I only have a couple of pictures, but here are some of the Christmas festivities.  A couple of weeks ahead of time, Craig made a gingerbread house.  It never did get decorated!

Christmas was two days after I got out of the hospital from the original bleeding episode, so no pics of me!  But here are the girls, dressed and ready for mass.

We had Christmas morning at our house, and the Craig’s family came over later since I couldn’t go out.  Mom and John had planned to be with us, which worked out great since they were also able to watch Lucy and Samantha most of the time we were in the hospital.  And that was pretty much it.  I was just really glad to be home and not in the hospital.

The mini-guitar has made a reappearance the last couple of days, and Samantha has been handling it well enough that I don’t have to fear too much for its safety now.  Funny things that go with the guitar:  Lucy used to call it a hot-tar, and the pick a pickle.  Samantha has the pick right (although Craig now calls it a pickle…) but she says “but-tar”.  It’s held Samantha’s attention better than anything else I can think of recently, and today she was strumming and making up songs.  One included monsters, and I think she sang, “Monster, monster, don’t come get me!”  Another repeated, “Grandpa died, Grandpa died, now in Heaven” over and over.  I’m waiting to hear tomorrow’s songs…

Craig brought his guitar home, too, and we had a musical evening with Justin, Theresa, and Ebbie.

And, as you can see, Clare is now big (I should say BIG) enough for the Bumbo.  She is a chunk.  And, finally, the results of Craig’s music: (she’s asleep, if you can’t tell).

You tell me.  The last one was shortly after an extended screaming session last week.  She laid in bed with me and Clare for a bit, then announced that she had to go potty, and when I got up (Clare had already napped and didn’t want to lay down any more) this is where I found her.

Homeschooling journal:

We had a good trip to the zoo with Katie, Cylis, and Micah this morning.  Lucy told Cylis about the Spanish moss, and we saw the tiger and black bears moving around and the white alligators up close.  Most of the time we let the kids play in the water at Monkey Hill, then the thunder started and we had to make a run for the shelter in the swamp exhibit.  Lucy panicked at the thunder.  We finally walked back in the rain after lunch, and got to the gates just as the sun was coming back out.

This afternoon has been melt-down city.

Lucy and Samantha tell the story:

At this point the girls were distracted by Craig making chocolate-peanut butter cupcakes and the story ended.

Let’s see how far I get with this – we’ve been too busy living to spend time writing about living lately!  So here’s what I’ve got saved up…

According to my camera, this is from last June.  But I think the date is wrong, and it was actually October.  Either way, it’s been a while since I went through the pics on the camera!

Here is the little altar I put together for the Day of the Dead.  Mom’s only in the picture because it was the best/most easily accessible one I had of Dad.  The had and cookbook are my grandmothers (Eva Krivanek), gum drops were one of my other grandmother’s favorite treats (Margaret Courtney).  The box and frog puzzle my dad made, and the peanuts were one of his favorite snacks.  The rosary was also Grandma Krivanek’s, and the little pictures on the right are of me with my grandmothers.  That was all I could dig up at the last minute when I did this, but I’ll be a little more prepared this year (if the things aren’t still in storage!  More on that in a later post…)

This was in November.  One of them was confused about the weather forecast.  If I remember right, it was Samantha.

They take good care of each other…

…and Pooh Bear.

The nativity set the girls played with.  They’re taking a nap while they wait for baby Jesus.

The meltdowns have begun, so I’ll have to finish this later.

A little late, as she is now two weeks old!  I thought I had already posted this.

I just wish I could remember them all…the girls have been on a roll!

Samantha: “Why your bottom is scary?” (“Scary” is how I described my incision.  I don’t know why she thinks it’s on my bottom.)

*****

Grandma: “What we need is a yardstick.” exits toward room where yardsticks live.

Lucy: runs for the back yard to get a stick.

*****

Samantha (chalkboard eraser in hand): “I don’t want Lucy on there anymore.”  (She tried to remove her drawing from the calendar.)

*****

Samantha (looking at children’s song book):  “I don’t want that!  I want God!  I like God!”

These are the reasons we risk our lives and have children.

Samantha: Want more pickle!

Me: I know pickles taste good, but they won’t make you grow big and strong.

Samantha: I strong enough!

I had no answer for that.  Grandma just laughed.

And then,

Samantha, holding the “Bible Storybook“: This book heavy because lots of God in it.

And every time she stands on something tall, she says, “I big!”.  And when she can’t do something she wants to, she hangs her head sadly and says, “I too little”.  And we all giggle.

She also says anything that Lucy says, very much like an echo.

Homeschooling Journal:

Continuing to try and convince Samantha that she doesn’t want to keep wearing a wet diaper, that the floor is not the appropriate place to pee, and that clothes are very effective at keeping you warm.

Play-doh and cookie-cutter session before lunch.

Lucy came to Mass and got to hear about the Immaculate Conception at Youth Group.  Samantha stayed with B-Bob and Mimi and learned to sing “Jingle Bells”.

Only two months since the last entry…

Homeschooling Journal

Lucy’s BD party was Sunday (the 5th), so cleaning, baking, pizza making, and socializing all occured.

Lots of dress-up, including one “queen” being chased by one “tiger”.

The manger scenes are out, and were in constant use for a couple of days.  Lucy remarked several times that she “can’t wait for baby Jesus to come”, as the whole thing is a little empty without Him.

Trip to the zoo with Dad for Lucy’s actual birthday.

Trip to the library today for story time (Christmas themed).  Lucy made a beautiful paper stocking with sequins on it, and demonstrated her superior cutting and gluing skills.  Samantha demonstrated her tearing and glue-spreading skills.

New books from the trip include, Josephine Wants to Dance; Did Dinosaurs Eat Pizza?; Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening; The Legend of the Candy Cane; Art and Max; Watch Out, Little Wombat; and Arbor Day Square.

We returned Brother Juniper; Martha Doesn’t Share; Jamberry; Cinderella; and whatever else I’m forgetting.

Advent project today was to paint ceramic ornaments.  Lucy did a snowman and Samantha an angel.  They are quite colorful.  Craig called Lucy “Picasso”, but she was very meticulous about making sure all the edges were perfectly covered.  She’s coming into her own with the art things now, I think, and really enjoys painting, stamping, cutting and gluing, and the like.

Homeschooling journal:

Trip to the library this morning for fairy-tale books.  The castle was closed so the girls actually looked at books and did the coloring sheets instead of running around in it.

Lucy spent close to an hour sitting on the couch looking at (non-library) books before lunch.

We went to the Pax Christi peace liturgy – time for socialization, cookie sampling, music watching, saint statue and stained glass identifying, and liturgical experiencing.  Part of the evening is that everyone processes to the front to sign in a book that they pledge to live peacefully in the coming year, and Lucy signed her name.  And she actually tried to write it, not just draw a squiggle like she usually does.  There was a definite “L”, an upside-down “u”, about three attempts at a “c”, and finally a nice “y”.  I was very proud.  Samantha signed her name with a squiggle that looked like Lucy’s usual work, which was also impressive for her.  This is the first time Lucy has really attempted to write her name on her own like that.  So it was an exciting day, all in all.