Merry Christmas 2010!

From our family to yours, we wish you the merriest of Christmases.  I have so much to share, so much to talk about and this poor blog has stood neglected.  If you even check on it once in a while, it's coming back to life, starting tomorrow.  There's so much excitement that I can't contain myself and I've missed blogging the way you miss journaling, or taking pictures -- like a hobby that brings joy, but organizes my thoughts and rejuvenates.  I know it's silly to say it that way, but oh how I miss it.  More soon!

Recycle! Matt's Kindergarten Performance

Matt's line was:  "E is for the Earth: the place we live and love."  :)  It was really a cute and peppy show!

Danny's Zoo Fieldtrip

Danny had his last fieldtrip of his preschool year.  In fact, he only has one month left on his preschool year.  Can you believe how big he's getting?  He's ready to head to Kindergarten.  Wow, huh?

Anyway, his class left for Mill Mountain Zoo, and I went with them.  We had so much fun together.  The animals were very playful (I always come when they are sleeping) and we found out that the prairie dogs are coming later in the spring!!  Some of the animals were eating breakfast and some were playing with various toys in their pens.  We even saw monkeys grooming each other (and eating the bugs!)  Super-fun!

Ice Cream!!!!

Marco . . . Polo: First Swim Lessons at Green Ridge

The boys have officially started swimming lessons.  They had only four kids in their group and two of them were a bit hysterical about getting into the water.  Half of the boys' first lesson was trying to convince the two others to get into the water.  But the half that was focused on them they LOVED.  They want to swim.  They're ready to let out their inner fish.  !!  They keep asking when they get to go back and the idea of waiting a whole week feels like waiting for Christmas!  Adorable.  They have always loved the water and Ray has always done such a good job of calming their fears and making the pool as much fun as possible.  I think that's what gave them the confidence they had going into their first lessons.  

Maybe by the time we go to the beach, they'll be swimming up a storm!

Is It Love?

They appear to be the exact same size, Shelley and Danny.  And they spent all morning like this -- side by side on Shelley's dog bed.  Adorable.

Matt's First Sleepover

Last night was Matt's very first time having a friend sleep over at the house.  It was even fun for Ray and I as we kept listening closely all night to make sure every body was all right.  Matt and Danny had so much fun that they are already planning future sleepovers and asking funny questions, like why can't girls spend the night?  *laughs*

Doesn't this picture look like an ad for Ginger Ale?  *laughs*  They were taking a drink break, and posed for the shot.  They were having a blast running around the park.

Matt loves to run, and that's one of the binding traits in these two boys -- running and playing hard!

We attempted to begin making Easter houses (like ginger bread houses, but chocolate).  The icing was hard to maneuver, so it was quickly tossed for playing outside!

After watching a late night movie and eating popcorn, we got our sleeping bags ready with flashlights!  Owyn was saying goodnight to his mom on the phone while I snapped this picture.  

Meanwhile, the boys have left the toddler clothing section; Matt's having a sleepover; he's learning to read in school; we starting swim lessors and having football in a couple of months.  It's enough to make a girl cry seeing how big they're getting!!!

Decorating with Icing and Candy

So I got the boys these Easter Chocolate Cookie Houses and they decorated them with candy and icing and had so much fun.  They probably spent 40 minutes decorating them, and then spend then next 20 minutes or so, running up and down the stairs to show "Papi" this or that.  Adorable.

Then we busted it apart and began to eat it!!
Loads of fun!

My Favorite New Pictures

Ray isn't feeling great, but he's feeling just a little bit better.  He came downstairs and took a few minutes to love on the boys.  I just happened to have my camera ready.  I'm so glad I did.  What fun these shots are!  Three days left until the last chemo.

Family Easter Day

My family took care of the boys all Easter afternoon.  This included hiding eggs a million times, I hear.  What selflessness.  I tell you.  We are sooooo blessed.

Wonky and Wonderful Easter Morning 2010

So this morning has been preciously spent though it's been far different from any Easter morning I've ever spent.  This is the first Easter without church, without praising God in community, without putting on a special Easter outfit (or even HAVING a special Easter outfit).  But it's still been so wonderful, regardless.

The boys woke up early; I wasn't ready to get up at all!  They ran downstairs and Matt announced that the Easter Bunny had arrived!!  I quickly grabbed glasses, and house shoes and headed down the steps to boys carrying armfuls of loot to show me.  Mom!  Mom!  The Easter Bunny brought Zhu Zhu pets!!!  How did he know, Mommy?  These chatterings intermixed with squeaks and squeals from various candy bearing toys.  I was immediately handed boxes for opening and and pieces for connecting.  Adorable.

The boys and I watched Kung Fu Panda together.  Does that just scream Easter?  Completely joking.  But it was nice.  We all snuggled together and laughed at the funny panda and potty jokes only boys could love like, "You scared me Master Shifu, I almost peed myself!"  The boys asked me a gazillion questions about the movie, until I supplied them with grapes and they had full cheeks for the rest of the movie!  (Notice the hamster cheeks on Danny here).

