PARADES and SOCCER GAMES

Well, it's almost fall. The high today was (I think) below 80 degrees!!! That's downright pleasant for Georgia (we almost needed jackets for about 5 minutes!)

We started the weekend with the annual East Cobber Parade. Julia's brownie troop marched in it. Allison is in a newly forming troop and Amanda also just got into a Junior girl scout troop. They are all excited to be getting involved in this. SO, this means that they will all be calling you to buy girls scout cookies. Or, this is what we'll be sending everyone for every gift in the coming year. Amanda was able to hold the sign for the troop, so she was in the parade too.

Allison and the Skyrockets played to a win again. Allison didn't score this game, but she did have a role in setting up a few and (as always) was all over the field stealing the ball from the other team. You know she's having fun by the big smile on her face!!!

Julia's Pink Panther's had only 4 kids show up to play. This is a problem because you need at least 5. Luckily, little Skyrocket sisters Anna and Allison of Pink Panthers Gracyn and Julia were able to play defense and the game was played. Another Panther showed up about half-time, and the girls played the 10-player "Barracudas" to a 3-3 tie. The Barracudas rotated their players constantly, so for them to just barely tie our girls (who had virtually no breaks) was pretty impressive.

More soccer games are on Thursday, Friday, AND Saturday. It'll be a busy week!!! Have a good one :)

The boy...

The boy was extra goofy this weekend. Here are a few shots that speak for themselves...

(Yes, he climbed on the counter naked...again. The bowl is stategically placed.)

Also, as if to punctuate his boy-ness, here's a quote I heard Todd make today regarding Matthew and his partner in crime (Bucky):

"Hey you, quit putting dirt in the dog's mouth!"

SOCCER! SOCCER! SOCCER!

Soccer has officially started. Both Julia and Allison had their first games in the smoldering heat of Georgia (a cooler 93 degrees than the last few weeks - and that's the temp, not the heat index). So, Todd took them to the games. Allison and her fellow "Skyrockets" took to the field and dismissed their opponents ("Some orange team") by a score of 3-0. Allison also scored her first Georgia goal and was again the "go get that ball" girl for the team. Next up was Julia and "The Pink Panthers". Although down a player (one girl broke her ankle the first practice!), the girls played hard and had a great game despite losing 2-1.

Soccer action resumes next weekend ... and hopefully the temps will drop. Please, keep dropping (most of the games are between 11-3pm - it's like being on the surface of the sun!!!)

I couldn't resist putting on a picture of Bucky and Matthew napping last night...Matthew just walked over and plopped down next to Bucky on his cushions! What a pair!

Things you don't expect to see walking in the door...

After an average day of running around, I returned home. I'd been gone a little longer than usual (just over 3 hours) and knew I had to get Bucky outside ASAP upon arrival. So, I pulled in the garage, jumped out the car as fast as I could, and unlocked the door. As I opened the door, I noticed that Bucky wasn't being his usual excited self. Then, as I looked down, I thought I was hallucinating....

A LITTLE SHIH TSU DOG WAS IN OUR HOUSE...AND BUCKY, LAST WE CHECKED, IS A SUBSTANTIALLY LARGER CHOCOLATE LAB!!!

There was a little puppy dog in my house, panting away and looking cute as could be! I just exclaimed, "Who the h!*$ are you???" I checked the doors, nobody else is home (is this a practical joke?) I was really thrown! Imagine walking into your house (whether or not you have a dog/cat/etc.) and having one just be there to happily greet you. Although a pleasant experience (say, compared to an unexpected greeting by a pit bull), it was sort of odd...

As it turns out, Bimini is our neighbor's dog. He'd looked familiar, and after a few minutes I remembered where I'd seen him before. The owners were pretty surprised and we all had a good laugh. He normally doesn't leave his yard much at all (but, according to his owners, he's got doggy Alzheimers). What we think happened is that he must have been wandering around in the morning, saw our garage door open (which it usually isn't), and wandered in. When I was loading up the car with children and stuff, he must have slipped in the house. He most likley slept next to Bucky (who was probably totally confused about the whole thing!)

ANOTHER new baby cousin!

Two new cousins in only 4 months!!! The kids are so excited!!! Our newest addition (and a great relief to Matthew, Zach and Ryan) is a boy. Michael Howard came into the world a healthy 7lbs 2 oz and is much loved by big sister Lexi (as you can see from the picture!)

