We've been so busy with this and that I haven't even thought about blogging lately. Things have yet to really slow down but I guess that's life. Anyways, here are a few random updates, thoughts and happenings:

• My daughter is seriously obsessed with Kleenexes and wet wipes. She's always talking about how her hands are dirty and how she "needs" them. Should I be concerned?? Crazy child!
• I recently baked a chocolate zucchini cake that we enjoyed. It was a nice change. Here's the recipe.
• I've been battling yet another kidney stone the past few weeks. I'll go in again this afternoon to get an xray to evaluate it's progress. This one's a stubborn sucker. They've talked about going in to retrieve it; oh joy. I'm hoping they will decide to give me some more time to try to pass it. We'll see.
• Our first full snow cover arrived this past weekend. We're wondering if it's here to stay. JD and I have started putting our electric blanket to good use. It think will help us have a better attitude about the ensuing winter nights!
• I'm tackling a majority of my Christmas shopping online. So far so good. I love not battling the icy roads, long lines, and crazed shoppers. That being said, I do look forward to hitting the mall at some point but mostly just for fun ~ I find it hard to be a productive shopper with two munchkins in tow.
• I've been reminded of a few things lately from the Tuesday night Bible study JD teaches. First, Grace (unmerited favor) is actually abnormal and a result of the Fall event. It's an extension of God's attribute of Love. And just like evil, it is bound and will one day have an end. This is a good thing because grace will then no longer be necessary! In addition, judgment is always proceeded by grace. It's very interesting to see this play out in Scripture.
• I tried Yorkshire Pudding for the first time last weekend at GoodSeed's annual staff retreat. They were so good! Though they were served alongside brown gravy, I couldn't bring myself to marry the two. After all, I'm still a southerner at heart. I can do brown gravy on my meats like roast beef and on potatoes but anything beyond that is pushing it. Cream gravy, on the other hand, is welcome on my plate at any time! Too bad it's nowhere to be found in Canada. Sigh. Sniff, sniff.
• We had a good weekend at the GS retreat. It was a great time of fellowship and learning. One thing is for sure though, watching your kids while away from home for 3 days is at least 5 times harder than having them at home. It's more like a full-time, never ending babysitting job rather than just being a mom. I felt like I was policing all the time while toting around the baby monitor. If you're a mom I bet you know what I'm talking about. It's nice to be back in our own environment again.
• How exciting is Texas Tech football this year? Woohoo! We're pumped for the game this weekend. Ayden has been sporting his TTU shirt my friend Polly gave him, and Addie yells, "Go Tech, Go Tech" with her guns up. It's great!