My sick kids

Well Nathan had a cold for about 3 weeks. It started at the beginning of the month of November and continued throughout the end. Last week he had minor asthma and we thought he might have an ear infection but he did not. Julianne had strep throat on Friday for like the 5th time this year. That bug loves her. She is a strep throat magnet. The other kids never seem to get it when she has it which is great so I don't worry too much but still she was so mad that she could not go to school on Friday. She really wanted to participate in the walking club at recess so she was actually really mad but she got over it. Mallory has escaped most of the illnesses around here so that is good.

I have been busy making my Christmas presents. My goal this year is to only buy gifts from locally owned stores, ETSY, or from resell stores. While on my way to work one morning I was listening to NPR and they were discussing Wal-Mart and how they are discounting everything and other smaller stores are not able to keep up with their prices and have had to close. This is such a shame and I am tired of hearing stories like this. So basically, especially in this economy, the little stores are having a hard time competing with Wal-Mart. So I am making a point to support these stores so that they do not have to close (I'm sure I will not make that much of an impact but it is the thought that counts). If Wal-Mart keeps taking over then years from now we will only have superstores lining our landscape. This is not helping the economy unless you want to work at Wal-Mart as a sales person.

I am getting ready for my trip to Knoxville I am spending a long weekend there and then going directly on to Coke headquarters for a visit. So it should be a great weekend. I am excited to see my friends and to spend some time with my friend who just had a new baby. I am a little nervous about traveling and all the unpredictable that occur with that but I am trying to be rational and not get myself worked up too much. I also am nervous about missing my kids and hubby. I have never been away from them for that long.

ETA (Edited to Add) New computer lingo I just learned.

Well I am in Knoxville right now and I am enjoying my visit with my friends. I arrived this morning, my flights were all on time and ran smoothly, I visited with good friends from Ohio and now I am at my friend Katie's who just had a new baby 3 weeks ago. I will write more later.

Things I am grateful/thankful for:
-Missing my kids and hubby
-Having a smooth flight into Knoxville
-Visiting out of town friends