One Big Happy Family. Mostly.

I would like to point out that a majority of our pictures look like this. Happiness! Joy! Mom never smiles. Niko screams for the aid of some outside source. I hold him with steely arms and smile like it ain't no thing. Which it isn't anymore. The camera clicks, and Niko runs free to create noisy havoc elsewhere. It rocks. :)

We blessed Nina yesterday, which was really wonderful. My family came down for it, and Riley even made it, so after church we hurriedly scrambled together for a picture because we do that every time all of the Murdocks are together. The last picture was four years ago, which is a little eyebrow raising because there are only four of us, but you take what you can get, yeah? Riley is 6'8", in case you're wondering. In this pic, I'm wearing the Red Stilettos of Death that make me six foot. Yeah.

Luke's family came, too, and we had lots of little kids chasing each other in the backyard and playing on all of the toys. It was so much fun! The little cousins really adore each other. I was pretty thrilled because Andrea came, as well. We've been friends since we were 12, and she totally took care of me. You know how I am in crowds. I get a bit batty. "Put that down, how do you need these chopped, it's the second drawer from the bottom, I'll get ice," she said. And a lot of other things of that nature. I miss that. :)

Then last night Niko spiked a pretty high fever, and I was up with him almost all night. He seems better today, although a little lethargic, and I kept him home for school. He's watching (of course) Cookie Monster. Nina's dressed up like a little Halloween pumpkin. And I wrapped my first Christmas present of the year. Woo hoo! It is time! I know what I'm getting almost everybody, and my fingers are itching to wrap wrap wrap them all!

It's almost time for NaNoWriMo, and I can hardly wait! I have this second novel loosely planned out...as in, I know how it ends. And maybe one or two things that happen in the middle. I like to have freedom to deviate while I write.

I also have a stash of 10 Junior Mint boxes in my freezer (My favorite! Thanks, Riley!) and about 40 ice cream sandwiches/bars/cones leftover from yesterday. I shall use them to entice the neighbors to do nice things for me. Or not. I certainly can't eat them. But a few mints every now and then, that's all right.

Apparently my black-hole like nano background is disturbing to several people. My friend Jeanie is going to teach me some coding so that we can change it to something a little less "If you stare into the abyss, the abyss also stares into you" like. I think that will be a lot of fun! Hooray for smart friends!