Christmas Cookies in the Kitchen

Ever since we started to plan our new kitchen I have been looking forward to making Christmas Cookies. The kitchen did not disappoint!

5th for Bridget

My baby isn't much of a baby anymore and I don't know if I have come to terms with this. As each of the others hit a milestone there was always a younger one who had yet to reach it. But now I'm pushing 40 (well I'm 38) and not pregnant so the prospects of having another child who has these milestones in their future are slim. All of a sudden things are becoming the past and that is where they will stay. Jim and I have had so many people tell us to treasure these crazy times. For the most part I think that I am. I have those cranky moments when I wish they would just stop talking but I wouldn't trade this for the world. Bridget hit her newest milestone, her 5th birthday, and I am treasuring it.

Bridget is hard not to enjoy. She still has huge cheeks and a generous smile. Bridget is usually the first one up in the morning and either curls up on the sofa or crawls into one of our laps to snuggle. This year she started fixing her own breakfast and dressing herself and she keeps growing up. She has ventured into the world of friends who are not related to her and into the world of school, both of which she approached with cautious eagerness. Bridge has her opinions and instead of wearing dresses everyday she has switched to pants. She still likes dresses but complains about leggings and tights, so I am hopeful that she will make use of the cute dresses when the weather warms up again. Bridget is a talker, like her sisters, and Jim affectionately calls her Jabberjaws. Sometimes she tells us her opinions, sometimes stories, and sometimes just talks to be heard. She holds her place in our family quite well.


This year as her birthday approached, Bridget tracked the days and was beside herself to open her gifts. Each day she optimistically asked to open a gift, and then tried to negotiate to open just one. On the actual day she knew the routine and stayed in bed awaiting our appearance with a tray of bacon and pancakes and homemade cards. She didn't quite understand that we would be having a birthday party for her in January but she settled into just enjoying her day. Two days before her birthday, preschool had her birthday celebration and she helped make a pink crown,  so on her real birthday Bridge wore the crown and a smile that engulfed her whole body. She is a treasure and I am happy to hold these moments even if only as memories.

Gingerbread House

Christmas preparation is full swing around our house. We took advantage of some amazing warm weather and put the outside lights up right at the beginning of Advent. I was happy to not have numb fingers, which usually ends my fiddling with lights. This year I threw my hands up not because of the cold but because of a few strings of lights after trading out bulbs for way too long, and instead hung the sections that were out in less conspicuous locations. That same week we bought a gingerbread house kit.

Bridget was persistent in her requests to put the gingerbread house together but it took a few days before all of the girls were available to work on the house together. We mixed the icing and read the directions, only to realize that we would have to wait 2 hours to decorate the assembled house. I sent them to busy themselves and told them the fun part would start after we ate.

It took my four strong willed girls a long time to agree on any stage of the decoration, but they did divide up jobs and put plans into action. Megan and Bridget worked really well together flattening out gumdrops. Megan has amazing upper body strength and pounded them thinly after Bridget got the flattening started. Rachael and Emma worked together on the placement and candy layout of the house. Emma was the first one to get to use the icing bag, but then she had a Christmas party to go to so Rachael took over.

Rachael, Megan, and Bridget continued working on the house and finished as much as the drippy icing allowed but left Emma the chimney to add.  The icing needed to chill a little and firm up again so they saved the final touches till the next morning. Emma added a snowman to the yard and Bridget and Megan covered the rest of the yard in snow.

We have made gingerbread houses before and never had the heart to eat them, and then when we did it was stale. This year though we decided to enjoy looking at it for a few days and enjoy eating it. We decided that it would be fun to eat it while we decorated our Christmas tree. On Monday night Jim worked with the girls to sort the ornaments after school. They ohhed and ahhed and reminisced. And as with every year the youngest looked at her pile and had to wonder why it was so much smaller. But Bridget enjoyed the new trust we had in her to hang her own ornaments. Any downhearted feeling disappeared with a huge chunk of gingerbread house to savor. Rachael took out a knife and skillfully removed coveted pieces of candy and handed them out liberally. It took a few days but with the help of cousins they took the house down to the cardboard platform.

Dentist x 8

For some reason we had gotten off the dental hygiene wagon. It had been a year since any of us had gone for a cleaning. Part of me yelled "oh our poor teeth" and the other part yelled "hey we pay a lot of money for dental insurance we better get our monies worth". So I made appointments for the 4 girls and for myself.

Emma had an orthodontist appointment first. The orthodontist said they are making the final adjustments and wanted to know where our dentist wanted Emma's tiny fang tooth positioned, so if she decides in the future to get a crown it will be in the best place. The little fang tooth, as I call it, is a genetic anomaly where a tooth forms in a small conical shape instead of the normal rectangular prism shape. This stage means Emma is almost done with orthodontia. Yeah!

She went to the dentist first, got the info for the ortho follow-up, and had a filling done. We had put off this filling because of an apparatus she had that was in the way. Dr. Freedman discovered another 2 cavities so we'd have to come back again for those. This was the first time Emma needed Novocaine for a filling and had to deal with the needle. Her whole body tensed up in anticipation and then the shot didn't fully numb things so she needed another one. Emma was a great patient, and really made the most out of a 1/2 numb face giggling non-stop as I dropped her back at school.

