LaSalette Shrine

Eric, Sarah and I went to the LaSalette Shrine a couple of nights ago to see the lights and nativity. Christian was at a friends house for dinner, so we decided to go out to eat and stop by the shine. We try to get there every year during the Christmas season. It was raining while we were there, so our visit was short, but still very beautiful!

Merry Christmas 2008

t'was the night before Christmas

Merry Christmas!!! I hope your Christmas eve was as magical as ours. It seems that every Christmas eve has that tone to it, doesn't it? Last night we went to a friends Christmas party and after that we went to church. I sang in the choir, Sarah sang in the children's choir and both kids were in the pagent. It was a busy night, but wonderful! Our family was asked to light the last advent candle and read scripture at the service too. Sarah and Eric did a responsive reading and Christian and I read the scriptures. I read Isaiah, Chapter 9, verses 2 to 7. Christian read Luke 2:1-14 (15-20) He did a wonderful job. I love hearing him read aloud. I thought I would post it here:

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see--I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!" When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

It's been a tradition now for a while that Santa (or a family member/friend/or we find one at a yardsale!) gives the kids a nutcracker for Christmas. I've uploaded these backwards again, but this is our collection now. We have yet to get a German nutcracker, but I'm sure someday we will. Sarah is a big fan of the Nutcracker ballet and we all like the story as well (and the music!).

The two newest additions.... a skier and a pizza-maker. (Sarah: thanks for my new pj's Nana, see, they fit!!)

more birthday... more snow!

We managed to have Sarah's birthday party with some of her school friends despite the bad weather and not to mention Sarah had a fever on Thursday and Friday! She felt better by Saturday morning, but we were hammered with snow Friday night. I didn't want to re-schedule, so I put the truck in four wheel drive and headed to the bowling alley with a vehicle full of jolly girls! A fun time was had by them all. On Sunday another storm hit, this one bigger. Church was cancelled so we spent the morning at the farm. It snowed all day and night. We had breakfast at the farm, then the kids went sledding there on their big hill. It was so cold!

Eric borrowed the tractor to plow our driveway.

nice form Sarah!

pizza time

Making a wish... again!

Just one

I guess this is all I'm going to get for today.. I have several new pictures to share but it won't work yet again. I'll try again soon! Santa came to Sarah's school after the annual Holiday concert last week!

Christmas pictures

I tried to get a good picture with Sally in it, since it is her first Christmas and as you can see, they turned out quite comical! kiss, kiss for Christian...

More kisses for Sarah...

Finally I tried making funny noises to just get Sally to look my way!

cute shot huh?!

We had an ice storm last Friday and lost power for a while. I took the kids outside after the freezing rain/snow stopped and we'd played too much trivial pursuit! This one turned out well too. We were lucky and got our power on by bedtime, others in our town are JUST getting their power back! Eric's boss (who lives further south of us) still has no power. He had to go travel to Connecticut to find a generator... crazy!

Happy 9th Birthday Sarah!

Here is Sarah at about 3-3 1/2 years old. I wish I could put some baby pictures on here, but we had switched to digital right around the time this picture was taken! When she was born she had a full head of black hair. She weighed 9lbs 8oz. Last night Sarah and I got our her birth certificate. She was really curious about what time she was born! She came at 5:07 pm. She got a kiss at that time tonight! We love you Sarah and can't imagine life without you!!!

Sarah at age 4 when she first started ballet classes. So small! I wonder how children can grow so fast?!

Our ballerina now! This was taken on Sunday (12/14) when we got home from Sarah's Christmas ballet recital. Of course I forgot my camera for the show, so I had to hurry and take a picture before she shed her ballet attire.

12/15/08 Sarah and her pal Shannon !

Make a wish!

Happy Birthday my big nine year old!!!

Decorating

We did some decorating over the weekend...we put up two trees, an artificial one upstairs and the real one down in the living room. It smells so good! Here is Christian cutting it down. It was Christian's turn to put up the angel this year.

Sally's first Christmas!

Christian took this picture of the artificial tree upstairs. He "borrowed" my camera tonight and when I looked at the pictures after he was in bed, this was on there, along with a picture of a half eaten pizza, the fire in the woodstove and several of the sleeping dog! :)

Thanksgiving '08

Here are a few more pictures from our trip to NY.... Christian with his cousins, Zachary and Tyler.

Sarah with Grandma's new horse, Romy.

While at the barn Sarah got to ride Jake. She usually gets to ride him when we visit (a big thanks to the Knapp family, Jake's owners!) Grandma usually meets us at the barn to give Sarah a lesson, but she was stuck at home with all of that snow they got... about 2 feet!! , so the oldest of the Knapp families children; Rena, gave Sarah a lesson. She had a great time going around barrels, over poles and "bridges" etc.

We went to NY to visit family for Thanksgiving! It was a tough start with Sarah as she had some sort of flu.. she got over it quickly but now Christian has it, so I took a sick day and am home with him. I have many more pictures but this is all it'll do for now! I'll add them next time! :) Sarah and Christian with their cousin Leaha and Daddy too!

