- Marley woke up at 6 this morning, and I'm not sure if she woke up by herself or if she heard me getting up to go to the bathroom. I tried to be quiet, but I think she still heard me because she was awake before I made it back to bed.
- It took awhile for me to get her settled this morning, so I was off to a slow start. By the time that both dogs potty and I have fed both dogs, it seems that most of the morning has gone. I did lose Marley briefly this morning. She did respond to her name when I called her-she responded with a yelp. I found her on the kids' stairs halfway in the middle-she was stuck since she can't go down. I think that she was going up them when Bentley went down them. This made Marley decided she didn't want to go up and wanted to go down, but she couldn't.
- And let's discuss Bentley-when she came prancing down the stairs, I was already looking for Marley. I asked her to help me find her sister, and she just walked off-even though she knew where she was. Not all hope is lost though because they have been playing together so well tonight, and Bentley was even putting her paw up on Marley's head.
- I met Grannymom this morning at Marshals to do some birthday shopping. It didn't take me long to fill up the cart and find things for my birthday. Grannymom and I then both walked over to Kroger to do some more shopping. I needed a few things for tomorrow night so it didn't take me long to fill my buggy.
- Later this afternoon, Campbell, Keaton, and I were going to meet Robby. I had asked Whitman if he wanted to go earlier, and he said no. When we were leaving though, I walked by and said, "we're leaving." Whitman jumped up and headed to the door. I asked if he had changed his mind, but he just heard me say "we are leaving" and assumed that meant him too. I asked again if he wanted to come, and he volunteered to stay with Marley.
- While we were gone, the big boys went to Nonna and Pops' house to work on their new tv and to move some furniture. That left Whitman and Reagan holding down the fort here.
- Keaton drove us to On the Border, and after we ate there, Keaton and Campbell left by themselves. They stopped off at Grannymom's house for a quick visit. Then they headed to Five Below and Marshalls-being able to drive places is going to get very expensive for Campbell!
- They made it home safely after their stops, but Robby and I ran some errands. We finished one set, and stopped at Sonic to get a drink. However, we opted to run into Kroger to take one more shop, but while we were there we were able go get drinks for Starbucks (hot chocolate for me and a lemonade for Robby) and go to the bathroom since it had been a while since we had stopped.
- Back at home, we have had a quiet, yet short, evening. Right now it is time to start heading to bed, but our two puppies are going strong!
December 30, 2025
December 29, 2025
- Marley did much better today-the pound will not have to be called. She only woke up at 7, and then she only had 2 accidents in the house today.
- It was a fairly quiet morning. Robby left to run some errands while I stayed at home. When Marley went to sleep, I tried to get as much done as I could. I have a very short list to accomplish on this holiday week, so the main activity of the day was making cinnamon rolls.
- Whitman was downloading a game at the time, so he helped me make the cinnamon rolls. He pretty much did all of it by himself so I just cleaned and handed him what he needed next. Whitman and I also played a game this afternoon-we were getting in lots of quality time.
- Campbell drove me, Keaton, and the dogs to Nonna's house. We had some soup to drop off over there. Then we dropped off a birthday present before coming home. When we came home, Marley and I had a nap, and then it was time to get to work.
- Robby came in, and pretty much everyone started helping get things ready for tonight. Tonight was our Christmas party at the Wilson's house. We had so much food, and Shannon had so much food! Plus there were so many games-We had games and prizes, and Shannon had games and prizes.
- It was a super fun evening-and I am stuffed and a little bit tired! When we came home, the kids all helped unload, and then most of them gathered in the kitchen chatting away. That was nice because I was able to listen as I cleaned everything up.
- Now, Marley is in her kennel, Bentley is upstairs with the girls, and Whitman is the only one downstairs still (he has 30 more minutes). Reagan and Campbell didn't have much sleep last night so I'm sure that they are already asleep, and I think that I'm about to go to bed myself!
December 28, 2025
- Marley update-I guess we have to give ourselves some grace since Marley has just now been with us for 3 weeks, but she is now on the naughty list. She continues to wake up once during the night (it was 5, but still), and she still has accidents occasionally. We will survive!
- The girls were ready for church before the rest of us. I had to assure them that they would not start without us-we were at least 30 minutes early, even though they thought that we were late.
- There wasn't Sunday school today, so we took two cars to church. One car came home to grab Marley while everyone else headed straight to Grannymom's house. We all met up for lunch and visiting before we headed home.
- This afternoon was kind of quiet around the house-Reagan made brownies to take to a friend's house that she was going to spend the night at. Campbell left right in the middle of the rain to go to Rock Creek for church. She drove and did just fine despite the deluge happening.
- When she came home, I took her to the same house that Reagan was at. Then I met the big boys and Robby at the Wilson's house for our Sunday night visiting and snacking. (We postponed supper because that is happening tomorrow.)
- We stayed out too late, and now it is nearly midnight....I'm sitting in the kitchen typing and heard Robby fussing. Poor Marley had herself an accident on our sheets and comforter. Thankfully, we have a spare everything-I feel sorry that we are going to have to rehome her! (Not really, but tomorrow I will have to set a potty timer for her.)
December 27, 2025
- I wasn't super productive today, but I did mark quite a few things off of my lists for the rest of the week-that really just means that I didn't have high hopes of getting anything done this next week.
- I'm always surprised how productive I can be when we are still getting up during the night. Marley woke up once last night, but when Robby tried to put her back to bed in the kennel she would have none of it. I finally set by her until she calmed down.
- This morning Marley didn't like her kennel at all. We have tried treats, we have tried a kong, and we have tried everything we can think of. Hopefully, we were able to turn a corner, and she will be happy to go to bed tonight.
- Robby left pretty early and Campbell and Keaton left as well. They followed Robby to get gas in the suburban, and then those two girls went shopping at the Promanade. I think that they went into quite a few different stores plus they even picked up something for Reagan. Keaton bought one book while Campbell didn't buy anything.
- Keaton babysat at 4 today so I took her there. Reagan met a friend at the Promanade and shopped some next. Campbell had to babysit at 5:30 so Robby took her there (she probably could have driven but it is a ways a way). Anderson and Graham went to play basketball this evening so everyone was gone except for Whitman.
- While I was gone, I ran some errands all by myself! Robby eventually joined me, and we did really well. We did well enough that we went to eat a potato at McAlisters and then both had our own ChickFilA shakes.
- Keaton and Campbell finished at about the same time so the whole house was home and showering by eleven tonight.
- Oh, I forgot to mention how my morning started out-no one was awake, but Robby and I. I was in the kitchen and went to the bedroom to talk to Robby. Marley was right there behind me in the kitchen. When I went back to the kitchen, that dog was gone! I looked everywhere-EVERYWHERE for her. I started to get a little panicked and had Robby get out of bed to look. We both looked and looked-I was about to wake up the kids to help look when Robby discovered Marley in the bonus room. I had already checked the bonus room, but I guess when Robby went up there she was pretty happy to see him (especially since she was stuck up there because she can't yet come down the stairs.)
