Joplin Journal Volume 10-1, Issue 1

From the Editor's Desk:

What?! It's been a month since I wrote a Joplin Journal? That is crazy! I am going to do my best to get back to a more normal schedule of writing and sending these. Life is finally settling down to something like normal again. I've been getting things like writing and blogging and taking care of this and that done. So hopefully I can fit in this journal too.

WARNING: This is LONG.

Weather Report:

How do you report on weather for the past month? Let me see, on Christmas Eve it was 78º and windy. On New Year's eve it was in the 60s and then temperatures began to drop. On New Year's Day it was cold and windy and we got some snow that evening. On Thursday of this week (Jan 6) we had snow and it didn't get out of the 20s. (The snow didn't cover the grass.) And today it is cloudy and there's a change of drizzle with a high in the 40s.

"Genius Burns":

In December I wrote a total of 2,800 words. Not much but it was more than Oct. and Nov. combined. That should tell you something of my writing life these past months. But in this week of January alone I've already written 3,654 words! And I'm planning on writing tonight. I haven't written a full week since the beginning of September, and I haven't gotten this much written in a week since July. It is so much fun to be back to writing! I've missed it. Yes, it is a bit of a challenge to get back into writing every day, and to keep working on the same story, but it's a good feeling.

So, what have I been working on? It's a secret project for now. It is supposed to be between 15-20k words. Right now I'm close to 5k.

Project Prognosis:

I looked a the things I was working on in the last Joplin Journal and had to smile since they all seemed so long ago. My projects are different now.

• Work on proof listening to audio
• Work on Blog Posts
• Help put books on new shelves
• Write
• Catch up on things
• Get started on the Reading Challenge
• Start getting ready for the Widows' Luncheon

On the House:

I wish I had pictures for you! One of these days that will happen.

The hall has real floor! And the cabinets by the furnace are in, some of the white paneling is up, the bookshelves in the hall are built and installed! None of the trim is up yet. Not sure if it's painted even, but we can put books on the shelves!!!! It is SO much fun to have books back in the hall on shelves.

Oh, and Sarah has a shelf for bolts of fabric! And she's getting another one built since she's already filled that one up and hasn't emptied her tubs of fabric. It looks like a fabric store in her closet.

Speaking of closets, Dad's been working on the hall closet under the stairs. He's gotten one of the pull out bars for coats built and installed. It is so neat. Of course we can't hang our coats in there yet because the floor is covered with Dad's tools and stuff. ;)

But wow! Our house looks so nice!

Thanksgiving:

I know I already told you about Thanksgiving, but I just had to share this picture of Kinsley and Papa taking their afternoon naps together.

Isn't that just the cutest thing? She loves her Papa!

Deck the Halls:

Here is a picture of Krista and I when we decorated the house.

And yes, we got into the spirit of things with Christmas aprons and Santa hats. It was so much fun to have a helper this year.

Babysitting:

One day in December the kids all came over so Jimmy & Megan could go shopping. While a lot of time was spent building new lego sets, we also made Christmas cookies. Drew, Kailyn, and Grant were excited to roll out the dough and cut out cookies. The others came and cut out at least a few cookies. When we had just a little dough left, I got Kinsley and let her roll some dough and cut out cookies. Oh, she was so cute! She rolled, and patted the dough. Cut out snowmen cookies and then patted and rolled them more. She'd get a little piece of dough and eat it or give it to me to eat, and then back to more rolling and patting and cutting. And when I gave her a spatula to get her cookies to put on the pan, she was cutting and slinging dough across the counter in her serious attempts and being big.

After supper the kids iced and decorated cookies. Some only did a few, but Grant did every single cookie he had cut out. I think Kailyn did too. I helped Kins (yes, Kinsley gets called Kins or Kin-Kins) ice one of her snowmen and put some sprinkle on it so she could eat it.

The Music Stand:

Lots of specials got played and right now I am not working on anything.

You can watch the Children's "choir" that Sarah and I directed for the Christmas program, and the Children's Bell Choir, and the Christmas play that Jimmy, Sarah, and I are all singing in right HERE.

And the next Sunday I played prelude with some other instruments including a French horn, and then Sarah & I sang in the ladies ensemble. You can watch it HERE. (In the prelude, I played the higher violin part on the last verse. The ensemble sings at 32:28. And yes, it is 5 minutes long.)

KDWC:

No more camps until March.

Sewing Room:

Sarah is still sewing, but the rush is gone since it is after Christmas.

Read Another Page:

I'm actually getting a chapter a day of "Hymns in the Hills" listened to. It's been a lot of fun to hear the reader sing the old hymns.

