Skip to main content

But The Fire Is So Delightful. . .

. . . .  Let it snow!  Let it snow!  Let it snow! 

Oh my!  What an evening the Braners have had!  It started out as date afternoon/night and we were so excited! 

After picking everyone up from school, we headed to watch "Mega Mind."  The kids have been counting down the days until our date so that they could watch the movie.  As we are getting out of the car, the 2 dogs in the car beside us were literally going crazy. . .mean crazy and somehow, over the barking and growling, Hays heard air RUSHING out of my back tire.  Nice.  So, I took the kids and into the theater, bought them tickets and sent them on their way down the hall and to the fourth theater on the right with Lesley to watch the movie.  Meanwhile, I called AAA.  Surprisingly, they were very speedy and my tire was fixed in no time!  So, I headed into the movie about thirty minutes late and they let me go for free since they had overheard my conversation with AAA about the nail I ran over in the theater parking lot.

Next, we were headed to Applebee's where we have discovered that kids eat for ninety-nine cents on Wednesday nights (ironically, the last Wednesday we ate there, we found ourselves with a flat tire, too).  You cannot beat great meals for under a dollar, so we were pumped to head that direction.  Who knew that everyone else in Durango has heard about the kids' night at Applebee's, too?!?!  It was packed and we were not getting a table for seven any time in the near future, so we headed for our favorite spot Zia's.  Another Wednesday night mistake. . .the line for Zia's was snaking out the door.  That led us to Tequilia's.  It is a favorite, but with the entire brood, it gets expensive (even when we all drink water).  We loved it, though!  Then when it came time to pay the bill, someone (who?) had already picked up our check.  WOW!

So, tonight on date night, I got a free tire change (thank you AAA), one free adult movie ticket and free dinners for seven.  Great date night.  And we all had a blast together!

So, we headed home with full bellies, Justin Bieber singing in our heads and visions of the snow that is promised for the next thrity-six hours in our minds. 

I titled this post, "the fire is so delightful" for a reason.  Our heater is BROKEN.  You got it.  The first snows of the season are forcasted for the next couple of days and the Braners don't have heat. . .we don't have heat anywhere in the house.  The downstairs thermostats are reading in the upper 50s right now (promising to drop lower by morning) and the master bedroom is reading in the upper 40s.  Thankfully, we have a fire place that blows out heat to the living room so the kids are all camping out there tonight!  It is really the perfect ending to our fun date night!  I'll have to take a picture in the morning and post it because it is really cute. . .the blankets by the fire and the Christmas tree.  It made my heart smile!  (I didn't make myself a pallet and I am thinking that I will be regretting that decision come about two o'clock in the morning when my room is cold enough for my breath to frost.)

So, the fire is SO delightful and we are SO ready for it to snow, snow, snow!!!  (Don't get me wrong, though, I would LOVE to have our heaters fixed. . .it isn't that cute!)

Comments

Anonymous said…
Jamie Jo: You emailed me back a LONG time ago about adoption... I was that former Kanakuk counselor who lives in Colorado. I just wanted you to know that through your blog (it was in your email), you have been such an inspiration to me! Your optimism, hope in the Lord, and perseverance shine through. We are now on the wait list for a little girl from Ethiopia through IAN (International Adoption Net), an agency here in the Denver area.

I just wanted to tell you hello and send a big virtual thank you from the "other side" of the mountains.

Blessings, Nikki

Popular posts from this blog

The Grief of a Stepmom

The grief of a stepmom.  This post has had so many titles:  The Invisible Grief of a Stepmom, The Silent Grief of a Stepmom, The Lonely Grief of a Stepmom. . . the grief of a stepmom is like no other grief because it feels so homeless. My stepson died a few weeks ago.   Marc and I have only been married eight months and Mackay, my stepson, lived in NYC and we rarely got to see him (he didn't get to come to the wedding or Cabo and didn't stay with us when he came to town), so I didn't have much of a relationship with him.  So there is a weird layer of loosing someone I hardly knew and I feel like that is the layer that makes the most sense to everyone.   While the family was mourning, I was the one organizing all of the meals coming in from our wonderful friends and neighbors, I was cleaning up one meal and setting up for the next.  I was keeping the house in order and making sure Marc was able to surround himself with the friends and family he needed to make it through the

Should've Said No. . . ?

Andy proposed during a curtain call of Me and My Girl , a musical in which he played an old man who went most of his life without telling the woman he loved that he loved her... Twenty-three years ago today Andy asked me to marry him. . . .  he was my best friend and I thought he was the love of my life.  Should I have said no? I don't know how many times I have now been asked a version of that question in the past couple of years and I cannot count the number of times I have asked myself that question over the past decade, but it is a dumb question with no great answer. If I would have said no 23 years ago, I would have saved myself from so many tears and so much pain, but I would have missed so much laughter and so many exciting firsts and I would be such a different person. . . . Because of this day, 23 years ago, I am who I am and I have so much to be thankful for. Because of this day, 23 years ago, I have five of the best kids on the planet.  They are t

Mother's Day Thoughts

I've been feeling so many Mother's Day feels this weekend.  For starters, my big kids came home to surprise me and that was the most wonderful thing!  I remember Mother's Day 2017 when I cried because Hays was a Senior in high school and heading to Texas A&M and I thought it would be my last Mother's Day with my five all together. . . . and yesterday proved those tears unnecessary!  And then, as if that wasn't more than I could ever wish for, Marc spoiled me like I have never been spoiled before.  I am consistently blown away and humbled by how much he appreciates me and shows me his appreciation with words, gifts, acts of service and more.  I am so grateful for this husband of mine and the way he loves me and shows our kids what selfless love is supposed to look like! But even before yesterday, I've been thinking a lot about all of the different dimensions of motherhood I now experience and it is shaping me into a new and stronger and more compassionate and