Monday, January 28, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Christmas Everywhere!
Everyone was all smiles. UNCLE Drew and POPPIE bought Cash a BB Gun. Veronica is starting up a band with her friends. And Cash and Sissy enjoyed the whole process. (Baby Cash opened his bottle and poured it on his head and shirt.)
Getting Ready for Christmas
Dear Santa,
I have been waiting to see you. Sissy said you sneak in and I am hiding so I can see you.
Cash
We look sweet, but we have the flu!
JANUARY!!!!!!!!!!!!2008
Okay, I am back. It has been a busy time through the holidays and beginning of the year. Every single one of us survived the flu, but we didn't enjoy it at all!
Christmas Eve and early morning was great and I am going to add pictures of the babies. However, Bob's mom had a fall on Christmas morning and that wasn't so great. She has since recovered.
Bob has been at home. He has been preparing for some training that he will be conducting, except the electrical plant he is supposed to go to isn't organized. Most of what he has been saying recently is, "I HATE Power Point." (I hope he goes somewhere soon. His travels are the not-so-secret SECRET of our relationship.)
I have been teaching or trying to. I have had a lot of issues with Career Ladder (extra program that gets teachers money) that I have been the chairman of for years. Fortunately the issues were not due to my participation and we were able to get everything straightened out. I actually like those kinds of challenges. If you ever watch the TV show the CLOSER, where the chick comes in, gets the information, puts it altogether, and solves the case----that is not what I want to do. I want to be the OPENER where I come in, get all the info, make a plan, implement it, and then go on to the next situation. Haven't found that job yet. But this is the time of year that employment opportunities become available and we'll see what happens.
Rachel is still working at Sonic. She returned from book buying and has been busy with that.
Her babies really enjoyed their Christmas presents from her.
Drew has been on break from college and working full time for his dad. He has recently suffered the surprise news that his roommate was moving out immediately. Nothing to do with Drew.
However, Drew called me the other day and VERY seriously said he needed to talk with me. Even though he hasn't caused me much grief through his behavior, I am running through the, "Oh, God Parental Fear of Unlikely Things to Happen Litany!" In no particular order of importance----Maybe he got ARRESTED or SOMEONE PREGNANT, he was an ALCOHOLIC or DRUG LORD, or he HEARS VOICES, or DROPPED OUT OF COLLEGE, or has A SIGNIFICANT OTHER NAMED GARY, or JOINED THE ARMED FORCES, or simply wanted to move back home. Since he usually doesn't break laws or date anyone much or want to die in war and usually only talks aloud to himself, I thought all of these things unlikely and a few impossible, but being the mom that I am...I steeled myself to accept whatever the news would be and still try to be understanding and loving.
He wanted to borrow $10.00 until payday.
So we gave $15.00 and a bottle of Pepsi.
Veronica is doing great. School is fine and she enjoys it AND all of her Christmas gifts. She got a puppet theater for Christmas and she has been making up plays. She is hilarious. One day when she was coming up with a script...
Veronica: Grandma, have you ever heard of a flying squirrel?
Yes.
After a few minutes.
Veronica: Grandma, can I have some paper and tape?
Yes.
Since Veronica always asks for those things, I wasn't concerned.
For her play she had one squirrel that introduced the characters. The plot: Dog that was lost in a park that got help from a frog and a pig. All is saved when the other squirrel puppet flies into save the day. The only problem was that Veronica didn't know what a "flying squirrel" was and how it could fly. So, her flying squirrel was taped into a paper airplane. Because really, how else would a squirrel fly?
Cash is just a ball of fun. He LOVED the gifts. Of course Uncle Drew and Poppie had to continue the tradition of man gifts that were totally inappropriate for a baby. They bought him a BB gun! He won't be seeing that for some time. Cash weighs right at 20 pounds. He is standing up against things and he liked to open mouth kiss on his girl doll. He says Hi, Hey there, and he whispers. He FINALLY has a tooth. He has been eating without any, but we are happy that he will now have something to chew with. If you ever want to see him smile, just hold up a spoon. To him it is the most beautiful sight.
We have not spoken with Mike and Ryan since before Christmas. Apparently their phone is not working. Their grandma in CT says they received their Christmas from us.
That is about it for now. My mom is coming next weekend for a few days and we are looking forward to that. Have a great week and stay warm!
