Take 5

 1.  Isabel is reading!  We celebrated with a Reading Party at the Zoo last week (her choice of locale).   The Zoo was deserted, cold and snowy.  It was fun to feel like we had the place to ourselves as we meandered through the buildings.  Favorite animal of the day?  Hippopotamus--but we were all disappointed not to see the new baby jaguars.

 2.  We did not escape a Christmas virus this year.  I took Theo into Urgent Care on Christmas Eve for an ear infection.  The children's immune systems succumbed one by one, I stayed home for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services.

We celebrated quietly at home, no visitors.  We opened a few gifts everyday, ate a bit, and took long naps.  It was simultaneously lonely and welcome.  Chris and I can't remember the last time when we purposefully did nothing and had nothing to do except be together.  It was kinda nice.

Another virus swept through during the first few days of the New Year.  Hopefully we will stay healthy for a while now!

3.  These rolls are fantastic.

4. Chris:  "Gus?  Where do pork chops come from?"
    Gus:  "Tigers."
    Chris:  "Nope.  Try again."
   Gus: "Chickens?"  (pronounced shickens)
   Chris:  "Nope.  Pigs."

5.  I have more resolutions and goals for 2013 than I should.  Lots of painting and home decor projects.  I'd like to start running again.  (I was really good for two/ three weeks in November, but gave up.)  Start using cloth napkins.  Become a more disciplined user of the envelope system.  I'd like to finally read Anna Karenina (it will be my gazillionth attempt) before I watch the movie.  Start dressing a bit more 2013 and a little less 1999 (skinny jeans and colored denim make me feel very nervous!).

5 Things

 1.  The children rejoiced when my husband had to pull out the snowblower for its inaugural use earlier this month.  We got another whopper storm last week--lots of sledding, fort building and hot chocolates.

 2.  The Sunday School Christmas Program was held on the second Sunday in Advent.  My husband wrote the program again this year.  I didn't think that he could top the Chrismon program he wrote a few years ago, but this year's theme was trees in scripture. It was beautiful and scriptural, and probably above the heads of most adults in the pews who were expecting cutesy-precious-Kodak-moments.  It was a Lessons and Carols style program starting in the Garden of Eden with my favorite Starke hymn, The Tree of Life, and ending with the children signing O Tannenbaum in German.  The children loved it, especially the school aged boys who were readers and ushers instead of shepherds.  What ten year old boy wants to dress up like a shepherd?  All the children learned a lot and appreciated the more serious nature of the program.

 

 

3.  Lily got her braces off!  Round 1 of orthodontics is done for now.  There is room in her mouth for all her grown up teeth to come in, hopefully straight!  Chris took very sweet video of her outside the ortho-office immediately following their removal.  I am wrestling with Blogger to post it on the blog.  Check out the before and after!  Amazing.

4.  Piano recitals were at the beginning of the month.  This was Lily's first recital.  I was so morning-sick last year that we decided not to attend.  Claire played Carol of the Bells and Lily played an arrangement of Jingle Bells. It was a fun evening!

5.  Lauren found this falling stars Advent calendar on Design Sponge and forced me to make it.  I had to bribe my kids with leftover chocolates to finish it (on December 3rd).  I think that we all appreciated having it around!  So pretty!  However, it consumed all my decorating energy for the month.  I seriously considered not putting up the tree this year.  Just call me Scrooge.

Chris insisted, and even set up the pre-lit tree for me.  This is what it looked like.  Stupid, stupid pre-lit tree.  I have a love/hate relationship with twinkle lights!  :)

Theo: 4 Months

We had a doctor's appointment yesterday.  A healthy report!  14 pounds, 25 3/4 inches long, and a 16 1/4 inch noggin (30th, 75th, and 20th percentiles--for whatever they're worth).

I call him my Kitty-Boy, mostly because Skippyjon Jones is recently very popular around here.  All the fun, catchy phrases of that book series roll off the tongue so easily.  And who doesn't want to snuggle a Kitty-Boy that isn't a cat (or a chihuahua) but a huggable bundle?

Michigan Visit

Our time in Michigan included breakfast at Cracker Barrel (a must whenever traveling long distances), another big Thanksgiving dinner with the entire family (22 of us around the table!), a visit to Greenfield Village (Red Pop! and Model-T rides), and a stop in Grand Rapids on the way home.  It is usually hard to pick a favorite part of time spent together, but being smushed all together in 2 pews on Sunday morning really is the best!