Just A Little Housekeeping...

Wow - I've become the laziest blogger ever!  Ugh! Looks like I have at least one New Year's Resolution figured out now. 

Anyyyyway...I thought I'd clean up some questions about various things I've written about over the last few months.  Let's start with one of my favorite topics first:  my children! After that, I'll give you the lowdown on all those lingering subjects I'm sure you've been dying to hear about.

BILLY


Running a 5K on deck!



Billy's deployment is flying by. None of us can believe it's already been 3 months, but we know the next 6 will probably not be quite so easy. *sigh* He is staying busy and tackling everything with that same "can do" attitude I have always loved.

All in all, I think he's doing great. With the exception of an altercation with a container of ammunition requiring numerous stitches in his pinkie finger, he has remained safe. (Maybe that's because they are packed into that thing like sardines!)



See the pinkie?

He's also officially Corporal Emert now! Woot woot! (Does that make me Corporal Mom?)   So far they have only had a few hours off the boat since the deployment began - and he's definitely not in the Mediterranean enjoying great liberty ports.  Poor guy. We email almost daily, and he calls home when he can, so I can't complain about no communication. But I am definitely ready to give him a big hug again. 



We are also very close to having his name change finished! The whole family is very excited about him being Smith in name too.. with Gracey demanding the change be effective immediately on his Facebook page.

As promised...the costumes!

GRACEY & SADIE

Gracey is flying through the 7th grade and maturing every day. She is loving the swim team and even practices with the high schoolers some of the time! I wish I had more to report on her, but she's pretty low maintenance these days. She just goes to school, does her homework, and swims. When she interacts with us, it's usually lip syncing to one of her favorite ballads - complete with props. Hilarious.  Other than that, I guess no news is good news.

Sadie is still the spitfire of the family and has been giving the 4th grade a run for its money. She is our social butterfly, so she spends lots of time talking to her friends on the phone and making play dates. Again- not much new to report!

GUINEA PIGS

All is well with Harriett and Butterscotch, although I think Harriett will be moving to the Bruckners' house soon as theirs met an early demise. We haven't discussed this change with Harriett, but feel sure it will be okay with her as she hates the mere sight of Butterscotch. (In fact, if she catches a glimpse of her, she starts squealing...just like a pig!)

JASON

This seems a bit odd to bring up - following the whole guinea pig update - but I wanted to let y'all know about my best friend who was diagnosed with cancer this summer. He is doing GREAT!! His CEA numbers (which gauge how rapidly the cancer grows, etc.) are in double digits now. They started out well above 1500, and now are down to 19.6.  His first round of chemotherapy made a huge difference in the lesions on his liver, and they are feeling very confident that the next round will continue to improve his outlook. This is great news - and I am continuing to keep a log of all the things I'll do to pester him when we are old and gray together in the assisted living home someday. (He claims he'll have dementia and won't know who I am, but I think it's an idle threat.)

KINDLE
I can't remember if I had talked about this here or not, but Kerry got me a Kindle for our anniversary and I LOVE it. Highly recommend it to anyone considering an ereader!

Ok. I think that's it. If there's something I didn't cover, feel free to comment below and I'll be happy to fill ya in on it.