I forgot to include links to the videos of the China Bridge and another cute one of Eli singing some Primary songs. Enjoy!
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Saturday, April 20, 2013
April 19 2013
Yesterday was Hannah's birthday! We've been having fun celebrating her birthday pretty much all month.
We started by taking her to the Ikea birthday party at the beginning of the month. They got their faces painted and Joshua got to be the magician's assistant during the magic show. They got free dinner, birthday cake, and Hannah got a gift (a tote bag with a book inside). Thankfully, Eli was old enough to enjoy it this year. :)
Finally, the day of her birthday was also the day of the China Bridge Competition, a Mandarin proficiency competition for K-12 students. Joshie was recommended to participate so we left Eli with friends (thankfully!!!!) and spent most of the day with Hannah watching the competition. We were so proud of him, it has been difficult at times to get him to practice but it paid off and he did the best he's ever done with his dance and speech. None of the kindergartners won the major awards but I think he was the best one. :)
We came home and had birthday cake (made by the lovely Rebecca) and opened presents, and here is our lovely birthday girl with her lovely birthday cake. She is so special to us and we are so excited for her eighth birthday. Hannah is so excited to get baptized and was thrilled to receive her own set of scriptures and a new CTR ring for her birthday. We love you Hannah and are so proud of you and of the beautiful, loving girl that you are.
We started by taking her to the Ikea birthday party at the beginning of the month. They got their faces painted and Joshua got to be the magician's assistant during the magic show. They got free dinner, birthday cake, and Hannah got a gift (a tote bag with a book inside). Thankfully, Eli was old enough to enjoy it this year. :)
Next, Hannah chose to go to Kidventures for her family birthday activity. They spent the whole day there and had a blast.
Finally, the day of her birthday was also the day of the China Bridge Competition, a Mandarin proficiency competition for K-12 students. Joshie was recommended to participate so we left Eli with friends (thankfully!!!!) and spent most of the day with Hannah watching the competition. We were so proud of him, it has been difficult at times to get him to practice but it paid off and he did the best he's ever done with his dance and speech. None of the kindergartners won the major awards but I think he was the best one. :)
Thursday, March 21, 2013
2012 con't - Rebecca goes blind!
I didn't have room in the last 2012 post to include everything so I thought I'd save the more serious one for a separate entry. So, here's the rest of the year!
Things were going along swimmingly through the year until we hit October, at which point I started having these terrible headaches. I have never had an issue with headaches - aside from a brief period when I was pregnant with Joshua - but although nothing more serious seemed to be coming from the headaches, I did notice early on that they were all the same, in a very specific location. The pain would always be across
the top of my head - if you can imagine wearing a headband, right where that would sit - and forward through my forehead, sometimes hurting in one temple more than the other, and eventually further and further down until I could feel it in my cheeks and sinuses. They also got progressively worse; not in a perfectly gradual way - some days were better than others, but overall the intensity got much worse, to the point that some days it was debilitating. I say "they"; I should say "it" because, as I told the doctors, it felt like I'd had one constant headache for a month. Then one Saturday, at the end of October, I noticed during the practice for our ward's Primary program that my vision seemed a little blurry in my left eye. I was wearing my glasses at the time, so when I got home I put in my contacts, went and spend the day at a tango workshop, and not until Monday did I find a portion of my vision wiped out in that eye. It was just off center to the bottom left, and to look with that eye it appeared as if someone had taken their finger and wiped out part of a chalk drawing - smudged out of its clear shape to blend into the background. So, for example, looking at a palm tree against the sky looked like a normal treetop, normal sky, but halfway down the trunk was smudged out to the left.
With the actual loss of vision we of course sought an immediate visit with the doctor. Ironically - or not ironically, I'm sure that the Lord helped this all to unfold - I had just barely had a physical with a new physician the week before, after thinking all year, since January, that I needed to find a doctor and have a physical. It took me that long to get around to it, but I was so thankful to have that contact just in time for this. Anyway, she immediately set up an MRI for me and scheduled an appt with an opthalmologist, who in turn sent us to a neuro-opthalmologist up in Oceanside, and within the space of a week I had at least 5 dr visits, two MRIs, the blind spot in my eye expanded to nearly total darkness, and repeated assurances from the doctors that it was most likely optic neuritis caused by multiple sclerosis. At that one-week mark, at the worst point of the vision loss, the neuro-opth, Dr. Frishberg, informed me that I was at the "hand wave detection" stage, meaning that I could identify his fingers waving around the edge of my field of vision (or non-vision as the case may be), and after that came "light detection", at which point my chances of fully regaining my vision would be slim. So he arranged for IV steroid injections, and starting the next day I had a stint put in my hand and we had to run steroids through my veins for an hour every day for four days; at the end of the four days came the spinal tap, which was a barrel of monkeys.
