Reynolds Rap

On Sunday, the 22nd, just before Christmas, our heater decided to quit working.  It’s a simple part really, just the little switch that lets gas go thru to the pilot light.  Well, do you know where to find one on Christmas Eve eve at 7PM?  No?  We didn’t either!  AND, do know if there are any furnace supply stores open on Christmas Eve?  Guess what, there aren’t!

We do consider ourselves blessed.  On our tiny street, we have, not one, but 4 heating and air guys!  We did have 5, but one moved away about a year ago.  Granted, our next door neighbor who is a Rheeme guy is out of town.  Our across the street neighbor was able to come over and take a look.  He said the same thing that DH said and also added that he doesn’t work much on gas furnaces!  He was extremely shocked that our furnace has been in our house since the late ’70’s when the house was built!

We decided to try our hand with eBay.  We were able to get the part about $20 cheaper than our neighbor could have at wholesale!  Granted, the part won’t be here until the 4th!

I’m glad that the cold spell we’ve got in the forecast for tomorrow will only get down into the upper 20’s!   That’s just right for extra blankets on the beds!  And the occasional running of an electric space heater!

The boys are so happy that they get to sleep in their sleeping bags!

This is what Jackson had to say about that:

J: Only old people with really old cars hang stuff from their mirror.

J: Ya know, they were born in the ’80’s.  That’s real old.

We had 2 weekends of b’day parties for Eric.  He was very sweet at his first party on the 7th.  We had a few people here(Gran, Gram, Nana, Grandad, Aunt Kari, Uncle Kevin) and he was very excited to see all of the presents.  As he opened each gift he would declare “Thank you for Everything!”  There always seems to be one gift that is the gift.  This year it was a pair of scissors.  Yep, you read that right, scissors.  I’ve searched and searched for a link, and I can’t find one!  So, the scissors look like a shark and make a chomping sound when they are used!  I like it because I know when he’s cutting, and he likes it because he loves the chomping sound!!!

On Sunday the 9th, Brian’s mom and stepdad came out.  The plan was to have them out for an early afternoon party, but his mom wasn’t having one of her better days, so it turned into an evening get-together.  Eric was pleased to have another party.  He loves having company over!  He also loves eating cupcakes!

On Saturday the 15th, Jackson had a basketball game and we all got together again!  Gran had shopping to do after the game, so she didn’t go to lunch with us.  Kiel and Jackson rode with Nana and Grandad to the restaurant, and on the way, spotted 2 pop guns!  They were for Jackson and Eric and ended up being early Christmas presents!  It was hard for Nana to understand that at 12, Kiel is getting too old for those!  Granted, he still has fun playing with his brothers’ guns

The next Sunday, the 16th, we had another party!  This one was at my parents house and we had our cousin’s out for Sunday lunch and…..more cake!

The next Sunday, Gran came out and we celebrated Christmas together.  It was very nice having her over.  The boys think she hung the moon!  She even accomplished the impossible!  There was a bag by Haute Market Bags that I wanted badly!  Apparently everyone else wanted the same one also, because it was sold out!  Well, Gran was able to order one!  I was very shocked!  The day was also a little sad.  There have been plenty of Christmas’s that we didn’t get to enjoy with Dennis, but lately bonds were re-forming, ties were being re-bound together, my sons were getting to know their Grandaddy, Brian was reconnecting with his Daddy.  I always looked forward to finding different flavors of coffee for Dennis!!  I enjoyed searching for coffee paraphernalia     I know we had only just begun this new journey with him, but it is still sad.  I’m not sure what saddens me the most, the loss of a loved one or the loss of the hopes and dreams of a future relationship for my DH and my DS’s.  Ok, enough of my mush….I’m very thankful for the last few years we were able to enjoy with him!

On Monday evening, Brian’s mom and stepdad came out.  Boys just can’t have too many guns can they?  They each got cap guns!  She wasn’t able to find the paper caps for the guns anywhere.  Who would have thought that Kroger would have them?  Crazy, isn’t it?  We were able to get them the day after Christmas and the boys couldn’t wait to use them!  They went thru all of the ones we got in an afternoon!  After we exchanged gifts, we played uno and then sent the boys to bed so Santa would be able to stop by!

Christmas morning, we woke up bright and early and opened gifts.  Will there ever be a time when money won’t be tight at Christmas?  I was taught well by my mother on wrapping gifts.  You break it down into as many packages as you can.  That way the bottom of the tree looks full, and you get the “WOW” effect from the kids as they walk into the living room!  They didn’t get loads of gifts this year.  Everything they wanted was so expensive.  So they got a big gift and then the accessories or attachments to go with it! 

Kiel had chosen to get his present early.  He got his at the beginning of December.  He got an Air Soft Gun.  We explained to him about price, and with the price tag that came with the gun, that would mean that he wouldn’t have much under the tree.  He understood and didn’t care, he wanted that gun!  I am very proud of him, he didn’t go on and on about other gifts he wanted.  He’s growing up, right before my eyes!

At 8AM Christmas morning, Aunt Kari and Uncle Kevin came over for breakfast and gift exchange.  Nana and Grandad made it around 9.  We had an egg casserole, sausage balls, juice and coffee!  And the living room floor was covered in wadded wrapping paper again!

I’ve had this post saved in my drafts area for a few days.  I keep adding to it, and I’m tired of adding to it!  So, I’ll hit the ‘publish’ button and just add more posts as they come to mind.  Welcome to the way my mind works.  It’s all jumbled and bits and pieces come out, just not always in order!

Have a great New Year’s Day.  Be careful and responsible when you go out on Monday eve to celebrate our 14th anniversary!