Thinking with my heart

I've been laying awake for quite some time now, thinking about the day ahead. In a few hours I will go to a funeral celebrating the life of Marguerite Smith. Mrs. Smith and her husband, Frank, became instant friends with my parents when we moved to St. Joseph thirty years ago. They have been woven into my life since then. Mrs. Smith was a woman with charm, grace and cheer. I can hear her laughing and see her smiling, telling us stories. She and Mr. Smith had a love that was so clearly evident. Memories that stand out include Mrs. Smith standing in for a moment so she could personally hand me my high school diploma on stage (she was a member of the school board.) Also my trip to Florida with my friend Stacy when we stayed with the Smiths. They gave each of my children beautiful rocking chairs when they were born.

I am also thinking about my dad with my heart this morning. He will be a pall bearer this morning. I was thinking about how many times my dad has had this honor. How many people he has laid to rest. I've been thinking about what this says about my dad, and what a true friend he has been to so many. My parents have both spent a great deal of time with the Smiths, helping out as Mrs. Smith's health declined. I'm proud of them both, and the kind of people they are.

Holiday Happenings

We've had some fun holiday events happening this month as we prepared for the glory of Christmas! Here are some pictures of the fun...

The day after Thanksgiving we welcomed Santa into town on a fire engine. They drove in as part of the holiday parade downtown. A bunch of us met downtown and the kids had a lot lot of fun.
Kyle and his friend Sydney...Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right down Phoenix Street!Kyle and Joshua.My brother-in-law Troy and nephew Jack.My sister Beth and nephew Brett.Smiling Erin!The bunch!!
Here we are getting our tree. We are really lucky with it. The weather was horrible... very cold and windy with sleet and freezing rain. We walked onto Danny's lot and I literally looked at the first tree and said, "This one is it." And jumped back in the car with the kids. The tree is perfect! We have a great group of mom and kid friends that we get together with a lot. We decided to do a book exchange among the kids for Christmas. We met at McDonald's for dinner and playing first. Here are the kids opening their books.
Kyle was in two Christmas programs this year. One at our church, First Congregational, and one at the church his school is part of, St. Paul Luthern. Here are pictures from ours. I don't have any from his because you weren't allowed to use flash, so I have very blurry pictures. He did VERY well in both!! We were so proud.
Here are some pictures from Kyle's Christmas party at school. Erin got to participate as well. In the picture where Kyle is sitting in the chair he is doing show and tell with his Christmas card from Laine and Gracie with their picture on it. He loves his friends! His finger is up because he is telling his classmates, "You can all line up and see it one at a time." Ha ha! In the other chair picture it appears that they don't have enough, ha ha, they do!
Here is a shot of Kyle, Erin, and their cousins Jack and Brett under the Ayotte Christmas tree.
And finally... sometimes the holidays are not always as joyful as we hope. The past week we have been dealing with croup, colds and pink eye. Here are some great shots of my poor kids. They are on the mend, though, and I am hoping that by Christmas Day they are back to their happy (and beautiful!) selves.

Erin also managed to take a nose (forehead?) dive and is sporting some rug burn.

Merry Christmas! Watch for pictures from the big day soon!

Wordless Wednesday

Well: Check

Nope, we didn't get a well. I'm not checking it off my to do list, although my to do list is looking for some checks. The kids had their well checks, and they are, well, well. Both are growing great and looking healthy. Kyle is in about the 50th percentile for both height and weight, so he's right in the middle of the boys his age. Erin is about the 25th percentile for both height and weight, so she's my little peanut. Both kids got four vaccines each! It was so sad! My heart swelled when Kyle, who went first, was comforting Erin after her shots. Stroking her arm and telling her it was okay, she was fine. He is such a sweet boy.

Along with well checks this week, Erin got her 18 month pictures taken and Kyle got his four year pictures taken. They both did well and we got some good shots. They appear below.

My blog has been so lonely lately. Waiting for me to choose it. To let some words flow and some pictures shine. Thank you to those of you who check it anyway! I will get better and post most often again. (I'm not making promises until we make it through Christmas, but I will again!)

Four eyes

Erin has four eyes now. After working on them for several weeks, she officially has four eye teeth broken through. (So I guess she has six eyes when you actually count her eyes!) Poor Erin has had some rough times with them, but she is a trooper, as always.
And while I am posting pictures, check out how long Erin's hair is in this bathtub shot from tonight.
And because we need to include Kyle in the post, here is one of him. ;-)

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Stellan

I can't remember when I first began to follow Stellan's story. Or the first time I cried for him, or prayed hard for him. Or when I added him to the side bar on my blog. Stellan is a little boy who was diagnosed in the womb with a heart condition that, according to the doctors, would not allow him to live. He was not expected to live, yet this little one year old has. There have been many times when he nearly didn't, but around the world people have prayed and he has.

Today Stellan saw both extremes. He flat-lined and very nearly died. Then, during surgery, a miracle occurred and the outcome of the surgery was beyond anyone's dream. It seems he may be cured. The boy who wasn't supposed to live is potentially cured.

Praise God.

Wordless Wednesday