You can imagine the shock and upheaval it was to go from being normal with a little headache - in fact with a clean bill of health only a week old! - to being told that I had MS! For the first couple of days it was really difficult. Maybe the first week, because I remember riding home from the imaging center Monday evening, at the one-week mark, at the darkest point of this whole experience - literally! - Seth was driving and the kids were in the car, having come to the medical center to eat Quizno's for dinner with Daddy while I had my second MRI rather than stick them with a babysitter yet again - and anyway, I remember silently crying and crying all the way home, from the fear and the grief and the frustration at not being able to wash the darkness away with my tears. And there had been, of course, during the previous week, more tears between Seth and me, wondering and fearing what this would mean to the kids and our whole life. But somehow our darkest hours are also those of our biggest growth, and I came to know very quickly the peace that the Holy Ghost can offer as the Comforter.
Anyone who knows me can tell you that I'm not necessarily the most patient of people. I don't like to wait for things. If I decide something needs to be done, or changed, or rearranged, it has to happen NOW. Seth has even been called home from work at times to finish moving some piece of furniture that I've impulsively decided to move and then can't finish and it ends up obstructing the walkways of our home. (Hey, there are worse ways to be impulsive!) So when it comes to things like medical tests, you can believe that if someone tells me something is wrong, I want to know what it is and I want to know NOW. Waiting days or weeks for results is not something I do well. Until now. I felt anxious, worried, upset, impatient, all of those things at the beginning of this ordeal; and I can tell you beyond any doubt, that the prayers that were offered on my behalf by all of our family and friends and ward members, were answered by the peace that was spoken to my soul in my hour of darkness. I don't know the exact day or time that it happened but sometime after that dark hour in the car, the cloud lifted. It didn't matter so much that I still couldn't see; it didn't matter that they thought there was something terribly wrong with me that would affect my life and the life of my family profoundly; it didn't matter that they hadn't yet given me a definite answer, or that I hadn't even had all the tests done yet and wouldn't know anything conclusive for weeks. All that mattered was that I knew that whatever it was, it would be okay. If God wanted me to have MS, then that's what it would be and we would deal with it; if He didn't, then they doctors would be wrong and it would be something else, and we would deal with it. "It is what it is" is what I would say to myself, and after that point I didn't feel rushed or anxious about finding out what it was, because it didn't matter. I was at peace with my situation and from then on out looked at it as an interesting experience, which it was, in which I could see firsthand the love that my Heavenly Father has for me; the love that my husband has for me, with all of those days and weeks he missed from work and never, ever, ever said a word about it, but was by my side constantly; and the love and support we have from our friends and family and ward family, who all did so much in providing prayers and childcare and meals.
I like to look back at my life and see the ways the Lord has guided my life with experiences and the timing of events that have happened. I saw a lot of that in this experience. For one things, the physical that took me all year to plan - had I not finally gotten around to that, I would not have had a doctor to turn to when I first needed to seek medical attention. Second, my vision loss started literally immediately after an approximately 3-month period of Seth having to work overtime constantly because of deadlines and things at work. The end of this overtime meant that not only could he take the time off without being under major stress, but he also had accrued enough extra hours of leave as compensation to allow him to cover the time away from work without having to take a dock in pay or go through the hassle of pleading a medical emergency. In addition, even from the first day of appointments, we enjoyed having so much time together on our exciting medical dates :) I also had the opportunity of receiving care from wonderful doctors and I felt blessed to have them. I'm not a terribly social person but I always like the feeling of having people brought into my life for a purpose, and I'm grateful these guys were the ones I was directed to. I felt like they took good care of me.
I already mentioned that it was an interesting experience, and it really was. That's not to say I enjoyed it, but I'm telling you it is fascinating to look at the page of a book and, when you close one eye, see half the words just vanish right off the page. To look at something right in front of your face and not see it at all. To sit in the car in the dark night with super bright headlights in front of you, and again close one eye and have those bright red lights simply disappear into darkness. It's an interesting feeling to have a long needle stuffed through your vertebrae, and the twisting and turning pressure mounting until you really believe you're a maple tree being drilled for sap. And that in itself is reassuring - to know that whatever I may go through in life, at least it will be an interesting experience!
I also learned that prayer really does help people in times of trial. I used to think, what's the point in praying that someone who is sick or suffering will be healed, because it's not going to change God's mind about what is in store for that person - they will still go through whatever trial He has laid out for them. Not to sound insensitive or anything. I did pray for people but in the back of my mind I wondered what purpose it served, because it wouldn't necessarily change their situation. Now I know - the answer to those prayers doesn't come in removing the trial, or changing the situation. It truly comes in the form of strength and comfort from the Holy Ghost. And I can't even adequately describe the difference between the emotional agony I initially felt and peace of mind that I felt as more people started praying for us. We truly were strengthened by your prayers and for that I am truly grateful. It strengthened my testimony in an area I didn't even know was lacking.