December 26, 2025
- Marley didn't do as well last night, but she did only wake up once so we can't complain too much. Robby took her to the living room this morning while I finished sleeping. Then Marley and I started on our morning chores-this means, I stand in the kitchen folding laundry while she licks the floor at my feet.
- Robby and I then started on taking the Christmas down. I certainly enjoy Christmas, but I also enjoy taking it all down! The house feels a bit empty now, and I could even find a few more things to throw away, but even though our trash did run today, I'm trying to limit my trash can usage because I know it will be full quickly!
- We worked until about 11 putting things away. Then the girls started waking up, and we soon left. I thought that our first stop was going to only be Old Navy. However, between all of us, we just about went into every store in the outlets. No one really spent much money, but we sure looked at everything.
- Our next stop was gas for the van and then Walmart. I had a return, and surprisingly there was not a line for returns. The girls did their shopping here pretty quickly. We did briefly look at the Christmas stuff, but the crowds were crazy so we didn't stay in that area too long.
- Next we stopped at Home Goods and Hobby Lobby. By this time, we were starting to fade. Campbell stayed in the car for Hobby Lobby, and I just stayed in the car when I dropped them off at Target. Finally, we just had two stops left-Starbucks for Keaton to get a drink and then Zaxby's for Campbell to use her gift card.
- Marley was sleeping in Whitman's lap when we came home. Graham had already left to do some shopping of his own, and he didn't even spend any money. When he made it home, I had the boys all carry up a Christmas tree to the attic, and then the big boys had to move a chair back to its spot.
- Robby brought pizza home for supper, and this evening Anderson and Graham went to play volleyball while Reagan went to the movies so now Robby, Whitman, and I are watching a documentary.
December 25, 2025-Merry Christmas 2025
- It was a Christmas miracle: Marley slept through the night and woke up right at 7. This was perfect because after Marley went to the bathroom, I started in the kitchen. I had the fruit ready all ready, so this morning I had to make the breakfast sandwiches and the monkey bread.
- Last night we had told the kids that they could wake up at 8:15, and I had heard some stirring but not a whole lot of movement. Robby went upstairs to get Bentley and put her Christmas pajamas on. Then it was time to start our Christmas morning.
- Graham was awake in the boys' room, but Anderson and Whitman were still snoozing. We did our traditional picture on the stairs with everyone before coming down. As always, the stockings are my favorite part of Christmas (and really probably a very expensive part-don't tell Robby).
- This year, as always, everyone had quite a bit in their stocking. Plus everyone had a few other gifts-I'll try to see what I can remember. Reagan had a check and shoes from us and then a blanket from Anderson. Anderson had shoes and a check from us and more shoes from Graham. Graham had a backpack and a check from us and a quarter zip from Keaton. Campbell had perfume and a check from us and a necklace from Whitman. Keaton had a shirt and a check from us and a vest, shoes, and picture frame from Reagan. Whitman didn't get a check because he got a game and a switch from us and a pizza blanket. Robby got quite a bit of candy and a few pairs of scissors while I opened a crock pot, house shoes, and a pair of tennis shoes. (In my shoe count from last night, I forgot about my house shoes-so we opened 6 pairs of shoes this morning.)
- We just about finished opening all of the presents when Nonna, Pops, Grannymom, and Jason all arrived for breakfast. We all ate and showed off our gifts-it was a very good morning. After breakfast, Whitman worked on setting up his switch while I tried to pick up a few things.
- We all met back up at Dana's house for Christmas lunch. Dana had 3 different types of chili including white bean chicken chili which was absolutely delicious. Robby and I sat outside when we ate, and the weather was perfect (and pretty dreary too).
- Once we were back home this afternoon, I went to work on making potato soup for our supper. I always double this soup recipe, so I did today too. I'm not really sure why I did that because there were just the 8 of us eating tonight. Robby and I ran to Pops' house for a bit so Robby could work on their tv. It was an easy fix, and soon we were back at the house where I had myself a Christmas nap.
- Next up was supper-we all ate together, and as we were finishing the soup (in our bowls; we will never be able to finish the soup in the crock pot) everyone worked on the puzzle and finished it. Then we played Whitman's One Night Warewolf game. We were a bit worried about it, but it turned out to be fun and quick. I think that everyone enjoyed it.
- Then I cleaned the kitchen and had some dog duty, but now I'm going to pour myself some hot chocolate and use some new syrup to flavor it.
Merry Christmas 2025: Christmas Ornament Countdown
This is my 14th year to showcase our Christmas tree ornaments on the blog. Unfortunately, this is also the shortest year of our showcase-just one! Last year, I only had two new ornaments, but this year it is just one. That is still just fine because it takes me almost 3 years to rotate through all of our ornaments on our main tree. Of course I have some favorites that I hang up every year-like the piece of rubber from our first camper tire flat, the Mozart man from Salzburg, Germany, and our first ornament from Disney that we bought on our Honeymoon.
Of course we love Christmas, but we also really love ice cream-especially Blue Bell. The ornament this year is from the Blue Bell factory in Sylacauga, Alabama. It was a fun stop with Blue Bell to sample at the end. Many delicious memories were made on that day. Here is a link to Blue Bell day.
We hope you have a sweet Christmas and make many memories over this next year!
December 24, 2025-Merry Christmas Eve!
- This Christmas eve morning was pretty quiet. Marley woke up once in the middle of the night, and then she woke up bright and early. Thankfully, she took a little cat nap in our bed before we all got up for the day.
- I started working on getting things ready for tonight and tomorrow. When Campbell woke up, she started baking her sourdough bread. She made some small ones and a large one, and they all seemed to turn out pretty good. We pretty much devoured the ones that she didn't give away. She gave two to friends, and one to Nonna and Pops and another one to Grannymom.
- Ethan came over, and he and Reagan made banana bread. Reagan isn't that adept in the kitchen, but thankfully Ethan is, and their banana bread turned out very good. Ethan opened his presents from Reagan and us, and he gave Reagan a necklace.
- Robby was gone a good bit of the day-he picked up Grannymom and ran some errands. When he came home, we didn't have too long until it was time to leave for church. We took two cars and left fairly early to get seats.
- Thankfully, Grannymom had seats for us already since there were already quite a few people there. Reagan's social club had a 12 days of Christmas post, and Reagan was the today's featured E. On the post, she said that her favorite part of Christmas was singing Silent Night at the candlelight service. I would have to agree that part of the service is one of my favorite things about Christmas.
- Keaton and Whitman went to Nonna and Pops' house with Grannymom, and then Anderson and Graham headed that way with Reagan. Robby, Campbell, and I stayed at church a bit longer and chatted a while. Then Robby had to hurry home to pick up Marley...and since he got Marley and since it is Christmas, Bentley even got to come to Nonna's house.
- Nonna and Pops had a spread of Christmas food. We ate as soon as Robby arrived. Everything was delicious, and then the kids opted to skip dessert to work on opening their Christmas gifts. This was/is the year of shoes-Anderson, Reagan, and I all opened shoes tonight (There will be 5 pairs of shoes opened tomorrow plus Campbell received some for her birthday).
