Christmas was a hoot! S'te woke us this morning so that we could see the kids open gifts before we had to leave to catch our plane to Florida.

Christmas Eve we had our big dinner and then we went ~ en familia~ to Church at the Rock... It was great... I love the feeling of peace that comes over me whenever I enter the House of God.... I was very moved by the entire program. It was perfect.

Each of the kids got several "favorite" gifts. There were lots of squeals and ooohs going on during the openings! Cavelle was the first with a favorite - and it withstood the test of all the other gifts.... a noisy little lawnmower that deserved the place of honor - right in the middle of all the action!! LOL It didn't matter where we "hid" it - it returned as fast as he could find it.... He was definately determined!!

I bonused my own self with 2 grandmother necklaces and a bracelet, as well as a handmade card from Raquel. I would post pictures - but my picture poster doesn't want to work at this time - it keeps telling me that they are busy..... Imagine that!!!

Hope a very Merry Christmas was had by all!

Babysitting

Keith and I babysat for a couple of days during our visit to San Diego. It was a great time. We had some ups ~~~~ and some downs _____ and a misunderstanding or two - but for the most part - we did great!!! The kids are all growing up to be wonderful young adults and little people!! The all have such distinct personalities that I really miss seeing each of them grow during the times that there are so many, many months that I don't get to see them!

I have been so fortunate these last few months!! I got to see them in July, and in November, and in December, and it looks like I will be imposing on them again in January.... Whooppeee!!

So according to Rod and S'te - they enjoyed their little getaway - and I enjoyed having the kids.... so it sounds like we are all happy!!

Packing again!

We no sooner got to Florida than Keith was assigned a meeting back in San Diego! So, after being here 25 days, 10 days at hsome and 15 days (I've counted each and every one!LOL) we are headed back to San Diego! Of course, this is no hardship for me - other than feeling like a total transient, of course!

We have packed up the RV so it is safe and nothing should blow away while we are gone. Our flight is tomorrow afternoon - and we will arrive in San Diego while it is still afternoon! - Boy do I like the East to West flights! We will stay with the kids YIPPEE! until Christmas morning - which will include watching the "babies" so Rod and S'te can do whatever-it-is-he's-got-planned for thier 13th anniversary! A lot has happened over those years!!

I received sad news from Maryland a few days ago. Jeremy's father, Joe, has been suffering with esophageal cancer for the last few years and finally succumbed to it on December 5. I know in my heart that he and Jeremy will become best of buddies up there in Heaven - and I'm hoping that between the two of them - they will find a way to help us find out what happened to Jeremy here on Earth. All thru the years Joe has remained a good friend to our family, and has remained very special even after his death. He definately is a special sort of person......

So off with the sadness - and Celebrate our Christmas Season. Merry Christmas everyone.... No one is getting cards, very few gifts went anywhere, and I am happily wandering along..... "Joy to the World!!"

Sebastian

We've moved into the rv for the 'season'. We are in a little park just off of I95 about 11 miles north of our home in Vero. Some friends from Canada are staying in the house - so we are in the rv. We brought the rv up on Sunday and got it pretty well set up with the screen room and all the little things like water, electric, and CABLE!

We've been here 4 days now and had the rv service people out twice. We got here Monday afternoon and it got a little chilly - so I set the thermostat for 70 when we went to bed.... Keith got up about 5 and the lights were dim and the furnace wasn't working..... He had to start the motor to get the lights brighter and make the furnace work. I didn't think much of it and went on about my business. I put my foot in my slipper (that was outside the bathroom door) and it was WET!! I again thought a few choice things and thought maybe one of the vents is leaking. Checked out the vents and they were dry as a bone..... Tried to turn on the HW heater - and it wouldn't light - so I checked the propane - we are at a little less than 1/2 of a 30/40 or so gallon tank - thought well, maybe the guage on it was wrong and called the office to see about getting the propane filled - we have to unhook EVERYHTING and take the coach up to the office to fill the tank - since it is not a removable tank... one more thing to look at if we ever buy another rv!. I so didn't want to do that!! We only had it all hooked up for 2 days!! - so we went to WallyWorld and bought a small heater, a 2 burner hotplate (I couldn't find the other one {it was under a bunch of stuff - I found it later} that was a 1 burner), and an electric pot to heat water in for dishes, faces, etc. So after we got back another thought came to me and I started the motor and tried to light the tank again - it worked..... So I figured out how to light the hw heater but the stove and furnace still didn't want to work right

Thursday morning the carpet in the bathroom was soaked....the carpet in the hall was wet, and the carpet around the toilet was dripping..... so guess what! We called Indian River R.V. and believe it or not - the serviceman, John, was already in the park!! He appeared about 2 hours later.... The foot valve was leaking - the toilet is to old to get parts for... and while he was here he checked out the electric issue. Well that was an easy fix!! He checked the circuits - all were working and then started crawling on the floor looking in the cabinets.... I asked him what he was looking for and he told me "the converter box". I have absolutely no idea what one looked like so he described it to me. I knew right where that thing was and I had often wondered what it was - since it had the cord still wrapped around it and in that 'plastic' sort of stuff. He looked at us like we just flew in from Mars and had a great big chuckle. The converter box - which, by the way, is what keeps the batteries charged, wasn't plugged in - so it couldn't charge the batteries, which is what the HW heater uses to light, as well as the gas stove, the furnace, and the overhead lights, etc. All of that sort of stuff.... He plugged it in, put all the covers back on the pertinate openings that he'd uncovered - and Keith and I are wondering if it was ever plugged in. Maybe that is why the previous owners gave up on it with only 8,000 miles on it. So today... we have hot water, I can cook, the lights stay bright, and we have a new toilet!! Thank you Indian River R.V.! And John was so nice - he just chuckled when he could've had a big belly laugh about Novice RV'ers and thier issues! And I still have an electic "pot" and a 2 burner hot plate that I didn't have before...... Yippee!!