Merry Christmas

We just returned from church and had a rare moment to take a family photo before eating some dinner and trying to tuck the kids off to bed!

Merry Christmas!

Ready for Christmas

I think we might almost be ready for Christmas. I think Mike is dipping the last of the Oreo balls. I have wrapped every present that is going to be wrapped (Santa doesn't wrap presents at our house). The tree is up and finally decorated (last night).

We are headed to church for Christmas Eve service tonight and then dinner will be hors d'oeuvres and hopefully getting the kids in bed around 9pm.

And despite the fact that they haven't been able to drag themselves out of bed before 7:30 in about a week, I can guarantee you they'll be up at 6am! Last year we put up baby gates to block their ability to go or look downstairs until we are ready. I think I got rid of all of those, so we'll need to figure something else out.

For the first time in a really long time, we'll be staying home for the entire Christmas Day. We won't head to Roanoke until Dec 26th and stay for a couple of days. Return home and turn around for Williamsport for a couple more days. Mike's parents offered to come down, but Christmas is the only time we guarantee we can get up there and see Mike's grandmother, who is really up in years now, so we'll head up to see her. We'll return on New Years Day for a couple of days of relaxation before school and sports and dance starts again!

Busy Christmas Season

Its been a busy Christmas season. Perhaps because I didn't really get a chance to "start" preparing until about the 12th of December. Really cuts the time short.

We've also been busy with other activities. A few highlights.

On December 12th, Mike had his company Christmas party at the nearby Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum. It was pretty neat to have the party laid out around the airplanes and space shuttle.











On December 14, Emma's preschool put on its Christmas program. They sang three songs and did a little skit. It was very cute and Emma had a good time. She really likes to sing and do all the motions with the songs.

We found a great preschool for Emma. Its an "in-home" preschool run by the pastor's wife at our church. There are only 8 kids there and she has been very willing to take on Emma's diabetes care, doses her for snack and lunch and calls me for any high or low readings. The moms have also been supportive, collecting carb information for any food at parties so that I can dose her properly. Its really a great preschool and we're very fortunate to have found it.




On December 19th, we finally took the kids to see Santa Claus. We got up and moving early because I didn't want a line at the mall, and I inevitably pick a day with a line. Well, we arrived at 8:45 and there was no line. We walked right up and saw Santa. The kids all told him what they want for Christmas, and that they behaved and did everything they are supposed to do. I didn't hear the entire conversation but I think something involved Emma brushing her teeth! I always like to take the chance to take some photos of the kids with the decorations around Santa too, because the mall does such a good job with them.



And finally, on December 19th, Michael earned his Brown belt in Tae Kwon Do. He has really progressed this year and it was nice to cap off the year with a belt graduation. He only has 3 belt levels left to Black - Brown Stripe, Red, and then Black. I would expect that on this pace that maybe by the end of 2009, Michael will have earned his Black Belt.











We have dinner tonight with some old friends from AMS that we haven't seen in years - after a reconnection on Facebook. I'm pretty excited to see them again!

So, its been a busy few weeks leading up to Christmas. The wrapping has started but is nowhere near finished. Two gifts still yet to arrive - expected on Christmas Eve, no less. I'm excited for the gifts I got the kids this year that I WANT them to have, and I'm sure they're excited about the gifts that THEY want. I also know they are enjoying the reduced school schedule we've been running the past couple of weeks.

She is just TOO smart!

I'm sitting here laughing in amazement at Emma.

She has a bunch of paper off the paper roll from her easel. She's trying to roll it nicely but of course its trying to roll on its own. She was getting quite frustrated at the paper for rolling up from both ends while she was trying to roll it nicely.

So, she went and got a small box of books to put on one end of the paper to keep it from rolling up until she could roll from the other end herself.

I'm not sure the 11-year-old would have figured that out!

Home and lots to post

I have been a bit under the weather since we got back from Disney, so I haven't updated.

We had a great trip. Always sad to leave and wanting to know when we will go back.

Emma said on the last day "I had fun being here". I think that sums it up.

Cheney stayed at the vet for this trip - we usually leave him at home and have someone come in but he usually goes on a hunger strike. I hoped by putting him in the vet that he would have more attention and eat. They called me 2 days in that he wasn't eating and they were going to have to force feed him.

When I went to pick him up, all of his food was gone and I was shocked. They said they actually let him roam around the front treatment area and he then started eating fine.

Did I forget to tell them that he thinks he's a dog in a cat suit. He does. He needs the attention like a dog. And that's nothing compared to now that we're home - he won't leave my side. If I'm on the couch, he's on the couch. If I'm in the bed, he's right beside me - literally. At least he's happy to see us!

More on our trip later. We did a couple of different things that we enjoyed on this trip - always trying something a little new and different.