Christmas 2015

The most notable thing about Christmas this year was the weather. It was weirdly warm, springtime warm. Humid air, temps in the 60's and 70's, trees budding, daffodils coming up. Just weird for Christmas. The weather did make all of the running around so much easier, and the outside decorating. It is much faster getting out of the house when no one needs hats, coats or gloves. I made a point this year to look at the calendar and schedule in the decorating, tree trimming and cookie baking so it wasn't all crammed into the last 2 weeks. It worked out really well, and we were able to enjoy the preparation for Christmas. Our advent wreath and calendar got excited attention especially from Johanna. It was also a lot of fun to share our collection with Christmas books with Johanna who was really able to appreciate the stories this year. And each evening of Advent we sang "O Come O come Emmanuel". Hanna had it down by the end of the season.

Our annual cookie baking was a lot of fun. The girls were helpful and we had a plan to knock out the 40+ dozen cookies. Johanna was able to bake with us and the sisters helped balance the line of baking fun and mess making. The sugar cookie decorating is always their favorite part and they turned out beautifully again. Jim added Star Wars cookies to the variety and then helped Johanna add color to her tray of cookies. Our Advent also included a couple of viewings of Star Wars the Force Awakens.

 We got the house ready for hosting the day before Christmas eve, so the morning of our family Christmas Eve celebration we were able to slide right into celebration. We lined the cousins up for the annual picture, the big kids set such a great example for the littles that it went smoothly and quickly. They are taking up way more space then they used too. The table was over flowing with good food. Jim made a beautiful deli meat tray and we filled the crockpot with meatballs. There was plenty of food and treats as well. We were waiting for my parents to arrive to eat, and finally my dad arrived a bit flustered. My mom had gotten all ready and gotten to the door but decided at the last minute that she wasn't up to it. We would see her on Christmas Day instead. We said grace and the adults and little kids went through the line first and then the teenagers came up form the basement and made a huge dent in the food.

The younger kids did their gift exchange and it was fun to see the kids get excited to give a gift. New this year we added a teenager yankee gift exchange, where they randomly pick and open gifts or steal someone else's already opened gift, that took place at the same time as the little kids gift exchange. They had fun together. Then the adults sat down for our yankee gift exchange. It was a great afternoon. Emma described this as her favorite 24 hours, noon on Christmas Eve through noon on Christmas Day, the best of food, family, Mass, celebration, and presents.

We made it to church with the Gaithersburg Jauquets in time to get a whole pew for our crew and we celebrated Mass with beautiful music and moods. After Mass we relaxed into our immediate family comfort and after some food we gathered in front of the tree to open the Colorado gifts and ornaments. The girls were so pleasant and Johanna took turns very nicely. It was just a lovely evening with happy children.

In the morning the kids all gathered in our bedroom and we played the alphabet game and sang "Joy to the World" before going in to open presents. They always have something unwrapped so they start in on that first, then we take turns unwrapping gifts. Including the sister gift exchange. This year Hanna gave Emma the sister photo pillow. Emma gave Megan water color pencils and a coloring book. Megan gave Hanna Anna and Christoff Barbies and she sewed a pillow with Maria (from the Book of Life) sewn on it. Rachael made and hand painted a day of the dead necklace for Bridget, and Bridget made Rachael a Doctor Who tee shirt with a stencil and bleach, plus a tardis ornament. It was fun to see them put the time and love into their gifts for each other.

We shared breakfast of egg and potato casserole, cinnamon rolls and pineapple.  It down-poured most of the day but still didn't drop below the 60's. We lounged around till afternoon and watched the movie Ant Man together, before heading to Joe and Magaly's for Christmas dinner with the family. I love the Christmas season and feel so blessed to be able to celebrate it the way we do.

Bridget turned Nine!

Bridget Rose has snuck yet another year under her belt. I know I am looking but it somehow seems I blink and she is older. Bridget is an amazing peaceful child who knows how to be happy right where she is. I know in our loud, intense household she flies under the radar sometimes, but she does assert herself and she lets us know if she feels overlooked. She is an amazing balance of not needing the spotlight and shining all at the same time.