Bridget and Megan went together. Megs went first and had a very easy visit. I thought this would help Bridget. Bridget looked forward to her exam but got really scared about sitting in the chair. She was afraid of its movements. I talked it over with the hygienist and she was on board with little or no adjusting. The dentist walked in and the first thing he did was push the pedal to move the chair. Bridge freaked out. The poor dentist thought Bridget didn't like being up so he pushed the pedal again to lower it. This caused Bridget more anxiety. I got her settled down and we all assured her they wouldn't move the chair again. They put on Christmas music and she settled into an easy cleaning. Neither had cavities, but hey were excited to leave with new toothbrushes.

Jim brought Rachael for the 4th trip to the dentist and she did well for her cleaning. She did have a cavity so we scheduled yet another appointment. Jim brought her in for the filling a week later. She didn't get Novocaine but she said it hurt. Jim was proud of how well she handled it.

Then I brought Emma back in for her other filling. Emma knew what to expect this time and she was calmer, although she did squeeze the life out of my hand. Then Jim brought her to the orthodontist for final tooth placement.

To round it out I had my cleaning this week. If you lost count, that was 8 dental visits in the past month. Hopefully when we go back in May it will be less involved.
 

GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!

We have been standing on the sidelines of Rachael's soccer practices and games since she was pre-school and it has been fun to watch her. We watched her when her t-shirt came down to her knees, and when she bacame known for her Packers sweatband. We watched her through hard seasons, and 2 championship wins. Rachael has gotten better each year and she has picked up new skills and a little confidence.
Racheal plays because she likes it. She likes being on a team and being active. The league she is in is a casual Rec program and it is just the right speed. There are girls on her team who are really skilled and I think Rae resigned herself to the idea that those were the girls who would score. Last year she asked to be in goal, partly I think to avoid the dissappoint of not scoring.

This year goalies were already determined when she joined the team, so she has mainly played mid field and forward. And last Saturday she played her best. She moved the ball, won the ball when challenged, and had good positioning on the field. In the second half with the score tied. Rachael put the skills together and put the ball in the corner of the net.

The sideline cheered. Rachael turned toward us with her mouth open. Complete amazement turned into a huge smile and a hop into the air. The parents, upon hearing that this was Rachael's first goal, did the wave. It was so great to see Rachael's individual triumph and to see the limitation that she had placed upon herself fall to the side. She didn't think it was possible and she was so surprised to prove herself more capable than she dared to believe. 

Just a Girl

On a recent Sunday morning Emma had a field hockey tournament. She had to be out of the house by 7:00 AM and there was going to be a celebration after the morning game with her team. Friends on the team offered to give her a ride, so aside from getting her out the door with lots of layers it was a normal Sunday morning. The rest of us got ready for Mass and kept our regular schedule. As we headed out the door I realized that Em didn't have her house key so we decided to leave the door unlocked. We weren't sure when she would get home but just in case I wanted her to be able to get in.

Emma played her game on the frost covered field and then they celebrated the season. The team celebration consisted of snacks by the field and player awards. Emma received the "Most Coach-able" award. It wasn't a long celebration so she got dropped off at the house before we got back from church. Em texted both Jim and I, but of course we didn't get the text because we were in Mass.  I never considered the need to tell her our morning schedule since it was our standard routine and I guess she never realized it was Sunday and we must be at Mass. By the time we did get home Em had been there for awhile. Emma avoided us and closed her door. She seemed irritated and anxious. I checked in on her and she had tears in her eyes. "I didn't know where you were", she said. She accepted my hug and I could feel her melt into it. 

Nothing bad had happened she just didn't know where we were. She didn't need us to be with her she just needed info to have our absence make sense. She didn't have the information that made her feel safe. She is a just a girl. A wonderful, sensitive, strong girl who needs us to feel safe.

No- Huddle

We had an insane schedule this weekend with 3 field hockey games, 1 soccer game, 1 dance class, 1 girl scout cookie booth sale, 2 friends visiting, children's liturgy to lead, 3 girls roller skating and my birthday to celebrate. On Saturday we had to figure out how to get multiple people to different places at the same time and we had a number of schedule items that were up in the air until the very last second. Because of the things that were not determined yet we had to adjust our plans over and over again. I kept trying to verbalize our new schedule when the circumstances changed and I would talk to Jim and we would call instructions to the girls as needed. But these audibles never got to all of the players with clarity. It was a mess.

The no-huddle offense was the only option this weekend and things did work out successfully, but for our sanity and for the sake of positive relationships I want to avoid it if at all possible. Our family needs to have a plan. Plans are nice and so is less yelling. We all know that we won't be able to stick to a game plan exactly, all of the time, but it at least it gives us a starting point.

Halloween Costumes 2011

We had another fun year dressing up for Halloween.

Bridget wanted to be Princess Tiana. This is what she was last year and I was happy to get the extra use out of it. She asked me to put her hair in a bun and do the curls like Tiana has.

Megan had so many ideas this year. Some of them I was afraid I couldn't make happen, but she settled on being a spider web, and was happy with how it turned out.

Rachael knew right away that she wanted to Kermit. This required the use of Emma's hat, which Em struggled to lend at first but then did without difficulty.