Teacher's Lounge:

I've sent out an email to find out if anyone wants to start writing classes again. We'll see what happens.

Kids' Update:

I thought I'd give you a little bit about the kids since it is the start of a new year. And, since I didn't have time to find pictures of each one, here's the Christmas picture we took.

Starting on the back left and going around clockwise, we have Krista, James, Kinsley, Joel, Kailyn, Grant, Lucas, and Drew in the middle.

Krista: She's 15 now and isn't a little girl any more. She loves to cook and bake, read, and hang out with friends. She works for Jimmy when she's not busy with school. She is someone who can take charge and give directions and get things done.

James: He's going to be 14 in February. That's hard to believe, but he's growing like crazy. He's probably taller than me now because the last time we measured near the beginning of December he was the same height. He's active, friendly, and growing into a wonderful young man. He plays the piano quite well and is looking forward to joining the church choir. He and Joel are playing basketball. James also works for Jimmy.

Joel: Even though Joel is 12, he's still pretty quiet if he doesn't know you well. He likes to read though not as much as Krista. He enjoys basketball and is getting pretty good. He loves pretty much all sports and building Legos, and helping move full boxes of books for Jimmy's business.

Drew: If I had to pick two words to describe Drew it would be Creative and Talkative. This ten-year-old enjoys all things creative. He's drawings are way beyond what I can draw, and his imagination is just as active as mine. :) He's friendly, outgoing, eager to help and is often the one helping clean up after a meal at our house without being asked. He is a people person but needs some quite time too.

Lucas: He is almost 9 and is a bookworm. He's much rather read than play sports, though he does get out and play with his brothers. I'm not sure Lucas will be interested in joining a sports team when he's older or not. He's like his Grammy in loving word puzzles and things that exercise your brain. He also adores his baby sister and is very patient with the younger ones.

Kailyn: She's going to be turning 7 later this month and this girl is a ball of energy. She's definitely an extrovert. She's bubbly, outgoing, friendly, and sometimes rather bossy. :) She loves to play house with Kinsley and Grant, enjoys being read to, and needs people.

Grant: This little guy has opened up a lot as he's gotten older. While still quiet if he doesn't know you, and hesitant about doing things he doesn't know exactly how it's going to work, he's so much fun. He's 4 1/2 and is probably going to one of the shorter kids like Krista. He likes to know how things work and what noise they are going to make. He also says the funniest things! [When we were having J & Co. over for supper to celebrate Dad's birthday in December, Grant asked Sarah what was for supper. S: Chili. G: Chili? Why not macaroni? S: It's Papa's birthday and he doesn't like macaroni. G: Why does he have to eat?]

Kinsley: It's hard to believe she'll turn 2 at the end of March. This little girl is so much fun! She loves her papa, but she also likes BehBeh. Her favorite things are "Midnight" (cats), babies, "moo-moos" (cows), and doggies. When she's comfortable she will chatter. Sometimes you can understand her, and other times not. She will sing, and Krista said she was even quoting one of the lines from "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" at the table . "Tip toe, tip toe, tip toe." :)

Christmas:

We celebrated Christmas with J & Co on Christmas Eve day. We at breakfast together (coffee cakes and breakfast casserole), and then did presents. Then we hung out and played. Joel built his new lego set, Lucas and Drew worked on building their remote control cars, and all the younger kids tried out their walkie-talkies. We at soup for lunch and then Jimmy, Mom, James, and Megan played a game Scrabble. Kinsley was very busy feeding her baby in her own chair, and having books read to her. (I read "Inside, Outside, Upsidedown" 8 times in a row.) Grant spent time outside "working on the tree." (We have a small tree that is dead that the tree house is built beside and Grant has decided it is his job to knock it down.) Kailyn spend a lot of the day outside practicing her new roller skates with Sarah. Overall, it was a fun day.

Christmas Day was a quite day here. Just the four of us. We opened gifts mid morning, played a game at lunch, and in the evening we watched a movie and ate what is becoming our traditional Christmas dinner snack foods.

Book Nook:

Well, um, I hope you don't expect me to share ALL the books I've read between the last Joplin Journal and today! You can go HERE to see my year in books. It's kind of fun.

This year I've read, The Dolphin Crossing, Arson and Americanos, Red Pepper Burns, and Sweet Home Alaska.

Farewell:

Goodness! That was crazy long! And I don't have time to read back over it and fix any typos. Sorry. I need to go help Mom with more books. :D That's more fun anyway.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and maybe, just maybe I'll pop into your inbox next Saturday. Wouldn't that be fun?