Christmas Eve

We went to my parents' house on Christmas Eve around lunch time.  We used to have a lighter lunch and a bigger dinner, but that usually meant we were all scrambling around after dinner and trying to get to church on time.  So now we have a bigger dinner and then a lighter, easier dinner.  It seems to work really well!

This year was extra special because Holly and Brian were married in May AND they now have a little baby on the way!

Doesn't she look adorable???

After lunch, it was time to open presents...

 

 Reid was thrilled to have some new "guys" to play with!  Those Imaginext sets are awesome!

 Ryan loved getting a chess set. :)

I thought I took more pictures during that time, but I guess I didn't.  We just had fun watching everyone open and then play with their gifts.  Before we knew it, it was time to eat dinner and get ready for church.

 Mom & daughter picture--Let the record state that we were ready BEFORE the boys!  I'm sure we won't always be that lucky.  :)

 Picture with Grandma and Grandpa

 I love Reid and Ethan in this one!  

 Quick family picture before heading to Mass...which was oh so fun with Reid.  ;)  Loved being able to celebrate Christmas Eve with our family!

Christmas Card Pictures

The night Reid got his boot on, he was just a mess. He ended up falling asleep on the couch for about two hours--most likely because he hadn't slept well the two nights before.  He woke up later that evening and for some odd reason, Joel and I thought it would be a good night to take our Christmas card picture.  I had had grand ideas about having our pictures taken outside in the fall, but fall had come and gone.  So now we were approaching Christmas and didn't really have a recent family picture to send out in our card.  We decided just to snap a picture of the kids in front of our Christmas tree.

We had the two older ones on board, and they were more than happy to pose for us.  The little one?  Not so much.  But there must have been some kind of divine intervention because he went from crying and rolling around to smiling and sitting still for two pictures.  And that's all we needed! 

Wrestle Mania

It seems like whenever Reid and Ryan are playing together, they are usually either chasing each other around or tackling one another and/or wrestling.  I am not always sure why they think they need to take off their shirts while wrestling, but I never had any brothers, so what do I know?

One night Reid and Ryan were wrestling as usual when Reid starting screaming in pain.  Apparently Ryan landed on Reid's foot and injured it.  I wasn't home at the time, but Joel eventually got him calmed down and put him to sleep in our bed.  It was about 11 p.m. that night when Reid woke up, screaming and crying about his foot.  He was inconsolable--almost like it was when he was an infant.  There was nothing Joel nor I could do to make him stop crying.  He just kept saying, "My foot hurts!"  I wasn't sure if he was pulling our leg--or foot--so at one point I tried to put him down on the ground. He immediately put his hurt foot up and wouldn't stand on it.  Eventually Joel got him to lay back down and go to sleep, but he was up a few hours later crying again.  This was just not like him, as he is usually our tough guy.

We thought about taking him to Immediate Care in the morning, but didn't want to be making a big deal out of nothing.  So instead we took him to Michelle's house (his sitter) so her husband, Steve, could look at him. Steve is an athletic trainer, so he deals with injuries every day.  He helped Reid ice it and keep it elevated during the day.  

Since he still wouldn't walk on it that evening, we decided to take him to get it X-rayed.  It made me so proud when the X-ray technician said he was one of the best 3-year-olds he has ever had to X-ray!  Normally he said they are kicking and screaming and crying, but Reid just sat there and told the guy "thank you" on his own when we were done.  :)

The next day his pediatrician called and said he had broken his 2nd metatarsal and possibly his 3rd as well.  That afternoon we took him to an orthopedic doctor who decided to put him in a boot.  He also said he didn't think it was actually a break, but the treatment would be the same.  He was to wear a walking boot for 3 weeks.

 Here he is after having his boot put on.  He actually started walking on it right away--the first time in 48 hours!

 Our brave boy!

 Of course we had to treat him to ice cream.  :)

We were at the mall where they had a play area for kids.  It didn't take Reid long to start climbing all over the equipment, which made me super nervous since he had only had the boot on for about an hour.  But he didn't seem to feel any pain because he would practically run in that boot after a few days.  Of course when it wasn't on, he would still crawl around the house to get around.  :)

We kept it on for two weeks and then asked him if he wanted to try walking on his foot.  He said he did, and he actually seemed to be doing pretty well.  However, after about 24 hours, he was limping and complaining of pain in his foot again.  So we decided it was a bit premature to take the boot off and had him wear it for another week.  He's now had it off for about 2 or 3 weeks and is doing great!  Now we just need to keep his older brother away from him for awhile...  :)

Oh, Deer!

One of the coolest parts about being in our new house is having the woods behind our house.  Not only do we get to enjoy the privacy of the foliage in the summer and its vibrant colors in the fall, but the winter gives us glimpses of these amazing creatures:

 We started to notice the deer passing through our yard at the same time every day.  It's been fun to check every now and then to see them.  Joel even bought me really nice binoculars so we can see them up close.  I wish I could take better pictures, but there are so many trees that get into focus.

 We have seen up to 9 or 10 deer at one time.  On this day there were two bucks who were locking their antlers together.  It was super cool!

We were particularly worried about one buck that we noticed hobbling around our yard for several days.  We weren't sure if he had been injured, but he was certainly getting slower and slower.  Joel had one of the naturalists from Ritchey Woods come over to observe the buck.  Unfortunately, though, he was nowhere to be found that day.  However, they did see 9 other deer.  She also pointed out places where a few deer had slept during the night--one place was about 20 feet from our bedroom window!

