BA, after seeing that photo of you with the bottle, I hope you're not in your cups this week! (I'm at work and definitely jealous.)
Christmas was lovely. Who'd have thought less presents under the tree would be the hallmark of blessings in my household? Although my D17 has been irritable and snarky, we've moved around her and had a wonderful time.
I shared the story of my X-SIL on Kat's thread. She received a message from my brother during a dream to send me money (that he owed me). She wired the funds through an i-Phone app (my SIL is extremely savvy with things) and voila! I had $400 more in my checking account!
Plus a client's very large check arrived so I immediately sent my employees a Christmas bonus. It felt really good to be generous. We have a lot of work to do after the new year, and I'm really grateful for that. Idle hands are poor hands, and I lived like that longer than I was comfortable. No more of that!
Then yesterday, D17's trust was funded. Happy, happy day for my family--all the way around.
Right now, I'm doing year end stuff and interviewing agencies to be D17's support and my employer after she turns 18. Our family coordinator put out an RFP in November and got back more than 40 responses. OY! I looked at Mr. Wonderful and said, "I hope you're really grateful to have ME for your XW." He sheepishly grinned and said, "You know I am."
So I decided to contact the first 6 and see what happens. I have a feeling that it's going to be one and done, but I'm committed to meeting everyone in that 6. I met with the first one Christmas Eve (and LOVED them); yesterday was one, and the next is in a few hours. Two are next week and one hasn't responded. They are all so nice and helpful.
I should probably mention the miracle here. She was saved a slot on a decent waiver program, and we were planning on proceeding with that. But there is a program that we were told the wait list was long and it would be a few years before we knew where we'd be on that list. It fell into our laps earlier this month. So that necessitated us making new plans and changing things around. It will require some sacrifices, most of which will be mine to make - willingly. I just asked her dad to support me 100% so that I could make those sacrifices. Fortunately, they are time sacrifices and not money. She's so blessed. Everyone I've talked to has been nothing short of astounded that she wound up securing a spot on this program. It truly *is* a miracle.
In the meantime, D20 and I had a girl's spa day on Friday and then the 3 of us went downtown to eat at La Fondue (wayyyy yummy) and head over to see the Grinch. It was totally awesome. In case some of you don't know me on the alt, my family is totally into the Grinch. D20 does a fabulous improv of Jim Carrey, and literally keeps everyone in stitches. We do this all year. Not just at Christmas. (She's also really into the Madagascar penguins--guaranteed to make D17 go into fits of laughter.) Add The Incredibles, and you've got home made movies live. Unfortunately, she's heading back to school a week from today. This time, we won't see her until May. That's a bummer. Even then, it will probably be short lived as she's interviewing for an internship in Pittsburgh--working with 3D printers--and they love her as much as she loves them. They're growing up, my girls.
In the meantime, I'm just grateful for now. Last night, I made D20 watch The Dead Files with me. She's a scaredy cat and wound up sleeping with me. LOL.
Time to do a little work before trudging across town in the snow and frigid temps. It's 2 degrees, and with snow packed roads with ice underneath, is not a fun thing to do. Even if it really does look like Christmas out here.
Happy New Year to all!
Betsey
"There are only 2 ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
(I'm at work and definitely jealous.)