“How different the cries, 'Away with him, away with him, crucify him' and then 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, hosanna in the highest!' How different the cries are that now are calling him 'King of Israel' and then in a few days time will be saying, 'We have no king but Caesar!' What a contrast between the green branches and the cross, between the flowers and the thorns! Before they were offering their own clothes for him to walk upon, and so soon afterwards they are stripping him of his, and casting lots upon them.”
-- St. Bernard, Sermon on Palm Sunday
Taxes - I did all the preliminary work on taxes this weekend while Michelle took the girls to the Christmas Tree Shops in Nashua. Even though I had adjusted my withholdings last year because of having too big of a refund, this year's is even greater. More mortgage interest, more property tax, the president's tax cut, and another dependent (Timothy) all contributed to this year's refund -- despite having 15 W-4 exemptions claimed last year. Michelle and I are talking about using the refund to help pay the closing costs on refinancing the house to take advantage to the excellent rates that are available now. Michelle seems more inclined to use the money towards a fireplace insert wood pellet stove for next fall/winter.
Trains - While Michelle was at the Christmas Tree Shops she found a good deal on additional wooden train track -- ala the Brio wooden railway style. Normally that track is very overpriced, but the shops had a deal on a compatible knockoff brand. A box with over a hundred pieces was around $30. Normally individual Brio track pieces run $3-4 each. When the boys woke up from their naps they were thrilled and played with the newly expanded train set for the rest of the evening. I got a few more decent pictures out of it.
Abby - Abby is going to miss gymnastics on Wednesday. At the very same time that her class is normally scheduled, Michelle has to register Abby for 1st grade. Scary! Little Abigail is going to school. Next autumn Michelle will be home alone with just the boys. She'll have a taste of what it was like for five years when I came home to just women in the house. (Michelle, Claire, and Abby) But the truly sad thing for Michelle will be losing Abby because she was so good at keeping the twins busy. "Michael and Daniel, let's ...". "Hey Michael and Daniel, want to..."