Third grade has meant new teachers to get used to (both her teachers are kind and competent), and independence on the bus. Most mornings Bridget crashes through her bedroom door at 7:30AM, doorknobs are tricky you know. And she walks with heavy feet till she comes to sit on the sofa. I think she wakes up there and after a few minutes transitions to her morning routine. Bridget gets her breakfast and makes lunch and gets dressed with almost no direction. She is a gift. sometimes she runs back in from the bus stop for her glasses but never misses the bus. She has been getting reading assistance at school and we have been working in "Team" to make sure she come up to reading at grade level. Her whole grade just got devices and I am hoping this will allow her to listen to some things, so she doesn't fall behind, and she can work ahead in areas that are easy for her. The specialist who is working with her, raved about how motivated and sweet she is.

Bridget is enjoying ballet/tap class and her brownie troop. Most commonly you will find Bridget laying on her stomach playing with toys on her floor. Or listening to an audio book from her nook. Bridget is a gifted snuggler and is always happy to spend time one on one. Get her going and Bridget will tell you detailed ideas and stories. Bridget has been regularly saying that she would like to be an art teacher when she grows up. She is creative and wonderful.

We celebrated her birth with pancakes for breakfast, and after school we went to Olive Garden for dinner. We brought desert home and after she opened her gifts we all grabbed spoons to share the treat. Bridget is such a breath of lightness and sweetness. We have been gifted by her life and I hope she knows how treasured she is even if I blink too often.

Inside Out with Johanna

This year Johanna had to wait a few weeks for her birthday party. We held it the weekend after Thanksgiving. Magaly was hosting for her 4 children with Nov/Dec birthdays and we added Johanna in the celebration. She approached me about themes for the party and Johanna said she wanted a "Sadness" party. Magaly was thrilled because Sophia had asked for an Inside Out party. It's a Disney Pixar movie, about the emotions in the head of a 12 year old girl. The movie has 5 emotions as main characters: Sadness (Johanna), Disgust (Sophia), Anger (Martin), Victor (Fear) and Joy (Claudia). It was a perfect fit. 5 birthdays and 5 characters. Hanna had expressed interest in the character when we had gotten a book from the library and discovered that Sadness was her favorite color blue.

Magaly is a master party thrower and puts a lot of effort into building the theme into every aspect of the party. The movie has many parts that are about memories (visualized as round colored spheres that match the characters main color) and Magaly incorporated them as well.  Johanna loved it. We made and brought a string of pennant with all of the characters on it and added it to her people sized posters and crepe paper streamers. She made a dessert for each of her kids to look like their character and all I had to do was bring a "Sadness" cake for Johanna.  Johanna helped me mix and bake the cake and then I did the decoration.

The party was a lot of fun, the food was delicious, the pinata was a hit, she was excited to receive a Sadness doll that says phrases from the Movie and beamed as we all sang "Happy Birthday".  She is trying to memorize them all. Most importantly Johanna had a fantastic time.

Megan gets Pointe Shoes and other achievements

My dancer had been anticipating the day for many years now and it has finally arrived. She graduated to her first pair of pointe shoes. Pointe shoes have to be earned, time and energy need to be put into the sport of dance in order to rise to that level. Megan did it! She and I drove with Magaly and Sophia to the dance supply store with her ballet class. Each girl took a turn in the fitting chair and the store consultant went through the process of checking feet and pulling different brands of pointe shoes to find the right fit for that particular dancer's feet. This was Megan's first fitting and she has narrow heals with wide toe span and crossed toes. She had a little bit of everything going on and so the consultant pulled out brand after brand and then size after size until she found the right pair. Megan loved the process and beamed when the consultant was surprised that Megan could roll up in every pair without much trouble. They commented on how strong she was and Megan took pride in the observation. Right before Megan's next class I sewed the ribbons on and the ankle elastic, she was nervous to wear them and admitted that it was really difficult. I reminded her that she is capable of doing difficult things.