We're looking forward to meeting you in a few months Michael ....

Why it is not a good idea to kickbox your sister near the brick fireplace

by Matthew Linskey



Kickboxing - it's a fun sport, right? Allison and I were pretend kickboxing. We would pretend kick each other and pretend fall down. Or, when we got tired, just sat on the floor and kicked each other. So, I did my super sitting "hi-yah!" kick and leaned back for full effect...and all of a sudden my head kind of hurts - I guess I hit the fireplace? So, I rubbed it. Then, I looked down at my hands, and there was all this sticky red stuff everywhere. It was icky, and the color didn't go with my swimming suit so I tried rubbing it off. But, then it was running down my back and was coating my hair. It was gross! It was all over the place! Allison and Julia were screaming and calling for help. Julia kept saying, "Mom! Matthew's bleeding. Mom! Matthew's bleeding! Ohh my gosh, there's blood! Help! It's everywhere!" and Allison kept asking, "Is he going to die? Is he dying?" I didn't think I looked THAT bad with the red stuff on me! Mom and dad figured out that I was only upset about the red stuff (which I guess is called "blood") and figured out that I had a scalp laceration (fancy term for "cut on the head that bleeds like a firehose especially when you touch it ...or not touch it"). So, mom changed me out of my swimming suit (and she made me mad and said we weren't going swimming!) She didn't even let me wear a shirt! So, she puts me in the car half naked and drives to some place with a doctor. They poked at me then said I needed "stitches". While I was waiting for whatever those are, the nurse came back with some pink stuff to make me feel "relaxed". But, no way was I going to be drinking that stuff! I felt fine! So, I spit it everywhere. Then, the nurses and doctor came in with fishing stuff - I was excited because I like fishing! Then, with no warning, mom put me on my belly and lays on my legs and holds my right arm, and another nurse held my left arm and shoulders down, and another nurse held my head still. They put paper blankets over my head, and gave me shots in my head. Then, there was blood all over again. They tugged a few times on my head, and then they said I was all better. Then, mom gave me M&Ms. I got 3 stitches. I liked the M&Ms a lot more.

So, I guess none of this would have happened if I hadn't been kickboxing. I think it was the fireplace's fault. Or, Allison. Or, Julia. Or, Amanda. Amanda wasn't downstairs, but it could still partly be her fault too. I guess stitches aren't all bad, but now I can't go swimming again for a few days. Maybe I can kickbox with a helmet on...

Our New Addition

We welcomed the 5th Linskey to the clan last night. (No, again, don't worry it's not a human addition!) We are now the proud owners of a little Chocolate Lab puppy (born May 9th) named "Bucky". He is quite a little cutey (mainly becuase he hasn't destroyed too much yet). I'm sure there will be many more pictures and stories of destruction to come ...

Thanks to Donnie Schuessler and family for making this all possible :)

(Donnie picked up Bucky from the breeder, housebroke him, crate trained him, took excellent care of him, and then drove 12 hours to meet Todd in North Carolina to deliver him. He also promptly called at 8pm to find out how his little boy was doing in his new home. We will have to plan a reunion at some point I think!)

P.S. Happy Birthday Grandma Mary :)

"How to Get a Cat Scanned"