- I think that everyone was pleased with all of their things, and we were all certainly pleased with Nonna's chocolate chip cheesecake for dessert. Before we left, the kids made their traditional reindeer food. One of the kids told me that we still have to do reindeer food, so we did it.
- When we unloaded the car at home, I did make everyone take their pictures throwing reindeer food-Reagan and Anderson didn't make any, but they still had to take their picture outside.
- Next up was the Santa cookie picture-but actually, I don't think that the cookies made the picture. Anderson did cause quite a stir when he bit into one of the cookies after our picture. We then worked on putting everything from the evening away.
- I tried to get breakfast as ready as I can for tomorrow. Now, the blog is almost done, and I would really like to bring all of the presents downstairs and get everything ready for tomorrow, but I think that there are at least a few more hours before I do that.
December 23, 2025
- Marley slept all night last night which was wonderful. However, she also has gone to the bathroom about 15 times inside of the house tonight. This morning she did really well-maybe because the person watching her (your truly) was taking her out like clockwork. We do get a little bit lax at night around here about the pottying.
- I really don't even remember this morning-I did a few chores and tried to mark as many things off of my list as possible. I have also completed all of my wrapping-Graham still has to wrap his present and the only other things upstairs is my new crock pot which needs to be wrapped as well.
- Campbell took Keaton to Lily's house to hang out for a little bit. When she came home, she decided that she wanted to go to Walmart, so we headed there.
- Campbell suggested that we do a bit of sparking so we were able to find one order to shop for and deliver. It couldn't have been any easier because we had shopped and delivered in less than 45 minutes. Campbell was hooked and wanted to keep shopping. We looked for other orders, but ended up just doing our own shopping.
- While Campbell and I were out, the big boys left to go and play basketball at a friend's house. This just left Reagan and Whitman in charge of Marley. It went well for a while, but then I was requested to come back home.
- On our way home, we picked up Lily and Keaton. They requested to run to Dollar General to do a little bit of last minute Christmas shopping, Then it was back home because Keaton had to make supper for us tonight.
- Keaton and Lily worked on potato skins while I got the chicken ready (it was two rotisserie chickens so it wasn't that hard to prepare) plus we had a salad. It was a delicious meal, and we all ate around the table tonight.
- After supper, I made icing for our sugar cookies, and everyone came down to ice them. Decorating cookies is one of our few Christmas traditions around here so it was fun to be able to do it tonight. I only made one batch of cookies but had to have 3 recipes of icing.
- It was after 9 when the kitchen was straight again, so I didn't get much time on the couch and have had less time to read my book. I had big plans to finish 4 books by Christmas-I've started 3 of those 4, but maybe I can by the end of the year.
December 22, 2025
- This morning started off with Anderson and I heading to the dentist because he needed a filling. It didn't take too incredibly long, and when we were done, we headed to Walmart. I needed some stocking ideas for Anderson. He is usually pretty laid back and doesn't want much, but today he was able to find plenty of things that he needed-this was a good thing though because his stocking was near empty (now it will be one of the fullest.)
- I was also able to finish up with Christmas while we were at Walmart. There are a few more things I would have liked to have gotten, but everything is fairly even plus surely no one will be doing too much comparing.
- Anderson also convinced me to stop at ChickFilA on the way home. The boy had a free milkshake, and Anderson, before college, would not have had a milkshake. However, Anderson, after a semester of college, enjoyed his milkshake-he has been doing a lot of working out at school, so he certainly deserves a treat!
- I was home for a little bit until it was time to leave again with Marley. Campbell drove us to all of our stops, and Keaton drove us home down all of Crystal Valley. Our first stop was Prickets so I could cash in some lottery tickets. They asked if I wanted to get cash back or play-I guess they meant buy more tickets? Ha! I had already lost enough money and sure didn't need to lose anymore.
- Then we stopped at the vet for Marley. He said that she was a bit on the thin side-I have been careful about feeding her just what the bag says, but apparently I should just let her eat. We go back in 3 weeks, and I have completely accepted the "fatten up Marley" mission. The vet will not even recognize her when we go back.
- We were home for a bit when Campbell got an invitation to go to a friend's house. This is going to happen quite a bit with our social butterfly. After handing out and taking a walk, the convinved the other dad to take them to get ice cream (I would not let Campbell drive there).
- Not too long after that the big boys left to basketball. Whitman had said that he was bored, and Anderson tried to convince him to come with them, but he opted to stay at home. We did play a game so maybe that helped with his boredom some.
- Reagan was the next to leave because she had a friendsmas party right near where Campbell was hanging out. Campbell was the first one to come home. She went to eat ice cream with her friends (she didn't drive there) while she was out.
- Now, it is nearing my bedtime, and Robby and I have just finished our ice cream.
December 21, 2025-Happy 16th Birthday Campbell!
- Campbell requested doughnuts this morning for breakfast before church. She didn't get that, but she did get to drive to church by herself (and with Keaton) which was a much better treat than doughnuts for sure.
- We all met up at church, and since we didn't have Sunday school we weren't there for very long. Graham left to go to a Sunday school party, while the rest of us ran home to change clothes and let the dogs potty.
- Then we had our Sunday lunch at Nonna's house. She had lasagna plus she had two different birthday cakes for Anderson and Campbell. We were able to celebrate both of them with cake and gifts.
- Anderson opened up two cards with some cash while Campbell had a water bottle, a pair of shoes, and a sourdough bread making kit. With her birthday party, plus birthday gifts from family, and Christmas gifts, Campbell has a lot of gifts! She needs nothing else for sure.
- This afternoon we did some spying on the neighbor's house. We aren't sure what went down across the street, but there were a few police cars-the binoculars helped us see what was happening! I made some sugar cookies for us to decorate later in the week, but then I had my nap once I was able to get Marley to sleep.
- Graham came home from his party, and not too long afterwards, Campbell left to go to a birthday party (actually a birthday party for another girl named Campbell also born today.) After we watched a bit of a football game, I heated up supper for everyone.
- The Wilsons came over tonight for dessert and visiting. Tony had lottery tickets for us to scratch off. While they were there, Reagan left for a late movie while Campbell came home (safely) from her birthday party.
- Not is it nearly 10 when we should go to bed, but Marley is sleeping soundly so I guess I need to wake her up so maybe she can play before bedtime.
December 20, 2025-Dennie Family Circle 2025
- Marley didn't do as well last night and woke up twice, but the pottying in the house was much better today. She did have a big day and is completely worn out right now so I'm not too sure how she will sleep tonight.
- Robby helped me get the chicken for supper ready, and then he left to run some errands. Once Marley went to sleep, I started working on putting bows on the prizes, folding laundry, and doing a few more things to get supper ready.
- The kids all slept until noonish. When they did start stirring, Graham still had a little bit of school left to do-I just text him to see if he actually finished it. Keaton started on her brownies for tonight, Last night we made a box of ghiradelli brownies which were excellent. For tonight, Keaton wanted to make her cooking school brownies. The actual recipe calls for 12 eggs (you read that right), but we opted to just half it. She did have to brown the butter which took forever! I'm not sure if we ever did completely brown it correctly, but her brownies were very good so maybe it was worth all of the work.