Megan also got her first middle school report card and got straight A's. It was an honor to get to attend the Straight A Breakfast that the school puts on, with her. Megan said the 6th grade is complicated and although the work is hard it isn't too hard. She was moved up to the GT section of World Cultures were she will be challenged a little more. The academics seem under control but the social side of sixth grade is still a point of unknown. Her social groups are shifting and she is feeling out where she feels most comfortable. I pray that she will surround herself with true friends who will appreciate her gifts and encourage her to be her best.

Also new for Megan is Vision Therapy. She has convergence insufficiency, meaning her eyes are not working together. This causes double vision. Her doctor was surprised at how successful she is in school and made sure we knew how hard she is working on something we take for granted.  With all that she has accomplished so far, I am excited to she what she does when she can put that brain power toward other things. She will be in twice a week therapy for about 6-8 months.

When my Mom broke her Femur

I don't communicate with my mom on a very frequent basis. It just kind of happened that way. Obviously growing up I talked to her, but my life got active as a teenager, with school and a job, and a youth group. At some point I stopped really checking in with her and then I moved across the country. I couldn't afford to call home, they rarely called me and letters almost never happened, oh and the internet didn't exist. It was always good to see my Mom when I did see her but in the time in between there was no precedent to actually talk or communicate regularly. As an adult I trusted that I was on her mind but more importantly in her heart. (This level of trust was not as high as a teenager but it did exist.) We caught up when we saw each other. Since moving back to Baltimore it luckily is about once a month for a family event.

Then in the last few years, the catching up included stories about injuries, or major life events in extended families lives. Sometimes those stories weren't shared at all and I heard about them from other family members. I began to worry a little that I would miss important information. This didn't change how we communicated though. I didn't hear from my mom on my birthday this year, which I didn't even realize at the time.

At the beginning of November my Uncle's mother died and I visited his house as they sat Shiva. When I was there my Mom's sister mentioned that Mom didn't look good when she saw her the day before and commented that she had fallen recently (on my birthday). This was the first I was hearing about the fall and I made a mental note that I should call her. I didn't. On Sunday afternoon, the 15th, I got a call from Magaly that she was at shock trauma with Mom. I don't really panic; I got as much info as I could and then started contacting the rest of the family. Mom is an amazing patient and was on top of her care while in pain with a broken femur.  We guess she had a small fracture from the fall and it became a stress fracture when she was getting out of the car on the way home from Mass, a week and a half later. My dad, myself and siblings all visited at the hospital and continued to keep tabs on Mom both in person and through messages. It was a long week of prioritizing things and coordinating with family. Our girls prayed for her every day and were very understanding of my missing classroom visits for American Education Week. Megan really wanted to visit and internalized her worry into an upset stomach, but other wise the girls handled it well.

I went down in the evening a day after surgery and Mom was in a lot of pain. She was dozing and clutched my hand. I stroked her head and she opened her eyes and asked if I was leaving. On my previous visits she shooed all of us (except Dad) back to our families, so I thought she was going to do this again. I told her no I was going to stay with her for awhile. She whispered she was so glad I was there. I stood and stroked her hair and told her she was more important than she knew.

They moved Mom to a nursing rehab center after almost a week at Shock Trauma and our whole family visited on Sunday. Mom will be in rehabilitation for a few weeks, (just guessing right now) and we will continue to visit and coordinate. I feel confident that she and I both know that we are thought of by the other but more importantly I think we are both confident in our love for the other. Maybe we will be able to translate that into a little more concrete regular communication.

Johanna turns 3

So our little girl keeps growing up and has now turned 3. We had gotten used to the idea of only having four kids and then God blessed us with Johanna. Johanna is a whole lot of little girl and a whole lot of blessing. Hanna is intense, active, and sensitive. She is smart and self directed. She is confident and capable. She exhausts me every day but I hope she knows that my love for her is inexhaustible.

