Getting Back to Normal

My camera is sitting dormant awaiting repair funds, so no cute kiddie pictures to post today, but I thought I'd share a few thoughts on how our New Year is starting out. "Getting Back to Normal" is the best theme I could come up with to link this loose collection of ramblings.

1) Job Hunting: I am in full search mode now. Had my first interview last week, but they haven't called back yet, so I'm still cranking out resumes and hoping for more phone calls. I am still stuck in the ranks of the unlicensed in Oklahoma, but that seems to leave enough options open at this point. I really, really need to get out and working again! Aside from the obvious financial issues, my day-to-day world has just gotten too small: I take Nick to school, we go to church, I go shopping, there's the occasional doctor's appointment... and that's about it.

2) The Big Clean-up: Those of you up North have probably forgotten all about the ice storm that hit us in early December, but believe me, it's still in the news around here. This week's reports state that only 50% of the massive collection of storm debris in Tulsa County has been picked up. On one of our trips running errands in south Tulsa last week, Amelia and I passed block after block with dead branches piled up probably 3-4 feet high and just as wide along the curb, all the way down every block. Properly disposing of all of it involves a complex system of monitoring to make sure that only the appropriate materials are being disposed of in the dump sites, and that truckers aren't trying to double-bill their loads. Seems like the bureaucracy is going to cost as much as the disposal itself, yet you can see the potential for abuse of the system if the monitors weren't there. Ahh, human nature.

3) Soccer Season: starts in March in Oklahoma! Nick took a pass on Little League, and signed up with the Sapulpa Soccer Club this week. Youth sports are a big deal down here. In Berwyn, the rec district's "uniform" was a T-shirt printed with the team name and a randomly assigned number, and pretty much any shorts they wanted to wear. Here, we had to purchase 2 official jerseys -- which will have his last name and a specifically assigned number on the back -- and the official shorts. He's already practicing! I have to admit, soccer is at least easier to practice in an apartment complex than baseball.

4) Weather: yes, we do have winter here in Tulsa. Of course, what they call "bitter cold" here is a day in the upper 20s, but I have to confess that I have driven Nick to school instead of walking on quite a few mornings. The killer thing out here is the wind, and I'm just not in the mood to walk in it at 8:30 in the morning.

That's about it for now. We're getting closer and closer to that "normal" groove -- one which I'm looking forward to staying in for a while!

Love to all!

Stopping to Enjoy the Scenery on the Way Home

This is beautiful Meramec Caverns in Stanton, Missouri, about an hour west of St. Louis. In a way, I have Pete to thank for the experience, although he wasn't there.

Okay, here's the story. You see, we had this big trip back up north planned for the holidays, since Pete was going to have the whole week between Christmas and New Year's off, and this was going to be our first trip up there since the move. But then that little gallbladder thing happened, and -- he used up all of his benefit days. Rather than cut our trip short, which would have been a big disappointment for both the grandkids and the grandparents, I let my husband convince me that if he flew back home right after Christmas, I could actually drive the entire trip from Michigan back to Oklahoma -- with both kids -- by myself. And I hate driving. But what price tag do you put on having a nice unhurried visit with both extended families?

The smartest thing I did was break the trip up into two days. This allowed us, on the first leg of the trip, to stop in Berwyn and spend a short but meaningful time with our old "church family". We made it as far as St. Louis that night. The kids were getting pretty bored on the second day with "all that driving", even with Christmas presents galore and a DVD player in the van to keep them entertained, and we all needed to stretch a bit, so I decided to stop at Meramec. There were plenty of friendly billboards and other signs encouraging us to!

Yes, Meramec is a very touristy place. But let me tell you, on December 31st, all the other touristy schlock around it is closed, and you don't have to wait in any long lines. The caverns themselves are really spectacular (God's handiwork endures, tourist season or not!). My pictures don't do nearly enough justice here. The kids were both amazed; they had never seen any kind of cave before. I had to gag at the tacky music/light show thing they do at the end when they "unveil" the caverns' "star attraction" (last two pictures above, taken without tacky lighting). But it was a very worthwhile stop, and we were all tired enough to sit down for a while by the end of the tour.

Getting home was half the fun!

(P.S. Please forgive the long single paragraph. For some reason Blogger is not cooperating with me tonight, and it doesn't seem to recognize the return key! Can any of you experienced bloggers out there help me, this has happened before!)

Getting two excited kids to look normal at the same time...

... on Christmas Eve... is IMPOSSIBLE!

After two tries, we couldn't stand still any longer and Mommy gave up; what was she thinking, anyway?

Love to all,

Nick and Amelia

Christmas 2007