And, as you know, all's well that ends well. At least the doctors found no evidence of MS, and everything seems to have healed fine, with no evidence of permanent nerve damage. It was optic neuritis in both optic nerves, perhaps caused by some virus, and according to Dr. Frishberg not likely to recur. Dr. Leung, the regular opthalmologist, didn't seem quite so certain that nothing will happen again and wants me to come back in July. I tend to agree with him - I still have headaches and eye tenderness sometimes, so I'm not convinced that it's necessarily over, but I'm fine for the time being so that's all that matters. Also, I remember one of the Priesthood blessings that Seth gave me told me that, in a nutshell, this would be the most difficult trial of my life and in later years I would come to see why it was necessary. So, I feel like, if that was the worst of it, boy did I get off easy! But i'm not expecting that it's over yet. Time will tell and in the meantime I am trying to not take my health or vision for granted.
But I can't end the blog post without a funny story. The week I had the IV and the spinal tap, Seth's dad was kind enough to fly down here to help take care of things at home. We all enjoyed having him and appreciated the time and help he gave us. I mentioned that to Hannah once recently when we were talking about this experience. (Side track a minute: Naturally the whole thing kind of scared the kids, especially Joshua. I tried to be positive about it, and even make little games out of it (for example, close my right eye and have the kids make some kind of a face and then I would guess looking at it with only my blind eye if it was a funny/sad/scary/silly face, and they thought it was funny when I was wrong because I couldn't see...I think Joshie though it was kind of sick though...) so the topic still comes up once in awhile as a "what if you get sick or go blind?" question.) Anyway, I was telling Hannah to "Even if Mommy is sick or something happens, there are still people who love you and will take care of you...remember when Papa came down and helped Daddy take care of you?" And Hannah looked thoughtful for a moment and then said "Yes, but...it was like having two daddies, and that's just not appropriate!"
Things were going along swimmingly through the year until we hit October, at which point I started having these terrible headaches. I have never had an issue with headaches - aside from a brief period when I was pregnant with Joshua - but although nothing more serious seemed to be coming from the headaches, I did notice early on that they were all the same, in a very specific location. The pain would always be across
the top of my head - if you can imagine wearing a headband, right where that would sit - and forward through my forehead, sometimes hurting in one temple more than the other, and eventually further and further down until I could feel it in my cheeks and sinuses. They also got progressively worse; not in a perfectly gradual way - some days were better than others, but overall the intensity got much worse, to the point that some days it was debilitating. I say "they"; I should say "it" because, as I told the doctors, it felt like I'd had one constant headache for a month. Then one Saturday, at the end of October, I noticed during the practice for our ward's Primary program that my vision seemed a little blurry in my left eye. I was wearing my glasses at the time, so when I got home I put in my contacts, went and spend the day at a tango workshop, and not until Monday did I find a portion of my vision wiped out in that eye. It was just off center to the bottom left, and to look with that eye it appeared as if someone had taken their finger and wiped out part of a chalk drawing - smudged out of its clear shape to blend into the background. So, for example, looking at a palm tree against the sky looked like a normal treetop, normal sky, but halfway down the trunk was smudged out to the left.
With the actual loss of vision we of course sought an immediate visit with the doctor. Ironically - or not ironically, I'm sure that the Lord helped this all to unfold - I had just barely had a physical with a new physician the week before, after thinking all year, since January, that I needed to find a doctor and have a physical. It took me that long to get around to it, but I was so thankful to have that contact just in time for this. Anyway, she immediately set up an MRI for me and scheduled an appt with an opthalmologist, who in turn sent us to a neuro-opthalmologist up in Oceanside, and within the space of a week I had at least 5 dr visits, two MRIs, the blind spot in my eye expanded to nearly total darkness, and repeated assurances from the doctors that it was most likely optic neuritis caused by multiple sclerosis. At that one-week mark, at the worst point of the vision loss, the neuro-opth, Dr. Frishberg, informed me that I was at the "hand wave detection" stage, meaning that I could identify his fingers waving around the edge of my field of vision (or non-vision as the case may be), and after that came "light detection", at which point my chances of fully regaining my vision would be slim. So he arranged for IV steroid injections, and starting the next day I had a stint put in my hand and we had to run steroids through my veins for an hour every day for four days; at the end of the four days came the spinal tap, which was a barrel of monkeys.