Christmas Eve and early morning was great and I am going to add pictures of the babies. However, Bob's mom had a fall on Christmas morning and that wasn't so great. She has since recovered.
Bob has been at home. He has been preparing for some training that he will be conducting, except the electrical plant he is supposed to go to isn't organized. Most of what he has been saying recently is, "I HATE Power Point." (I hope he goes somewhere soon. His travels are the not-so-secret SECRET of our relationship.)
I have been teaching or trying to. I have had a lot of issues with Career Ladder (extra program that gets teachers money) that I have been the chairman of for years. Fortunately the issues were not due to my participation and we were able to get everything straightened out. I actually like those kinds of challenges. If you ever watch the TV show the CLOSER, where the chick comes in, gets the information, puts it altogether, and solves the case----that is not what I want to do. I want to be the OPENER where I come in, get all the info, make a plan, implement it, and then go on to the next situation. Haven't found that job yet. But this is the time of year that employment opportunities become available and we'll see what happens.
Rachel is still working at Sonic. She returned from book buying and has been busy with that.
Her babies really enjoyed their Christmas presents from her.
Drew has been on break from college and working full time for his dad. He has recently suffered the surprise news that his roommate was moving out immediately. Nothing to do with Drew.
However, Drew called me the other day and VERY seriously said he needed to talk with me. Even though he hasn't caused me much grief through his behavior, I am running through the, "Oh, God Parental Fear of Unlikely Things to Happen Litany!" In no particular order of importance----Maybe he got ARRESTED or SOMEONE PREGNANT, he was an ALCOHOLIC or DRUG LORD, or he HEARS VOICES, or DROPPED OUT OF COLLEGE, or has A SIGNIFICANT OTHER NAMED GARY, or JOINED THE ARMED FORCES, or simply wanted to move back home. Since he usually doesn't break laws or date anyone much or want to die in war and usually only talks aloud to himself, I thought all of these things unlikely and a few impossible, but being the mom that I am...I steeled myself to accept whatever the news would be and still try to be understanding and loving.
He wanted to borrow $10.00 until payday.
So we gave $15.00 and a bottle of Pepsi.
Veronica is doing great. School is fine and she enjoys it AND all of her Christmas gifts. She got a puppet theater for Christmas and she has been making up plays. She is hilarious. One day when she was coming up with a script...
Veronica: Grandma, have you ever heard of a flying squirrel?
Yes.
After a few minutes.
Veronica: Grandma, can I have some paper and tape?
Yes.
Since Veronica always asks for those things, I wasn't concerned.
For her play she had one squirrel that introduced the characters. The plot: Dog that was lost in a park that got help from a frog and a pig. All is saved when the other squirrel puppet flies into save the day. The only problem was that Veronica didn't know what a "flying squirrel" was and how it could fly. So, her flying squirrel was taped into a paper airplane. Because really, how else would a squirrel fly?
Cash is just a ball of fun. He LOVED the gifts. Of course Uncle Drew and Poppie had to continue the tradition of man gifts that were totally inappropriate for a baby. They bought him a BB gun! He won't be seeing that for some time. Cash weighs right at 20 pounds. He is standing up against things and he liked to open mouth kiss on his girl doll. He says Hi, Hey there, and he whispers. He FINALLY has a tooth. He has been eating without any, but we are happy that he will now have something to chew with. If you ever want to see him smile, just hold up a spoon. To him it is the most beautiful sight.
We have not spoken with Mike and Ryan since before Christmas. Apparently their phone is not working. Their grandma in CT says they received their Christmas from us.
That is about it for now. My mom is coming next weekend for a few days and we are looking forward to that. Have a great week and stay warm!
Sunday, December 23, 2007
2007 Official Christmas Letter
2007 Edwards-Atkinson-Knox
This year brought many changes. The first was the remodeling on the inside and outside of our home. Laminate flooring, a new dining room wall, additional windows, covered patio, and cream siding with white trim all added up to a new look and plenty of money spent. Like our home, we also had many family changes.
Bob still traveled in his job, but spent most of his time this year in nearby Omaha, NB. He did manage to spend some time in Salt Lake City, UT; Charleston, WV; and Monterrey, MX. He also got a new buddy this year with our grandson Cash Aiden Atkinson. Despite my efforts to spoil little Cash, that baby loves Bob the best.