So whenever the kids beg for a pet, all I need to do is open up the curtains and hand them my new binoculars.  Best.pets.ever.

Reid Singing "Row Your Boat"

Thanksgiving 2013

We headed to Fort Wayne on Wednesday of Thanksgiving weekend.  Joel was driving his old car to store it in his parents' garage for the winter while I was driving the minivan.  He stopped at a gas station around the corner from his parents' house to top off the tank, but then the car wouldn't start.  Luckily his dad was able to go over and help him get it started.  Unfortunately, Joel was like a popsicle after driving in his cold car and then standing outside for 30-45 minutes working on the battery. So he stayed home to warm up while the rest of us met Amy and Brad and their family downtown for the lighting of the Christmas lights and other festivities.

Doug and Marsha with Ryan, who was trying to catch a snowflake.  :)

We went into the courthouse to listen to some local choirs.  It made me miss my choir days!

After watching a local youth symphony perform Christmas songs, we headed to Parkview Field to watch the fireworks.  It was pretty cool!

I forgot to mention that I forgot to bring my nice camera, so these pictures are either from my phone or Kelly's blog.  Thanks, Kel!

The next day we headed to Uncle Doug's house on the farm for Thanksgiving with my side of the family.  Uncle Doug had just renovated his farmhouse (which used to belong to my great-grandparents), so it was a beautiful and spacious place for us all to meet!

Uncle Doug offered to take us all on a hayride. We had some takers!

I have to note that Joel stayed inside as I don't think he had warmed up from the car fiasco the night before.  Haha!

This was probably the most exhilarating tractor ride I have ever been on.  Uncle Doug has no fear!  :)

Kelly and I with our beautiful Grandma Young.

I just LOVE this picture of my grandma with Ethan!  Ethan is just the happiest little boy ever!

My beautiful mom with my handsome and fearless Uncle Doug. 

Grandma Young with Reese and Ryan 

Kelly captured this picture as they were leaving.  Gorgeous!

We then headed back to Joel's parents' house to spend the next couple of days.  We enjoyed making buckeyes and white chocolate candy, hanging out with cousins, and playing cards--of course!

We headed back to Fishers on Saturday and put up Grandma Sheets' Christmas tree.  

It looks beautiful in our front window!  We spent the rest of the day decorating for Christmas.  We didn't go all out this year since it was a short Advent season.  Plus, last year I did a lot of decorating in the afternoons, and I just don't have that luxury anymore.  :(  Oh, well!  Now there will be less to take down...when we get to it in March.  Haha!

Washington, D.C.

Our school was awarded the National Blue Ribbon of Excellence by the US Department of Education.  This has been one of our goals for several years, so I was thrilled as a teacher as well as a parent.  Only about 9% of schools have been recognized with this honor, so it makes me extremely proud!  I was also honored when my principal asked me to go with her to Washington, D.C., to accept the award.   I know this is really our family's blog, but I have to document my first time in D.C.

We arrived on Saturday and walked to the National Zoo.  I was impressed that this is a free zoo, so you can just come and go as you like.  We even went on a walk on Sunday morning and experienced a "Code Green" lockdown.  Apparently a 12-point buck had leaped into the zoo, and authorities had to be called in to help get it out.  (They said a buck can be aggressive.) We needed to get back to our hotel to get ready, so the workers at the zoo helped us get out safely.  One guy actually escorted us past the buck with a shovel.  ;)

Later that evening, we went to Mass at The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on the campus of The Catholic University of America. It was absolutely gorgeous!

My principal and I

The next day we headed to the White House.  It was almost surreal to see some of these places in person after seeing them in pictures, books, and movies my whole life.

We also visited The Mall and walked through the various monuments.  This WWII Memorial was especially moving.

I roomed with one of our art teachers, who thought of this idea.  :)  

Everyone made a point of helping me around town since I was the only one who had never been to D.C. The Metro (subway) was especially confusing, so everyone was helping me out.  Of course, as luck would have it, when the Metro arrived at the platform, I was being super nice and letting people get off before I got on.  I was right behind our group and was surprised when the doors started to close.  I thought they were like elevator doors, so I put my hand out to push them open--only to discover that when they start to close, there is no getting them open again.  So there I stood on the platform with my mouth wide open--watching my group travel off without me!  Thank goodness for cell phones because we were able to figure out an alternate plan quickly.  But after that, I had to have a buddy at the Metro station.  :)

Sunday evening we met up with another Catholic school in Westfield, Indiana, at a restaurant in Georgetown.  They actually have ladies making the pasta fresh each day.  The food was absolutely amazing, and we all left feeling stuffed!

On Monday the Blue Ribbon festivities began.  We left in the afternoon to head back downtown to have a private tour of the Capital building.

Tuesday was the actual National Blue Ribbon Awards Ceremony.  I thought it was going to be extremely formal and stuffy, but it became more like a party!  The lady handing out the awards had fun music playing and encouraged everyone to dance up on stage with her as we accepted our awards.  :)

From left to right: Theresa, Dr. Williams (our superintendent), Mireille, and Cathy.

It was a once in a lifetime experience, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to have gone.  Thanks to Joel, who supported me and took such wonderful care of the kids and the house while I was living it up in D.C.  And thanks to my mom who took me shopping and helped me pick out new suits and clothes for the occasion.  Now I'm wanting to help our school apply for more awards so I can do this again.  Are there any awards given in Hawaii??