- I had my shower, and before I knew it, I was rushing around directing people of what to put in the car. We had a laundry basket of presents, a bag of supplies for the minute to win it games, a laundry basket of prizes for the games, a laundry basket of food containing two crock pots, an ice chest, and a bag with Marley's things in it. However, I did forget toys for her, so we had to stop at Dollar General on the way to Grannymom's house tonight.
- This was Dennie family circle tonight. We started the evening with supper-Dana had enchiladas, Grnnymom had Mexican casserole, and I had chicken tacos. Plus there was rice, beans, and cheese dip. We pretty much finished off most of the food! It did help that we had a large crowd.
- After eating, we played some Minute to Win It Games. Anderson ended up playing the exact game that he played last year-maybe I need to come up with new games next year. There were prizes for all the games-Reagan won a Target gift card, Anderson and Graham chose lottery tickets (they won 5 and 2), Whitman opted for Christmas tree cakes, and Campbell and Keaton both picked chocolate candy as their prizes.
- After the games and prizes were awarded, we passed out Christmas presents. Robby got an extremely bright flash light which will come in handy for him. I opened a basket full of goodies from Mississippi-a set of mugs, rice, a dish towel, and jelly.
- The kids all racked up as well-cash, candy, gift cards, plus gifts from Grannymom. Reagan had a box of hair and face things, Anderson opened a shirt and some of his favorite drinks, Graham had a sweatshirt and shorts, Campbell opened some clothes, Keaton had clothes as well in her box, and Whitman had a slushie maker and two games (one he is playing right now).
- Anderson and Campbell also received birthday presents plus we celebrated Les, Shelley, and Dana's birthdays too. After all the presents were opened, it was time for dessert-there were tons of different desserts to go with the cheesecake Robby bought and Keaton's brownies.
- We stayed for a while and visiting, but when we came home, it took everyone to unload the car. We all put away our things, and Whitman went right to work on his game. It was a pretty perfect Dennie family circle this evening.
December 19, 2025
- Around 9 this morning, Reagan made it home. I love it when my house is full of people-and we did have that today. She unloaded all of her things-both Reagan and Anderson took bins back at Thanksgiving to help transport all of their things home for the break. It seems like a long time, but it really isn't.
- Campbell was up pretty early this morning which made me happy since she didn't feel that great last night. Also, Marley had her second night of sleeping through the night which was wonderful as well. I'm not expecting her to do it again, but I sure hope that she does. (We still haven't turned the corner on the pottying-maybe 3 or 4 accidents today, but overall that isn't horrible.)
- I was able to wrap some today, and Campbell, Keaton, Reagan, and Whitman all wrapped as well. I still have most of Anderson's stocking to buy, one stocking thing for Reagan, and another gift for Reagan, and then I will be done. (Christmas is kind of like going on a trip, the longer you are home the more things you squeeze in your suitcase-the more time I have before Christmas, the more that I keep buying.)
- We did get Graham's college financial aid information back today, so I spent a bit of time comparing his numbers to Reagan and Anderson's past numbers. I made a spreadsheet to keep up with all of our rising college bills!
- This afternoon the boys had about 5 people come over to play basketball. The boys were able to play for a while, but then they had to leave to meet me, the girls, and Whitman. We left earlier than they had to because we had to run to Harps. There I had to buy something from the bakery-usually I just buy the smaller peanut butter chocolate no bake cookies, but Reagan decided she wanted to try a canolli which was absolutely delicious.
- We made it to the Craft's house about 3 for the gingerbread party. This is the start to my Christmas season, and I absolutely love the gingerbread decorating party. Whitman might have spent the most time on his house this afternoon, but Campbell's was pretty impressive. Unfortunately, Campbell's house didn't survive the drive home. Traci had borrowed a few of my tables, and I didn't think when I set Campbell's house beside them-of course, they fell over and absolutely crushed her house. I tried to do some repair work, but it really is beyond repair and is not a gingerbread teepee or a gingerbread trash dump.
- I stayed to help pick up a little bit, but then I had to leave to drop Keaton and Campbell off to babysit. They love the little girls that they babysit for and had Christmas presents for them. When I made it home from dropping them off, Reagan had two friends over, and Robby came home with supper for them and for us.
- Our shower is leaking a bit again so Robby is having to start over on his fix. We do think that he almost had it last time, but there is one more small leak. I taped it some tonight, and then he caulked it.
- About the time that I had finished, it was time to go and pick up the girls. They had a new printer that they installed and played with tonight. Now it is almost midnight, and Robby and I are in the living room with all the girls and all the dogs-and we all should go to bed!
December 18, 2025
- Two very good things happened today: Marley slept until 7 this morning which was excellent. I was already awake when she started whining. I had thought about going on a walk, but it was sprinkling already so I just skipped my walk and watched the dog. (She still required constant supervision-I'm not really sure when she will not need a pair of eyes on her at all times.)
- The other good thing that happened today was Anderson is home. He made it home around 1, and he has really had a good semester. I asked him questions about everything this afternoon while Robby added to the questions this evening. It is wild to think that he has completed his first semester while Reagan is almost halfway finished.
- Keaton and Campbell went to Mother's Day Out this morning. They came home with quite a few presents from their kids. They were both pleased, and I was happy for them.
- Back at the house, I did school with Whitman-well, I almost did all of Whitman's school. It seemed that I started Christmas break around lunch when Anderson came home. I even let Whitman put his math off until tomorrow. Actually, Graham put off some of his school too. He came downstairs at almost 11 (I had tried to wake him up off and on since 8:30). After doing some school, he left to go and play basketball.
- For supper tonight, Graham has been wanting lettuce wraps so that is what we made tonight. However, we figured that Anderson would not want lettuce wraps on his first day back so there was also pizza! This made everyone happy, and actually everyone but Robby and Anderson had some lettuce wraps with their pizza.
- Graham decided that we needed a dessert so he use chatgpt to find a recipe with things that we had-the only option they gave us was coffee cake. We quickly stirred one up, and surprisingly it was pretty good. Last night we had time to sit on the couch forever, but tonight it is already 9:30!
December 17, 2025
- Marley woke us up at 6 this morning to go and potty. Then as Robby and I lay in bed after that, he did comment that grownups would get out of bed then. We are not grown ups because we got that dog to go back to sleep, and we rested for a good bit before we finally did get out of bed.
- Keaton was awake before I woke anyone else up. She went with a friend to a gingerbread party-this wasn't our real gingerbread traditional party. Keaton came home with a cute gingerbread house and tree.
- While she was gone, the rest of us worked on school. Graham was back today from house sitting so he got a full days worth of school in. Whitman had to hurry a little bit because this afternoon he had errands to run with me.
- Campbell and Graham went to work, and after they left, I tried to finish a few more things at the house. While I was doing this, we had to keep Marley up so she would sleep while we were gone. We must have done a good job, because even though Campbell and Graham came home early, Marley slept until we were almost home.
