Lately in Clarkston....

        I am happy to announce that things have been pretty quiet around here lately! It is a very nice change from the ups and downs of unemployment! Last Thursday I borrowed a sledge hammer from Caleb and took after our bathtub. I can now say that I know first hand just how hard a 400 lb cast iron tub is to break! I have never sweat so hard from anything but running. It was shaking the house and the girls were downstairs sewing and were worried about it falling on them. I did break a hole in the thing and cracked it up pretty good. On all the YouTube video's it looked pretty easy once you get it broken but I was too tired to keep going from that point and it was bedtime. Joel was a showoff and it only took him about a half an hour to finish it up the next day. We scrapped it and got a whopping $28.00! It was better than putting it in the trash though I guess. So, we were able to cut a hole for the bathroom door in the hallway like a normal house and were able to push our table into the corner making MUCH more room in the kitchen! When Joel left for work he told Millie to watch me and make sure that all the walls that are standing right now be there when he gets back. He knows I am just itching to tear out the closet so we can put the table where it is going to go for good. Did I mention that he has a job? That is pretty fun too!
        Friday my little sister sent me a picture of the most beautiful dresser that was on sale in IF. So Saturday we took the kids to Con and Fernae's so they didn't have to ride in the car all day and went to go get it. Well, it was just a little too small for the area it would have to fill so we walked around all the lovely store's there that share a parking lot conveniently. I found a little hutch for the living room that was the perfect size, a good price AND on sale at Real Deals so we got that and called our shopping trip a success. PLUS, I got to give Mama kisses and hugs since she met us there!
        Last week it snowed and we made the first (hopefully not last) snowman of the year! It was basically a blowing blizzard by the time we got done so we got a picture and of course he melted the next day.

        As I sit here typing this I heard a whack, Millie screaming, and Tommy running up the stairs saying "Sorry Millie" and sitting promptly in time out. I asked him what he did and said he whacked Millie on the noggin with a toy. I swear I don't know what to do with this little guy!
       Well on a positive note, we had a interesting experience happen today. We were sitting here eating dinner when there was a knock on the door. It was a man from the ward and Joel went to talk to him. I heard Joel say "Thank you" and then he shut the door and said "You get to figure out what to do with this" and dropped a 100 dollar bill next to my plate. He said that the man said someone he knew gave it to him to give to a family in the ward with small kids anonymously. Well, I think he must not have heard that Joel got a job or thought maybe we needed a little money to get us back on our feet after the month of no work, which we would have, had it not been for the severance and bonus payout. It was a very nice gesture, but we couldn't in good conscience take it after Joel had spent a few thousand on a mt. bike and I had bought a hutch in the last week. So we got to be the middle man of a kind deed and service. Then we had the job of finding a family with small children that needed it. I called Aleisa and we talked about a couple of families. I couldn't decide so I called my friend Katie (who knows everyone) and she suggested the exact same two families. Neither or which would ever ask for help. So we felt pretty good about the choices. It was pretty fun to get to be part of it especially at Christmas time!

Tommy brought his fleet of trucks up while I was folding laundry. I didn't realize why until he started loading them with socks to take up and put away! Cute little helper!

Millie and Tommy wanted to go out and play but it was just muddy and not snowy anymore so she pulled him around the house in the sled.