by Matthew Linskey, age 3

Memorial Day 2007. My day started out like most others. But, today we went to Home Depot. I like going there because there's lots of neat stuff and I try to climb or grab it all. But, today I learned that sometimes Home Depot is dangerous! So, we were all done playing and getting ready to go home, and I was sitting with dad while mom waited for the store man to bring out one more thing. We were sitting on a display picnic table. I decided all by myself to see if I could do a back half-half-gainer off the seat. Dad said the sound my head made hitting the concrete was like the not-so-gentle smacking of a flip-flop on the ground. So, I wasn't too happy about lousing up my back half-half gainer AND my head really hurt (which was annoying). Mom and Dad got all serious and they decided that mom would take me somewhere to look at my head. I think we broke the sound barrier a few times trying to find a clinic, and we maybe cut off a few people who mom said were "bad drivers" (but, mom used other words to describe them that I can't pronounce yet). We found one, but they said to take me to the big children's hospital (Scottish Rite). So, we got to the hospital "ER", and they had something called a valet there. Apparently, this is where you drive up and give your keys to the valet and he just drives off with your car. I want to be a valet someday, it looked fun. Anyway, we went inside and they asked mom what happened. She left out the whole part of about my back-half-half gainer and just told them I fell on my head. Right when they were asking questions, I must have had some sort of stomach problem because I just sort of threw up all over. I threw up on me, mom, the desk, in the garbage can, and I think I hit a few nurses and a plant. Mom said it was like the exorcist, but I never met that guy. For some reason, everyone really freaked out then (I guess it smelled pretty bad?) and all of a sudden they were stabbing me in the arm with a mini sword that they called an "IV". I didn't think a little vomit called for that kind of retribution!!! Lots of doctors and nurses came in and out. One nice nurse brought some new clothes for me and mom so we didn't smell quite so bad. The doctors all told me I was going to get a cat scanned. I thought that sounded pretty fun, but I didn't know where they had the cat. We went to a room with a big machine in it, but there was no cat. They had a Mickey Mouse doll that was on the moving table that they put into the big machine, but he wasn't having much fun with it because he was laying really still when everyone knows he should have been standing up like I was trying to do. The lady said that they needed to sedate me, and one of the doctors came in and stuck another sword in my IV. I kicked him a few times, but it didn't make him stop. He was at least twice my size - it wasn't fair. The next thing I know, I'm in the ER room again. I don't remember how I got there. AND, Mickey was gone. I wasn't too happy. After a little while, the doctor came in again and said I had something called a "skull fracture with some bleeding". The doctor said it was really small and not displaced (whatever that means!) I guess if you're going to get a skull fracture, mine is the good kind to get. So, they said I had to sleep over. I got to sleep in a bed that went up and down as many times as you pressed the button. I did that a lot. They had to bring me a new bed too because the plug on mine broke (but they said it wasn't my fault-really!) I got to watch tv, drink Sprite, and eat Jello. I had little wires all over me that kept going off all night (but, I managed to sleep through all of that!) The brain doctor came in to see me this morning and said I could go home. I asked if I could take the bed, but they said no. He said I wasn't allowed to fall on my head for at least two weeks. That's not fair because I do that almost every day. I still didn't get to see the cat scanned, but maybe I'll see that a different time.

NOTE: Matthew's doing fine - there was even some debate as to whether or not the it was a fracture or a small crack in a growth plate - the treatment is the same either way. He's back to terrorizing his sisters already.

Birthdays, Visitors, and First Communion

It's been a wild week in Georgia! First, we had Julia celebrating her 8th birthday. She started her celebration by getting off the school bus and .... going to the dentist. But, after that, Dad pulled in the driveway with "The Grandma Irmas". Yes, both Grandma Irma AND Great-Grandma Irma came to visit us!!! We had birthday cake, presents, and stayed up too late. We had a visit from Great Grandma Irma's brother Bob and wife Rita who live in nearby Kennewsaw, and that was really fun. A few days later, we celebrated ANOTHER birthday. This time, Amanda hit double-digits (10) and now refers to herself as a "tweener". And, she also learned that a second cousin was born on her birthday (welcome to Ava - daughter of dad's cousin Drew and Susan in South Carolina!!!) What a neat birthday present! Anyway, we had MORE cake and more presents and stayed up late again. Then, today, we celebrated Julia's First Communion. It was a fun day. And, in a shocking move (especially since she previously adamantly declared she would NOT take the wine) ... she did, in fact, receive the wine. She also declared that she would not be doing THAT again. The lemonade at the reception afterwards was much more agreeable to her.

So, attached are a few pictures of the week. Next week, the Grandma Irmas have to leave and we get to start demolishing our kitchen. It ought to be interesting....

A New Baby Girl!!!

(No, don't worry, it's not us)

There is a brand new baby cousin!!! Her name is...

Ella Jane Ball

Born at 7:56am, April 27th, 2007

7 lbs 9 oz and 20 1/2 inches long

According to proud papa Brian, she has blueish eyes and light brown hair. She is also quite an angel and mostly sleeps. Mama Tarra is resting and recovering and both should be released from the hospital in a few days. Pictures will follow shortly...