Emma wanted to be the red angry bird. I spent a few evenings working out the features and made adjustments with Emma's input. We used a long red cape, that Great Aunt Mickey had made, as the base of the costume and just pinned everything on. She got complements at school for it but a friend of hers who made her own yellow angry bird costumes kept getting compared negatively vs. Emma's costume. I was proud Emma defended her friend by saying something to the effect of  "I didn't make mine my mom did, but she made her own and it turned out great."

We had amazing weather for Trick or Treating and spent a fun evening with friends.

The Sound of Scary

As Halloween appraoched the girls picked their costumes, and we decorated the house with spider webs and pre-school pumpkin creations that we have collected over the years. Bridget brought her own creations home from pre-school to add to our decor. Bridge was excited to show us her version of the time tested pre-k projects. Bridget also learned songs to prepare for their Halloween program but these caused a mixed reaction. Some songs she hummed and grinned about. I asked her about the songs and she told me it was a surprise. Then there was the Spooky Walk. Bridget was frightened just talking about it and cried that she didn't want to go to school anymore. I let the teachers know about her fears.

On Halloween I brought Bridget, in her Princess Tiana dress, to school and waited with the parents for the program to begin. Bridget and all of her classmates paraded around and sang cute songs. Then they got in a circle and Bridget declared "I'm going to sit in the chairs and plug my ears". Then she walked with her fingers in her ears and sat in the back row of chairs with the parents. The teachers must have discussed this plan with her if she got too scared, because they did not seem surprised. The class started the spooky walk, which is a Halloween version of "we are going on a bear hunt" full of spooky sounds. As the story on the record player started Bridget got up again and with her fingers in her ears went to the back wall of the room and ducked under a table. There she sat with her fingers in her ears blocking out the sounds of creaking floors and cackling witches and everything else around her. When it was over she rejoined the class and happily finished the program.

She is relieved that they are done with the Spooky Walk and I am proud she found a way to keep herself safe from the fear.

A good teacher

Last week I got an email from Megan's teacher informing us that their 2nd grade class would be camping. I forwarded the info to Jim with the comment. "This is why I love her teacher." Our kids teachers seem more and more stuck with what they "have to do" and they don't get the chance to use their creativity to inspire the kids they teach. But somehow this one teacher makes the time and rearranges her lesson plans to fit engaging activities into the year.

Megan's reading class finished a book about Henry and Mudge's camping trip, so her teacher ended the unit with a camping trip in her classroom. She sent out a request to parents for a tent, smores and a guitar playing visitor. I offered our huge tent and she excitedly accepted. This morning Rae, Meg and I dragged our tent into school and Rachael helped me carry it up the stairs and into Megan's classroom. We unpacked it with Meg's teachers help. It took up every available inch of floor space. I got anxious when we discovered that one of my tent poles was missing, but I called my scout co-leader, Betsy, who I camped with last and asked her to check her tent. Amazingly Betsy was willing to drive to school in her robe and brought me the poles she had.

Meg's teacher was flexible and was able to direct the arriving kids with backpacks around the cramped room while I finished setting up the improvised tent. It was a little hectic and in the chaos it was obvious that a few of the kids were not the teacher's favorites. It reminded me that even good teachers aren't perfect.  But things moved smoothly and the class of 26 had a blast relating this event to the story they finished, singing songs and eating smores in the tent.

The camping trip wasn't strictly educational but it was a worthwhile experience. It was fun and it made the kids glad to be in school. Meg's teacher fosters their desire to learn and to me that makes a good teacher. Megan is comfortable but challenged.

Worship Space

This summer our church has been under going renovations. I have never really liked the aesthetic of our main church with it's burnt orange cushions and lack luster color scheme, so I was looking forward to the new space. The change wasn't brought about because of aesthetics though. Our archdiocese is taking a look at all of the Mass schedules and availability of priests and our parish is preparing. Our parish is discontinuing the use of our chapel for Sunday worship and is making space in our main church for more people.

Throughout the summer we went to Mass in the gym; it was surprisingly not a bad space in which to worship. Everything felt different though. I missed the familiar-ness of the church. No pews- do you kneel or not? Different faces - do you feel out of place or comfortable? Music ministry - no folk group, only an organist who can't sing. I was impressed that Emma's reaction to this was to sing louder and "help out". I couldn't help but feel I was getting a peak at the future.

Recently Emma participated in the enrollment of Confirmation candidates in the gym during Mass. It was wonderful to see so many young people in Mass and our pastor noted that this is what our parish should look like each week. Even in the unfamiliar setting, I reacted on an emotional level. It felt good. The Body of Christ felt alive. Beside me I saw Rachael with tears in her eyes, she had to share her excitement and hugged Emma when she returned to our row of folding chairs. It wasn't the worship space that mattered it was the huge group of people assembled for Christ.

Last weekend when I woke the girls up for Mass, Megan asked if we could go to the chapel instead. We did and I was touched to realize that it was the last Sunday for Mass in the chapel. The chapel regulars looked a bit forlorn and our pastor spoke on the transitions that were taking place. This was our wake up call he said and asked us to pray fervently for vocations and also to directly encourage men to consider the priesthood. Some of these chapel goers have been attending Mass in the chapel for decades.  I look forward to worshiping with them.

