Christmas, Jane Austen, and roadkill.

Ah I've got you interested haven't I. One of my favorite radio talk show dose this thing on Monday where people call in and describe there weekend in four words or less. These four are my Christmas break in four words or less. (It's all connected trust me.)

Christmas was great this year, exausting but great. We had a wonderful visit from my grandparents the weekend before that kind of kicked off the festivities and we were going strong right through New Years. The kids all got their hearts desires (some hearts were harder to please than others). We did the ultimate Christmas this year and got them a Cat. His name is Landon he is eight months old and came from the Humane Society. The kids LOVED getting this gift it's funny to ask the little boys about it if you ask Ian what Santa Clause brought him he says "Pet Cat" as if that's Landon's title or something. If you ask Nathan he says (and all this in one breath mind you) "We got a cat because he was poor lost on the road and Santa wanted to give him to a special family to give him lots of love and take care of him." The girls are just ecstatic their only disappointment is that he won't let them dress him in doll cloths, push him around in a stroller or carry him everywhere. Nathan and Ian love to "play" with him which consist of the boys ferreting out Landon's latest hiding place and chasing him around the house. I think Landon appreciates the whole predator and prey roll playing it makes him feel like he is in the wild. You may be thinking that Landon is a strange name for a cat but it's the name he came with and it has a story behind it. (I love names with a story behind them) He was found abandoned in the Ingle's parking lot and the person who found him thought he was a girl so they named it Laura (Laura Ingles) when they found out it was a boy they changed his name to Landon (Michael Landon) We didn't tell the kids that they could change it because I didn't want to end up with a cat named Senor Fluffington or something (no disrespect to the Fluffingtons out there).

Least you think the roadkill is about Landon specifically I will skip to that one. I think of myself as a compassionate person but the sight of roadkill never moved me beyond thinking it was gross. Since we got Landon to see a cat dead on the road almost brings me to tears. I think of how cute it probably was alive and whoever will be missing it and it makes me sad. I guess I'm a sucker for our newest family member.

Lastly, Jane Austen. My dear mother gave my the most wonderful Christmas gift. She got me a box set of the BBC Jane Austen movies I have them all from Pride and Prejudice to Northanger Abby. Then she realized that the Pride and Prejudice I wanted was the one with Colin Firth in it (I know he was a dandy on Mama Mia but he really is the best Mr. Darcy ever) and it wasn't the one in the set she got me SO she got me that one too. I have been Jane Austing it up since Christmas I have even started to THINK in a British accent. I think Andy hopes this will soon pass. I know that even if it dose it will come back.

Hope you all had good Christmas' as well and all of you who send your kids to school got them back there and survived their first week.