Happy New Year!!!

Raymond and I went to Karen N's house to have some holiday cheer! It was so fun to see everyone! I havent seen Noreen since I left the Y, and I havent seen her baby Miles since his baby shower!. He is so cute! So I had 2 drinks at Karen's house and when we were about to leave, I somehow zipped my leather coat and my sweatshirt together! It was so ridiculous, we were all laughing like crazy! (that's the first picture) Maybe I didnt need that second drink??

Christmas was fun!!! But BUSY! Savannah spent Christmas eve with her dad and came home around noon on Christmas day. After she came home we opened all the gifts! Love bug was so cute as she opened each gift, she was so exuberant!! I was we had got her reaction on video but of course we weren't thinking ahead. George's favorite gifts were the cars her received. We've been seriously lacking boy toys around our home but now he has plenty.

We went to Mom's house for Christmas dinner. Mom gave each of the little kids a new quilt, Love; a bugs bunny theme, and George; a John Deere tractor theme. The kids love them...they drag them out to the living room back and forth from their beds about 5 times a day.

Raymond has his first US cold. Normal cold symptoms, stuffy, congestion, sneezing, etc. He was expecting some miracle medicine from the Dr but of course the Dr didnt give him anything for it! Poor baby! He's still got some other lingering medical issues going on that he arrived here with. His Dr is treating him but we're still waiting for test results. All in all he hasnt been feeling good for quite some time. I'm hoping and praying he starts feeling better in 2010.

We finally found out why Ray's work permit has been denied. I checked a incorrect box on the original form I completed back in September. There is no way to "fix it" except to re-file and pay the $340 fee again. It's frustrating!! Now we have to re-file and wait another 8-16 wks to get approval.

Work is good, I''m learning more and more each day. There is so much to learn and so many exceptions to each rule. I received an audit back from about 50 cases I worked, and I only received 4 back with errors. I need to have my error rate at 2% so I have a ways to go. Some of the other students in my class have much higher rates of errors. I feel bad for them because they havent received as much support from their home offices as I have. My training coach is crabby and never smiles but at least she's training me. She got me an "easy button" for Christmas!

I cant believe Christmas is in 2 weeks!

Here's an example of us using the timer to take our family picture for our Christmas card. This was one of many reject pictures. It was like National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation trying to get a good photo. You'll notice in the final version that you get in the mail, Buddy isnt in the picture because he couldnt take the chaos any longer. The topper was when Raymond set the timer and ran to the couch for the about the 10Th time.....and Love annouced she had to go poop! We all started laughing hysterically as she jumped up and ran to the bathroom. Kids are so much fun!

Work is going pretty good. I completed another session of training and had a five hour test last Wednesday. I finished around 2:30 and found out the next day that half the other students had to be kicked out of the building at 5:05. The test was a killer!!! The training was held at the main head quarters on Mercer st right across form the Seattle Center. All of us that were in the class are going to be working on a special project to help some of the offices catch up on their back log of work. So I'll be at the Mercer St office until at least 1/15/10. It feels a little weird to be away from my White Center office for so long. I was just starting to make friends and get comfortable there. The best part is that we are working shortened hours, to allow for commute time, but still get paid for 8 hrs per day! I get off work at 3:30 so I'm able to get a lot of errands completed after work, including Dr appts, school appts, etc, and not have to request time off.

How about this cold weather? Poor Raymond is having a very difficult time with the cold. He takes the bus to get around and waiting as the bus stops just about does him in. He thinks Seattle is the coldest place in the US. I tried explaining to him that Seattle isnt usually this cold, and for this long. He had never seen ice on car windows before. He was totally confused about it! I cant wait until it snows! He's a good sport but generally miserable with the weather!