Or, check this link: http://www.communitymemorial.com/baby_gallery/baby.cfm?b=924

Extreme Fauna

Today, the hawk returned to finish off his meal. I got a few really good shots of him, the last one of him flying/dragging away the squirrel. He landed about 10 feet away from me while I was planting hostas. A very impressive creature...

In other news, Todd bought a chainsaw. He HAD to try it out tonight (see the picture). One down, about fifty to go (we have a LOT of trees that need to be taken down!) Hopefully, I won't be doing a post tomorrow about how a tree "fell" on our neighbor's house...

Flora and fauna...

Today's topic is nature in Georgia. Specifically, the local flora and fauna. First up is our flora of the week. It is none other than ... poison ivy. We have lots of it infesting our yard in lieu of grass. We decided that we didn't want that so we embarked on a mission to get rid of it. We wore nice, thick gloves. We sort of protected our skin by wearing longish shirts/pants (or, mainly short sleeve shirts and shorts because it was hot and we were too smart for poison ivy to get us!!!) We started yanking and pulling out what seemed like jungle vines of poison ivy. It was even growing underneath some of our 40 bags of lawn refuse (we can only put out 8 bags a week, so we have quite the stockpile!) We did this for many days. I bagged it after pulling. Todd yanked it and threw it on top of our ever growing piles of yard waste (the piles yet to be bagged, that is) in the thought that "it'll dry out and be dead" (and therefore no longer a threat). As we read in the paper today, "dead" poison ivy can still give you the rash up to 5 years later from contact with it. In our case, it didn't take 5 years (more like 3 days). It's not bad, but not exactly fun. We are thinking of bagging some up and mailing it to the sellers...

Next up is the local fauna. We have lots of squirrels. We may have some in the attic (or used to). They are a bit of a menace here (one neighbor admitted to causing many to have "unfortunate deadly mishaps" when they started eating the siding of his house!) But, we have a secret weapon...the hawk. Yes, as in a bird-of-prey hawk. It is usually perched up in the surrounding trees, occasionally swooping down to attack things (mainly animals). It also likes to attack the next-door neighbor's birds when they bring them out for fresh air on their front porch. It basically rams into the cage, knocks itself a little silly, and then flies off (because it only sees the pretty, tasty, bright yellow birds...not the cage). I got a picture of it in our tree today. It was in our tree today because it was enjoying a feast of dead squirrel on our steps. Sadly, I didn't get a picture of that. But, it's one less squirrel to raid our bird feeder.

Tomorrow I go get my Georgia drivers license. Hopefully, the poison ivy won't show up too much in my picture...

Wet Basement, Part 2

As promised, here are a few pictures of the catastrophe. Plus, we just had to get photographic evidence of the hideousness we've been discovering in the upstairs bathroom. We thought it was bad when we started tearing out what was there...until we saw what had been there BEFORE that! It's the stuff of nightmares.

We have hot water again thanks to Home Depot ... and a lot of money. There were, of course, code improvements that needed to be done. But, now we have a selling feature for the house, right??? I'm sure we'll have more fun discoveries to make in the next few months. Hopefully, they won't all require pest control/plumbers/medical intervention/etc.

The Wet Basement: Part 1

So, I was outside doing landscaping. We have a lot of landscaping to do. A lot. I was finally making progress. Todd was making progress in ripping apart the bathroom. I think all this back-breaking work is partly therapeutic so we don't go find the sellers and kill them. The kids were not destroying ...much. So, it was really a good day. Until we went in the basement...

Todd matter-of-factly calls up to me: "Uhh, Kelly, the water heater just exploded."

As it turns out, a water heater installed in 1991 has a very high probability of rusting out right around March 31st, 2007. The previous owners (described as "not well liked", "the pool smokers", "not nice people", and "trailer trash") told us it was 9 years old. Wow, they didn't tell us the truth about another thing! It would explain why the water was sort of orange-y sometimes (we thought it was just Georgia water!)

SO, we are without hot water until tomorrow when the nice folks at Home Depot will deliver our brand new water heater and install it for a whole lot of money. Taking cold showers...really, really not a fun thing (especially when you've been landscaping or demolishing things and seriously have to take one!)

I'll post a few pictures of Matthew playing in the disaster (yes, he thought it was quite a blast- like a pool in the basement!)

Jeremy, we have a few more projects to add to our list now...

Living out of Boxes...

