See Gabe...

Read.

Read, Gabe, read!

Here he is, showing off his skillz to Aunt Chelle on Thanksgiving, reading her a book he made in kindergarten.

If you were a reader of my blog two years ago, when Gabe started preschool, you would understand my delight in the arrival of this day.  I didn't think this baby of mine would ever sit still long enough to learn his ABC's, much less put it all together and be able to read a whole book.

Thank God for answered prayers (and patient kindergarten teachers!).

Christmas spirit

Some people dread it, some people boycott it, but I love this part of Christmas.

I started making my cards in September, a few each day.  These were a few of my favorites.  I hope everyone who receives a card from me knows how much love and time goes into each and every one...

Decking our halls was so much fun this year.  Gabe was actually a big help, and so excited about each decoration, with his own particular ideas of where to put things.  I love his enthusiasm!

We found the "perfect" tree and trimmed it with ornaments old and new, and lots of colored lights.  Still don't have a good pic of the tree post-decor...

Ahh, the nightmare of the gingerbread house (this year, a whole village!).  It always sounds like a good idea, but the amount of frustration and tears (Gabe's, not mine) are NOT worth the trouble.  Someday, I will learn my lesson.

Today, I decided to forgo a decent day's sleep and took Gabe to his kindergarten's "Winter Wonderland".  It was SO worth it...according to him, it was "the best day EVER!".

Gabe and his awesome teacher!

He giggled the whole time he got his face painted.

So far, many good memories have been made...and we're only halfway through the month.  Loving this Christmas season!

Heavy heart

Back in 2005, my family lost three men in one year.

My grandpa died in June, to dementia and kidney failure.

My dad died in August, to lung cancer.

Joe's grandpa died in October, to emphysema and pneumonia.

My kids lost three grandpas in four short months.

The only one left is Bob.  Joe's dad.  My father-in-law.  Kay's husband.  The kids' Papaw.

For the past several years, he has suffered from high blood pressure, heart issues and a whopping case of denial.

In this past month, all of these issues came to a head.  Bob was hospitalized for congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation and renal insufficiency.  After a week, he was improved enough to go home, but not healed altogether.

Last Friday, we found out that he needs open heart surgery to bypass the three blocked vessels (yes, you only have three main coronary arteries, and all three of his are nearly completely blocked with plaque).

Next Wednesday, he will go into the operating room at the hospital where I work.  An excellent cardiothoracic surgeon will stop his heart, repair the problem, and restart it.

When I think of it from my "nurse mode", it is all very routine and not scary in the least.

When I think of it from "family member mode", I think of the many things that could go wrong and I get choked up just thinking of losing this man.  I know in my heart that Bob's heart is in God's hands.  I know that He has a plan.  I just want to know that the plan doesn't leave my kids without their Papaw.

Would you please keep our family in your prayers this week, and specifically next Wednesday?  Thank you so much, sweet friends.

Snow Day already?

In our area, the snow usually waits til January to make its appearance.

This year, notsomuch.

We woke up this morning to a surprise snow delay, due to a "microburst of isolated snowshowers".

Methinks that's weatherman speak for "holy crap, we didn't know it was going to snow last night!".

Wouldn't you love a job where you can be wrong and still get a paycheck?  I would :)

No matter...we'll enjoy the beautiful snow day, snuggle up and try to keep warm in the arctic chill (single digit wind chills) and maybe get some more online shopping done!

How many shopping days?

They (the weathermen) are predicting a week of "arctic chill" for the Cincinnati area.

Brrr, I say.

The trouble is, I have quite a bit of shopping yet to do for the holidays.  I cannot STAND to be cold (Arizona looks really good this time of year).  So I'm trying to decide whether or not to bundle up, brave the subzero windchills and just go get it done, or sit here on the computer and let Amazon be my guide.

How are you doing your shopping this year?  Online, local shops or the dreaded mall?

I'm thinking it's gonna be an Amazon day for me...

Twelve

is such a hard age.

Being a "tween" can be difficult, especially for a boy.

Elijah has been struggling lately.  He is very smart, and is in the gifted program at school (has been since the third grade).  All the kids know he is the "smart kid", and sometimes he takes crap for this.  He has worn glasses since kindergarten, and he thinks this makes him "geeky".  Yesterday, he told me he wants to drop out of the gifted program.  I told him absolutely not.  I don't want him to give in to this peer pressure, but I do need to figure out how to give him skills to survive the teasing and still build his self esteem.  My heart breaks for him.

I've said it before, but Elijah is an incredible baseball player.  He is a lefty pitcher, and has a head for the game that amazes both me and Joe.  His teammates love him, as do his coaches.  He loves playing baseball, and would do it year-round, if he could.  His dream is to play for the big leagues.

Last night, I was trying to encourage him by emphasizing his athletic abilities.  He started to cry, saying why should he bother, when he probably won't even make the school team next year because he's not good enough.

Oh.My.Word.

I hugged him and told him how good I thought he was.  How someday his brains and personality will take him far, even if baseball doesn't.  It may have helped a little, but I'm just the mom.  How do I build up more self-confidence in a kid that's so hard on himself?

Help...

She's a rockstar.

in my book, anyway.

After ten weeks of training, we had our Girls on the Run 5K race on November 20th (yes, this post is long overdue).  Thirteen Lebanon girls ran along the Ohio River by the Reds' Stadium and the Bengals' Stadium on a perfect, slightly foggy morning.  They were joined by 2000 other runners from the Greater Cincinnati area.  There was a DJ with a dance floor at Sawyer Point, a hair-painting table, and lots of cheering supporters along the path.

I had to get a faster running buddy for Isabel, because my legs won't run an 8-minute mile, not even if someone was chasing me with a cattle prod.

All of our girls finished in under 45 minutes, which was a huge accomplishment.

Isabel and her bestie, Emily

Isabel crossed the finish line in 25 minutes 30 seconds.  Her time last year was 29:59.  Can you believe she improved that much in one year?!  I was amazed.  And insanely proud.  And so happy that this girl of mine has found her niche in the world of sports, and developed a love of all things healthy.

She truly is a rockstar!