Curve Ball

Sometimes life throws you a curve ball.  You get used to dodging the ones that come at you head on, but these curve balls can really throw you off course.  Our curve ball came on Wednesday afternoon when Otto was informed that he had to be laid-off because there wasn't enough work.  He was one of several people who were laid-off and there will be more people laid-off in January.
It came to us completely out of the blue and Otto didn't want to tell anyone at first, but now he has a game plan, a ton of contacts, lots of prayers behind him, and he feels as though it is okay that we tell people.  So, consider yourself informed now.
I had a feeling that something was coming at us.  We have been doing too good for quite a while now, and I know once you start getting comfortable, things start to go awry.  We're okay.  We have to make some adjustments, but I know that everything will work out fine.  Otto has a lot of great contacts, he is a hard worker, and we have a ton of support.
So, we are adjusting.  We are changing some of our plans, and we know that everything will work out for the best!
Funny, those curve balls can really shake things up!

Big Guy

Today is my Big Guy's birthday.  I felt bad because I have committed to work tonight, but I wanted to do something special for his birthday because birthdays are special at our house.  Because of this, I decided to do a special birthday breakfast.  We all got up early, had strawberry Carmel stuffed french toast with whipped cream and peach preserves, fried ham and OJ.  We sang Happy Birthday and had a Dulce de Leche cake and Otto got to open his presents.
My parents and grandparents gave Otto some gift cards for his birthday and it just so happened that Microsoft released a really cool gadget for the X-Box called a Kinect which makes it so you can play games, and interact with your X-Box using nothing but your body.  You don't need a controller at all and you don't need a remote.  You can say commands, scroll through menus, and play games without any other sort of accessories.  Otto and I first saw some information about this sweet gadget about a year ago and I promised him that he would get one the day that it came out. . . .. and that day was today. . . . and he got one. . . . .Best Birthday Ever!!!  I can't wait until he sets it up tonight!  It is going to be so fun!