Present Time

One week of break down, one to go. I most certainly don't want it to end, but I have finally been able to get some much needed sleep and relaxation. It's been great so far.

The week started with the pulling of my teeth, but I didn't let that ruin my break. Although in some pain, I have carried on with my break as normal, eating all the food and leaving the house when needed.

Josh started Christmas early by making me open a present every night, starting on Monday. I first got an hour long massage GC to a spa in Littleton. I can't wait to use it on my hurting back. On Tuesday I opened Scattegories, a fun game that Britt introduced to us last year at this same time. I've been wanting it ever since, and Josh delivered. Kari also visited Tuesday evening and brought me a milkshake from Chick-Fil-A. Delish. After she left, I received the Adele CD that I've been wanting. Wednesday was a pair of owl earrings that match a necklace I already own. He did a great job finding an exact match. On Thursday we awoke to snow. And a lot of it. About a foot, to be exact. We didn't let that hinder our plans to go to his parents house for the day. We left for the 30 minutes drive that took us about an hour, had lunch with his parents, grandparents, and cousin and then went to his parents house for the remainder of the day, where we played games, ate food, and opened presents. Josh's mom got me a beautiful orange and yellow scarf and an adorable Santa nightlight.

By Friday, Josh was ready to open ALL the presents. And so we did because we're 29 and 31 and can make those decisions on our own. :)

Josh has it all messed up and wanted me to open all my presents first and then open his last. But that's not how we do it around here. The youngest starts by opening his/her stocking, followed by the next in line of age. So Josh opened his stocking. Then I opened mine.

My stocking was full of fun little toys of some of my favorite things, and a popcorn movie pack. You can see the kid side of Josh in his presents.

Josh's stocking was a bit more practical with some things I know he'll use.

And then present time. The rest of my presents consisted of a hot glue gun (a very nice one), a hair feather decoration, and these PJ's. I swore I'd never show this picture to anyone, but hey, we're friends, right? You won't judge? It's an embarrassing picture, but here it is. I love the PJ's and they are super warm, so they will help keep me warm when my apartment is at a chilly 55 degrees (by choice to save on the bill).

Josh got slippers, two shirts (which he's returning, much to my dismay), underwear, a flash drive, biking gloves, a running hat and gloves, a charger for his MP3 player, and some dental stuff.

All in all, we both came out very well in the end.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from:

Collin, Kate, Carson, Kyler, and Corinne

Shannon, Jeff, Case, and Siahna

Doug and Sally

Shiloh And Josh
And Grandma and Grandpa Kloepping

May God bless you this holiday season!

Laughing Gas

It's called laughing gas, my doctor told me, because it sometimes feel like your tummy is being tickled and it makes you laugh.

It didn't make me laugh.

It made me feel like I was wasted. Wasted to the point of spinning and wanting to throw up.

And then I was floating. I was high above the dental chair watching my mouth get ripped apart.

Never once did I laugh.

My doctor struggled to get the first molar out. He pried, he pulled, he pushed, he shoved, he was standing up, he sat down, he asked for assistance, he checked on me. I was fine. I was as high as a kite. I couldn't feel pain, but I could feel every push and shove. My mouth was being ripped apart, and a few moans escaped my throat. He stopped.

"Are you OK? Can you feel that?"

"I'm fine. Pressure."

Dr. Nelson's father came into the room. "Shiloh, this is my father, Dr. Nelson. Dr. Nelson, this is Shiloh. She's one tough cookie, and her bone structure is pretty amazing. There isn't a hint of osteoporosis in her bones. I can't get this darn tooth out."

"Nice to meet you, Shiloh."

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Nelson." Although it sounded more like, "mee you, Dawctor Nelshun." I had things in my mouth. It's hard to talk with things in your mouth. Why do dentists do that?

The prying continued. I tried my hardest to remember everything that was going on. Dr. Nelson was pretty funny, and I so desperately wanted to remember so I could share with you. But it has escaped my memory. I remember dogs barking. The nurse said the squirrels were out. Dr. Nelson said, "It's an early Christmas present for the dogs."

I almost laughed at that.

After more than half of hour of prying, the doctor called for a hammer. "Shiloh, you're going to feel a lot of pressure."

Hammer and mallet.

Unbelievable pressure. More moans. "I'm OK."

"Shiloh, if your tooth comes flying out into your mouth, please don't swallow it. There is no nutritional value in a tooth."

I almost laughed again.

Hammer hit mallet over and over. I heard cracking. Finally, the darn tooth was out. But part of the root was still in there, so more prying. More ripping my lips into pieces. More moaning.

They never got the root out. They stitched me up. The assistant called for antibiotics.

Now for the second tooth, both of which were growing in sideways. Within three seconds, the second tooth was out. Dr. Nelson said, "That was a good tooth. He's going to get good gifts this year. If only that first tooth was like this second one."

