The lodge is really coming along. Lori had worked really hard the week before to finish all the insulating. The upstairs is mostly finished. There is flooring and sheet-rock up. They have the projector set up to watch movies. There are 3-4 beds. It's all open, though, no separate rooms. There will be a bathroom up there too, which is awesome. The downstairs doesn't have flooring or walls yet, but the kitchen counters and cabinets are all set up. There's a working fridge and stove. It is going to be SO NICE when it's finished. Reminds me a lot of the house in Rapid. There's a wood stove and a wood pellet stove. A nice living area. They bought a big flat screen (LED) and a Wii, and that was fun. There was no gaming at all, so instead of the boys going off for hours and hours, we all played the Wii together and it made such a big difference. There's also a master bedroom and a bathroom downstairs. This will make our time up there so much more enjoyable. :) The cabin is still in use too.
Sam was there! It was his first time seeing the family since Christmas 2008. He seems to be doing really well. There was a kind of awkward moment when Jake/Mike were making fun of Dan's new tattoo (he got one over Christmas break... Dan didn't come to Ironwood, he worked in Battle Creek and then spent a week with his (16-year-old) girlfriend. But Jake and I talked about it... he really, really wants to make Sam feel loved and comfortable in the family and felt bad about teasing him/Dan about tattoos. Sam told Jake he purposefully wore long-sleeved shirts all week out of respect and to not show his tattoos. He'll be done with the Marines in September and he's excited to be done. (He's stationed in North Carolina right now.) He's planning on getting training/certificates that further his education in the things he's been doing in the Marines (he works on big trucks/vehicles). He seems to have tone down quite a bit, not a partier or rebellious anymore. Seems to have a pretty good plan and a good head on his shoulders. I hope things go well for him and that he ends up somewhere in Michigan so we can see him more.
Mike's divorce finalized on the 20th. He hasn't heard from or seen Kalina since. She cried a lot at the divorce hearing, Mike didn't cry at all. He didn't talk too much about it. Seems to be doing ok though.
Dad and Mom are doing well. Mom likes her job at the high school a lot. Seems to be happy there. She cooked up a storm while we were there, of course. Lots of awesome food... pasties, a turkey and a ham, dumplings, cinnamon rolls, etc. Dad's doing well too. Seems tired, though. He works so hard at work and on the house.
Jim and Angela are doing well, but are still pretty weird. She calls him "mi amor" alllll the time. Kind of annoying. Seem like a good match for each other. Jim was pretty harsh with Emily all week. He can be really sweet and tender with her, but when he disciplines her it is kind of out of control. He sent her to her room for an hour because she didn't want to read a scripture out loud (she was probably really tired and/or shy, not a big deal); he made her stand out on the porch in 20 degree weather by herself because she didn't want to take her boots off and get her hands wet; on the way home from church she was being cranky/sassy, so he pulled the car over and told her that if wouldn't close her eyes and go to sleep, she had to get out of the car and walk, because if she can't obey, she can't be a part of their family. ????!!! He doesn't yell at her or really even raise his voice, just says it in his "daddy voice." I don't think he has any idea the kind of damage he can do to a small child with that kind of parenting. We talked about it as a family one night after they'd left for Holland. Mom said she would talk to him about it (disciplining with love). Emily is 5 now and in kindergarten. (Jim says he loves having her in kindergarten now because it's free daycare...) She is really a sweet girl and loved playing with Lila.
On Christmas Eve we went to Uncle John Wyzlic's house. He and Auntie Joyce (Lori's sister whom I've only met once) are divorcing, but Uncle John is more a part of the family than Joyce is. Kylie, Brieanne, and Luke were there (Jake's cousins). There was a scary moment when Lila hit her head on some glass on the entertainment center. For a second I was scared there would be blood. I think it sounded a lot worse than it was; I don't know if she even cried. But what was weird is that there was a big crack in the glass where she hit her head, so I thought she did it and felt super bad, for both Uncle John and Lila. But Jake asked, and the glass was already cracked. We didn't stay very long. Jake and Mike took two trips to K-Mart while we were there. The joke that week was that Mike was going to ask out a girl who worked at K-Mart, but we talked him out of it... and then after he found out she was only 18 he changed his mind. :)
On Christmas day, opening presents was fun. Lila didn't get into it too much this year, but she did like her presents. Lori got me The Princess and the Frog on DVD and a porcelain-covered cast-iron dutch oven. Jake (and all the boys) got pocket knives. All the kids chipped in and got the folks a special vacuum for their wood stove. I also gave Lori a frame picture of J, L, and I.
For dinner, Auntie Mary and her kids came over. Uncle John stopped by. Luke ran all the way from their house to the cabin, took a few hours (he's a marathoner). There was a ton of food. I hadn't seen Becca in a long time, so it was nice seeing her. She is really a cool girl. In the x-ray tech program at NMU. (Later that week, Mike went out with her and a girlfriend, she was trying to set them up. Mike didn't want to go after he found out that the friend wasn't very attractive, but went anyway and was glad that he did because he and Becca got to have a long talk about relationships. Becca was engaged to a guy who was really lazy (doesn't work, isn't in school, etc.) and has been thinking about breaking the engagement, and I guess the talk with Mike really helped, because yesterday she broke up with him!)
We all went to church on Sunday. We sang Silent Night in sacrament meeting as a family, a special musical number. Dad and I sang the second verse as a duet. We met Caroline Moore and her little baby Sophie, who's around Lila's age. I couldn't find Lila's tights that morning so she didn't wear either of her pretty Christmas dresses.
On Monday we all went into town (minus Dad, who had to work, and Grandma). Went to Subway for lunch and Wal-Mart to pick out a few things. I really wanted to go into town... I was starting to get cabin fever! In the evening we stopped at Auntie Gert's to say hi, hadn't seen her for a long time either. She has a dog that Lila really liked. She was so sweet and gave us $20 for Lila; told us we couldn't spend it but had to save it for Lila. She is Lori's great-Aunt, so is Lila's great-great-great Aunt! After that we met Mom, Mike, and Sam over at the Moore's. We got to see AnnaMarie and her girls. It was my first time meeting Jane and her first time meeting Lila. On the way there, Jake insisted that Jane would be a lot bigger than Lila, because when he saw her in May, "she was huge!" I told him that Jane probably was about the same size Lila is, and that she probably seemed so big in May because Lila was only 3 months old. I was right. :) It was a lot of fun visiting with them. Wish we lived closer to AnnaMarie because we all get along well and her girls are cute.
Jake's parents enjoyed having Lila there a lot. Lila didn't take to them as quickly as she took to my parents (maybe because my parents weren't shy at all in just taking her and running). Lila was pretty whiney for the first few days. She would be fine with Jim and Lori as long as she didn't see me, but as soon as I'd walk into the room, she'd cry and want me. So I would try to just stay away and let them have her for a while. So sweet. I'm really grateful that Lila will grow up knowing and being loved by both sides of her family. I only ever really knew my mom's family, because my dad's is in the Philippines. It was neat hearing Lori say that Lila really does take after the Finco side of the family (her mom's side), but not just the Finco side, the Erickson side. That's where her blue eyes and blond hair comes from.
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