Rachael turns 18

December 29, 2018

One of the nice things about being born in the year 2000 is the ease of determining your age.

In 2018 my little Rachael turned 18.

She is moving quickly through her senior year of high school. She has been active this year after school with a variety of different clubs, including frequent Robotics meetings, green club occasionally, and stage crew according to the production schedule. There are also Math honor society events such as Math night and Math competitions. It means a good bit of running around for me but it is great to see her using her gifts. Rachael also regularly donned in her blue CHS Comet Culture t-shirt, and she makes the rounds to different classrooms to present and facilitate discussions about things like cell phone etiquette.
Outside of school there is a lot of napping, playing with her cat and being witty. I enjoy Rachael so much. She just makes me smile.

Rachael was having a good week with celebrations and Christmas and she invited a few friends over to hang out on her birthday. She came up with a list of foods and friends and it came together easily.

She decided to have Doracos, so we put together all of the taco fixings and individual bags of Doritos. It was really yummy and everyone enjoyed it.  After eating in the living room they went downstairs and played pictionary on the big dry erase board.  Emma came to visit for the day and made up a whole bunch of dictionary items for Rachael and her friends.

Rachael also asked for ice cream and sherbet with toppings.  That was a lot of fun too. They all ate upstairs and then went down again to hang out and watch a movie.

Rachael had a really good day. I am so glad that she is my daughter and I feel so blessed to be her parent and on this journey with her.

Welcome to adulthood Rachael. May God Bless you.

Christmas

Christmas 2018

I had finally gotten over a tough round of fever and yuck just in time for Christmas Eve. But I was still feeling a bit low energy as we kicked into hosting gear. All of our standards were out and ready as family began to arrive and fill the table with contributions to the feast. The cousins gathered and crammed together for an annual photo. Anthony was here but didn't participate. The comment that epitomized the picture " I didn't realize that this room had gotten so small."  These kids are getting huge.

When everyone arrived we said grace and started eating.  I went through last only to realize that the condiments and fruit were missing. I pulled them out but I think everyone ate dry sandwiches. Everyone still had a great time.

The younger kids exchanged gifts. It felt like a small group and next year technically two of the kids will be eligible for teenager exchange. The teens did their white elephant exchange in the basement simultaneously. Then the adults got a turn to sit down and open/steal gifts. My generation pitched in and finally printed and framed photos from my parents 40th Anniversary back in 2010. We realized that my dad didn't have many photos of my mom in the house and he really wished he did. So we framed a portrait of the two of them and then another large group photo of my Mom, Dad, their children and spouses. He was very grateful and per his sentimental style got a little teary.

It was fun and relaxed afternoon. As the crowd wound down, we visited with Steven and the Gaithersburg Jauquets. Then together we went to Mass at St. Mark's.

When we got home we cleaned up a bit then we gathered in the living room to open Colorado gifts and ornaments.  the girls all loved their flannel shirts and were looking forward to playing the new games "Ticket to Ride" and "CodeName". We hung up the new ornaments and as Jim read stories to Johanna, we played a round of Harry Potter Code Name. As our evening went on Jim began to feel bad. He was getting what I had.

Jim woke up with  a fever Christmas morning. But the girls still piled into our bed. somehow we got them to agree to a start time of 8:00 AM. Megan was up early and went in to wait it out with Johanna, who I think was still asleep. By 8:00 they were all in our room and we had a lackluster ABC game and hymn before heading into the living room. They were full of motivation to find the pickel.

Gifts were less abundant this year. Mostly because Emma had already gotten her futton, and Rachael and Megan were awaiting new phones yet to be picked out. Less unwrapping did leave us more time to hang around and play games. We had our breakfast and then cleared the table for the Ticket to ride game. Poor Jim was feverish and leaning back in the recliner. Johanna popped in and out, asking for treats as she played with toys.

The girls helped make pies and artichoke spinach bread to bring to my dad's for dinner. Jim was not any better and decided to stay at home and nap. We were sad to miss him.

On the Twelfth Year of Bridget

December 22, 2018

On the twelfth year of Bridget...

Our lovely Bridget turned 12 years old. She is such a blessing to our family. Her temperament is peaceful and she has a welcome impact in our chaotic home.