You can imagine the shock and upheaval it was to go from being normal with a little headache - in fact with a clean bill of health only a week old! - to being told that I had MS! For the first couple of days it was really difficult. Maybe the first week, because I remember riding home from the imaging center Monday evening, at the one-week mark, at the darkest point of this whole experience - literally! - Seth was driving and the kids were in the car, having come to the medical center to eat Quizno's for dinner with Daddy while I had my second MRI rather than stick them with a babysitter yet again - and anyway, I remember silently crying and crying all the way home, from the fear and the grief and the frustration at not being able to wash the darkness away with my tears. And there had been, of course, during the previous week, more tears between Seth and me, wondering and fearing what this would mean to the kids and our whole life. But somehow our darkest hours are also those of our biggest growth, and I came to know very quickly the peace that the Holy Ghost can offer as the Comforter.
Anyone who knows me can tell you that I'm not necessarily the most patient of people. I don't like to wait for things. If I decide something needs to be done, or changed, or rearranged, it has to happen NOW. Seth has even been called home from work at times to finish moving some piece of furniture that I've impulsively decided to move and then can't finish and it ends up obstructing the walkways of our home. (Hey, there are worse ways to be impulsive!) So when it comes to things like medical tests, you can believe that if someone tells me something is wrong, I want to know what it is and I want to know NOW. Waiting days or weeks for results is not something I do well. Until now. I felt anxious, worried, upset, impatient, all of those things at the beginning of this ordeal; and I can tell you beyond any doubt, that the prayers that were offered on my behalf by all of our family and friends and ward members, were answered by the peace that was spoken to my soul in my hour of darkness. I don't know the exact day or time that it happened but sometime after that dark hour in the car, the cloud lifted. It didn't matter so much that I still couldn't see; it didn't matter that they thought there was something terribly wrong with me that would affect my life and the life of my family profoundly; it didn't matter that they hadn't yet given me a definite answer, or that I hadn't even had all the tests done yet and wouldn't know anything conclusive for weeks. All that mattered was that I knew that whatever it was, it would be okay. If God wanted me to have MS, then that's what it would be and we would deal with it; if He didn't, then they doctors would be wrong and it would be something else, and we would deal with it. "It is what it is" is what I would say to myself, and after that point I didn't feel rushed or anxious about finding out what it was, because it didn't matter. I was at peace with my situation and from then on out looked at it as an interesting experience, which it was, in which I could see firsthand the love that my Heavenly Father has for me; the love that my husband has for me, with all of those days and weeks he missed from work and never, ever, ever said a word about it, but was by my side constantly; and the love and support we have from our friends and family and ward family, who all did so much in providing prayers and childcare and meals.
I like to look back at my life and see the ways the Lord has guided my life with experiences and the timing of events that have happened. I saw a lot of that in this experience. For one things, the physical that took me all year to plan - had I not finally gotten around to that, I would not have had a doctor to turn to when I first needed to seek medical attention. Second, my vision loss started literally immediately after an approximately 3-month period of Seth having to work overtime constantly because of deadlines and things at work. The end of this overtime meant that not only could he take the time off without being under major stress, but he also had accrued enough extra hours of leave as compensation to allow him to cover the time away from work without having to take a dock in pay or go through the hassle of pleading a medical emergency. In addition, even from the first day of appointments, we enjoyed having so much time together on our exciting medical dates :) I also had the opportunity of receiving care from wonderful doctors and I felt blessed to have them. I'm not a terribly social person but I always like the feeling of having people brought into my life for a purpose, and I'm grateful these guys were the ones I was directed to. I felt like they took good care of me.
I already mentioned that it was an interesting experience, and it really was. That's not to say I enjoyed it, but I'm telling you it is fascinating to look at the page of a book and, when you close one eye, see half the words just vanish right off the page. To look at something right in front of your face and not see it at all. To sit in the car in the dark night with super bright headlights in front of you, and again close one eye and have those bright red lights simply disappear into darkness. It's an interesting feeling to have a long needle stuffed through your vertebrae, and the twisting and turning pressure mounting until you really believe you're a maple tree being drilled for sap. And that in itself is reassuring - to know that whatever I may go through in life, at least it will be an interesting experience!
I also learned that prayer really does help people in times of trial. I used to think, what's the point in praying that someone who is sick or suffering will be healed, because it's not going to change God's mind about what is in store for that person - they will still go through whatever trial He has laid out for them. Not to sound insensitive or anything. I did pray for people but in the back of my mind I wondered what purpose it served, because it wouldn't necessarily change their situation. Now I know - the answer to those prayers doesn't come in removing the trial, or changing the situation. It truly comes in the form of strength and comfort from the Holy Ghost. And I can't even adequately describe the difference between the emotional agony I initially felt and peace of mind that I felt as more people started praying for us. We truly were strengthened by your prayers and for that I am truly grateful. It strengthened my testimony in an area I didn't even know was lacking.
