The Big Thaw ...and ramblings about our week.

Ok. I haven’t fallen off the place of the planet, if that’s what you were wondering. I’ve been being selfish, and for that I apologize. I was so burned out from meeting deadlines, remodeling and having company—which I actually enjoy, mind you—that I didn’t want to type a single word than wasn’t mandated.

I got some rest and some me time, and now I’m OK. Bek and I actually had a date-dinner together after church, last night. We ate ribs and jalepeno poppers (what a combination, huh) to semi-candle light.

In case you’re wondering what semi-candle light is, it is keeping one light on because you can’t see your food by the light of the candles. Perhaps we need better candles.

Earlier this week, we bought a desk and used it to organize our living room/Elijah’s school. It is nice to come into the living room and feel a sense of organization. Besides that, the desk adds an attractive appearance of completion to the room, and we don’t have to be constantly rescuing books or CDs from tiny fingers.

Yesterday, I even assembled Rebekah’s pantry for her. However, I learned that one should always read Step 1, even if it doesn’t look important. Step 1 was to study the screws so that you could tell the difference. Thankfully, the extra holes from where the wrong screws came through the pantry doors aren’t that noticeable after the doctoring I did. Yes, 1/16 of an inch does make a difference and the doors aren’t as thick as the sides.

Well, if I had written last Friday, I would have told you that Rebekah, Nathan, Stephan (a 2^nd cousin) and I all played another game of Settlers of Kataan. If you haven’t played Settlers, you’ve got to try it. It’s a German game about settling an island called Kataan, managing resources, building settlements that you upgrade into cities, and racing against your opponents to acquire the most land-road-military-cities combination the quickest.

Getting the key spots, early on is crucial. Anyway, it was the best game of Kataan that we have played yet. I had a road/shipping lane that spanned from one side of the board to the other. I won, but Rebekah wasn’t far behind—perhaps a few points. Nathan and Stephan both kept up well, also, so it was a very fun night of vying for land and negotiating for the commodities that we needed.

The nice thing about settlers is that you change the board and assign different values every time that you play, so it always seems new. If Sam and Tammy were here, we’d be playing them on a weekly basis, for sure. Everyone here is hooked on the game. We’ll be playing against Dave & Melissa tomorrow night.

The ground has finally thawed, here—it’s 78 degrees here, today. Spring has arrived. I think I will take the children out and do something with them.

With any luck, I can build a small shop this summer and start doing some projects out there. I’ve gotten some great ideas, lately, that I can’t wait to try. Besides that, I’ve got to do something to channel some of Elijah’s energy, before we but heads any harder.

For dinner, tonight, we had cold split-pea soup burritos. Hey, don't knock it 'til you try it! I LOVE that stuff. Man, was it ever good. It's a great way to use up leftovers. Josiah is the only one who isn't thrilled with it.

If I can ever get Elijah out of the bedroom and into bed, Rebekah and I are going to watch an old TV show that I thought was great--unoriginal, but great, nonetheless. It's the pilot episode of Dark Skies, a series that ran for only one season but had great special effects, government conspiracies and aliens. What more could you ask?!!!

Sound like X-Files? Not hardly! This show was not veiled in mystery. It was all out on the table and in-your-face science fiction. Lot's of action/little cloak-and-dagger. It's totally unbelievable, but extremely entertaining. I can't wait to see it again.

--Bro. Jacob