A few months ago she moved into her basement room and I think it has become an oasis for her. After school or a family outing or event, Bridget will be in her room regrouping. She recharges by listening to audio books, drawing, and building models. There is never a flurry of movement or bustle in her room. It is a place of paced deliberate activity. We call her up from her room to reengage and most of the time she ready to jump back in.

Bridget is doing well in middle school. Some of the teachers or class situations are better than others but Bridget hasn't had any problems or complaints. She mentioned that sometimes kids are inappropriate and they ask her if she "knows what that means"? She responds "no, and I don't want to". This sets her apart and still she is able to giggle and interact. Bridget is reliable and kind, and has been friendly but also selective in the friendships she establishes. She is very happy with having a few people who she is really comfortable with and then maintains a general kindness. It is not common in the middle school setting of positioning and competition, and I am glad that she isn't sucked into that negative dynamic.

As an infant I remember Bridget's patience and trust. She cried with tiredness or hunger and as soon as I picked her up she would settle. All of our other girls would continue to cry intermittently until they got what they needed. Bridget would relax and lean in until we got to place when I could put her to bed, or change her, or feed her. I felt like she trusted me in a different way, a deeper way. As a toddler she was content. She was joyful and playful, and so sweet. Bridget didn't get bored easily and willingly stayed by my side when we were out. In elementary school she was observant and wanted to understand and share her ideas and memories. In the immediate family setting, she turned into our "Jabber Jaws" with story after story.  As a middle schooler she likes to discuss with me some of the topics from her world cultures class. Hammurabi's code and the structure of laws was a recent concept she ruminated on. She is also drawn to the broad problems of poverty and hunger. She has a big heart and sometimes she worries. She has continued to grow and has maintained her trusting, contented, kind nature.

I feel so blessed to have her in our family. She was glad that Emma would be arriving home on her birthday. But in the morning before Emma's arrival we shared birthday french toast sticks and opened gifts. There were a few minutes together before Jim had to head into work. We were sad to not have him with us. But the two of them are planing a movie date together. The rest of the day the girls watched a movie and then I took the girls to dinner. Bridget picked Olive Garden, because of the salad and bread sticks. They brought cards and played James Bond while we waited for our food.  Then we stopped in at Baskin Robbins for ice cream. It was a fun day to celebrate 12 years of Bridget.

Christmas Prep 2018

December 2018

This year was a mix of holiday traditions and a shifting family dynamic. I see things changing and I see the strings that are familiar and strong tying us to our past and keeping us together in our future.

We unpacked our Advent wreath and Advent calendar. Jim's written schedule kept us on a fair track of who went when. On each girl's day they got to light the wreath candles, place the calendar magnet around the stable and this year select a dry good from our pantry to donate.

Christmas cookie baking brought out all of the memories of dough and measuring with each of my small ones. Johanna stepped right in with the struggle to wait to lick a bowl or spoon. We were incredibly efficient with some recipes and then we had a number of mishaps. I didn't double a recipe correctly and as Bridget was rolling the peanut butter cookie dough balls for our Blossoms, she kept saying that it didn't seem right. The first tray came out and didn't have the right consistency, we tasted them and the peanut butter sand consistency made us stop in out tracks. I had put in twice the amount of shortening. It turned into a project of how to reclaim the dough of 8 dozen cookies. We decided to bake then crumble the peanut butter cookies and turn them into bars. Chocolate graham crust, chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk pulled it together.  It was a tastey result but took a hunk of our time.

We made our seven layer bars, sugar cookies, oatmeal chocolate chip, and chocolate mint and M&M cookies. It took two days to get them all done. We packed them in the cookie containers to give to our family and friends.

Our rainy year continued into December and the day we designated to get and decorate our tree was rain soaked. We went right after Mass at OLV, our first stop only had smaller trees so we drove along the Patapsco which was well over it's banks. It was a muddy endeavor and Megan put shopping bags over her heals. She had commented that most years her tree always came in as the runner up but in the rain she quickly found a good fat one and we were happy to bring "her" tree home.

I got the lights on and we brought up the tubs of ornaments. We sorted out the girl's ornaments and got to hanging. Rachael never came up and Emma couldn't make it, so the younger three, Jim and I decorated together. I knew this would be like our years to come. It just happened earlier then I expected.  the tree Megan picked out was huge and had great branches. Even when we were done there were plenty of spots for Em and Rae to hang ornaments.  I draped the red and green bead garland and it tied out tree together. Megan had recently asked that some day she get to inherit the bead garland. I was surprised at the request, but pleased that something so simple made her happy.