And, as you know, all's well that ends well. At least the doctors found no evidence of MS, and everything seems to have healed fine, with no evidence of permanent nerve damage. It was optic neuritis in both optic nerves, perhaps caused by some virus, and according to Dr. Frishberg not likely to recur. Dr. Leung, the regular opthalmologist, didn't seem quite so certain that nothing will happen again and wants me to come back in July. I tend to agree with him - I still have headaches and eye tenderness sometimes, so I'm not convinced that it's necessarily over, but I'm fine for the time being so that's all that matters. Also, I remember one of the Priesthood blessings that Seth gave me told me that, in a nutshell, this would be the most difficult trial of my life and in later years I would come to see why it was necessary. So, I feel like, if that was the worst of it, boy did I get off easy! But i'm not expecting that it's over yet. Time will tell and in the meantime I am trying to not take my health or vision for granted.
But I can't end the blog post without a funny story. The week I had the IV and the spinal tap, Seth's dad was kind enough to fly down here to help take care of things at home. We all enjoyed having him and appreciated the time and help he gave us. I mentioned that to Hannah once recently when we were talking about this experience. (Side track a minute: Naturally the whole thing kind of scared the kids, especially Joshua. I tried to be positive about it, and even make little games out of it (for example, close my right eye and have the kids make some kind of a face and then I would guess looking at it with only my blind eye if it was a funny/sad/scary/silly face, and they thought it was funny when I was wrong because I couldn't see...I think Joshie though it was kind of sick though...) so the topic still comes up once in awhile as a "what if you get sick or go blind?" question.) Anyway, I was telling Hannah to "Even if Mommy is sick or something happens, there are still people who love you and will take care of you...remember when Papa came down and helped Daddy take care of you?" And Hannah looked thoughtful for a moment and then said "Yes, but...it was like having two daddies, and that's just not appropriate!"
2012 Family Pictures - The Many Faces of Eli
We took our yearly family photos in August and we got some pretty darn hilarious shots of Eli (aka Rubberface). Here are some adorable pics of Eli, mixed in with the rejects of the family photos. Watch his face and see how it changes from picture to picture...he can contort that little face in a million different ways. Just for your entertainment :)
2012 Year In Review
I'm just going to start mid-way through the year, because it's hard to remember farther back...
4th of July -- this was the first year we let the kids stay up to watch fireworks. Since they go to bed so early and never really knew anything about fireworks, we've never brought it up and they never asked, until this year. I guess once they're 7 years old, they start hearing rumors of interesting things kept hidden from them... Anyway, we had a really fun day that day, first enjoying the Boy Scouts' pancake breakfast, and then going over to Balboa Park, where the kids were so excited to ride the carousel and the little train next to the zoo before we headed over to the science museum. They were so cute and so excited. I don't consider myself a huge crier, but I always get really emotional watching my kids bask in the glory of their youth and innocence, and these no-big-deal little things are the biggest deal to me. I probably look very foolish to all of the dry-eyed parents when I'm sitting there tearing up watching my kids ride a merry-go-round or sing in their school programs...especially when it's not even my kid's class up there singing...Anyway, we had a fun afternoon.
Later in the day we had a pretty typical bbq dinner, which we invited Alex to come eat with us (our good family friend and my dance partner). After Eli went to bed Hannah and Joshie stayed up watching a movie while the adults got started on a (still unfinished...) game of Risk. When it was time, we all headed out on our balcony to watch the fireworks from Sea World. Have I mentioned that I love where we live? Love it. I love it love it love it. Not only because we don't have to do our own fireworks or actually go somewhere to see them. They had a great fireworks show this year, and the kids were so enthusiastic every time one exploded. I was standing next to Joshie (sniffling as usual), and I got a very willing little-boy kiss by telling him that it was good luck to kiss someone when you're watching fireworks. I'm sure that's true somewhere. I feel blessed to have people around me to kiss while I watch fireworks. After the show was over, we bedded the kids down for a slumber party in the living room. All in all it was a memorable "Independence Day" as Joshua calls it. (He spends a lot of time with his calendar.)
August brought our now traditional trip to Tahiti Village in Las Vegas, where the kids were thrilled to meet their newest cousins, Brody and Fiona, as well as see Grandma and Grandpa and cousin Sierra, Uncle R.J., and Tiff, Robbie, and Daxton. Eli and Daxton are good buddies, and soooo cute together. Seeing their unclothed toddler bodies standing next to each other is so funny. Eli looks even longer and leaner, and Daxton looks even shorter and stockier. Hannah and Joshie still talk about their trip to the chocolate factory in Las Vegas, and they of course love the swimming pool, the Spice World buffet (I think is the name of it), and Circus Circus. Now that they are older and more observant we also got to have some good conversations about modesty and appropriate ways to display our bodies as we passed all the billboard and nudie-picture vans along the roads. :[ We had a brief but fun visit with our friends the Mosleys on Friday, when we all met up at the Town Square playground and then ate dinner together back at the hotel, where my parents graciously allowed our 6 last-minute guests to join us! We were thankful for the opportunity to spend a little time with our friends.