She has been able to tell you that her birthday is Nov 2nd for some time now and she was looking forward to her day. It was a Monday this year so it was a pre-school day. Since she hasn't adjusted to daylight saving time, she was up at 6:30 and helped me make pancakes for breakfast. She wasn't cooperative about getting ready or going to school but she went: reluctantly but without opposition or sobbing. Rachael had made cupcakes for Halloween that hadn't been eaten so we brought those to school to share with her class. Her teachers greeted her with "Happy Birthday"s and she perked up.

That evening she picked a restaurant to go to for dinner, so we all went to Chick-fil-a. She was clear she wanted Chick-fil-a , with the cow on top. She ate well and had a blast in the climber. When we got home she got to open her gifts. She paused only momentarily to look at the clothes she got and moved onto the next package. Her sisters picked up a blue ukulele for her and she was big eyed and eager to strum it. It sounded terrible so luckily Emma has a tuning app and experience getting an instrument in tune. It sounded much better when Emma was done with it. While the tuning was going on Hanna opened her gift of Inside Out character toys. Hanna immediately began engaging them in a story and Bridget happily joined at Hanna's request to make the other characters come to life. Hanna also matched her toys to the characters on her new shirt.

Hanna continues to match and compare. She likes to name letters when she sees them and she is into numbers and counts past 20. She has a thing with the number five and always requests to get in the grocery check out lane #5. She is disappointed if a store does not have 5 checkout lanes. She searches out new experiences and stimuli. She could pass the kindergarten entrance requirements now and I can't imagine what she will be like when she is old enough to go.  Hanna is more of everything and adds so much flavor to our family. Now she has one more year in her pocket and claims the 3 proudly. We claim her for Christ and for our family proudly as well.

Halloween 2015

Megan's Water Tribe

Bridget's Fire Nation

Rachael's Homestuck Dog

Hanna's Jack o Lantern with  heart nose

Emma's Nicholas Cage Meme

This years Halloween will be the one we compare all others to. First Halloween was on a Saturday. this makes everything about the day easier. No school/work rush before trick or treating. No worries about staying up too late on a school night. Second the weather. This year the day was warm and pleasant and then cloud cover rolled in and kept that warmth going. It was in the upper 60s when we headed out trick or treating and stayed mild until late in the evening. We were able to trick or treat without extra layers or umbrellas. Third all of my kids were here. Emma might be off at school next year, and from here on out we probably won't have all of our girls in our town. We actually brought Rachael over to a friends party but she was here before and after.

Owen (Chris Pratt) from Jurasic World

When Life gives you Lemons

We always have the Brinks over for Halloween and we trick or treat with neighbors on our block. But since it was a Saturday we invited extra families over to enjoy a firepit in the front yard, while Emma invited friends over for a fire pit in the back yard. The Shumakers brought their fire pit over in order to make this possible and it worked out great. Jim joked that Emma was having a party in the back and it turned into a cascade of mullet jokes.

Olaf

 

Book of Life

  Jim stayed at the house with the fire and some friends while I went around with the little girls. Megan had her friend Savannah, and Bridget had Sarah. Johanna didn't need anyone. she had this trick or treating thing down. She tromped through our pack of kids and went up the steps without help. She said her "Trick or Treats" and "Thank Yous". Our only problem was her pushing to the front of the group at the door, at every door. But she held up well and was so content when she got home. She sat in one of the wicker chairs in front of the fire with a lolly pop and just chilled. I couldn't help but laugh when she got up and fixed herself a plate. She had 2 kids of dip, chips, apples and 1 cookie. Sometimes I look at her and think "are you really two?"

Sarah and Bridget

Megan and Savannah 50's girls

The kids went through their candy and then watched the Book of Life movie, perfect for Halloween. It was an all around great night.

The candy sorting

 

20th Food and Wine Festival for our 20th

This year Jim and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary and we decided it would be fun to celebrate by going to Disney's Epcot Food and Wine Festival which was also having its 20th Anniversary. Jim was really enjoying checking things out and looking at all of our options but I was finding the research exhausting and I asked that as a gift to me, he handle the details. It indeed was a gift. I felt like for the first time in a long time I just got to show up and enjoy something. I looked at special events with Jim and we booked a special Italian wine and food pairing, but the rest of the details I was happy to leave in Jim's capable hands.