Our first Mass in the new space went well. The girls walked in open-mouthed. Bridget ran her hands over the refurbished pews. It feels huge and smells of paint and new carpet. I like a lot of it, especially the new crucifix suspended over the altar and dislike other parts. It is unfamiliar but it was full of the Body of Christ and we worshiped together and received our Lord.

New York City

Scouts organizes a trip to New York City every fall and this year we decided to go as a family, minus Bridget, who we didn't think was ready for the fast paced trip. We were getting ready to go and were talking over plans at a meal the day before and poor Bridget broke in sadly saying "I'm not going." Then Aunt Becky called and asked Bridget if she wanted to stay for a sleep over. Bridget perked up and was now looking forward to an adventure of her own.

We dropped Bridget off then joined the bus. It was an uneventful drive and we stayed busy watching movies. As we approached New York City the driver let us know when to look for the Statue of Liberty. Rachael and Megan were excited and pulled out their cameras. We watched the skyline grow. It is an impressive city. Our first stop was the Brooklyn Bridge Park. I tried to get them to read the historical markers about the Revolutionary war but they weren't very interested. Sigh...We walked along the park to get a view of the bridges and another view of Lady Liberty. Then the whole group started the walk over the Brooklyn Bridge. We noticed lots of people speaking different languages and in different accents, and then all of the locals living a midst the tourists. Rachael looked flushed and was moving slowly. She was coming down with something.

Megan was a little afraid of the bridge but we enjoyed taking in the sights and sounds. Jim was Megan's buddy for the trip and kept close to her. Emma, although fun size, is big enough to spot and responsible to stick with us. She was loving the energy of the city. Rachael, my buddy, was a trooper, she said her head ached when she moved and she really just wanted to sit down, but she hung in there and got over the bridge. Then we headed down to the subway tunnels.

We all enjoyed the new experiences in a big city and had fun people watching. We emerged from the Subway at Little Italy and China town for lunch. There was a huge street festival in Little Italy for San Gerardo and we ate lunch then walked the festival. We did a little shopping and found some souvenirs. Emma saw a street vendor selling beads and put together a beautiful bracelet.  We joined the GS bus again and then headed to mid town. We had 4 options of drop off locations. Rachael really wanted to see Ground Zero but that was outside the area. She kept mentioning that what she really wanted was to see the 9/11 memorial. None of us had been to Times Square so we decided that was where we would go.

It was a an overcast but moderate temperature day and it was perfect walking weather. We walked around, and checked out the mega size stores. The Toys R Us had a Ferris wheel in it, huge lego creations of NYC buildings, and a child size Barbie house. Jim Rae and Meg went to the Disney store, while Emma and I went into the 4 story Forever 21 store. NYC is definitely a shopping destination. Then we made the trek back to Rockefeller Center to meet the bus. Rachael and Megan both had fevers by the time we got back and we sat on the sidewalk while Jim and Em got us drinks to go with our pizza on the bus ride home. I gave them medicine and they felt better pretty quickly.

As we were heading out they asked the driver to take us past Ground Zero so we got the opportunity Rachael was hoping for. She tried to get some pictures but the photos from inside the moving bus weren't easy and she didn't really get anything good. But we were close. We drove out to an amazing sunset back drop, which lit the city and the Statue of Liberty in splendor.

The next morning we were still tired from all of the walking we had done but we were up early eager to pick up Bridget. We all really missed her. It was strange doing a family outing without her. But Bridget had a fabulous time with her friend Sarah and she was thrilled to receive souvenirs and swap stories of our adventures.

On the field

Our sports season was a bit washed out at the beginning and got off to a slow start. This summer though, Emma was able to attend Pick Up Sticks, which is a league wide opportunity for the field hockey girls to get back into playing form before evaluations. Emma was very encouraged by positive feedback that she got from coaches and she did well at evaluations. All girls are placed on teams and this league does evaluations in order to create evenly skilled teams.A number of my friends coach the younger division and I was so proud when they passed on how impressed they were with Emma and said that she was sought after by the coaches. I think Emma was a little surprised when I shared this with her. She has a great set of coaches leading her team this year and she was excited to play, but then August hit and out of 6 practices I think 5 were rained out. It wasn't until Labor Day weekend when she got on the field with her team.

Rachael also had a slow start to soccer this season. They were set to start practice in August but practices were rained out. Then the first game was rained out. She was able to get to a relatively dry practice and they handed out the uniforms. Their team has the pink uniforms, which Rachael wasn't thrilled about, and then the team voted on a name. Pink Power won and Rachael learned the lesson that if you don't put any ideas of your own forward then you can get stuck with someone else's idea whether you like it or not. Her disappointment was short lived because the action finally started.

Rae played her 1st game and because a number of the girls like being goalie Rachael was out on the field this game. She plays half-back and forward and played very well. It was great to see her out there enjoying herself and being active. Pink Power won amid a light drizzle and Rachael looks forward to her next game.