I think the very, very best part of the trip was when Eli decided to lose his breakfast in a major way just before we got in the car to drive home Saturday morning. It. Was. Awesome. Purple smoothie? Coming right up! We had to call the maintenance guys to come clean the purple puke off the carpets and couch and thought for half the day that we were going to have to pay to get them replaced. That's how awesome it was. We didn't know Eli was sick until that moment, although I remember he was acting odd at times over those few days...but you know, it WAS Eli, so it's hard to tell. Thankfully, however, he did not get sick at all in the car, and that was the only real evidence of illness we ever saw.
Seth also took the kids on their annual daddy-and-kids-who-are-old-enough campout (this is the second year) at a very rugged campground near here. We're talking really rugged...a new playground with a splash park and workout stations along the trail... Even I could handle camping there. Maybe. The kids really do think they're roughing it though, and Daddy does a really good job pretending he knows what he's doing even though he never even camped as a kid except twice as a Scout, I think. And he wasn't in charge of things back then, so I don't know if that really counts. But he gets the tent up, roasts hot dogs and smores and is certainly able enough to figure the rest of it out, so they have a good time. And I only worry a little bit that someone will fall in the fire or something. Really I worry more about myself staying home alone, which I absolutely detest. (With Eli doesn't count. He can't protect me. You should know at this point that I am what Seth calls an "anti-feminist." I definitely believe that women need men to protect them. I am amazed sometimes that my kids aren't terrified when Mommy is the only one at home tending the hearth for the whole night. I'm not sure if that should give me more confidence that they have such faith in me, or if I should pity the poor little fools for putting their whole trust in a total chicken.) Anyway, we were okay. And I'm looking forward to next year when Seth can take Eli too, and I can really be alone for 24 hours! Shucks I just realized that includes the whole night REALLY all alone...
With September came the start of school -- second grade for Miss Hannah and kindergarten for Joshie! He was NOT looking forward to starting school. He never had the desire to go to preschool, and he's always been content at home being my little buddy. Being the possible genius that he is, it's not like he needed it so I was perfectly happy to not spend the time or money. He taught himself how to read over a year ago and at the beginning of the school year was reading at at least a level 28, when they want kids to be at level 3 by the end of kindergarten. (I say at least cause that was the highest level shown as a possibility on the paper, but really I think there's probably no limit to what he can read. He's really, really good at sounding things out and his spelling is fantastic. He also is super quick with mental math.) After going to the kindergarten orientation though, he seemed happier about it and sure enough, once school started he loved it, and he continually impresses his teachers with his abilities, in all subjects including Mandarin.
What made me the happiest about Hannah starting school was seeing just how independent and secure she is in herself. When I was a kid, probably as young as her, we all thought the posting of the class lists was a big deal -- seeing which friends were in your class and knowing right then and there what kind of year it was going to be. She could not care less. She has some good friends that she loves but she just does not care if they are with her. She almost never asks to have a play date with them, she plays with them at recess if she wants to but otherwise is perfectly happy keeping her own company in her own way. She seems to be well-liked by everyone, but she doesn't need anyone but her own imagination. I have never yet seen in her the kind of social aggression I was taught is typical in girls. She is just so happy being herself, and I hope and pray that we can continue to foster that in her, because it truly is a treasure. Her teachers also adore her. She is always absolutely well-behaved, and her teachers tell us often that she is so very smart and clever and she always says funny things that catch them by surprise and make them laugh. Her Chinese teacher was the one who said that most recently, which tells you just how smart she is to be able to say funny and surprising things in Mandarin!
The kids had a great time at Halloween. We had a pretty princess in a costume I used to wear as a child, a sweet and cuddly panda bear, and the handsomest mustachioed waiter you've ever seen. I think I was more enthusiastic about trick-or-treating than the kids were - they loved it but I wanted to keep going and going, because each knock at the door was another chocolate in my mouth! That, I think, is the best reason to live an an apartment complex - extremely good return on your trick-or-treating time! That's also a good reason to have a lot of kids.