When Emma was home the girls decorated mini gingerbread houses. They did a four elements theme in the Avatar style. Emma and Rachael spent some time together decorating the tree and then we started packing away the bins and getting ready to host. The girls are fun and silly and they make preparing for the Christmas holiday a time of filling my heart with gratitude.

Beautiful day for a hike

Nov 17, 2018

Just two days earlier Maryland got an uncharacteristically early snow. This year has been on pace for Maryland's wettest year on record, but we got a break in the rain and clouds. We grabbed the sunny day and got outside. We headed to our family's favorite hiking trail, Cascade Falls in Patapsco State Park.

I threw bars and apples in my backpack, we filled water bottles, and pulled on boots. We picked Josh up on our way. The sun was shining and it felt warm on our skin. We visited the swinging bridge first. You still can't cross to the other side because the trail on the east side is closed from the Memorial Day weekend flooding damage but it was fun to go out and come back.

Then up we went. We climbed up the hill and followed the trail covered in crisp leaves. Most of the leaves were down and covered the forest floor. Johanna was gung-ho and kept up with her fast paced sisters. We crossed the waterfall, assisting each other from rock to rock and staying relatively dry. The waterproof boots were a crucial aspect of achieving this. We explored and scaled boulders, sitting and taking it in before moving on. We greeted others on the trail and tossed pebbles in the stream.

We took a path up a gully bed and went through a section where thin tree branches arched over the path. We climbed on grand trunks that were laid on their sides revealing their roots. Snacks came out at this point. And after meeting a few more groups who were unsure of their placement on the trails we decided to turn around and head back. The return is always a different experience. We took slightly different routes over the stream, and somehow wound up on a higher log. Johanna ventured out  onto the log ahead of me. It felt much less steady than we hoped and Josh jumped down into the water to give her a hand. I didn't realize it at the time but he wound up with wet shoes and didn't say a word. We descended quickly and piled into the van. We ate our apples but everyone was craving salt and fat that was quickly satisfied by a stop a Chik-fil-a.

It was a delicious day to soak up the grandeur of God's creation.

Car Saga

Summer 2018

My Mom's old Buick was a real blessing. We inherited it when our van was on it's last leg and Emma was a new driver. It eased our purchase of the Kia and it gave Emma some independence and transportation to work. The silver Buick wasn't in great shape. Emma got to take it with her to college and she was quite fond of the old boy. It had some dents, tape on the tail light, and the driver window had to be duct taped shut. But it ran.

Until it stopped. The engine seized up as Emma was driving to the summer camp where she worked. I arranged a tow truck and got her to work. The engine had run out of oil and it was done. I became the taxi service for a few weeks while we searched for a new car. We looked at a few, but with a really small budget the pickings were limited. These were all private sales because dealerships don't bother with the low end late models. Most of our car hunting was done in the rain (we had record rain this summer) and it wasn't pleasant. We had a break in the rain when we checked out a Volkswagen. It was being sold by a guy who didn't speak English well but his 2 little boys helped out with some translating. It looked pretty good and test drove well. Emma was going to be buying this on her own and on our second visit she decided to buy it. It had tinted windows we knew needed to be fixed to pass inspection and a few other things but she went for it.

We brought it for inspection and came away with a list, she put some money into it as she was expecting and had budgeted for. There were a few small things (windshield, after market mirrors, and a tail light) left to fix in order to pass. On another rainy day she rear-ended her friend and messed up the front of her car and his rear bumper.  She did some more adulting and got acquainted with insurance. Luckily we have accident forgiveness and his car was covered.

This is were the honeymoon was over. She had a series of car repair appointments, attempted windshield fixes, hood latch debacales, and failed inspections. She got tow notices at her apartment, and got pulled over twice for expired tags.  She used the college shuttle, and walked to work most days.  This saga raged on as she also worked 5-6 shifts a week and managed a full course load. I helped her set up appointments for body work, she borrowed Jim's Xtera to get to work, and finally she got her radiator mount repaired and fender replaced. She decided to skip the paint to save some money. And it finally passed inspection in November. Next is registration and getting it legal.