Emma also had a game this past weekend. The first game was cut short due to lightning so this was her first full game. She played forward the 1st half and moved the ball well. I am so impressed with the athlete she has become. when the 2nd half started I searched the field to see where Emma was playing but I couldn't find her. Then Jim realized that she was covered head to toe in pads and was on her way into the goal. Her team had a  substantial lead and Emma didn't really see any action in goal, but I guess that is better than the alternative. She likes the position and will probably do it again.

 It was a great start to the season.

And They're Off... To School

The 2011-2012 school year started like no other. Before the girls even got into thier classrooms we had used 2 "snow days" thanks to Hurrican Irene. That same week I got a confirmation email about our trip to Florida which is to start right after the school year ends. It is the first time I have ever worried about running out of snow days in August. We had packed the backpacks a week ahead of time because we took a late beach vacation and we were going start the year a bit rushed. But Irene brought us home early. Everyone of the girls was excited to go back to school, they were all eager to see their friends and get back into the routine. Megan had been more calm about the start until she went to a mani/pedi party the day before class was to start. She saw her friends and the excitment kicked in. She was ready and looking forward to it.

During the summer we had been staying up late and getting up late so I was worried about our school mornings. The widespread power outages gave us an extra day to ease back to earlier schedules. Em was happy to not be up at 6:30 on Monday, but then they canceled school again on Tuesday. Emma was dissappointed "I just want to get started." she said. Rachael is usually anxious about big changes but even she was able to sleep the night before. By Wednesday the novelty of the 1st day of school had worn off and they were excited but not in the same giddy nervous way. The morning went well. Em was ready and had plenty of time for pictures before she caught the bus. Rachael and Megan were also ready with plenty of time. Rae had been holding onto her new Nacho Hippo t-shirt and was happy to wear it on the first day but then she had to put on her shoes. Whatever anxiety she was holding onto came out as she cried about her socks, took them off, put them on, and tried 3 other pairs. She stayed in our front yard, right until the bus came rumbling up our street, but because we had the time she was again composed and ready for the day. A big plus this year is that they moved the bus stop to our street. I can see the bus stop from the front door and we won't have any doubt if it has come by or not.

Back at home Bridget moped around and cried when I dropped her off at Becky's house. It is hard to be left behind and especially this year because her best bud Sarah was also off to kindergarten. Bridget was looking forward to going to pre-school but she had 2 more weeks to wait. That first week she had a seires of accidents and was sad. Then ballet class started, we went to the library story time, and counted down to Pre-school. Bridget adjusted, the accidents stopped, and then yesterday it was her turn.

I brought her to the 1st day of pre-school. She stood in line with the other kids and parents until they rang the bell. She was quiet and watchful but also eager. She found her name and put her snack bag in it's place without any problems. She was comfortable when I left withthe parents for our paperwork meeting. It was only an hour but she loved it and is looking forward to Friday.

I am hopeful for this big year. Emma is in 8th grade and has 2-3 hours of homework each night. It will be a rigorous year but also full of social and fun activities. Rachael is also big kid on campus as a 5th grader in her school and she loving the mental challenge. Megan has been positive about her schoolwork and classmates. She is getting used to regular homework. She flies through math without help and works hard on her reading. We are starting to settle into our routines.

All four of them are learning and growing and I am so proud of the students that they are.

Emma's entrance to the Teen Years

Everyone says the teenage years are hard but if my first few days parenting a teenager are a hint of whats to come they may be wrong. With the return from vacation and Hurricane Irene, and the start of the school year, we planned Emma's party with very short notice. She just wanted to go to the mall with friends and then come home for cake. Her only request of me was to be flexible on when we left the mall. It was easy, inexpensive and she had a blast, plus the whole family got to be involved for at least the last part.

I was relieved that even with the short notice her 4 best girlfriends were all able to come. I drove them to the mall where they shopped together and they had that amazing ability of teenage girls to walk all bunched up, bumping into each other and giggling as they went. When we came back to the house, Rae, Meg and Bridge were all eager to join the fun. We shared cake, red velvet this year, gifts, and then played games. Ems friends were all great at including the little sisters and we all played Charades until parents arrived.

Then on Labor Day we had my whole family over for a cookout.  I noticed that as soon as the youngest cousin arrived, Emma scooped up 7 month old John and kept him occupied immediately. The adults sat outside picking steamed crabs and the cousins spread out through the house and yard. Emma kept the littlest happy, played with the other cousins and talked with the adults. She is so comfortable and competent. We all gathered around for birthday cake. We sang to her along with the other family with August and September birthdays. The celebration wasn't all about Emma but it was all about family, and I am so proud to see how she belongs.

That night she picked Applebee's for dinner. She picked it just for nostalgia sake from when she was little and always wanted to eat there. That night after she opened presents, we gathered to do bedtime prayers. I always end with a song so I said I would do Emma's favorites from when she was little. We sang "Gentle Woman" which Emma used to request regularly and then "Don't you Cry" from the Disney Tarzan sound track. I used to sing that to her  in her bedroom in our 1st townhouse before she could even talk and it really has been years since I've sung it. The song was a frequent request when she was a toddler and helped her calm down, so long ago. This time though it made her tear up and we were both surprised we remembered the words.

Her actual birthday was a school day, but we still all woke up crazy early to bring her breakfast in bed and sing. She wore a new shirt she had gotten for her birthday and then right before she headed out for the bus, she ran downstairs, dug through the dress up box and came up wearing a crown. She was special and the whole school would know it. She had a great day at school and continued to wear the crown to the first day of religious ed classes.