- Keaton went with Whitman and me-our first stop was to get Whitman's hair cut. Then we ran to Walmart so he could do some Christmas shopping. Keaton helped him, and when it was time to pay, Whitman's credit card didn't work. I even tried, but it still didn't work. I later asked Robby, and he had cancelled that card but had forgotten Whitman had one still.
- This evening was fairly slow-wonderfully slow. We had supper-leftovers for all (butter chicken for Robby and me, mashed potatoes for Campbell, and chicken strips for everyone else). Now we are back in front of the tv about to watch our last tv show. We can't actually watch it now though because Graham has decided to vacuum, and Marley and Bentley are playing tug of war at our feet.
December 16, 2025
- Keaton and Whitman convinced me last night that if they did some school work last night, then they could sleep until 9 this morning. I was easily convinced since it is almost Christmas break.
- Since they were sleeping late, Campbell was the first one to leave the house. She met someone from Rock Creek for breakfast at Blue House. When her breakfast was over, she came home and instead of starting on her school, she just spent a lot of time playing with Marley.
- All the rest of us did some school this morning. I know that Whitman read last night, and then he read again tomorrow. I'm glad that he is enjoying reading, but the kid is reading twice during school time-and he needs as much school time as possible.
- After school, I did a few things around the house while the girls waited on me. When I was finally ready and Marley was asleep, we left to run some errands. Everyone else was gone (Graham house sitting and playing basketball) so that left Whitman in charge of the dogs. They all survived, but I bet that it was a long little bit for Whitman. We text to check on him, called later to check again, and Robby checked up on him with the cameras.
- Graham made it home a little bit after we did. Robby was the last one to make it home, but he brought supper-butter chicken for us, taquitos for the kids, and cheese dip for another day.
- Robby and I are now on the couch watching our tv show while wrangling the dogs. I plan on getting up for some hot chocolate in a bit, but I probably shouldn't since I have had a handful of Campbell's snickerdoodles from last night.
December 15, 2025
- Marley woke up twice last night, so that was fine but not exactly wonderful. She has done really well on the pottying today so maybe it all evens out. I am usually crazy hot during the night in the winter time-the heat blowing on my doesn't help. However, last night I woke up freezing which is kind of odd since our room is the hottest room in the house.
- This morning we did school-while we read together this morning, Keaton, Campbell, and Whitman were probably not listening to me because we were all watching Bentley and Marley play in my bedroom.
- We did the school thing-minus Graham who is house sitting. He took his school work, but I doubt that any of it got done. He showed up around 12:40 to grab some food on the way to work. When he and Campbell made it home, he took some more food back to the house he is staying out.
- After Graham left, we ran to Nonna and Pops' house to drop off some presents. Once we made it back home, I had some hot chocolate while Robby and Campbell made snickerdoodles.
- Now hopefully Marley will nap so I might can nap some this evening-I do have 3 different books to read before the end of the ear though.
December 14, 2025-Happy 16th Birthday (Party) Campbell
- Marley slept until 5:55 last night which was wonderful since Robby and my alarms were set to ring at 6. He took her potty and then just put her back into bed with us for the next few minutes while we hit snooze.
- The first order of business for the morning was making pigs n a blanket for Keaton's Sunday school class. Campbell had to take orange and apple juice to her class, but thankfully the boys didn't have to take anything (Graham was supposed to have a Sunday school party after church, but the hosts were sick, and Whitman did have doughnuts in his class today.)
- Graham and Campbell left first-they had to be at church at 8 to practice for their little bits in the Christmas music today. The rest of us left next because Robby and I had to help serve breakfast for the choir. All we actually did was open the containers and throw away the trash.
- After church, Robby and I skipped Sunday school to go and let Marley out. She should only be able to wait almost 2 hours by her age, but she did fine from 8 to 10:45ish today in her kennel. She wasn't too happy about being in there though, but she was sleeping soundly when we did come home.
- After Sunday school the kids came home with McDonalds that they picked up on the way home. We all ate, and then Campbell and I went to work. She started working on more decorations while I worked on the mashed potatoes. I had two pans trying to boil the potatoes, but only one pan boiled quickly while the other never boiled-I had to switch pans.
- When my potatoes were finally finished, Keaton and I went to Grannymom's house to show her Marley and to drop off her Christmas presents for the kids. Marley was not happy in the car at all. It was kind of sad, and it took her a good while at Grannymom's house to calm down after the car ride.
- We didn't stay long because I had work to do. I did never get around to cleaning the bathrooms-but really, I'm sure none of the 20 sixteen year old girls that came over tonight noticed my bathrooms.
- Campbell had quite a few friends come over tonight to celebrate her birthday. She had worked hard on the decorations plus all of the plans. Robby took Keaton to a party and arrived back home with tons of chicken. The girls at chicken, french fries, and mashed potatoes-all Campbell's request.
- Then they decorated tote bags before making flower bouquets. I do think that her party was a success plus she had quite a few present to open as well. She does have some pretty sweet little friends.
- The Wilsons came over for a bit to eat, and Tony even got to ride with Robby to pick up Keaton from her party. She came home with a 15 dollars Target gift card-that is two that she has received today, so she can do some big shopping there soon.
- When everyone left, we all went to work cleaning the house-Keaton helped a little bit while Campbell did work most of the time. Robby and I worked for about an hour, but when we were finished the house was back to normal-ish.
- Graham wasn't home tonight because he is dog sitting for the next few days-he said that he has spent him time watching football, so I know that he is enjoying it.
December 13, 2025-Happy 19th Birthday Anderson!
- First we will begin with Anderson-today was his 19th birthday. We didn't get to talk to him, but he did text me for a little bit. It looks like he had a fairly slow day-he did play basketball this evening (I'm assuming this because he went to the gym) and went to Walmart tonight. I hope that he had a great day, but I did miss seeing him quite a bit.
- Marley update-she only woke up once last night so that was indeed wonderful. It was especially wonderful to me because Robby is the one who took her out that time. I was ready though-and we both are ready tonight. We have all of our winter clothes laying on the couch ready to be put on.
- I had set an alarm last night, but Robby woke me up with a start at 7:24 asking me if Graham got up. He had the ACT this morning, and thankfully he is responsible. He was already taking a shower then and left on time. He didn't need me to check up on him. (Last time he took it, I was camping so I bribed Campbell with a ChickFilA sandwich if she made sure that he woke up and left the house on time. I probably should have had her do that today since my alarm didn't work-or I didn't work it right.)
- At 10:30 this morning Keaton had a birthday party. She drove me there and did really well. I believe that Keaton's birthday party was pretty nice-it was certainly at a nice house. While she was there, I finished my Christmas shopping for Grannymom, Nonna, and Jason. Gifts will be delivered tomorrow (probably not since Campbell's birthday party is happening with 25 guests expected) or Monday.