Bob and I have both been writing a little. He is working on Sci-Fi and I am working on humorous mystery. We were able to travel to Council Grove, KS for a writer’s retreat. It was fun and informative, but Kansas is STILL a boring state to drive through. The only other traveling for our family was the annual group trip to Oklahoma at Easter.
I continue teaching 8th grade literature. I had an opportunity to work in the high school, but decided to stay where I am for now. I spent most of my summer months with three men-Jim, Dave, and Mike…the remodelers.
Rachel, Veronica, and Cash live across town in a little house. Rachel is assistant manager at Sonic, continues to buy textbooks, and remains VERY busy. She had a pretty easy time when Cash was born. However, the look on her face when she saw the difference in size between her newborn 8’11” baby and her previous 3’7” preemie baby was PRICELESS. Rachel also recovered from surprise surgery when her appendix was taken out earlier this year.
Veronica is a 6 year-old first grader. She enjoys reading and math and soccer. BEFORE Cash was born Veronica was the most thrilled of all of us about him. AFTER he was born, she was the least thrilled of all of us about him. She is doing much better, but she had to sit Grandma Goldie down and explain what would be appropriate to share with the baby. Apparently, Cash will never learn to sing Row, Row Your Boat. That’s our song ONLY!
Baby Cash is just a joy. He looks a lot like his Uncle Drew. He has a sweet nature and loves to laugh. He is so big he outgrew the doctor’s growth chart. In spite of the fact that he has no teeth at all, he eats real food because he would starve otherwise. At seven months he crawls and likes to stand up against things, but lets go of them. We expect him to walk EARLY.
Drew spends much of his time up in the air. REALLY. He is majoring in aviation and has been taking flying classes. He takes off and lands, has soloed, and even done some long distance flying. He is now living in an apartment in Warrensburg. He is Vice-President of the college anime club.
Ryan and Mike are both living in Connecticut with their mother. They are juniors and almost 17 years old. They are both looking more like men than boys. Mike came to Missouri to visit this summer before he and Ryan went to CT. It was nice for everyone to get to see both of the boys at the same time. Bob’s parents enjoyed having all four of their grandsons together.
We have had some nice visits this year. Ryan and Mike’s maternal grandparents came for a short visit. My mom has been up twice. FYI-She is getting ready to retire in the next year. My sister Bev continues to be an administrator in the Juvenile Department for two counties and loves the challenge. My brother Bill and his wife Debbie are having a good time spoiling all of their grandchildren. At Thanksgiving we got to see two of Bill’s grandsons playing with our grandchildren. Does that make us old?
One sad change for our family this year was the loss of our family friend and Robin’s mother, Frances Osborne. She is missed as one who celebrated our family joys and worried right along with us when things weren’t good.
These were some of the many changes this year for our family. We hope you enjoy the many changes you and your family will experience in 2008. With luck, we will get to see you in person to hear about all of the changes.
Bob, Goldie, Rachel, Drew, Ryan, Michael, Veronica, and Cash
Saturday, December 8, 2007
From Thanksgiving until 12-8-07
Hello to all!
Busy and icy times for all. Since the holiday weekend I have made it through numerous days of teaching and lots of activities. We have both been working regularly. I always go to work, but Bob had been working at plants around here everyday too.
Last weekend we went to our local Christmas craft mall. Rach and the kids got to see Santa and shopping at a craft mall is Veronica's dream. Bob and I also made it through a HORRIBLE trip to the portrait studio at Wal-Mart. The kids were good and so are the pictures, but that place is unorganized. Such an understatement.
Bob has been gone this past week to the production plant for his company in Monterey, Mexico. Although we love each other, it was good for both of us to have a break. He is there for this next week also.
Rachel is Indiana doing a book buy. Little Cashie is with her.
Veronica is with me. Dang, I am too old to get little kids to school. We forgot the glasses twice and the book bag once. Next week they have different themes for their clothes each day. ARGGG!
Veronica and I have had some special time together. We have read and crafted and read and danced and read and read some more. She had her music concert this week. Today I explained how the religious Christmas songs that she know fit into to the Biblical nativity story. She knows both things but hadn't figured out they were related.
Drew is working on the end of his semester. He would like some good weather so that he can fly. (Aviation major.) I don't think that is going to happen.
Have a great week ahead. Enjoy some of our pictures.
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