christmas

The joy is back!  Christmas was a blessing this year ... the kids had great joy in opening their gifts.  They seemed appreciative, thankful and happy.

Skye & Odinn were with us for Christmas morning opening of gifts ... unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a picture of all the kids together.

The best part?  Christmas Eve as I was putting the girls to bed and asking them about the meaning and importance of Christmas, Piper said “to celebrate Jesus’ birthday.”

Click here to see photos from our Christmas.

poor spike

So ... early November we had a follow-up appointment for Hunter’s last surgery. All was well with her adenoids, but while she was under they did a his-panel on her to check her immune level ... some of her levels came back a little low, so they wanted us to see an immune deficiency specialist.

We had her appointment last week, and thank God all her levels were normal. A few on the low side of normal, but completely normal. The only one he was a little concerned about was her tetanus level, so he gave her that vaccine again.

At the appointment, her chest didn’t sound good (she’s basically been sick since a couple days after her surgery), so he did a chest xray to check for pneumonia ... but all is well!

We do have a call in to see why she is so sick all of the time. Constant cough, sinus infection, etc. But praise God it’s nothing serious!

follow-up on huntie

So ... early November we had a follow-up appointment for Hunter’s last surgery.  All was well with her adenoids, but while she was under they did a his-panel on her to check her immune level ... some of her levels came back a little low, so they wanted us to see an immune deficiency specialist.

We had her appointment last week, and thank God all her levels were normal.  A few on the low side of normal, but completely normal.  The only one he was a little concerned about was her tetanus level, so he gave her that vaccine again.

At the appointment, her chest didn’t sound good (she’s basically been sick since a couple days after her surgery), so he did a chest xray to check for pneumonia ... but all is well!

We do have a call in to see why she is so sick all of the time.  Constant cough, sinus infection, etc.  But praise God it’s nothing serious!

decorating the tree

As I think is true for many adults, Christmas has lost it’s “magic.”  Christmas was, without a doubt, my favorite holiday.  The first snow, shopping for presents, wrapping, meals, family, games ... I loved everything about it.

Why is it now as a parent, I’m just rushing through everything stressed, not joyous, yet wanting it to be perfect for my children so they can feel the same magic I felt?  Who knows!

A month or so ago, I decided I needed to simplify my life.  Only do things that are great, make me feel great ... not just good (thank you Deanna Favre for this wisdom!).  That decision has been a relief to my soul ...

We went out on my birthday to get our tree from the same farm we’ve been going to for the last five years.  It’s about a half-hour drive, and needed to be done at a certain time to meet my parents for dinner.  Which of course needed to be done at a certain time, because we had a certain movie time to get to that couldn’t be too late because it would get past the girls bedtime (okay, so I’m a work in progress on this “simplify” thing!).

So we get there only to find a sign that says “Thank you for your past patronage, but we have decided to close our doors to spend more time with our family at the Holidays.”

Where do we go now?  We went to a local market that sells veggies, fruit, pumpkins, etc.  It’s freezing, the girls immediately spot the tree they want.  We get it up on the roof and high-tail it to Oak Creek for dinner!

Later that night when Curt is taking the tree down from the top of my car, he busts the driver-side mirror ... yikes!

Okay ... didn’t mean to write all that, not sure how I got started ... the purpose of this entry was to say that it was SUCH joy decorating the tree with the kids this year!  They loved it!!  And I should mention, they have not enjoyed it at all in the past.  This year, we didn’t break one bulb ... a first I think.  Even Taylor enjoyed herself, when all I was hearing previously was, “Do I have to help?”  Hunter did her part with all the non-breakables.  Piper stayed on the ladder most of the time, getting the middle of the tree.  And Wynter helped with mostly non-breakables too.

The end result?  Top third of the tree is pretty much bare (except lights) ... we lost the star/angel, so nothing on top ... we have multiple little snowmen hanging on one branch because they needed to be by their friends ... and I have “necklaces” (the bead-type garland) strangling the bottom of the tree.

In my heart?  A magical night decorating the Christmas tree.

exuma with friends

Huge sigh ... I had the most incredible time with my friends in Exuma (Bahamas).  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I haven’t laughed so hard, or felt so much at peace in a long time.  The weather couldn’t have been better.  The food is always fabulous (always is when someone else does the cooking & cleaning!).  And the water couldn’t have been bluer!

The ladies surprised me on the first night with a little birthday celebration ... complete with cake & a gift of p.j.’s that I proceeded to wear for the rest of the weekend.

When we took off out of O’Hare, the flight crew were so excited for us that we were ‘seven mamas going to the bahamas’ (sans kids & hubbies) ... they invited us into the cockpit for pictures and kept the wine glasses flowing!

Click here to see more photo albums ... I wish I could’ve shared them all, but some of things are better left to our memories than viewed by others!

hunter's surgery

Poor little huntie needed surgery again.  First one was in April to get tubes in both ears and a dermoid cyst removed from her brow.

All went well with that surgery but she’s still sick all the time.  Basically, if she’s not on antibiotics, she’s sick.

I woke Hunter at 5:15ish this morning and put her right in the car in her p.j.’s.  Curt is traveling, so Taylor slept in my bed for when Piper & Wynter woke.  Granny was coming over a little later in the morning to take them to school.

So it was recommended to remove her adenoids.  We had that done this morning (they also replaced one ear tube).

She was so cute (sad to say) in her little hospital gown.  She stayed pretty drugged up for a while, but when she came to, she tried with all her might to get the tubes and cords off of her!

She’s sleepy, but recovering well ...

otter creek

What a weekend!  We took the girls out of school on Thursday and Friday and drove to Wheeler, Wisconsin for a 3-day horse event that Taylor was competing in.  Granny came along for moral support and to help with the girls.

Taylor did an awesome job, and I couldn’t be prouder!  You can read all about it on the Racine County Pony Club website ...

The weekend required a lot of patience from the girls.  The weather was icky ... cold in the mornings.  The hotel wasn’t the greatest ... I know the girls are getting too comfortable, expecting luxury accommodations when we walk into a room and Piper looks around and says, “This is it?  This is small!”  Lord help me!

Click here for more photos of the event.

australia

We are exhausted!  I was awake in bed last night when the girls got up, none of us could sleep (except Curt), so we made popcorn, lit a fire and watched a movie.

We had a really great time together.  It was difficult traveling that far with 5 kids (Taylor’s friend came with), but what an experience for them.  And really, when all was said and done, they were very good for being so far out of their element.

The weather was rainy when we got into Melbourne.  We bathed and changed clothes, slept for a while and then went down to the huge mall attached to our hotel.  We walked around and had some dinner.

It took everyone a good couple of nights before were on Australia’s time zone.

When we finally made it up to Bamaga for fishing, the weather was much better up there and we were sleeping through the night.  Bamaga is way on the northwest part of Australia.  We’re told many natives don’t even make it up there.

We stayed on a houseboat for 5 days.  Parked in a tributary river.  And then took smaller fishing boats through the rivers and onto the ocean for some reef fishing.  We all caught a lot of colorful fish.  A highlight was ‘chasing tuna’ ... we would watch where the birds were feeding and then following them for tuna.  Tuna are fun to bring in!

The trip home was ... well ... A LOT of travel!  The kids did great, and it was exciting having Cate Blanchett seated behind us!

We’re glad to be home and hope to recover from this jet lag soon ...

Click here to look at photos of our vacation.