Again it was Jim's parents generosity that made this trip possible. Grandma Kate and PawPaw were in town and were taking on the daily craziness of the fruits of our marriage. Jim and I made sure everyone got off to Wednesday's regularly scheduled schooling and then PawPaw drove us to the airport. Traveling with Jim was really easy, we could chat or head to the bathroom without any coordination. We didn't have to explain much or negotiate. We also both got a chance to put in our earbuds and relax. It felt pretty luxurious.

Orlando was hot and sunny and after we got settled into the Caribbean Beach Resort, we headed over to Disney springs to walk around and get dinner. The shuttles from the resorts were easy and we had no schedules to keep in mind. Jim and I decided to go to the Raglan Road Irish Pub for dinner, where we sat at the bar and enjoyed both singing and Irish dance. We checked out the shops enjoying the Lego store Disney Creations. I did have the goal of finding a hat, I needed a brimmed hat to give me some shade but that wasn't too big. They had a hat shop with plenty of options and I found one I really like. And without any rush we headed back to the resort. Jim took a morning walk and returned with a big breakfast that we shared before grabbing a shuttle to Epcot.

Jim had booked a few fast passes for us and we enjoyed FastTrack together. It had been closed when we came in 2012 so we decided to prioritize that. We also rode Soarin' and Spaceship Earth. We felt like we oddly accomplished something as we headed to the World Showcase for the Food and Wine Festival. We had picked up a Tasting Sampler pass which gave us coupons for food and drink as well as a special pin and seating at the Concert that night. The thing with the coupon though is that if you use them on food items under @$7 you waste a lot of money. We made very specific choices as to when we should use the coupons and when we should pay cash. and we got a great value out of the Sampler Pass.  Especially since, on our first transaction where the crew member rang everything up together and our one coupon covered 4 things instead of one. The crew member smiled and told us to enjoy our magical moment. We did. We tried lots of good food and sampled lots of yummy drinks. Jim started with a beer flight while I had shrimp cocktail. My favorite was Africa's buttered chicken on nan bread, and Jim's was probably the filet mignon from Canada. It was really hot out so we made sure to drink a lot of water and stop into the showcases to enjoy the exhibits and AC. My hat was perfect. That evening we decided to sit down to listen to the flashback inducing Christopher Cross concert. It  was fun to discuss favorite bites with Jim and soak in all that is Disney. We watched the fireworks that evening from a crowded spot and then joined the lines back to the resort. Despite being tired after a long day of walking around, it was a peaceful wait. It is a luxury to only have to deal with my own tiredness and not the tangle of my children's.

The next morning Jim and I headed back to Epoct and this time focused on a little souvenir shopping for the girls, before heading into the World Showcase. We think of our children everyday and we wanted to bring something back for each of them.  The big highlight of Friday was our Italian Food and Wine Pairing. It is thrilling to approach an elegantly set table with 6 glasses and a personal menu at each place. Jim and I shared the table with another couple who were conversational and really added to the enjoyment of the meal. We had 5 courses each with a glass of wine and 3 tastings of food. It was all so good. We ate and drink and enjoyed. The rest of the day we strolled around the world showcase. We stopped in England to listen to a British Rock and Roll band who ended their set with Bohemian Rhapsody, I may have sung along at the top of my lungs. We were winding down and decided to head over to Germany for an Oktoberfest beer for Jim when it started to downpour. We waited it out inside the German showcase and I tried a German wine flight as we shared soft pretzels. The park crowd thinned out considerably but we just put on our rain ponchos and got great spots for viewing the fireworks that night. As we headed back to the shuttles we savored our time and let the joy of our trip soak in.

 

It had been a relaxing and enjoyable trip, full of the luxury of only needing to consider each other.We laughed at my need to stop at the bathroom constantly and we grinned for pictures together. We didn't rush but instead savored and were grateful to be together. I think so much of our time and attention is pulled and directed at the day to day level that our original bond is over shadowed. It was wonderful to celebrate our commitment to each other and the 20 years we have put in so far.