A lot to blog about...

I'll start with Christmas. We really did have a good Christmas this year. We started opening presents the Saturday before Christmas (one each night) and the girls, and John, loved it. They got to play with whatever they got before leaving for Grandpa's and Grandma's Christmas Eve. Chloe got a Lego pirate ship from Santa and Jesse got a Barbie house. They were both very pleased to say the least. I'll post pics later.

We woke up Friday morning to the very distressing (to me) news about Eartha. I spent most the day being very sad. She was so many things to me. I loved her for her talent and that voice, who could ever forget that voice!

Then Saturday night I found out my great aunt Luphelia had passed away that afternoon. It was no shock that a 99 year-old woman died but it was difficult. When she was 97 she didn't think she'd make 100, but sometime after 98 I think she started hoping. She almost made it. The funeral was today. The girls and I went up (it was in NC), John had a dental appointment so he couldn't go. My childhood friend Caryn came by the funeral home. Caryn is a RN and she was Luphelia's nurse on several different occasions at the hospital. I saw a lot of my extended family that I have not seen in quite a few years. It didn't seem real, honestly. I mean I knew who they were but time does change us, whether we want it to or not. I think the thing I'm the saddest about is the fact I will probably never see most of them again. Luphelia was the last link for my Dad and myself to that side of the family for reasons that occurred when my father was young. So, I find myself reflecting on all of it. The memories of people and places that once were but probably will never be again. At least not for my Dad and I. The end of a page with nothing more on the back; no ending or summation just a place to stop.

Christmas was good, but the after-Christmas has been very sad. I'm hoping 2009 is happier and healthier for all of us and for you and your families.

Happy Holidays...

I love holiday surprises. Yesterday, the girls and I went to Aiken and Edgefield. I had a doctor's appointment yesterday afternoon. I totally did not expect to see Ms. Betty (not my Mom) there. She is a LPN who worked there when I first started going, but a few years ago ran into some health issues and stopped working. Now, she's back. I don't remember if Mari told me she was coming back or not but if she did I had totally forgotten. And there she sat! It was totally awesome seeing her and she looked great (no matter what she says, lol).

Then this morning I took all my prescriptions to the pharmacy and there was Ms. Tonya! I love surprises like that! We talked for a couple of minutes and I talked to her boys (Addison just started Kindergarten too; he said he likes it). It was so good to see her, and no matter what she says, she was a beautiful as always!

I hope you and your family have lots of wonderful holiday surprises and you find yourselves healthy and happy in the new year.

I've been slack this week...

It was our last of week of school before the girls take two weeks off (I have a ton of things to finish over the break). We made peanut butter cookies for the staff at the library, who are more like family than anything. We reorganized a lot! We had our last TKD class until the 29th, and then our schedule changes back to night classes. BOOOOO! So, far I have not convinced him this is a terrible idea! My parents came down yesterday to watch the girls so we could attend a Christmas party at the Commander's house last night. And so many more things!

Monday was a fun day. I've already written that we had the Morgan Family gathering on Saturday and we went to Claire's on Sunday. The girls received gift cards from Build-a-Bear and Claire's (their favorite places!). John also received a gift card for Best Buy. So since Monday was John's day off we went across town to the mall with Build-a-Bear (I'd been planning that since I heard what they were getting). The girls loaded up on clothes and John asked if they were going to get another animal (honestly, sometimes I think he's lost it...another animal!), so of course they each picked out a new friend.

This is "Husky".

This is "Lilly".

Then we went in search of Best Buy. I knew there was one over there but had no clue where, and the worst time to look is the week before Christmas at lunch hour. We did find it and John bought a MP3 player (he had already done his research on-line). The sound on it is fabulous! I was really surprised. John let my Dad listen to it last night and he was impressed and compared it to his Bose! I said it was good!

Morgan Family chirstmas presents...

Jesse received the Mystery Date Game (High School Musical 3 version) yesterday from Aunt Mari, Uncle Sonny, Lawson and Morgan. She played that game for an hour last night...by herself! She loves it.