- I went back to pick up Keaton early. I knew that I was early so I drove down the street some before parking. I didn't have time to go anywhere else so I was just going to sit and look at my phone for a few minutes, but she came on out of the house because they were already finished.
- We stopped at Nonna's house on the way home to pick up some chairs for the party tomorrow. I had already worked quite a bit this morning-getting tables out of the camper and closet, moving chairs from the school room and the attic into the kitchen, and moving a set of drawers out of the kitchen to have more room.
- When we made it home, Campbell had gotten to work on decorating for the party. She had most things set up and ready to go. We worked for a little bit, and I tried to organize some presents before we left again.
- This time Keaton, Campbell, and I went to Trader Joes to buy some flowers for the flower bar at Campbell's party. We bought quite a few bundles of flowers at the store. Afterwards, we picked up her cake at Sams and then hurried home.
- We had a few minutes before we left again. Campbell and a friend helped serve food for a church Sunday school party tonight. It was at a lady's house in Hurricane so we dropped her off and then ran some errands.
- We then went to the McGuire's house to ride with them for our night out. We went to a live nativity and drove through that. Then we ate at the Copper Mule-the food was really good. Our appetizer was pimento cheese which was incredibly smooth with spicy jelly on top. It was served with saltine crackers, but they were the saltine crackers that were spicy. Most places that we eat out at, we leave thinking that we don't have to go back for a while, but Robby and I both agree that we will return to this one.
- Campbell caught a ride back to the McGuire's house, and we stayed a visited for a bit. Then we hurried home-poor Keaton and even Whitman had been in charge of Marley for a long time. Graham was gone for a bit of the evening playing basketball. They were a bit tired of poor, sweet Marley-a puppy is a lot of work!
December 12, 2025
- Marley did well last night-she only woke up at 4 and 6 or something like that. We felt like she had at least one good long stretch where she slept. Hopefully, her sleeping is improving. She is doing so well pottying-though she did have an accident with me on the floor today. It was my fault because I should have taken her out after her nap but completely forgot.
- Her potty accidents don't stress me out too much. My carpet cleaner is good, and my carpets are old. Plus over the next few days when it is so super cold, maybe it is ok if she will just potty in the house (especially the kitchen floor), and I can clean it up (and stay warm).
- This morning Bentley and Marley played around the house for about 30 minutes. That was the most interaction that they have had so far. I walked when Marley finally fell asleep. Robby was the first one to leave today, and Keaton and I left next.
- We met and helped do some more shopping at Old Navy. We both shopped for 4 different kids today plus then we went to Walmart and bought their toys as well. Together there were about 20 kids that were shopped for today, so during the checkout I stood by all the bags and helped move them out of the way. I had quite a few people ask if all of the bags were mine!
- While we were gone, Campbell and Graham went to work. Robby came home to relieve Marley, and then we came home next. I was able to catch up on some spelling with Whitman this afternoon, but soon we were all leaving again.
- Campbell and Keaton babysat tonight. After I dropped them off, I ran home and changed clothes. Then Robby and I went to our Sunday school Christmas party. We had Tacos for Life for supper, and then did some dirty Santa-ing-Robby did leave with a cord organizer that he doesn't have much faith in, and I received a ceramic platter (which is now in a trash can at the church house).
- We finished around 10, and it worked out perfectly that the girls were finished soon afterwards. We picked them up and headed home to relieve Graham of his dogsitting duties-he has the ACT tonight so he needs to get to sleep!
December 11, 2025
- Marley update-she just woke up twice last night (2 and 4) so we really can't complain too much. There have been a few potty accidents-my favorite was when she was with Whitman. I was in another room, but I knew exactly what was happening when I heard him start hollering, "no, no!"
- Keaton and Campbell worked at Mother's Day Out today. While they were there, Whitman and Graham did their school. Well, Whitman did his school, but I'm not so sure about Graham's school. He was a bit distracted today with Marley.
- Graham and I went shopping for stocking things before picking up the girls. He really couldn't find much that he wanted, but I think that he did enjoy shopping with me-I know that he enjoyed the candy bar I bought for us to snack on while we waited on the girls.
- We picked them up and went to Nonna and Pops' house. After Graham and I fixed his tv, I think that the kids pretty much ate all of their cookies. When we came home, Whitman had a few things of school left to do, and I worked a little on Christmas.
- Robby ran some errands, and the rest of us ate. Now, I'm sitting on the couch cuddled up with sleeping Marley and debating about getting up and finishing getting school ready for next week.
December 10, 2025
- Last night Keaton said that today was one of her favorite days of the year, and it is one of my favorites as well.
- First, let's start with a Marley report-last night when I woke up at 5 with her, I was so proud. I kept wondering though if maybe, Robby had woken up before me and taken her out. Indeed, it had-so Marley woke up at 2 and 5 which isn't great. It took me an hour to settle her at 5.
- Even though I had really planned on walking, I sure didn't hear my alarm ringing for nearly an hour. I still was able to wake up everyone in plenty of time to start the day plus I folded most of the clothes.
- Graham and Whitman started on their school this morning while Keaton, Campbell, and I went to Old Navy. We met my friend there and helped her buy some clothes-we bought 2 outfits and a jacket for each kid. When we finished with at Old Navy we went to Walmart to buy the kids presents.
- After all of that, we went to their office and wrapped all of these presents. We wrapped everything that we bought plus we were able to wrap for other kids as well. They buy for around 120 kids and today we finished 20 of those kids.
- Since I was gone all day, Robby had Marley duty-you can't take your eyes off of her so it isn't an easy task. He was happy to see us come home for a few minutes at 3. We were home long enough for me to pick up a few things, and then it was time to leave.
- I left first with the girls to go to church-but we had to stop at the library and then at Nike which took forever. Keaton was panicked that we were going to arrive late, but we were still there in plenty of time.
- After church, Graham and Campbell had their practice for Sunday, and all of us stopped at ChickFilA on the way home. Now, we are on the couch trying to watch a show, but I still need to get hot chocolate and fix Campbell's school for next week.
December 9, 2025
- I was thinking that Marley did a little bit better last night, but apparently I slept through one of her potty breaks (or Robby dreamed going out twice). I went out at 1 and 4 with her. Robby went out at 2 (the one I slept through) and 6. I just checked the blog and by the end of the week, Marley should be sleeping through the night if she follows Bentley's schedule. We are making it, but we are a bit tired-and this is why old people do not have babies.
- We did school first this morning-I have been skipping my morning walks since I'm still a bit exhausted in the mornings. Maybe tomorrow I'll walk, but it sure doesn't encourage me with it being so chilly outside.
- Graham is finished with his freshman comp class, and today he finished his Spanish 1 class. He had to make slideshow telling about himself all in Spanish. His pictures are great, and I love everything that he said-but man, that Spanish pronunciation is tough.
- Campbell, Keaton, and I are going to be gone most of the day tomorrow so today is kind of their last day of school for the week. We are going to do school next week too since the big kids are still at OBU, but maybe we will not work as hard.
- This afternoon Keaton had her dentist appointment for her fillings. When she was finished, we ran to get a few gift cards (where we also got a free drink gift card). Then we dropped off some Amazon returns before picking up Keaton a Sonic drink on the way home.