Thanksgiving we had Tiff and Rob and the babies here, and we had a great time - lots of food, games, and one very long day at the zoo. :)
Christmas, as always, was highly anticipated and enjoyable. This year we started a new tradition of having a Christmas Eve Nativity Dinner. Instead of a traditional turkey dinner and acting out the nativity, we decided to simplify/combine the two and make a more interactive dinner experience. We let the kids each dress up in a Nativity costume (Hannah wanted to be the angel, Joshie and Eli were both shepherds I think), then the kids were each given a "dinner sack" (a dish towel filled with nuts, dried fruit, pita bread, and cheese) and trekked down the stairs to "Bethlehem", where they ate their dinner on a picnic blanket on the floor next to the Christmas tree and the doll Baby Jesus, and listened to Daddy read about the birth of Christ from the Bible. Upon arriving in Bethlehem Joshua immediately dropped his dinner and picked up baby Jesus and held him so tenderly. It was so sweet. The whole dinner and evening were such a special experience for all of us. We then enjoyed our Christmas morning in SD and then flew up to SF around noon, and spent a nice week up there with the family. It was really nice to be able to have Christmas at home and with family - almost like two Christmases in one day.
We are grateful for all of the blessings we've had this past year and all the cute pictures we have of our cute kids. Here are some photos of the experiences we enjoyed this year!
4th of July -- this was the first year we let the kids stay up to watch fireworks. Since they go to bed so early and never really knew anything about fireworks, we've never brought it up and they never asked, until this year. I guess once they're 7 years old, they start hearing rumors of interesting things kept hidden from them... Anyway, we had a really fun day that day, first enjoying the Boy Scouts' pancake breakfast, and then going over to Balboa Park, where the kids were so excited to ride the carousel and the little train next to the zoo before we headed over to the science museum. They were so cute and so excited. I don't consider myself a huge crier, but I always get really emotional watching my kids bask in the glory of their youth and innocence, and these no-big-deal little things are the biggest deal to me. I probably look very foolish to all of the dry-eyed parents when I'm sitting there tearing up watching my kids ride a merry-go-round or sing in their school programs...especially when it's not even my kid's class up there singing...Anyway, we had a fun afternoon.
Later in the day we had a pretty typical bbq dinner, which we invited Alex to come eat with us (our good family friend and my dance partner). After Eli went to bed Hannah and Joshie stayed up watching a movie while the adults got started on a (still unfinished...) game of Risk. When it was time, we all headed out on our balcony to watch the fireworks from Sea World. Have I mentioned that I love where we live? Love it. I love it love it love it. Not only because we don't have to do our own fireworks or actually go somewhere to see them. They had a great fireworks show this year, and the kids were so enthusiastic every time one exploded. I was standing next to Joshie (sniffling as usual), and I got a very willing little-boy kiss by telling him that it was good luck to kiss someone when you're watching fireworks. I'm sure that's true somewhere. I feel blessed to have people around me to kiss while I watch fireworks. After the show was over, we bedded the kids down for a slumber party in the living room. All in all it was a memorable "Independence Day" as Joshua calls it. (He spends a lot of time with his calendar.)
August brought our now traditional trip to Tahiti Village in Las Vegas, where the kids were thrilled to meet their newest cousins, Brody and Fiona, as well as see Grandma and Grandpa and cousin Sierra, Uncle R.J., and Tiff, Robbie, and Daxton. Eli and Daxton are good buddies, and soooo cute together. Seeing their unclothed toddler bodies standing next to each other is so funny. Eli looks even longer and leaner, and Daxton looks even shorter and stockier. Hannah and Joshie still talk about their trip to the chocolate factory in Las Vegas, and they of course love the swimming pool, the Spice World buffet (I think is the name of it), and Circus Circus. Now that they are older and more observant we also got to have some good conversations about modesty and appropriate ways to display our bodies as we passed all the billboard and nudie-picture vans along the roads. :[ We had a brief but fun visit with our friends the Mosleys on Friday, when we all met up at the Town Square playground and then ate dinner together back at the hotel, where my parents graciously allowed our 6 last-minute guests to join us! We were thankful for the opportunity to spend a little time with our friends.
I think the very, very best part of the trip was when Eli decided to lose his breakfast in a major way just before we got in the car to drive home Saturday morning. It. Was. Awesome. Purple smoothie? Coming right up! We had to call the maintenance guys to come clean the purple puke off the carpets and couch and thought for half the day that we were going to have to pay to get them replaced. That's how awesome it was. We didn't know Eli was sick until that moment, although I remember he was acting odd at times over those few days...but you know, it WAS Eli, so it's hard to tell. Thankfully, however, he did not get sick at all in the car, and that was the only real evidence of illness we ever saw.