Chloe and Jesse both received Claire's gift cards from Aunt Linda and Uncle Keith, and Grandma Morgan. We wound up going out tonight so we went by there so they could look. Here is what they bought:

Jesse bought a three necklaces: one with a "J", one with a pink butterfly, and one with brown flowers. She bought three pair of earrings: snowmen, snowflakes, and candy canes. She also picked out the bear.

Chloe bought four pair of earrings: one skull and cross bones (who didn't see that coming!), one sparkly ladybugs, Christmas penguins, and a pair that look point but are really rubbery and look like sea urchins to me (Jesse has several of these). A stuffed dog. A colorful bracelet she insisted on even though its slightly too big. A Jonas brother pin (see Nick!; yes, I know them all LOL) and a Jonas Brothers hat.

Morgan Family Christmas '08...

Today was the annual Morgan Family Christmas get-together. Our girls have been excited about it all week. It was the first time we saw Mari and Sonny's house since their big flood back in the summer. The house looked great! And there was plenty of room for everyone to eat!

The girls had a lot of fun playing with their cousins and Belle (the Mari and Sonny's dog).

I have to tell you this. (Mari you can let Linda know, please.) When we got home tonight, Chloe and I had a discussion about her present from Aunt Linda and Uncle Keith. I watched her open it and she smiled really big and put the box behind her and opened another present. Well, the box was a box for 44 Christmas cards. She thought it was a 44 piece puzzle of a snowman! How cute was that!

Here are a few pics from the party:

The girls and their new, pink BB guns. Yes, they are really pink. Oh, thanks again Kim! (This pic was actually taken when we got back home.)

Here are all the cousins together (except Tyler). All smiling and loving...do you have any clue how long that took?

John and Oma ("Mom" in Korean).

'Tis the season for me to think too much...

Its that time of year for me. Every year at this time I ponder 'family'. I spend time remembering the past and wondering what the future holds. Yesterday a very sad thought occurred to me...one day my family will no longer have reunions. This is a topic John picks on me a about a lot, simply because he doesn't get together with his extended family and apparently they never have. But I grew up going to Grandma's every Sunday (almost every one anyway). I grew up having Christmas morning with my mom and then the afternoon at Grandpa's. A lot of my memories of my childhood are centered around my family, which is why I'm sad about this thought. You see, I love my family. Honestly, I didn't always believe that I loved them. Growing up I was the only cousin who was an "only child". I was the only cousin who didn't go to school with any of the other cousins. I was the "only" for a lot of things. I guess I still am in a lot of ways but here is my point. My generation doesn't make all of the reunions. My generation may come to one family function a year or some may come to two. They are going on vacations, working, with friends, etc. Believe me! I know how stressful life can be when your children are young and you want to do all the wonderful things there are to do with them but for me...family ALWAYS comes first. I thought yesterday that once my aunts are gone (a VERY long time from now please ladies!), will I see my cousins? Will I know whats going on in each of their lives? I fear not. It makes me terribly sad. You see it is this time of year, every year, that I miss them the most. I miss my family daily. I think of the fun times, the sad times, the humiliating times and I miss them. Time and distance are difficult factors but family...family should always make time for each other. My children have heard this so much in their short lives that even they will tell you "family comes first". I love my family and I wish I could see and talk to them all more often. I wish life had gone down different paths in some areas so every year at this time I could just enjoy my family instead of wondering what the future holds. So, to my family if I don't see you this holiday season I want to say, "I love you. I miss you. Please, be well."

And the fun begins...

I can't believe it's already Wednesday! I was so hoping to get a great deal of things accomplished this week and so far the only thing I've been successful at is losing my school spiral which holds all of science experiment information for the next two weeks. I'm hoping today I get some candied pretzels made for our TKD class tomorrow. I also want to get the living room cleaned, the girls having been unloading their toys there to play for a couple of days and nothing has been put away...imagine that! LOL

Speaking of TKD, yesterday's class was a look into mine and Chloe's near future. We did weapons! Numchucks. (Is that how you spell that...and he expects me to be able to use them when I can't even spell the word!) Anyway. I really did enjoy it but I surely need to practice because I kept getting the handle caught in the sleeve of my uniform. Chloe and Jesse did great as usual. I'm not sure where their coordination came from but I'm glad they have it.