So, we are all moved in. Well, all our stuff is here and in various stages of being put away (which means there is #*&% all over the place!!!) I have added a few pictures of our moving truck on the hill unloading - our movers Chuck and Charlie were fantastic and did a great job with everything! I suspect they were sore the next day (we were and we didn't do 1/100th the work they did!)
I also had to post a picture of our NEW PETS! Yes, plural. But, we didn't buy them. They came with the house. We apparently live in a place that is quite the haven for BLACK WIDOW SPIDERS. They were outside, and (so far) we haven't spotted anything inside. We (and by "we", that means "Todd") collected a few in a plastic bottle to show the girls what they look like and how to not go near them no matter what. As Todd put it, "Hey, come and look at this...it's a science project!" At least it wasn't a bee...

We still have lots of stuff to do and will post more later. Hope all is well with everyone :)

P.S.

HI BRIANA - we got a postcard today for you and will be sending it soon!!! Say hi to everyone :)

So, what does "broom clean" REALLY mean???

Apparently, for the people we bought the house from, it means "leave it as if you were fleeing a natural disaster after not having cleaned for the better part of a decade". In the first 36 hours since taking ownership, we have changed all the locks, wiped down every room, disinfected every bathroom (and made plans to demolish and redo each), had the carpets professionally cleaned, cleaned out the oven and stove (and had to strongly resist the urge to take a sledgehammer to the range hood...it was that nasty), cleaned out and painted the laundry room (after patching holes and cleaning out the layer of dust and muck that was under where their washer and dryer used to be), took possesion of our NEW washer and dryer (and thanked God that they didn't leave theirs!), picked up and installed our new refrigerator (again, so glad they didn't leave theirs), painted one of the 5 bedrooms, painted half of another, and scoured the master bath shower which we can now allow the children to use without worry. Ohh, and we're going to redo the whole kitchen (JEREMY - WE NEED YOUR HELP - SEROUSLY, CALL US!!!) - it's dated, but also sort of falling apart. They didn't seem to think it relevant to tell us that a few of the cabinet doors were broken (as in, you pull on the handle and half the door comes off). Matthew thought it was pretty cool once he realized we weren't mad at him for breaking it. And, as if to emphasize that point, he is actually running around with half a cabinet door right now with Todd chasing him saying, "Give me that!"....

But, this house does have great potential and is structurally sound with some really neat features. The school the kids go to is really good, we are pretty close to any store we need to go to, there's an Olympic length indoor pool a short drive away, and the church is only about 1/2 mile away. So, although we will be doing a lot of work for awhile, it will still all turn out good.

Our housing shipment gets here in 2 more days, and we are surviving the camping out. Since the kitchen is now clean, we can cook again (with our one pot and pan!) Note to self: Next time, bring more than one pot and one pan, and maybe a slow cooker, and some utensils, and hot pads!

We'll have some pictures when we get the housing shipment....

Hi Briana, Claire, Jake, Ella, Julia, and like everyone - this is Allison - I miss you!
Hi Meridian - this is Julia - it was nice to talk to you yesterday! Have a great week and say hi to Mrs. Bourgeois!
Hi Sam and Molly - this is Amanda - hi guys! How are you doing? I'm doing fine. Call me when you can :)
Hi Daniel - this is Matthew - I still keep asking mom, "Daniel?" every time I see another little boy running around. I just can't figure out where you went!!!

Have a great week everyone :)

Next Stop....Marietta!!!

Hi Briana!! Allison said to say hello and that she hopes you are feeling better. Every little boy Matthew sees he is now calling Daniel...I think he misses his buddy!

Happy birthday Claire! We hope your party was a blast!

Having succesfully fled "The Dorf" (I can hear you laughing Beth and Joy!), we are now temporarily residing in military lodging on Dobbins AFB. Actually, it's pretty nice. The girls checked out their school today and are loving it. It was empty, there was no homework, and they got to go the playground (what's not to like!) We also did a quick drive-by of our new house. I have to add that we live on a hill that could double as a ski slope if they did ever get enough snow here. Funny how those pictures the realtors use don't quite show those sorts of things. Todd knew about it, and it's really only the street. But, anyone afraid of heights might need to take a sedative before heading to our house. We are set to settle on this house Friday and move in that night (and camp out for 4-5 days). That is the plan. We have our stuff all together, so the sellers just have to move out. Keep your fingers crossed!