That night after our crazy Tuesday schedule I came home to find her working with Jim to set up her Facebook Profile. She was excited and was very willing to keep restrictions on her profile that we required. She didn't even argue about Jim's requirement for any boys that want to friend her, have to friend him first. She went to bed happy. It was a great start to a new year of life.

These past few days including the first ones of the teen years, have been full of hugs. Em has given me lots of extra hugs lately. And not just a hug but the holding on, resting your face on the shoulder, whole attention, "I love you so much" kind of hug. I am soaking it up and dishing it back out.
I love you, Emma!

Prayer for Emma's 13th Birthday

14 years ago, I was 23 and working as a restaurant manager, when I found out I was pregnant. Jim and I use NFP and my charts had been very erratic but they did not show a normal pregnancy pattern. Our baby had lodged in my Fallopian tube and could not grow. All at once I was sad but also filled with joy that we had a child even though I knew our child died. Jim and I both knew through our loss that we really wanted to be a part of creation. We conceived again a few months later, but this baby miscarried and we lost our second child. It was our 2nd child that I credit with making Emma survive. We found out that I had low progesterone and because Emma was conceived when my levels were still slightly elevated, I had time to start taking a supplement. Jim and I were both so afraid and hopeful. We prayed for her constantly and wanted so badly for her to grow. She did and my life has never been the same.

We are still praying for Emma and as I was reading the daily readings this week St. Paul's letter reflected my prayers for her.  

Col 1:9-12

From the day we heard about you, we do not cease praying for you
and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God's will
through all spiritual wisdom and understanding
to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,
so as to be fully pleasing, in every good work bearing fruit
and growing in the knowledge of God,
strengthened with every power, in accord with his glorious might,
for all endurance and patience,
with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share
in the inheritance of the holy ones in light.

I pray that God continues to work in Emma's life as she enters her teenage years.

Leaving the Beach ahead of Irene

Our Myrtle Beach vacation was cut a little short by Hurricane Irene. As soon as we got to SC all of the news stations were abuzz with Irene forecasts, so we paid attention. She was a few days off and we were able to spend 2 long days on the beach, riding waves and building sand fortresses and 1 day at the resort pools. By Thursday though the Coast Guard had posted advisories that the beaches were unsafe due to rip currents. We decided we would leave the beach early but still discussed when the best time would be.

We made the most of our time out of the water. We had seen ads for a restaurant called Nacho Hippo so we went there for dinner and Rachael took a number of pictures and found the perfect souvenir, a Nacho Hippo t-shirt. We did some other shopping and played mini golf at the resort. Our last afternoon was spent at Broadway at the Beach, where Em and Rae did ropes course, and Meg and Bridge rode carnival rides. that evening we went to Medieval Times for the show and dinner. We were given the yellow knight to cheer for and received yellow crowns. The girls really enjoyed the atmosphere. Bridget was wide-eyed at the horses and especially the princess. I got a kick out of Bridget drinking her soup out of her bowl and watching Megan rip pieces of her baby dragon (chicken) with her fingers. Our knight was quite good at the games and won the honor of handing out flowers to the young maidens in our section. Emma grinned when he tossed her a flower. It was a great family outing and a wonderful way to end our vacation.

We had hoped to be able to get in a round of mini golf at one of the huge themed courses on Friday morning before we headed out but it was already raining. We loaded the van made lunches and joined the traffic heading away from the beaches. We ran into some heavy rains and heavy but moving traffic but all in all the drive wasn't horrible. We got home safely at 10:00 PM, unpacked and went to bed. Irene came through Saturday evening which left us enough time to put away all of our outside items and then wait.

Forgetting to Reapply

 
The reason to go to the ocean on vacation is of course the beach. We got to our beach villa, thanks to Jim's parent's timeshare, in time to unpack before dinner. Em and Rae desperately wanted to get their toes on the sand and the water, so we headed to the boardwalk. Megan and Bridget were focused on eating and then just enjoyed taking it all in.

We parked on Ocean Blvd. right next to a huge Ferris wheel, we had dinner at a little pizza place. Jim teased the girls that since it was the end of the summer the beach might be sold out of shells. The warm, salty ocean breeze blew our hair in our face as we walked over the dunes to the beach. It was low tide so the beach displayed a huge ribbon of shells, which put to rest any glimmer of fear that the teasing was true.

 The next morning we gathered our beach gear and lathered the family in sunscreen. At the beach the big girls grabbed the boogie boards and went for the waves. Megs and Bridge also ran right to the shallow water. No one was afraid but they each had respect for the ocean. Bridget loved holding our hands in the shallow water and let the ocean bury her feet. Megan's initial attempt in the water wound up with a bloody knee from getting knocked down on the shells and rocks where the waves break, but she was thrilled when we brought her to the smooth sand on the other side of the break. Jim and I each took turns out in the ocean floating over the waves with them. Jim brought out the yellow and blue raft and he towed each girl in turn over the waves.