BIG night last night...

Well, graduation went great. Everyone survived and no one vomited. :)

Chloe's graduation was first. She did such a great job. They only learned the last five moves on Tuesday before graduation, so she really did well. Her board breaks were very good. We figured out yesterday afternoon she needed to kick with her left leg instead of her right, which she had been using in class to practice. She is very proud of herself, as she should be, and is looking forward to getting her own black belt soon.

Jesse and I graduated together (the Black Belt Graduation). It, of course, was my first time in this graduation section. And as I predicted, several months ago, Master Mike picked on me as much as he could. The ones who are black belt recommended went first. All three forms at once (usually he does one form then they sit while another group goes then they come back to do another form). Then during the "Black Belt Ceremony" he changed it up again. He called me first, and instead of sitting down while everyone lit their candle, I lit my candle then had to speak about what making my 1st degree means to me. Then at the end (he always ties the black belt on the first time) he was talking about me and how wonderful I am. NOT. ;) He did surprise me by saying he thought I would be good in the teaching program he has, but honestly I've never thought about it. Now, Jesse. Jesse had her best night in months! I was putting on my sparring gear and watching Jesse do her form. Master Mike caught my attention and mouthed the word, "WOW". He did it a few times and then at the end when he was tying on Jesse's belt he told her it was the best she had done her form ever and he wanted her to continue doing it that well.

I think my parents had a good time. Mom told me it was the first time they saw the weapons being done. There were people doing single weapons and some doing double weapons (one in each hand). It was totally fascinating and scary. The one that caught most people's attention was an eight-year-old boy who did his first double weapons. Master Mike kept telling him to go faster and he did without ever messing up. It was incredible!

The garage is done, kind of...

John has the garage mostly finished. He said there are few "little" things left to do but all-in-all he is done. It looks totally awesome! The girls and I love it! He really did work hard all weekend to get it finished and he did a great job!





We have finished decorating for Christmas and I believe all the presents are wrapped. I'm looking forward to doing some baking for Christmas...and giving most of it away so I'm not tempted. We have quite a few parties to attend this year and the first one is this weekend, which is why I wanted to have everything finished last weekend. From here on out it will get crazy rather quickly. I'm hoping we find time to do all the things I want to do. I bought the girls some wooden Christmas ornaments from Michael's to color and some other ones to paint. I'm hoping we can do one art project on Friday when we take off from school. Jesse is also wanting to do a cross-stitch project for a friend for Christmas and Chloe is still trying to figure out what she can do for a friend of hers.

I'm trying not to think about graduation. The girls are excited but I personally want to vo.... We were reminded yesterday that we are going to have to speak at graduation and I'm not looking forward to that either. I have a feeling its going to be a very emotional night for me. Jesse getting her second degree. Me getting my first degree and Chloe will have to "bow-in" (ask permission to do board breaks) for the first time. It seems like there is going to be a lot for us to take in that night. It will truly be a BIG night for the Morgan family. I'm glad my parents are coming so they see it but that too makes me nervous. I'm going to stop typing about it now.

School is going great right now. Most days we are finished by lunch (11am) or we have one subject left. When we break for Christmas, we will have exactly 90 days in (half of the required days)! We are in such a better place this year than last year. I keep reminding Jesse of how hard she had to work in January and February and I think that has helped to keep her focused so we could get in half of our days. Chloe will be starting her first-grade work in January just like Jesse did, but I think there were be subjects where we will have to go a bit slower for her. She is not as quick as Jesse on math and I won't know about spelling until we start in January. Her reading is coming along very nicely, which is partly why we are starting her first-grade work. She is excited the most about starting spelling.