The Real Housewife of Longleaf Ranch

This week has really blown by. I can't believe it's been a week since my last post. Nothing really exciting happened this week. Typical week. Jason was able to work from home quite a bit this week which was really nice. Except when he did go to this office I missed him. I probably called him 5 times within an hour with nothing to say. As much as I'm enjoying working from home I do get lonely sometimes.

Christian got an alarm clock from Santa for Christmas and I would have never imagined what a brilliant gift it would turn out to be. While I still get up at the same time as him all I really have to do is make sure his alarm woke him and I can get back in bed. Sweet!! We have typical 12 year old boy problems with him but he still amazes me. Jason told me yesterday (Friday) to ask Christian about a project he volunteered for. Turns out there is a boy in our ward who is working towards his Eagle Scout and needed some help building picnic tables. Christian said he would help. When I picked him up after the project he was beaming. He was so proud of himself and I have to admit I was beaming as well. I probably don't tell him enough how proud he makes me.

We did make progress this week for our little lady. Her crib bedding came in. We had to order it because there is no store in Jacksonville that carries it. We bought Mariposa made by Kidsline and it is so cute. We also got her room most of the way cleaned out and just about ready to start painting. Every decision we have tried to make for her has been difficult. No reason for the difficulty, just making final decisions has been interesting. I've said it before, my brain is mush so I can't make a decision on my own and then I have one of these husbands who say, whatever you want. Normally that is the perfect kind of husband, but right now, in my mental state any help would be wonderful! We haven't even chosen a name for her. We want to give her a name to be proud of. I want to give her a name that helps to instill a sense of the importance of geneology. We are focused on our grandmothers. My grandmothers are Ethel and Vivian and his grandmothers are Anne and Joan. My grandmother Ethel has a middle name of Lee so my came up with Ellee. I really like that one. She also came up with Eva as in Ethel, Vivian, Anne. There is another one we are tossing around. MaeLee (Maley, Maylee, however we would end up spelling it). As I said, my dad's mom is Ethel Lee and my mom's mom is Vivian Mae so MaeLee would be both of their middle names. We are almost settled on her middle name. Jason's mom has an Aunt Grace and we really love Grace as a middle name. We've also tossed around Gracie as a first name but I really would love her middle name to be a part of our grandmothers. My first and ultimate choice for her name would be Vivian Grace Clarkson but Jason's isn't in love with the name Vivian. I guess it's fair to say he likes Vivian as much as I like Joan as a first name. Do all parents have this much trouble choosing a name for their child?? I wonder if our inability to settle on a name is leading to our inability to make a decision on anything else.

Jason, Christian and I went to some friend's house for a sushi party last night, and for those who know me know why this is so funny. We had a really nice time. There were a few of us there with our kids. As soon as they opened the door to their home one of my kids from last years primary class came up and gave me a huge hug. Then as I walked in one of my kids from this years class came up and gave me a hug. I really really love my primary kids, past and present. They are amazing and I hope one day they truly understand how much I love them. I had a primary teacher in Arlington one year and she would always tell us she loved us. Now I know how much.

We have decided to add a puppy (or two) to our family. After Murray's passing we have looked but understand the true commitment this will take. We are getting a little boy and a little girl. We are going to call them Bonnie and Clyde. Funny, we had a real easy time picking out theie names. Our daughter, not so much. We hope to add these beautiful little pups to our family by the end of next week.

At some point I will figure out how to add pictures and all that other good stuff so until then, bear with me.