Christmas in film

Sometimes I wonder...

Julianne and Vincent have a keen knack for keeping us hopping. Along with energy, their unique personalities are producing more creativity.

Getting the train moved through the tunnel.

Storing the markers?

Sharing a sweet moment.

However, Julianne takes the cake today. With the mess of snow that we have our floor is constantly coated in slush and muck. She usually drags her blanket right through it. Not today, she wised up and used the wagon to keep her blanket near by and clean.

Happy Birthday Matthew

The girls did a fabulous job singing and the babes have the paper ripping down pat! And of course, Matt is aging well. Happy Birthday.

With a little imagination..

Holiday Swim

We had the pleasure of a new holiday activity this weekend. At Camp Courageous we enjoyed a super pool party. Thanks to the wonderful staff there we spent two fun hours swimming! Highly Recommended!

Tail-ends

This morning I took a break from re-trimming the tree after my tornado son had dismantled it for the umpteenth-billion time and attended my annual brain MRI appointment.

I have to admit, I dread it. I'm not a good patient. I don't feel like I have a brain aneurysm, but I do. And luckily the coils looked great today and I'm in a good position to never have any more issues.

And the second piece of good news is the driver that rear-ended our van in Minneapolis in November has finally admitted fault. So come Monday the van will be in the repair shop to take care of the damage done to the ramp.

Nice to get a few loose ends tied up... now if I could just keep Vincent from stealing and stashing the ornaments!

Let it Snow

Celebrating along the Way

Each year at Christmas time, Matt and I set-up the Dickens Village. Matt enjoys remembering Christmases past spent with family. His Rank Grandparents gifted him the pieces as he was growing up. The kids love to push chairs up and point out all the different pieces. It works magic for calming kids.

A very kind Great Aunt in Ohio was smart to know that the kids would enjoy opening a few early packages. Somehow she knows which puzzles we don't have!

Claudia was so proud to be the helper with baths. Vincent and Julianne very compliantly backed up to the side of the tub for Claudia to wash their back-ends.

So we celebrate, not every day... but today for the precious gifts of children and the relationships they share.

Little Miss Independent

Ok, Ok, it certainly has to be the Occupational Therapist in me, but I'm ecstatic. Little Claudia can now wash her hands in our bathroom completely independently! One added automatic soap dispenser and lots of perseverance on her part and she can do it.

Cranberry Relish

The girls enjoyed grinding up the various fruits that go into Grandma Ruth's Cranberry Relish. A long time Davidson Favorite:

2 lbs cranberries

3-4 apples cored

3-4 oranges rind included

1 med size can crushed pineapple

4 3oz packages of Jello (cranberry, cherry, or other similar)

*use half of the total recommended water for the Jello

4 cups sugar

Grind all the fruit together, mix boiling water with Jello. Add sugar to ground up fruit and then add in Jello. Mix well and refrigerate. Best if made a day ahead. Enjoy.

Thanks

We have so many things to be thankful for, including sweet smiles from Vincent and Julianne and visits from the Grandparents.

Early Thanksgiving Feast

Smiles make it all worth it

For the past two months we have been remodeling our house to make it more accessible. We added a ramp to the deck and opened up the bathroom. The kids have been patient with the dust, noise, and disruption. We are close to the end and it was all worth it to see Claudia wash her hands without help!

The roll-in shower coming in pieces.

Out with the pink and in with the....

Rebuilding the closets that had to move to make a bigger bathroom.

Vincent learns what to do with a hammer.

Eloise helping the remodelers.

The old bathroom, minus the vanity.

More old bathroom, the narrow part!

bumps

I really try not to feel sorry for my little girl. She is smart and cute and has a lot going for her and what benefit is it to her for me to feel pity? But there are days....

When she is trying so hard to climb the steps up from our basement, or trying not to ask me for a tissue when she knows I'm busy, or days when she falls.

Every kids falls but when Claudia falls she isn't able to extend her arms fast enough to catch and protect herself. She had a nasty fall this weekend while heading out the back door using her walker. About thirty minutes later with her bloody nose and mouth she was at it again.

She is amazing!

Missing you

Everyone's ready for your return!

Trick or Treat 2009

L-R: Vincent as Skipperdee Turtle/Tortoise, Claudia as Junie B. Jones "Captain Field Day", Eloise as "Eloise" and Julianne as The Hare (Tortoise & the Hare)

Satisfied

Halloween Eve

On the night before Halloween, the scraping began. Four had fun making a mess on the kitchen floor. They watched, touched, and smelled the wonderful pumpkin insides: seeds, slimy stringy orange goo, and chunks of meaty pumpkin wall.

Perhaps a favorite holiday, but the magic really is the time and memories we are carving out.

"Sparkle and Smile"

Spider

The colder temperatures and bouts of snow have made getting ready for Halloween a little slow around here. We do however have plenty of leaves to create some lawn creatures and warm jackets to keep us toasty. Hope you are enjoying your Halloween preparations.

Wisconsin

The cheese state is full of all sorts of things we love... family, friends, fun, food, four seasons, etc. Luckily, on the way to a family wedding we got to experience a few of them.

Grandma's vintage toys!!

Bogs

Cranberries

and CHEESE CURDS!! (they were SOO squeaky)