Seth also took the kids on their annual daddy-and-kids-who-are-old-enough campout (this is the second year) at a very rugged campground near here. We're talking really rugged...a new playground with a splash park and workout stations along the trail... Even I could handle camping there. Maybe. The kids really do think they're roughing it though, and Daddy does a really good job pretending he knows what he's doing even though he never even camped as a kid except twice as a Scout, I think. And he wasn't in charge of things back then, so I don't know if that really counts. But he gets the tent up, roasts hot dogs and smores and is certainly able enough to figure the rest of it out, so they have a good time. And I only worry a little bit that someone will fall in the fire or something. Really I worry more about myself staying home alone, which I absolutely detest. (With Eli doesn't count. He can't protect me. You should know at this point that I am what Seth calls an "anti-feminist." I definitely believe that women need men to protect them. I am amazed sometimes that my kids aren't terrified when Mommy is the only one at home tending the hearth for the whole night. I'm not sure if that should give me more confidence that they have such faith in me, or if I should pity the poor little fools for putting their whole trust in a total chicken.) Anyway, we were okay. And I'm looking forward to next year when Seth can take Eli too, and I can really be alone for 24 hours! Shucks I just realized that includes the whole night REALLY all alone...
With September came the start of school -- second grade for Miss Hannah and kindergarten for Joshie! He was NOT looking forward to starting school. He never had the desire to go to preschool, and he's always been content at home being my little buddy. Being the possible genius that he is, it's not like he needed it so I was perfectly happy to not spend the time or money. He taught himself how to read over a year ago and at the beginning of the school year was reading at at least a level 28, when they want kids to be at level 3 by the end of kindergarten. (I say at least cause that was the highest level shown as a possibility on the paper, but really I think there's probably no limit to what he can read. He's really, really good at sounding things out and his spelling is fantastic. He also is super quick with mental math.) After going to the kindergarten orientation though, he seemed happier about it and sure enough, once school started he loved it, and he continually impresses his teachers with his abilities, in all subjects including Mandarin.
What made me the happiest about Hannah starting school was seeing just how independent and secure she is in herself. When I was a kid, probably as young as her, we all thought the posting of the class lists was a big deal -- seeing which friends were in your class and knowing right then and there what kind of year it was going to be. She could not care less. She has some good friends that she loves but she just does not care if they are with her. She almost never asks to have a play date with them, she plays with them at recess if she wants to but otherwise is perfectly happy keeping her own company in her own way. She seems to be well-liked by everyone, but she doesn't need anyone but her own imagination. I have never yet seen in her the kind of social aggression I was taught is typical in girls. She is just so happy being herself, and I hope and pray that we can continue to foster that in her, because it truly is a treasure. Her teachers also adore her. She is always absolutely well-behaved, and her teachers tell us often that she is so very smart and clever and she always says funny things that catch them by surprise and make them laugh. Her Chinese teacher was the one who said that most recently, which tells you just how smart she is to be able to say funny and surprising things in Mandarin!
The kids had a great time at Halloween. We had a pretty princess in a costume I used to wear as a child, a sweet and cuddly panda bear, and the handsomest mustachioed waiter you've ever seen. I think I was more enthusiastic about trick-or-treating than the kids were - they loved it but I wanted to keep going and going, because each knock at the door was another chocolate in my mouth! That, I think, is the best reason to live an an apartment complex - extremely good return on your trick-or-treating time! That's also a good reason to have a lot of kids.
Thanksgiving we had Tiff and Rob and the babies here, and we had a great time - lots of food, games, and one very long day at the zoo. :)
Christmas, as always, was highly anticipated and enjoyable. This year we started a new tradition of having a Christmas Eve Nativity Dinner. Instead of a traditional turkey dinner and acting out the nativity, we decided to simplify/combine the two and make a more interactive dinner experience. We let the kids each dress up in a Nativity costume (Hannah wanted to be the angel, Joshie and Eli were both shepherds I think), then the kids were each given a "dinner sack" (a dish towel filled with nuts, dried fruit, pita bread, and cheese) and trekked down the stairs to "Bethlehem", where they ate their dinner on a picnic blanket on the floor next to the Christmas tree and the doll Baby Jesus, and listened to Daddy read about the birth of Christ from the Bible. Upon arriving in Bethlehem Joshua immediately dropped his dinner and picked up baby Jesus and held him so tenderly. It was so sweet. The whole dinner and evening were such a special experience for all of us. We then enjoyed our Christmas morning in SD and then flew up to SF around noon, and spent a nice week up there with the family. It was really nice to be able to have Christmas at home and with family - almost like two Christmases in one day.
We are grateful for all of the blessings we've had this past year and all the cute pictures we have of our cute kids. Here are some photos of the experiences we enjoyed this year!
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| Watching "Boy Meets World" while Hannah braids Mommy's hair |
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| Going to the kids' first baseball game |
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| First day of school |
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| Camping with Daddy |
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| Halloween! |
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| Eli doing what he does best . . . making a mess! |
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| Somebody loves Mommy! |
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| Hello, Elder Nielsen! |
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| Joshua's homemade Santa beard |
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| Christmas Eve Nativity Dinner |
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