She has been dreaming of other cars and the auto relationship is on rocky ground. I just hope she gets some good mileage out of this car after all of the trouble.

Baby Shower for Baby J

Nov 11,   2018

It had been over 4 years since our family got to celebrate a new member of the family, but we got to do just that recently. Joe and Magaly are expecting their 6th baby in early January. We are all very excited, and happy to say that excitement has overtaken worry from just month earlier.  On Sept 7th Magaly and 4 of the five kids were in a car accident. Magaly and Martin were both taken to the ER. Martin was released that night with minor injuries. Magaly was only 22 weeks pregnant and sustained most of the impact. They were worried about Baby J and the trauma her abdomen sustained, so she was transfered to University of Marylamd hospital because they handle high risk OB. They did lots of tests and monitoring and after 4 nights at the hospital she got to go home.  Gradually over the next few weeks the placenta healed and her cracked sternum began to hurt less.  Magaly's  tests got back to normal and they switched her to a normal appointment schedule.

We also shifted from concerned "how is the baby" questions to planning a baby shower. Becky hosted and we got to see her newly painted main floor. Mary suggested a "Cute as a Button" theme and we in regular fashion put together a fun baby shower, mostly at the last minute.

Magaly looked radiant as all of the moms and girl cousins plus a number of friends filled the house. Katherine made the sweetest cake and cupcakes that fit our theme perfectly Sarah made button favors and Heather ordered the gifts (car seats) which she had shipped to Becky's. I brought flowers and decorations and we all brought food.  It is a lot of fun to get together to celebrate the gift of life.

Baby J we can't wait to hold you, but we are so glad you didn't have to make an early entrance.

Johanna turns 6

November 2, 2018

Johanna Faith Kehrman turned six years old, and she turns my heart to joy.

Johanna has an amazing memory, especially for music. She frequently sings to herself and really likes listening to music while she is drawing and writing.  Her memory also means that she will hold us to things, including things that were "maybes". It pops in her head and she says "remember you said".

Johanna is also all over the place,  skipping from topic to thing to project and back. She is very capable of doing things independently but frequently will not accomplish what she intended or what was asked of her. She gets frustrated with herself in addition to our frustration and say "I got distracted". We are working together on that.

Johanna has discovered the fun of having neighborhood friends and loves to play at a friends house or have a friend to play at our house. Having her own room makes having friends over a much easier prospect as there isn't someone else's things to be careful of or wishes to consider. Johanna does miss sharing a room with Bridget, but conflict has dramatically decreased and that is good for everyone. She mostly misses Bridget at bedtime when the room is quiet. Johanna misses Emma too and likes to send her emojis on my phone. Johanna's love for stories is as strong as ever and Rachael volunteered to read her the first Harry Potter book. They only get to read a little bit every once in a while but it is great to see them enjoy it together.

Our little girl is starting to read and the letter/sound connections are starting to stick. The letter i and l give her a lot of trouble especially with certain fonts. She likes to write things down and will call out 'Momma how do you spell ___?" If an I is included she'll ask "Is that the one with the dot?" Johanna adjusted to kindergarten really well, she loves her teacher Ms. Maltese and there isn't any classroom drama. Johanna loves the structure of the day and thrives with the schedule.  There are a number of Spanish speaking students in her class and she prides herself on knowing Spanish, even if it is only a little. She has had no complaints and is doing great.

As much as she is growing, she is still my little one. She curls into a ball when she sleeps and pulls her "big blue" up to her nose. When she wakes up she rubs her nose with the knuckle of her pointer finger. She either wakes up talking ready to share all of her thoughts or super grumpy, until she eats and uses the bathroom. Johanna can be very insistent but also very concerned and loving.

Johanna is over-flowing and she makes my heart overflow. I love to hear her sing, to see her engrossed in a book, to observe her accomplish her purpose. She is beautifully and wonderfully made.

May God Bless you Johanna!

On her birthday I went into her class. I got to read her favorite book "Coco", which was perfect for an All Soul's Day birthday. We shared drinks and goldfish and then made tissue paper flowers with her whole class. That afternoon Emma came to visit, and I made her favorite meal, Spaghetti and Meatballs.  Megan had taken Johanna on walks to our local Italian store and Hanna fell in love with cannoli. So for her birthday she made a special request for cannoli for dessert.