Merry Belated Christmas to All!

To all who we didn't speak to, Merry Christmas! I must admit, after watching the news a bit, I am thankful to be having a nice, warm, and sometimes rainy, Christmas season in south Florida. While I loved many of the people, I an glad we're not in snowy Wyoming this time around.
I guess I'm a sunny southern California girl for life.

It's been a month since we last posted, so here's the latest lowdown:

~ Bruce is on vacation for the next week and a half, which is a great thing, not only because he gets to rest a bit, but because I get to go places for a week without having to tow Leah along with me (which I do enjoy, most of the time). It's just (mothers with small children will relate to this), sometimes you want to be able to jump out of the car and not unbuckle a car seat, you know?

~ He's also been asked to assist the youth pastor at our church, and has taken an active role in discipling two young men who are the only ones in their families who attend church.

~I just finished singing with the choir in the annual Christmas concert, in the "Living Christmas Tree", which was lots of fun (see picture below).

~ I'm also participating in the Miami-Dade Public Library's literacy education program, which works with adults who are reading at the 5th grade level or lower. The lady I'm helping right now is an older lady, she's really sweet, making great progress, and saved! She's kind of like a grandmother. The main reason she wants to improve her reading skills is to be able to read the Bible fluently.

~ I'm pretty much the only tutor this far south, so the program has asked me to take on another student. Please pray that if this is the Lord's will, He'll work out our schedules to make this happen. I would love to work with someone else. I'll tell you what, doing this definitely makes me more appreciative of the education God has allowed me to receive, and that I've thus far taken for granted.

~ I'm also still considering becoming a teacher. I've started studying for the exams that I will have to take in February and April. Please keep this endeavor in your prayers as well.

Anyway, here are some pictures of Leah on Christmas Day. I know that's all some of you care about, but that's alright. I'm not hurt.

What's Going On Here???

Bruce was copying the pictures he took of Leah from his camera to my computer, and happened to leave this one on the screen. I guess it's never too early to start reading, and reading is fundamental.

On a side note, when I went to the local community college and was hanging out in the food court, a lady walked up to me and asked if Leah was an "early admit". I thought that was sweet. But hey, she is our child, and today she figured out how to move the gate that blocks the stairs if we don't put it up correctly. She's really beginning to copy a lot of the things I do. She is also learning how to blow her nose into tissue, if Bruce or I hold it, of course. I'm amazed at how much she's learned to do in just a year.

On another side note, if anyone is wondering what the title of the book is, it's "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands" by Dr. Laura Schlessinger. I guess she's trying to get a head start on that too.

BRUCE'S CORNER!!!
" I HIT MYSELF IN THE MOUTH WITH A SLEDGE HAMMER HANDLE AND IT FELT LIKE SOMEONE PUNCHED ME IN THE MOUTH....." -D. BOMAR
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LEAH'S 1ST BIRTHDAY!

Today is Leah's first birthday. We had some cake with the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group at Jungle Jimbos. Leah enjoyed smearing it all over her face, while eating most of it, got a sugar rush, and then crashed for two hours. She got a few presents and a few balloons, and had a very happy birthday (not that she knows what a birthday is yet). Boy one-year-olds are easy to please.

Off to the Races

So last Sunday Bruce and I went to a NASCAR
race for the first time, at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and although I was kind of nervous about it at first, I actually had a good time. I must admit that I would never do it myself, but there is an adrenaline rush that goes along with watching cars racing by at 200 m.p.h. If there ever is a next time, I will bring some earplugs, 'cause it was loud.

The only thing I didn't care for was that smoking was allowed in the stadium, cough, cough, hack, hack, and we were fortunate enough (sarcasm intended) to be sitting right behind two smokers who seemed to be taking pleasure in blowing their smoke into the breeze traveling right into my face. I didn't necessarily care for all the drinking either, not that there's anything wrong with drinking by itself, but we all know everyone can't handle alcohol. There were several folks that looked like they had a few too many brewskies, if you know what I mean.

All in all, NASCAR gets a thumbs up from me, especially because they pray before the race. Now I know it's mostly because they want the good Lord to keep anyone from being seriously hurt, but at least they still have the audacity to acknowledge that only the Lord can protect them. Like Jeff Foxworthy said, in reference to red necks (not that I am a redneck), "We pray to Him because we believe in Him."

On a side note, my husband wants me to add that, and I quote, "Tony Stewart is amazing, and he only lost by 13 gallons." This was the last race of the season, so it really didn't matter either way.

So, all in all, it was a great time, and maybe next season we'll try and catch the next race that comes to Homestead, if we're still here then (and hopefully we will be).

-BRUCE'S CORNER!!!
"MY CAT'S BREATH SMELLS LIKE CAT FOOD" - RALPH WIGGUM
...THINK ABOUT IT ;)

Let's See How Long This Lasts...

Well, since so many people around us have been blogging, Bruce and I decided we should give it a try as well, especially since our family and friends are all the way across the country. We'll try to be consistent with this, but I'm not making any promises. I'm also not responsible for anything Bruce puts on this page (he wanted to call our blog "Keylime Pie and Rice; I'm pregnant and that's still sounds disgusting).



Anyway, we'll be posting recent pictures of Leah on here (since I know that's all most of you care about anyway), and we'll probably have our own separate sections for personal random rantings and ravings (which usually amounts to audio/auto vs. social issues). On a side note, can you believe I know more about sports than my husband does? (He doesn't care by the way)