Laughing gas was pulled off my nose. An x-ray was taken to find the root that was left inside my gums. The doctor said my body may discard it on it's own, but they will look for it on my next check-up. The x-ray showed nothing, so he thinks it may have fallen out and been sucked up.

A nursed asked if I wanted to keep my teeth. I shook my head no. Then, "Wait, actually I will keep them." I was curious as to what they looked like.

I was taken into recovery. A teenage girl was in there sobbing. The assistant told me to ignore her. Josh was shown in to hold my hand. The assistant gave Josh all the instructions to take care of me. The nurse walked me out to my car. It was over in one hour, although it would have only taken 30 minutes if the first tooth would have come out as easily as the second.

Josh snapped a picture of me while I was napping once we got home. The vicodin made me crash.

It's the day after my surgery. I would feel perfect if only they wouldn't have taken my mouth through a hammer/mallet show. My left side, the side that took so long, is so tender and sore I can barely speak. I can't open my mouth more than half an inch. My right side is perfect. Not an ounce of pain there. I could eat normally if it weren't for the left side. My left side is still bleeding.

I didn't laugh once.

It's Christmas

I was at Heritage High School last week doing some very important school stuff. I was dressed in my finest, and I was meeting with the school principal. We had finished our meeting, and she said she would walk me to the front door.

As we walked through the office area, it was nicely decorated with red bows, decorations, candles, mistletoe, and ornaments. Trying to make small talk, I said, "Wow, I really like your Christmas decorations. It looks really nice in here."

Her reply: "We don't call it Christmas decorations. It's holiday decorations. We have to be politically correct, you know."

To me, it's Christmas. And I will continue to call them Christmas decorations, no matter who corrects me.

As I shouted to my students as they left the classroom on Friday, "Merry Christmas, kiddos."

And I don't feel bad about it.

Christmas Letter, 2011

House Divided
The entire (older) Nichols/Anderson clan is born and raised in Nebraska….except Kate. She joined the family as a Wisconsin Badger, and we forgave her for that long ago. Over the past eight years of Collin and Kate’s marriage, she bought a Husker shirt and dare I say it-even learned to like the Huskers a little bit. She slowly started to cheer for the Huskers on game day and even forgave her children for being die hard Husker fans.

That is until this year.

Nebraska, once a Big 12 team, moved conferences to the Big 10, the same division as the Badgers.

Let the games begin with these rules:
1). No yelling, 2). No name calling, 3). No throwing, 4). No throwing children, 5). No throwing cheese curds, 6). No throwing corn husks, 7). You can’t use children against one another, 8). We won’t make fun of your mascot if you don’t make fun of ours, 9). There is no place like Nebraska, 10). The Huskers are The Big Red. No….The Badgers are The Big Red. No….Nebraska. No….Wisconsin.

Now come on guys, you’re breaking rules 1) and 4).

It’s been tense in the family, to say the least, but our family doesn’t just thrive on football. We thrive on adventure, fun, and activities. Hold onto your footballs, this is going to go fast.

Doug and Sally had Shannon, Shiloh, and Collin many years ago. Shannon married Jeff Anderson six years ago. Case (4.5) and Siahna (1.5) belong to them. Shiloh is still single, although she has been dating Josh Martinez for a year. Mrs. Hazelnut and Lily, African Dwarf frogs, belong to them. Collin married Kate Habegger eight years ago. Carson (7.75), Kyler (5.5), and Corinne (3) belong to them.

Still following?

Shannon and Jeff live in Littleton, where Shannon is a stay at home mom and Jeff works at Digitech. Shannon ran two half marathons this year, sells Pampered Chef, won $100 for the best cobbler dessert contest, chopped off 12 inches of hair for Locks of Love, attends MOPS, and watches a 1 year-old girl a few times a month (not her own). Jeff ran part of a marathon….he was trying to get to the finish line before Shannon crossed and ended up running beside her while pushing Case and Siahna in the stroller…and is the deacon of technology at their church. Case is a busy little beaver, and if you want to hang out with him, you have to be scheduled in. The wait is over a week long. He is in preschool and is too smart for his class (takes after his aunt), so he will be moving to a new preschool in January. He has play dates every week with his best friend, Ian, and he turned 4 this year and had the best super hero party ever! He’s even in the process of changing his name from Case William to Case William Dean. Siahna is a happy little girl who has legs about six feet tall (I teach hyperbole to my students). She is well on her way to becoming the next family music star and loves, loves, loves music class. Late last year, they noticed she wasn't meeting her milestones and had her evaluated. They found mild to moderate delays in her motor skills, which in the long run has affected her verbal skills. Siahna then started receiving physical therapy 4x a month and eventually started speech therapy 2x a month. She received an MRI and lab work, all of which came back normal, which is good but doesn't give us a cause or reason for the delays. She has progressed leaps and bounds over the past year, and Siahna has been a delightful addition to the family.