- Once at home, we all went to work on making tonight's supper: corn chowder. I had wanted to make corn chowder for a very long time, but since Anderson really hates corn, I have waited until he is at school. I am just now getting around to it.
- Since we were trying to eat fairly soon, I had all the help-Campbell chopped carrots, Whitman chopped an onion and potatoes while Keaton and Graham helped manage the puppies. I loved the soup though most others suggested less corn and more potatoes (it is corn chowder and not potato soup)
- Campbell made snickerdoodles for Robby this afternoon. Keaton made a dessert for tomorrow night's church-twice. She made the first batch when the oven was preheating, and they burned. Now, Keaton is about to hem a shirt, and Whitman just finished working on his advent calendar. Tonight he made a bridge-it took us forever finish it. Graham is at the ACT class for the last time, and I really don't want to leave the couch for the rest of the night.
December 8, 2025
- I possibly thought about rehoming Marley last night. She woke up at 12:30, 2:30, 4:30, 5:30, and finally 8. Honestly, it wasn't too horrible, but I'm struggling keeping my eyes open right now. And for our in the house potty count: we are now at the 3.5 accidents in the house which is excellent.
- Campbell was downstairs else, and she claimed Marley for the first bit of school. She eventually handed off Marley to Keaton and Graham. I was afraid that Marley would disrupt school quite a bit more than she did. However, things went pretty smoothly this morning.
- I made grilled cheese for lunch for everyone, and then Campbell and Graham went to work. This meant that Marley duties were passed on the Keaton. I did get to hold her for a little bit, but not too long.
- Poor Bentley-she remains very stand offish of Marley, but even more than that, I think that she is afraid of Marley. She did let Marley lay very near her, but whenever Marley almost touched Bentley she moved away. If we try to force Marley to touch her, she will run away.
- They have played a few times together, but never for a very long period of time. Hopefully, Bentley will start to enjoy Marley more as she gets a little bit bigger. (I know that I'll enjoy her more when she starts sleeping through the night.)
- Keaton's turn with Marley was over when Graham and Campbell came home, Robby picked up some supper for everyone, but now we are settled in for the best part of the evening-just sitting on the couch. It has been a few nights since we have just relaxed and not hauled people around town all evening long.
December 7, 2025
- Marley update: We put her in the kennel around 12, and she woke up first at 2:30. I took her to potty, and she was asleep as soon as I walked back in our room.
- The second time she woke up was at 4:30. She cried in her kennel for a bit, so I got her. After rocking her for about 3 minutes she was sound asleep again. The next time she stirred was after my alarm went off at 7. We couldn't have been more pleased with how the night went. Hopefully, tonight will be even better (not holding out hope for that though.)
- She has only had 2 accidents in the house though-one last night and one this morning. Both of them were #2. I guess she did potty in the garage with Robby after church, but that maybe counts as a half accident. I'll keep you updated on the count-unless I lose count.
- We did church this morning-it was the first of the Christmas performances so I was late to big church because I helped corral the kids before they sang. Robby left church early to go get Marley. She is supposed to be only able to go an hour during the day without pottying, and she was past that.
- After Robby took her potty, he said something to her about the car. Bentley heard that and raced to the door. Robby said that he couldn't leave Bentley at home after that-it would just be mean. Bentley isn't too interested in Marley, but the silly dog (Bentley) hasn't really eaten all of her food over the past few days so maybe she is a bit disturbed about all of the changes.
- Plus Marley hasn't eaten a ton-or at least what the bag says that she should eat, so I'm constantly trying to feed these animals. I do think that Marley has eaten more today than yesterday so that is good.
- After church we all met up at Nonna's house for Sunday lunch. She had chili, and this was a perfect day for chili. We visited for a little bit, and then the kids and dogs all headed home. Robby and I ran some errands quickly before heading home. Campbell helped out tremendously by helping Whitman make brownies for his life group before we came home. (I turned them into Christmas trees when I made it home.)
- Robby left first this afternoon to take Campbell to a friend's house, and then she was going out to eat. He also dropped Keaton off at her lifegroup while Graham dropped Whitman off at his lifegroup on his way to church. However, Graham just dropped Whitman off when he got word that his dgroup was cancelled so he came on home and helped me with dog duty.
- Robby picked up Keaton while I picked up Whitman. Later in the evening, I went to pick up Campbell who went with some friends to Chilis and then to get ice cream. Now it's time for me to pick up this house before I go to sleep and do it all again tomorrow.
December 6, 2025-Welcome Home Marley Jane!
- So this was a big day at the Dennie house. Keaton and Campbell left first this morning with Robby to help with the Christmas banquet at church.
- While they were gone, I ran a few errands-Trader Joes and Target were first. Then I realized that my next stop didn't open until 10 so I had to kill some time. I did this by buying a cinnamon roll at Cinnamon Creme Bakery. It was well worth the price, plus I found a loaf of bread for 1.50 so I was pretty pleased. While I waited on my store to open I sat in the car and had some of my cinnamon roll.
- I made it home in time to help Graham give Bentley a bath-I didn't help with the bath part, but I was the clean up crew. Soon Robby was headed home with the girls. Reagan and Ethan also were headed home because it was finally puppy day.
- We picked up Marley at 1 and took some pictures before we climbed in the car. On the way home, we passed Marley around like a hot potato-just as we did with Bentley almost 5 years ago. Without Reagan and Anderson in the car with us, the kids were able to have a bit longer turns this time.
- Marley is a lot lighter color than Bentley was when she was little. Plus I do not remember Bentley being so small-she seems so Fragile. When we came home, the tried to get Marley to potty, but she was wide awake and just wanted to play.
- And play she did-she had the best time chasing everyone in the grass. She would run towards them or run under between their legs. It was quite a while before she did decide to go potty, but that was fine because it gave Reagan time to make it home.
- The next big part of the day was introducing her to Bentley. Bentley really could have cared less! She was happy that we were all around and happy that we were watching her, but she wasn't that interested in Marley. As the day has gone on, she has started to show more interest.
- Marley has pretty much played super hard for about 20 minutes and then fallen sound asleep for about 20 minutes over and over again today. We ate soup and some cookies as we watched the dogs this afternoon.
- Reagan, Ethan, Keaton, and Whitman went to see a movie later this afternoon. Campbell would have gone, but she had a Christmas party tonight to go to. We did take her along with Marley-her friends were super happy to see that little puppy.
- Right now, Robby and I are sitting on the couch while Marley is possibly sleeping in her kennel. Keaton said that she put her in the kennel, and she just laid down and went to sleep. Laying down and going to sleep is something that I think that I could do right now-I figure that is might just be a long night!
- Though I can't complain too much though because as of right now (just 7:45 pm) she has not had an accident in the house.....8:00 update-nevermind.