I ran to the store in an emergency trip for popsicles, jello, ginger ale, and other items for my darling and miserable husband, who is too sick to leave the bed, too sick for swallowing anti-nausea pills, too sick to sip water.  He is supposed to intake as many liquids as possible, but he can't keep anything down.  He had about a fourth of a popsicle and so far it hasn't come up, so we're just taking it slow.

Meanwhile, the boys have packed their Zhu Zhu pets, and other fun toys to take to Grandma's and Grampa's house.  They are ready for egg hunts and candy and running around in wide open spaces.  I am anxious to be able to take care of Ray without having to intermingle my conversations with refereeing the boys' squabbles.  *laughs*

So it definitely hasn't been typical, but it has been fun.  And for the boys, I hope the morning is just getting started.  Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!!

Isn't it it cute how they drew rabbits on the page?  Precious.
They are sleeping in the same bed (Matt's top bunk) tonight.  Danny wasn't going to sleep right away and Matt called for me.  He said:  Mommy, Danny needs to go to sleep.  I'm scared the Easter Bunny won't come!

Later, I went to switch out the laundry and Danny (the non-sleeper) whispered:  mommy, has the Easter bunny come yet?
*laughs*

Meanwhile, the "Easter Bunny" has come, bearing Zhu Zhu pets.  Are you familiar with these?  My boys have been BEGGING for them, and after they got to play with Miss Victoria's and Miss Sophia's, they are going to flip when they get their own tomorrow morning.  Danny even has a Zhu Zhu book that he likes me to read at bedtime, where they get to learn about the distinct personalities of these little pretend hamsters and get to decide which is like them!  Hilarious.

I THINK I got Nugget and Scoodles; I just know it was a brown one and an orange one.  Can you believe there are so many??  I've been utterly amazed at how many times I've tried to get them and they are out of stock in all the stores.  Seriously.  They are like the year of Tickle-Me-Elmo, when people went nuts trying to get them off the shelves.  And somehow, my guys are the last ones to get one!

These little hamsters zoom around like read hamsters, have little sleeping bags you can buy, little hamster cages and wheels, little cars, surf boards.  It's a little crazy.

Anyway, we've done a shabby job of talking about the real meaning of Easter this year.  Party because I find talking about the resurrection really an abstract topic for little boys.  We've talked about Jesus dying and coming back to life and we've read the children's version of the Easter story from the Bible -- but it's not like we do at Christmas.

I'm so grateful for my family who are planning to steal the boys away tomorrow afternoon for a big lunch, and egg hunt.  They are truly amazing and remarkable.  How blessed Ray and I are to have such wonderful families.

Basketball Banquet

Matt had so much fun playing basketball this past season.  They just finished with a sports banquet and a received a trophy.  He was so proud.  They had their final celebration at the Salem YMCA.  I had never been there, but it was a really nice facility and the boys got to play in the pool, which they LOVED!!

I talked to one of the parents who is going to be able to get Matt in on his soccer team.  I had missed the deadline and am so excited Matt will be able to play after all!!!  We also got the boys into swim lessons, which they are going to love!  The classes and teams are so great: the get to run and play, be with other children, and I just get to enjoy watching them have a great time.  LOVE IT!

In the Fullness of Life

During the day, there is the potential for such lovely peaceful moments.  They aren't are frequent as you'd imagine since both boys are in school, what with shopping, getting meds, running to the post office, cleaning, helping at Matt's school, etc.  But the dogs even enjoy the quiet now and again.  Look at how they snuggled in together for a morning nap.  Adorable!

The next fun news is that Matt lost baby tooth #2!  Ray pulled it out for him once it was dangling on there.  He was so proud, put the tooth under his pillow and Ray and I utterly forgot to let the tooth fairy know what had happened (we were working on taxes).  So Matt, Danny, Aunt Brittiny and I all shared theories for why the tooth fairy didn't show:  perhaps it was too cold outside (Danny), maybe she was on vacation (Brittiny), maybe there were just too many teeth to get (Matt), or maybe Mommy made Matt push the tooth too far under the pillow and she didn't know it was there.  Anyway, he found the whole event perplexing and nothing to worry about.  And the tooth fairy DID come the next night when Matt tried again.  *laughs*

Lastly, Ray's hair is falling out along with some bad news that surgery is going to be later into the summer than we had thought, which shifts all kinds of plans we had made.  And the bad chemo day is tomorrow.  Ray is so strong.  He's taking it all like a pro.  *I* am the one cringing at the thought of tomorrow coming. . . .

Snow Day (AGAIN!)

The boys enjoyed their snow day making ANOTHER snowman.  The first one didn't last long with high winds and then warm weather the next day, so they conspired to fix it all last night.  Then when the snow fell today, they ran to the front yard to create a new one.  Matt did most of the work, as Danny flittered around the yard with a butterfly net, trying to get snow and throw it like a lacrosse stick!

Notice the net.  *laughs*  They both were getting so cold.

Ray shoveled the driveway with the neighbor.  I think it tuckered him quite a bit, but our sweet neighbor had already shoveled our driveway twice!  Isn't this a cute group shot?

Here's Matt with Frosty.  He couldn't get the raisins to stick for the mouth, so this guy just seems a touch mad to me.  Still, great fun and I'm so proud of these guys.

Afterwards, they bundled under towels and blankets and giggled over hot chocolate.  It was a fun afternoon for two wild little boys.