Merry Christmas

December 26th, 2009 - VERY early morning

4am - my arm is asleep, which wakes me up. I need to 'wake up' my arm in order for me to go back to sleep (is this backwards or what!?) Kaitlyn is already up: Mama, is it morning yet?!?!? No, baby, not yet. Go back to sleep, okay?

5am - my arm woke up, and I went back to sleep. Rousing me from a deep sleep is my daughter: Mama, is it morning now?!?! Sigh...no, baby. Go back to sleep, okay?

5:30am - Zander is up and partying...

6:45am - my son is still partying, although my daughter's room is quiet. I sigh and get out of bed.
Fudge notices me putting on my pants, which means I am up and we are going for a walk!
The weather is beautiful; the sun is almost up and the cold, wet wind feels wonderful, waking me up fully and I take deep breaths of fresh air.

7:15am - I tiptoe back into the house with the paper, turn on the coffee machine and feed the pets. I am hoping to get in a few minutes of alone time before Christmas kicks off. Both children have dozed off. I do not have to worry about Aaron: he is a teenager and will not rise voluntarily before 10am...:)

7:20am - I get Fudge out from behind the tree, where a present with a bone in it for him was "hidden".












7:21am - I make room for Hootie to get behind the tree, since Christmas tree water is a real treat for him and he could not reach because of all the presents Santa dropped off.

7:25am - Jim wakes up, completely taking me off guard. Did you fall out of bed, honey?

7:28am - after reading an article in the paper I am immensely grateful for what we have. Thanking God for all our blessings.

8am - both Jim and I try to wake up the kids, which takes us a long time.

8:15am - finally! The kids are awake (Aaron qualifies as "awake", since his eyes are open) and we are heading for the stockings.

9am - Breakfast is in the oven and Ama and Poppy arrive to witness the opening of the presents. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Christmas card pictures

Reflecting on the year past

This is the letter I sent out to some of my family members and friends that live far away...
Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

Dear friends and family,
I am trying yet again to stay ahead of the “get ready for Christmas” game and I have to accept defeat once more. Only six more days until Christmas…sigh
Another year passed, it seems it was even shorter than the one before. It is time lost, moments that cannot be repeated, only reflected upon and hopefully enjoyed while they lasted, however brief.
As Kaitlyn wonders how Santa makes his reindeer fly, I reflect on the year past.
Zander has made HUGE progress! His airway issues have disappeared (thank you, God!) and he is eating like a champ. He still has trouble drinking, but we know he will get there in his own time. He still has his mic-key button, which helps us give him the water and occasional medicine he needs. Also, he has started to LOVE baths! After all we have been through with his health issues, him screaming through bath time REALLY did not help matters…however, now he simply loves his baths and his newest game is to get as much water OUTSIDE the tub as possible. In August he started school (in his class are 4 kids with special needs, and 4 typically developing kids) and is absolutely loving it. His teachers Katie and Val are amazing, and he is starting to interact with his fellow classmates. His birthday party was great: we had a small gathering of family and let Zander go to town with chocolate pudding; he had a blast! On his birthday he started crawling, which had us scrambling to baby-proof the house. He is unstoppable, especially when he can chase the cat, dog, or his favorite, his sissy!
Kaitlyn had a great 6-year sleepover/unicorn birthday party. She invited several friends for her unicorn party and three of them were able to sleep over. On March 30th she got her puppy, a German Shepherd/Black Lab mix we found online at a shelter. She named him Fudge. They are inseparable and he adores her! He is also great with Zander and a wonderful protector and watchdog – maybe a tad too much… Kaitlyn’s transition into 1st grade at her new school went very well. She likes her teacher and has made many new friends. She also joined the Daisy Girl Scouts (with me as her troop’s co-leader) and is loving it! She still takes things literally, which is so very much her age. Today, when Jim was trying to train her how to sell Girl Scout cookies, he started his speech by saying: “you will need to hit as many people as you can”. She thought about that for a moment and said: Daddy, I don’t know about the hitting people thing; I really don’t want to hit anybody”… She is developing a great sense of humor, and is a master in spelling (no more spelling words to get things by her anymore!). Soon I will start training her to play Scrabble with me.
Jim and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on October 31st, our first in our new home. We had many firsts in our new house and came full circle at Thanksgiving. Jim is still working as an official and liking it. I recently lost my job at the Symphony and am looking for something as we speak. God has a plan, even if we do not know yet what that may be, and I am confident He will guide us in the right direction.
I feel extremely blessed with my family and friends and wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed and Joyful New Year!
Oh, and before I forget: Girl Scout cookies, anyone?
Sylvia