Thanks again to everyone who helped us out! We really really really appreciate it! We'll add some pictures soon.

On the move...

We are officially packing out! And, today we have a snowstorm. Good thing it's today and not tomorrow (when the moving truck loads everything!) The movers said they'd be here if it snowed...

Settlement is Friday morning. Everything looks good so far, so keep your fingers crossed...

Todd and I both will still have our cell phones if anyone needs to reach us. We'll be in hotels for about 10 days, and then into the new house after settlement the following Friday. Once we get all hooked up, I'll do another post. Wish us luck :)

Moving...not so much a funfest!

Well, our house is under contract. Here's some advice: Don't try to sell your home in a buyer's market. It's too painful to say more now, but we're are thankful to have a contract! Now, the other 4 immediate neighbors in our court can put their houses on the market one by one...that seems to be the plan (we were the first-lucky us!)

We go to settlement next Friday, so keep your fingers crossed that nothing blows up or falls on the house (or, on the buyers, because we need them too!) We also made an offer on a house in Georgia. Other than some kind of critter living in the attic (thankfully, NOT bats!) and some minor fixes we will ask the current owners to attend to, everything with buying that house looks to be on track. The girls start their new school on March 12th and we close on the "new" house on the 16th. It's 24 years new, but it'll be new to us. Amanda seems to think that she can use the 5th bedroom as her own personal extra space...good luck with that, right?

Any suggestions for what kind of dog we should get??? We will have a yard, we're not moving, we basically have no excuses left!

** New Pictures **

Hitting, kicking, screaming, things were thrown and there were tears...it was PICTURE DAY for the Linskey quartet!

Matthew, after seeing the train prop, refused to do anything but sit on the train. So, guess what? The train is in the picture. No big deal. What you don't see is the 10+ pictures of Matthew taking swings at his sisters to get them off HIS train. We managed to get at least one picture where they all looked in the same direction...

The girls also cooperated for a millisecond to get a picture of the three of them without one of them squeezing another one's eyeballs out (they took "big hug" a bit too literally). Matthew was too busy at that point with the rocket ship he found (that one had wheels that WORKED!)

Enjoy the pictures :)

The Big THREE

Another milestone was reached in the Linskey household (and, it didn't involve bodily functions)... the littlest Linskey has turned 3!!!

Matthew's morning started with a Happy Birthday serenade from his older sisters. His response... 'Arghhhhhh....euoowwwwww....mama.....go away!!!" As his sisters put it, "Maybe he's tone deaf?" Yeah, that's it.

After taking Amanda and Julia to school, we returned home for a leisurely breakfast of...chocolate cake. Yes, that's right. Fearing that the cake would be frozen in the garage refrigerator due to our frigid weather** (and, as it turned out, it was partially frozen), mom put the birthday cake on the counter. Apparently going for a new record for most stupid things done in one morning, mom lifted the cover off the cake to show Matthew and Allison. When Matthew was asked what he wanted to eat ("Toast? Waffles? Cereal?"), his only response was a very loud and adamant, "CAKE!" So, caving to the will of a newly minted three year old, mom sliced a small piece and served up the cake. At this point, Matthew demonstrated his maturity by thinking not only of himself but also of his sister. He did this by pointing at Allison, sitting next to him at the table, and again saying, "CAKE!" Allison was deeply moved by the gesture (and in shock when mom actually complied!)

The real party began at night. We opened presents and had dinner (yes, in that order...mom gave up on any sane decisions for the day after the chocolate cake for breakfast!) Dinner (shockingly) was barely touched. But, the presents were a HUGE hit. Julia was worried that Matthew might be disappointed to not recieve "High School Musical", which she claims he REALLY wanted. But, he recovered from that diappointment quickly when he opened a gift full of candy and a "Narita Express" train & track set from our Japanese friends (thank you to the Usui family!) He played with that for about two hours. He also got some more train set parts to go with his Christmas train set, some nice cards, and some money (Allison estimated that he got, "at least $4000"). The toys are all set up in his room, and I think Matthew fell asleep staring at them with a huge grin on his face. OR, he was thinking about how much chocolate cake and copies of "High School Musical" he could buy with his $4000...

Thanks for a happy third birthday :)

**Note: Yes, it's not REALLY frigid here compared to Wisconsin, but we live in Southern Maryland and they think anything below 40F can practically kill you.