We ate our lunch and played in the sand. The girls all enjoyed digging holes and making trenches, before heading back out for more time in the waves. Bridget asked me how many days we had and was content to hear a number bigger than her age. Our little sage said " This is a good day." Some large dark clouds loomed on the horizon, so we packed up, rinsed off and headed back. Under the lights of the villa cheeks got redder and bathing suit straps became defined. Our well sun-screened skin of the morning was not so protected by the afternoon after waves and hours went by. I had brought spray sunscreen with the intention of reapplication, but I forgot. Gladly it is mostly Jim and I who are still red. The girls spots of redness have already faded to pink.

Crash in the Rear View Mirror

As we made our way south on 95 to Myrtle Beach, traffic moved smoothly. I was driving the second shift, Jim was napping next to me, and I could see that Bridget had nodded off. The Chronicles of Narnia audio disc was playing. In my rear view mirror all of sudden I saw a car veer drastically to the right. Then we heard a huge impact. I checked my side mirror to see a cloud of dust and smoke surround a car and a tree. The sound woke Jim up and the 3 big girls were all startled and asked what happened.

I saw a number of cars pull over immediately and so I decided to continue on. Jim lead us in a prayer for those in the car. I felt so torn, I really wanted to stop to see if we could help, but I didn't want the kids to see. We stopped shortly for lunch and there were many women discussing the accident in line for the bathroom. The girls listened keenly as did I. I made sure to find out if emergency vehicles had arrived and I was relieved they had. The crash had me reeling but I didn't want the girls to feel that same thing.

 I want them to know that we should help when the instance arises. I want them to care for the people but I realized that I don't really want them to know their sufferings. I want to protect them from the knowledge of it. They will realize the suffering in our world and I can't prevent it. It is happening little by little. I pray that the crash in my rear view mirror doesn't teach them to drive past, but I do hope driving past keeps them  innocent a little longer.
Please say a prayer for the occupants of the car and their family.

Grandfathers' Grandfathers

I have seen some of my family tree and read with interest the dates of birth and death and marriage. I have been dreaming about recording some of the more personal information about my ancestors. What were their lives like? What type of people were they? These questions were also on the minds of my relatives in Green Bay and they had begun to find some answers.

We drove out to Green Bay to visit my Grampa and we were invited to go on a Heritage Tour by my Uncle Don. My Aunt Sue and Uncle Don had been researching our family tree for the past few years and generously put together binders full of information they had discovered. There were easily hundreds of hours spent documenting this research and then copying it. My brother Will and his family were also visiting GB and my parents were going to be there the week later. We were to be the first beneficiaries. Will, myself and Emma got the first tour. Uncle Don picked us up at our hotel and drove us to the place were the first Jauquet in America made his home. Pierre Jauquet immigrated to the US from Belgium in 1856. According to the Belgium records he left with his wife and 4 children. In their research they found the deed for the purchase of 40 acres in Namur, WI in 1860. We drove out to the site and saw the house that Pierre Jauquet built. Research provided important detail, but walking the land and climbing the worn steps provided a more visceral experience. My Great, Great, Great Grandfather cleared these acres, cut these logs and placed them to provide shelter for his family and 3 generations to follow. He worked this land to feed his family and make a living. He came from poverty, but sacrificed, became a land owner and through hard work set the foundation for his Great Grandson, my Grampa. Jauquets still own and farm the land and the owner opened the house for us. They lived in it up until 50 years ago but the sturdy hand hewn logs are still in good condition.

Our tour then took us through 3 generations on both my Grampa's and Grandma's sides. We visited the homes they built, churches they attended, and their places of burial. My grandmothers family donated the land for their church and graveyard. And my grandfather's grandfather donated an amazing stained glass window for their church. They were obvious people of faith and fortitude. After coming to the US with very little, I could see their pride in the homes they built and lived, with circular windows and decorative brick. They worked hard and I got the sense that they didn't take the good fruit of their labor for granted. I feel blessed to have received these gifts: the binder of info and pictures, the tour and stories, but mostly I feel blessed to know I am fruit of my grandfather's grandfathers.

Road Trip different but the same

We just returned from our road trip to Green Bay and I noticed a number of changes from years past. I love the memories of the road trips that I took as a child packed into a hot station wagon with my family of seven. I am hoping that our girls will cherish their road trip memories as well. There are some major differences between then and now.

• Gas is @$3.75/ gallon instead of $.90
• AC on the whole trip- not an option for most of the station wagons and even then there were no vents in the back.
• Music CD's burned with our favorite songs - radio if we could find a station or acapella 
• DVD player - only daydreams

But still many parts of the road trip haven't changed

• Enjoying the hills and valleys and even spotting a little white church in a valley in PA
• Thrilling over the siting of a rainbow and watching the full arch and even seeing a faint double
• Making sandwiches on the side of the road for lunch and losing a few grapes between the seats
• Calling out state license plates
• the question "Can you hold it?" and bathroom breaks
• Watching the sunset out the back window
• Pulling into a hotel in the dark tired and cranky
• Sleeping bags and negotiations for the beds
• reviewing who we would see and how we were related
• Snacks, crayons, workbooks, and novels
• Marveling at the silhouette of silos and barns against the sky

It is those things that make the road trip timeless. Our road trip went very smoothly and I was impressed at how efficient our stops were. When we watched movies they were chosen in age order and Jim reminded the girls that if anyone complained about someone else's choice we would skip their turn. We listened to the Chronicles of Narnia on audio Disc and that helped pass the time quickly for all of us except for Bridget. She was just too little to follow along and it was hard for her to be quiet for so long. Emma and Rachael set up in the back seat and kept themselves busy making friendship bracelets, reading books, and soaking in the landscape. Meg and Bridget were in the middle row and did well maintaining their things and using lap desks for their coloring and writing. We set up a system of plastic cups that we filled with snacks and were passed to each row.  We were all so excited when we arrived in Green Bay and then so relieved to arrive back home.