With Nana

making progress!

Here is the latest on Sarah's friend Ceci (posted by her mom Nancy from her care page site)! Thank you for your prayers.. please keep her there!!! :) Have a Happy Thanksgiving!



Hard work!!
Posted Nov 22, 2008 4:11pm
Cecily sees a speech therapist, an occupational therapist and a physical therapist twice a day each! She is still not sure she can trust them (her shy side) and doesn't really feel like showing them what she can do (her stubborn side. Harry and I are hoping for more cooperation next week!
Ceci stays in her chair for longer periods of time though she hates the helmet and the harness (don't rein me in). Yesterday we took her outside to see our two dogs, to hear the wind blow through the leaves and to see the ice in the puddles. I hope to incorporate a daily walk into her routine despite the cold weather. Ceci has always been an outdoor girl. There is daily progress in her ability to focus and express her feelings. She loves to hear all of the messages from you all.
Thanks!Nancy

music and miniatures

Christian had a recital at the high school Thursday night. There he is in the red shirt playing the trumpet!

We went to watch our neighbor's little girl Ellie ride her horse where she boards and there were these cute little mini's there.. my gosh, they got a lot of attention! Even Christian (who normally hangs out with the barn cats as he is NOT into horses!) was leading one around and having them jump over poles. It was pretty funny!

Sarah leading another mini, they really got their exercise!

Eloise riding her horse "Pico"

Cecily's update!

Here is the latest update on Sarah and Shannon's friend Cecily, posted by her mom, Nancy today:

Ceci on the 8th
Posted 12 hours ago
Cecily had a few days and nights mixed up and was quite agitated for a good 48 hours on and off. However, she is back on track and is having much more alert time that is peaceful, where she listens closely, looks at books and pictures and communicates as best she can. The "NO" continues at appropriate times and now she will nod her head "YES". Miss Queen, Ceci's 1st and 2nd grade teacher, observed this nod first two nights ago when she spent a night with Ceci. I was so excited this morning to get a nod, too! Ceci very much enjoys listening to her class mates and herself read the books on tape that they did last year for the kindergarten class.
Kidneys are going full force. The dialysis tube was removed. By early next week she will be attempting to eat through her mouth. Physical therapy comes twice a day. She is weak after five weeks in a hospital bed, but make progress daily. We are visiting rehab places and hope to be in the right one for Ceci and our family within a week.
xxoo Nancy

Latest pictures

Christian won a pizza from a local pizza/sub shop last weekend at their Saturday night "guitar hero" contest! He was so proud. He's actually in this picture, but the sign was so bright it just didn't turn out. They usually put the last initial, but could not fit the "P."!

Come on Felix! Eric installed the new "kitty-door" today. The cats are not too thrilled with the thing so far! They sit on the other side of the door on the top stair meowing or scratching at the door! I'm glad it's installed though as Sally loved to venture down into the basement to munch on the cat's food!

Sarah had a friend come over for a visit. like Christian, she is a HUGE Harry Potter fan. Here they are trying to out-do each other with some Harry P. trivia. It looks like the answer is on the tip of her tongue!!!!

Pillow fight!!! you gotta have one of these when a friend is over.. Sally wanted in too, so Eric let her have a whack! She's got to be wherever the action is...(see all of the little round specks in this picture??? DUST!!! It's time for a cleaning I guess!)

I was "sprit day" at school Friday..here is Sarah and Mikayla sporting their school's green and white colors! Their mascott is the raptor after the raptors that next in the cliffs that are not far from and school. Sometimes we see falcons while playing on the playground. I got chills on September 11 of this year.. we looked up and saw a bald eagle flying overhead.. amazing and on such a memorable day...

What sleepover is complete without riding the futon mattress down the stairs????

I got an "I love your blog" award from Jenny!!!!

Thank you JENNY. I enjoy creating my blog for all to keep up with our happenings! Love your blog too!! You will find some of our answers are the same or are similar!!
1. Where is your cell phone? Actually I don't own a cell phone, Eric does and one is enough. That thing is always ringing!!!.

2. Where is dh? Call me silly but what is dh? If it means my hubby he is right here in the same room as me. (I don't know this one either Jenny, but eric is right here too..! )

3. What is your hair color? I don't really know how to describe it.. but I remember my pal Jenny telling me it was "butterscotch" back when we were in school together, I never forgot that!.

4. Your mother? best friend.

5. Your father? My buddy

6. Your favorite thing? spending time with friends and family, watching my kids learn new things, finding out what their interests are and them succeeding with those and having fun doing it!

7. Your dream last night? Hmmm I can't remember .

8. Your dream/goal? Do lots of traveling and visit historic spots.. I LOVE being in the same place where something really special happened once upon a time!

9. The room you are in? Living room.

10. Your hobby? Horses, music, horseback riding, crafts, baking, cross stitch (even though I have not done this in a long long time!) and books, books, books!

11. Your fear? Something happening to someone I love or myself.

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? whoa, I haven't thought that far ahead!