First snowfall of the year!!!

Yes, it actually took this long for us to have the first snowfall in Maryland! The kids were all outside playing in it and plan to go back out tomorrow. Matthew decided to mimic his sisters and try and catch snowflakes on his tongue. And, he stayed outside the longest by 20 minutes (either because he was tough, or because he finally could play with the shovel without the girls taking it from him).

Hey, buy our house!

We're officially trying to sell our house! Pray for us, make small offerings to whatever you worship, send us your lucky whatever, and keep your fingers crossed that this doesn't turn into a 6-month bachelor vacation for Todd :)

(Although, I don't think you'd hear Todd complain too much about that possibility!)

Here's a link to look at where we've been living for 3 1/2 years (more pictures to come)...

http://sandyorbits.lnfre.com/Falcon/WebUi/PropertyDetailsPage.aspx?MLSNumber=CH6281231&CompanyId=2

And for my next trick...

Routinely climb on the counter .... done!
Climb onto sink and raid medicine cabinet...done!
Climb onto bunk bed and spin ceiling fan...done!

Hmmm....I've never seen anyone climb to the top of the closet. Let's try that!

Trains are fun...

Matthew really likes his train. He has fallen asleep playing with it. He has fallen asleep with the train cars in his hands. He runs over any Pollys or Barbies that somehow find their way on to the track (he even has sound effects of the impact). Yep, he's a boy!

Santa Claus Came To Town!

ANARCHY! It was simply anarchy Monday morning in the Linskey household. After attempting to go to bed at 5:30pm Sunday night (immediately after getting back from church), the girls reluctantly were forced to eat dinner ("Mom made us!") and spent the majority of the evening planning an extravagant spread for Santa. There were carrots for the reindeer, cookies, milk, pumpkin bars, and some leftover noodles. Mmmmm....

Santa was tracked on the NORAD site, and when it looked like he might be in New York, they all scrambled upstairs and proceeded to talk and stay awake for about 2 hours. Finally, around 10pm, it seemed all were asleep.

At around 7am, witnesses several miles away reported hearing what they described as either "wet cats in dryers" or "opera singers being smacked with fish". It was the girls, squealing with shock and joy. Matthew came downstairs and was mostly confused...until he saw a train set. It was just like the one at church school. The one he has to be literally dragged away from each and every Sunday. If he breaks free anywhere in church school, that is where he goes. He has now been playing with it for close to 5 hours. He has not eaten or done anything else. He refused a chocolate doughnut so he could keep playing. He liked the other toys he got, but that is by far his number one toy of all time (thanks Cathy!!!) It also helps that many cars he also received fit on the track.

The girls were overjoyed with the cascade of new toys, books,and clothes that they received. Clothes are currently being laundered, toys are being played with, and several books and craft items are coming with us to the hotel for our Atlanta trip.

Kelly uttered the statement every father wants to hear when his daughter opens her present: "Awesome! Now I can get new shower doors! Ohh, and some mulch too! This is the best!!!" We never said she was normal....

Todd enjoyed getting everything he knew he was getting. And, he has been really taking quite an interest in all of Matthew's toys. At first, he said he was "setting it all up for Matthew". But, I swear I heard him making "vrmmmmmm" and "choo-choo" sounds. Hmm.....

We are very lucky to have a wonderful family. We want to say thanks to everyone who thought of us and wish everyone a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Here is the "before" picture of the avalanche of presents. Kelly's present (singular) consists of the the unwrapped hot pads and dish towels to the left. Does it count as a present if she bought it herself? Todd has a lovely unwrapped couch desk that he's already used for 3 weeks (Kelly, not being able to keep a secret, opened it for him about one week after wrapping it). He also (gasp!) has an actual wrapped present. But, he already knows what's in it because Allison cannot (if her life depended on it) keep a secret at all. In our defense, it's some kind of genetic abnormality. Allison has told everyone what they are getting, in great detail. When she couldn't quite remember, she'd ask mom to "remind her what we got". Mom fell for it once. She then started to make stuff up so that nobody would really know what they are getting (Example: "Julia, we got you a new garden hose. Amanda, we got you a weed wacker. We got dad '12 Dancing Princesses Sudoku.'") It's a good thing the 5-year old memory is fairly fleeting...

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!!!