Angels in Camp Dust

This year we sent the 3 oldest girls to Girl Scout camp in a red VW bug. In previous years our amazing neighbor had volunteered at the camp and drove our girls to and from every day.  Those neighbors moved away, so this year I expected to be the camp taxi. Then a college aged friend, Sarah, who volunteers at the camp called me and asked if the girls wanted to ride with her and hey did I want her to turn in our paperwork. Uhhh really??  Yes!  Each year I have stood in line for 3-4 hours in order to sign the girls up for camp. She was like an angel, skipping line and getting out of taxi service. It was like heaven.

Our girls were excited to go to camp with one of the counselors and to get there in a punch bug. This is the first year the 3 of them have gone together (Rae didn't go last year) and the first year that Emma has gone as a Program Aid (PA). The camp encourages them to pick a camp name.
Emma was Narwhal,
Rachael was Captain Obvious,
(She labeled all of her stuff with sayings like "This is a lunch box" etc.)
and Megan was Hungry.
Sarah their ride was Pepto.
They all knew the routine; including the daily sunscreen and bug spray application. Each morning they threw their gear in the back and piled in Sarah's bug. Then each afternoon Sarah dropped them off and they dragged themselves inside to cool off from the 95+ degrees temps and crazy humidity, full of camp songs, craft projects and a cloud of dust.

Each day has a different theme and they adjust their t-shirt appropriately.. One day is their groups color, another patriotic colors and one day is dress as your camp name. The night before we used the computer to print a Captain Obvious logo that said "This is a logo" and Food items for Hungry. Emma turned striped wrapping paper into a horn and attached it to a headband. On Friday they each made a bag of small swaps, which is a trading item on a pin. Emma made blue clothespin narwhals, Rachael made "this is a Swap" swaps, and Megan made burgers that had a bite out of them. They came home that afternoon with many swaps from the other campers and dragged home all of the gear. I felt like I was watching Pigpen as a visible cloud of dust hovered around them. We washed the dust off of them but the camp memories will linger a lot longer.

Breaking in the Kitchen

Our kitchen renovation has been complete for a number of weeks now and we are breaking it in. The kitchen feels huge when I am working in it. I love that most of us can be in the kitchen and all be doing things without the waiting and bumping that used to happen. We still have to wait for a turn in the refrigerator or silverware drawer but when it is our turn, there is actual space to move to to get out of the way for the next person.

Everything felt very foreign at first. I would go for something and realize that it was no longer in that spot. I wasn't sure what counter to put things on or where we wanted to keep certain items. We spent the first weeks rearranging. One day Jim and I both opened the cabinet under the kitchen sink to throw something away, only to realize that the trash cans have their own cabinet in the peninsula. The funny thing is that we never used to keep our trash can under the sink. We will continue to shift things a few things around and hopefully find a resolution for the calender that lays on the counter.

Most things have now found their proper homes and I have mapped new muscle memory for the routine tasks. I am appreciating the new space daily. I appreciate being able to run the dishwasher without having to roll it and hook it up to the sink. I appreciate having enough counter space to make 10 sandwiches at the same time. I appreciate the color palate that I sent so much time trying to get right. But mostly I love being able to fit us all in. The new kitchen didn't undo our old habits and our brand new granite counter top is regularly covered with our life. The extra deep sink doesn't do the dishes but it does hide a whole meals worth of dishes below the line of sight. I am grateful the shiny new surfaces are easier to get back to clean. The kitchen still feels and looks new but we are breaking it in as only a family of 6 can.

Epic Ending

With the last Harry Potter movie release, came excitement and a little sadness. Jim read each of the 7 Harry Potter books as bedtime stories to Emma and Rachael. They must have been 9 and 7 years old when we started and even with heavy little eyelids they would beg for one more chapter. Before we knew it we had finished the 7th and final book. The books are so well written, that it is really hard to let go of the characters who we have been following for the past five years.

We have been so eager to see these stories portrayed on the big screen, that we have made an event of it and have gone on the opening day. We were definitely not going to miss the opening of the last movie in the series. Bridget and Megan went over to my parents house and the big girls, Jim and I plus friends headed to a historic Baltimore theater. We didn't want to miss this so our friend picked up our tickets a few days ahead of time and saved great seats. There was a huge line to get in when we arrived and tickets were already sold out. It was a great crowd full of anticipation. The girls all wore Hogwarts cloaks and lightning bolt stickers.  Just before Rachael actualy did burst with excitement the curtains opened and the cheers went up.

We were not disappointed. The movie was wonderful, epic, touching, and in the end satisfying. Rachael and Emma agreed; neither wanted it to be over.