I (Shiloh), also live in Littleton in a 624 square foot apartment, which I have turned into a comfy little home for myself. I am teaching my third year at Chatfield Senior High, where I get to talk about hyperbole, grammar, sentence structure, thesis statements, and literature to sophomore and junior students. I completed my fourth year riding in the MS150, and for some reason unknown to me, I taught summer school for the fourth year in a row. I changed my hair from blonde to black to brown to blonde to red back to black again, and I’m sure it will be different next month. My best friend, April, is officially five years cancer free and in remission, so life is good!

Collin and Katie decided to move back to Kearney in August after living in Colorado for over eight years. Collin is taking classes to be a history teacher, works at Skeeter Barnes, AND stays home with Corinne all while continuing his photography business. Collin completed his third year riding in the MS150 and even rode with me for most of day one. Katie works for The Buckle Warehouse and absolutely loves her new job. She is becoming quite the fashion bug and has quickly fit into her role at the Buckle. Carson goes off to school to be a second grader, while Kyler goes to the same school to be a kindergartner. Corinne goes wherever Collin goes. The boys have excelled in school and find it so amazing to run into so many friends when around town. The joys of a small town. Carson is quite the older brother and helps take care of Quinny, while Kye Lou is still predicted to be our rough NFL star when he gets older. Quinny is a girly-girl and loves the makeup, ribbons, and nail polish. Those who clean up after her do NOT enjoy the makeup, ribbons, and nail polish-but you can always find Quinny by following the mess.

Mom and dad are alive and well with no outward physical health problems. Dad is doing well with his MS and mom survived yet another year without surgery. They took a trip to Napa Valley to taste the wine and reported that it was very good, and they are going to Belize in December without inviting any of us kids. Rude! Boo dog sadly died last year after being hit by a car, and Libby Cat just doesn’t seem to want to die.

And then there was the big game. Wisconsin versus Nebraska. The day we had all been dreading and anticipating. Rule 10) is still being figured out, and rules 5) and 6) were quickly broken (Corinne ate the cheese curds), but in the end Wisconsin came out victorious.

Ultimately, we are stronger than a football game (at least this year). We have our health, our laughter, our children, and our memories. Jesus Christ resides as our referee, and while Kate and Kye will forever wear their Badger shirts and the rest of us pridefully cheer on our beloved Huskers, we know our family is centered on Christ.

House Divided?

Nah!

With love,

Doug & Sally Nichols
Jeff, Shannon, Case, & Siahna Anderson
Shiloh Nichols
Collin, Kate, Carson, Kyler, & Corinne Nichols

The Shi-Loh Down

Happenings as of late:

1). I received flowers yesterday from a student. I had written him a letter of recommendation for his college application, so he thanked me with flowers and a bag of M&Ms.

2). Another student got me a healthy sized GC to Starbucks. She also wrote me a very sweet card that said I was one of her most trusted friends and she valued me as a friend and mentor.

3). While I love my car very much, it has been having problems for about a year now. It's rather a long story, but dear, sweet Josh has been trying to fix it for me. He knows enough about cars to try his hand at the problem, so every weekend we're together, he spends some time outside trying to fix the problem. He and the guys at Auto Zone are becoming good friends. He thought he had figured out the problem this past weekend, and I was sooooo excited. But....alas, the problem is back and Josh is left puzzled as to what to do next.

4). I am officially done with the semester. Grades have been entered, along with some tough decisions about grades. You non-teachers may think grades are simple-it's black and white, right? Wrong. For the most part, kids end up with the grade they "deserved" to get, based on effort and brains. However, every once in a while, the final will drop the student so significantly that it makes my job a little tough. A student who had an A all through the semester may drop to a high B, and I have to decided if they deserve an A or B and go from there. I also might have a student with a high F (perhaps just 1 percent from passing the class). I spend a lot of time mulling over those students and deciding what to do. Nonetheless, grades are entered. Some kids are happy. Some are frantically emailing to see if I can do anything to help them out.

5). All my Christmas shopping is done. My family decided not to give gifts this year and donate our money to a water fund that Shannon and Jeff put together. However, we are doing stocking stuffers for one another, so I've had fun shopping for that. I LOVE giving gifts, so I really enjoy this time of trying to be creative. I've mailed all my packages, written all my cards and sent them, and now I am just enjoying the season and my break.

6). I get my wisdom teeth pulled next week. Strangely enough, one molar started growing in about a year ago. It wouldn't have been a problem, except it's growing out the side of my gums, rather than straight down. After an initial checkup with the doctor, x-rays showed I have another hidden molar that hasn't come through the skin yet. He's pulling both of them at the same time. They originally wanted to set the teeth pulling for Thanksgiving break, and I said NO WAY. Thanksgiving is my favorite. So the date has been set for Tuesday, and I hope I am able to eat normally by Christmas Eve and Day (crab legs and prime rib).

Merry Christmas, my dear readers. May your holiday be merry and bright.

Frog TV

This is what Josh thinks our frogs do while I'm away at work, along with eating all my food. It would explain why I never have food to eat and why my energy bill is so high.