13. Where were you last night? After work Sarah and I stopped at the video store and picked up "Kit Kitteridge, an American girl"(which is GREAT by the way!) movie at the movie store, then we went to the library, next we went to pick up her friend for a sleepover at our house, on to the barn for chores and letting Kit in, then finally HOME! Whew, what a night!

14. What you're not? unfaithful

15. One of your wish list items? a pair of uggs (sp?) I've heard nothing but wonderful things... maybe for xmas???! :) oh, and I want the mini kind, dark brown... !

16. Where you grew up? Upstate New York

17. The last thing you did? ate dinner.

18. What are you wearing? Jammy pants and comfy shirt.

19. Your TV? If you mean what's on right now, it's football (not my choice!)

20. Your pet? Horse (yes, he's a big pet!) , bunny, bird, dog, two cats

21. Your computer? When I have time!

22.Your mood? happy

23. Missing someone? family and friends back in NY, kids I had in the preK who have moved away (WILLIAM in Oklahoma! I miss you buddy!)

24. Your car? SUV

25. Something you're not wearing? jewelry (Ex for wedding ring that I don't take off.. :) )

26.Favorite store? I don't shop much, there aren't many stores around here, but I do like to visit "farm-way" (the complete outfitters for man and beast!) in VT once in a while but I also like to look through catalogs.. horse catalogs, LL bean etc.

27. Your summer? Yes, way too short.. ! Never enough time for everything we want to do. horseback riding, taking Sarah to riding lessons, Christian to golf, playdates, library, going to the pond to swim, walk etc. oh and BBQ!

28. Love someone? I'm in love with Eric! :) of course my kids, family and friends too!!

29. Your favorite color? Blue

30. When is the last time you laughed? Today

31. Last time you cried? If you mean REALLY cry I don't remember, but I did laugh so hard that I cried while listening to Bob Marley's comedy on my IPOD while Sarah was in her ballet lesson last Wed... TOO FUNNY! People probably thought I was nuts while driving past...

Now for my three favorite blogs : Jenny's but she sent this to me, so I guess it stops here b/c I don't know three more! oh and I can't figure out how to put the "award" picture on here.. I'm not very computer saavy....

Speaking of my pal Jenny... her and her husband Brad are expecting their FOURTH GIRL in March!!! Congratulations you guys!!! Stop by to congratulate her on her link above!

More Halloween

Belle and Zorro went trick or treating with Sally the ballerina. Sally got biscuits from some houses!! We went to the masonic lodge's annual haunted house, trick or treating to a few houses, then on to a halloween party. It was a late, but fun night!

Zorro

Christian attended a 4-hour long baseball clinic at school this AM with former Red Sox pitcher Rob Woodward, here they are pictured together. (I think he pitched for them in '86, but don't quote me on that!) He got a ball signed by Rob... he had a blast!

pumpkin lighting

After homework, barn chores and dinner the kids carved their pumpkins! I carved a tiny gourd and Daddy helped with Sarah's HUGE pumpkin. Christian chose to carve a smaller one.. he knows all too well all of the "guts" that are involved with the biggies! I will take some pictures of them in their costumes tomorrow by their lighted pumpkins to share.

After the ghastly pumpkin carving was done we went to a small farm in the next town north of ours to visit their annual pumpkin lighting. There were some pretty neat pumpkin carvings there and at the very end we saw:

"happy halloween!"

update on Cecily

I wanted to post an update that I got for Sarah's friend Cecily, things are looking up, but she still needs all of your prayers! Thank you!!


On Friday Ceci sat in a chair for a couple of hours, listened to stories from her Uncle Andy and Aunt Laurie. It was pretty clear that Cecily was very aware of Andy, Laurie and familiar with the relaying of these stories. She also has shown recognition of other familiar voices and faces. She is doing some more moments of focusing and tracking with her eyes. All fabulous news.
Today Ceci will be transfered to Children's Hospital in Boston. There are no complications. Nance & Harry wanted to be close to where she will begin rehabilitation as well as to Harry's family. The best news is that Ceci produced urine last night, about a half a cup. Nancy & Harry had a "pee party"!! This is great news and may indicate the kidneys kicking back into gear.
Ceci seems to be headed most firmly in the right direction in more ways than one. She has the fight to deal with what's ahead. She has great support from family and friends which will help pull her through.

a nice long weekend!

Our family had a nice long weekend. There was no school on Thurday or Friday and we spent the days relaxing with our family (and the pets too!) Here are some pictures from our time at home! What's so funny Sally???

Lacey-cat can be found in Christian's room just about every morning after the bed is made staring at Tommy-bird. Tommy stares right back and will usually sing a song or two.

She looks forward to cold weather every year so she can bask in the warmth of the (HER) stove! We usually take a picture every year of Lacey with her stove.

My parents came to visit this weekend! We went out to eat, walked around Hanover a bit and went for a ride to see the remaining leaves. Christian played mancala with Nana a lot too and beat her every time! (don't feel bad mom, he beats everyone!) He's the master and even beat Daddy this morning too!

Felix loves my Dad... whenever Dad comes to visit Felix has to be right beside him on the chair. They took many naps together! :)