December 5, 2025
- I did lay in the bed a bit longer today because after reading the blog about when Bentley first came home, I realized that Robby and I will not really sleep well for at least a week. I took my walk, and today was the first day in a little bit that I had to take layers off while I was walking. Sometimes, I wish that I had a walking route where I don't have to rewalk the same stretch over and over. However, on days like today it is nice to be able to walk by the driveway and drop off my extra clothes.
- My main activity this morning was organizing my Christmas attic. I have been just throwing boxes and bags into the attic, and it had become a mess. So this morning I took all of the gifts out. Then I straightened the attic before organizing, sorting, labeling, and carefully piling things back in the attic. I told Robby that I should have taken a before an after picture.
- Campbell and Keaton ran some errands with me today. Campbell drove the entire shopping trip and did excellent. We went to Walmart, Dollar Tree, and TJ Max. The only place we spent any money was Walmart, and man did we spend it!
- When we came home, I did my part on the shower-sealing the grout. Robby caulked it well this morning so I sealed the grout twice this afternoon, and I have one more to do tonight. Then it will need to dry all weekend long before we try it out-I really miss my shower!
- Keaton and Campbell babysat tonight so Robby and I stayed out and made money while they were also making money. Graham and Whitman stayed home, but I think that those two enjoy being home alone-I know that they really enjoyed the ice cream that we brought home.
December 4, 2025
- Keaton and Campbell went to Mother's Day Out this morning. (I'm always afraid when I write this that I will be re-reading the blog in years to come and will be confused about why they were going to MDO when I thought that they were older. Maybe I should say, "Keaton and Campbell went to Mother's Day to work this morning,")
- Robby took them and then stayed out and ran some errands. While he was gone, I started school with Whitman. He had done quite a bit of school last night as we were waiting on Robby and Graham to come home.
- Even though he was super ahead today, he still took every break that he could and only finished around 3. This just works for him, but as you can tell since I mention it often, it does not work for me.
- I was able to get school ready for next week, plus I made my appetizer for tonight's class meeting. I had to keep moving today because the house was pretty chilly downstairs. If I stayed busy, I was able to stay warm-ish. I really only got warm when I lifted a few weights for a little bit.
- I did think that it was warmer on my walk today than it had been in a bit; however, it just remains to be much colder than I think that it should be. I skipped out on my second walk because it was still spitting rain or something.
- Robby picked up the girls, and then they went to eat just a bit. They came back, and after a few minutes, I left to go to class meeting. We had lots of delicious soups plus it was an ornament exchange. This year I came home with a cute little tree ornament that lights up. I was happy to be able to sit it by my little santa.
December 3, 2025
- This was another chilly day-I love cold and cloudy weather, but I've actually kind of had enough. It is just cold outside on my walk-I get bundled up, I get hot while walking, come in and take some clothes off, and then once I'm in the house I get cold and have to put warm clothes back on. It is a vicious laundry cycle.
- I had to wake Keaton up early this morning so she could finish her school. She and Campbell babysat this morning so she had to get her things done a bit earlier than usual. I was able to work with both of them and make sure that they finished everything before they left to babysit.
- For some reason, I was able to finish quite a few things this morning. Whitman was even way ahead on his morning school work. I don't think that it was because Campbell and Keaton were gone because I'm not that productive in the mornings.
- Robby and Graham left to go and watch the Hogs play basketball tonight. They had lunch on the way plus they had excellent seats. The game was fun especially since they left with a win. It will be a late evening for them driving home, but they enjoyed the game. I was at church most of the time that the game was on, or I would have watched closely to see if I could see them.
- This afternoon Anderson did write to say that the dean was able to fix his schedule. He has some early morning classes and some big breaks but that is much better than a semester at home. I think that he is excited about his next classes!
- We left early for church-we had to run to the library to pick up a crazy amount of books plus I had two stops at the mall to pick up items that we have ordered. Then we hurried to church for supper for all of the workers.
- After church Campbell had to stay to practice for next Sunday morning. Sara brought her home. Since we were home a bit earlier than usual, I spent some time straightening before sitting on the couch for the rest of the evening.
December 2, 2025
- This morning I bundled up and checked my phone to see the weather before leaving for my walk. The phone said that it was sunny outside. I knew that it wasn't sunny out, but I sure wasn't expecting it to be raining again.
- I walked to the end of the driveway trying to decide if it was really raining or just dripping from the trees. It was really raining and continued for at least another hour even though my phone kept telling me it was sunny.
- Because I didn't walk this morning, I had a few extra minutes before waking everyone up. I'm not sure exactly what I did (it was nothing productive) because I was soon running up the stairs to wake everyone.
- I didn't have to wake Campbell because she had done most of her school last night. Graham is winding down in his two college classes, but he still has a big Spanish project to finish.
- Keaton had my call Nonna to see if they were around to feed us lunch-she did want lunch at Nonna's house, but she also wanted to drive. We all did leave for lunch at 12:15 with Keaton driving the big ole suburban. She did just fine driving us there, and Campbell did just fine driving us home.
- When we came home, I did take my walk. Graham was running at the same time, and it was a wee bit chilly. I did last longer than Graham-that boy didn't have any gloves on at all. Since he was running though he probably did the same amount of miles that I did, but much quicker. I did have to go inside and get myself a heavier jacket on one of my loops.
- When I came in, I changed and left pretty soon. I ran to the Dollar Tree and then met some moms to help Traci with her gingerbread houses prep. We ate and then rolled out quite a few recipes of gingerbread. Traci had most of the dough she needs already made, and we just rolled out batch after batch. It was quite fun.
- Back at the house, Robby and Whitman went to see Wicked 2. Campbell finished the puzzle and then decided that she wanted to cut her hair about 8 inches so she did that with Keaton doing some hair finishing work. Graham went to his ACT class and is counting down the times until he doesn't have to go to it anymore!
- It was kind of a later night for all of us, but now that I've finishing the blog, I have to take my shower.
December 1, 2025I
- I went on my walk this morning in the chilly weather. When I came home, I took Bentley out to potty and to brush her, but it was already raining with a little bit of sleet. All morning long we watched the rain fall-our phones all said it was snowing, but it was just rain. I know that it wouldn't stick, but snow on the first day of December would have been pretty fun. Either way though, it was perfect December weather.
- Campbell had finished her school mostly last night, so after we worked together she quickly found the Christmas puzzle I had out for later. She wanted to work it in the living room, but I encouraged her to do it at the table. When Graham saw the puzzle, he abandoned his school, and we probably only have about 150 pieces left to do tomorrow. (Though my back is a bit sore from leaning over the table all day long.)
- Whitman didn't take any breaks all morning long, but he still had school to do this afternoon. I know that I have given him more than Keaton had last year, but a little bit of school is better than screen time.
- Graham and Campbell didn't have to go today or even this week. There will be Santa pictures to work on next week, but this week they have off. Campbell worked on the puzzle plus she worked on getting things ready for her birthday party. Graham ran this afternoon outside-he said it was a bit chilly-and probably a bit wet too.
- Robby brought home some supper tonight, and we worked on the puzzle some while we waited. After supper, Robby and I ran some pretzels over to the Wilsons, and now we are on the couch for the evening.
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