Update

Well, it has been a interesting month. Mike has been laid off since the first part of December. At first I dreaded the thought of having him under my feet, but just about the time I got used to having him around... the union called last week and put him back to work. He is working nights at a landfill driving a haul truck while they are cleaning out a cell. That really flips the whole household around. Now the girls and I have our evenings to ourselves and Livi and I have to be quiet in the morning while he sleeps. This is only temporary (about 6 weeks) until Brooks starts production back up again (where he has been for the last 17 years).

Evan came home in December after announcing that he was quitting Grace College. He was on the fence about taking a semester off, or applying at North Park College in Chicago (girl involved here). We told him all the cons of taking a semester off and after checking out North Park really encouraged him to look at a in-state school. So, he applied at IUNW (in Gary, Indiana) which was not a whole lot better because then he was going to have to get an apartment and live in a high crime area. We did some more talking and encouraging and got him to apply at IUSB. He really did not want to live at home though and we were able to come up with a great compromise. He moved in with my dad. Grandpa has an apartment-ette in the back of his house so Evan can be on his own but still have really cheap living. It seems to be a great solution.

Katie (thank goodness) is still at IU in Bloomington. She has a really tough and heavy load this semester and is ready to pull her hair out. Since she is basically taking a pre-med course it is really heavy in the Chemistry area-this is taking alot of her time with lecture, discussion and labs. She is also working on a minor in Spanish plus trying to get some of the minimum requirements out of the way too (English, topics etc). She is taking Ballroom dancing which she says is her only fun class and a great release. She may have to quit her part time job though because she is having to do many research papers this term and having a hard time finding the time to get them done. The week of strep throat didn't help either.

Morgan is in two basketball programs (after school and Upwards) and her 4-H has started up again. With dad working nights for the next 6 weeks or so, that means mom gets to do ALL the running with a toddler in tow.

As I said in a previous post, Olivia is little miss jabber box now. She is talking up a storm and still thinks she is the Matriarch of the household. It is hard to believe that this time last year she was still just a picture in our hands. She is as smart as a whip and we can only hope that as she grows up she uses her smarts for good and not evil or we are in big trouble. I am in the process of signing her up for pre-school next fall. She will do awesome! She loves Sunday school and I know being in a preschool class she will just blossom.

That's all for now. I gotta go get ready to drive the big yellow taxi. :)