where Is Our Gnome?

It has been a while since we have heard from our gnome. We have really missed him. I hope he will be home before Christmas. I really feel like the longer he is missing the less the chance that he is returned.

Meg accused Uncle Tim of taking him on Thanksgiving. He was unusually quiet and had a fishy reaction. Is he the kidnapper? At this point, we just don't know for sure. It could be him or could just be some other random person.

Gnome...we miss you. Come home. Come home. Gnome...we miss you. Come home. Come home.

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Great Time of Year

I look forward to this time of year for a few reasons. My favorite reason is that we get to see elementary school Christmas programs. Chachi had a memorable one that we still refer to every year. The hand gestures that went with the songs were perfect and really made the performance emotional.

Cheeseball has not have any that have stood out as much, but I still enjoy them every year. We will suffer in the cold tonight, because Cheeseball's school holds all of its performances outside in their quad. In addition, we have to be there very early because there is always a great parent turn out.

Cheeseball has been practicing at home recently. She has been singing non-stop. She knows the songs, so I just hope she opens up some and really has some fun with it. I am excited for tonight!

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