Thanksgiving in Michigan

After a slow start, we finally made it to Michigan to spend Thanksgiving with my parents. It was our first overnight trip out of town, other than to a hospital, since Erin was born. As usual, Grandpa cooked the turkey and the girls made the fixins'. The weened was tons of fun. We watched football, relaxed,  played cards, went shopping, watched movies and went rollerskating.  One of us even went in the lake! We just can't go to Crystal Lake without someone testing the water.

Now, on to that slow start. We had planned to drop off our dog, Mocha, at a kennel that we had never used before. I knew it was right on the way out of town, but just as we were heading out the door, I realized that I had lost my little note that had the kennel's name, address and phone number on it. I couldn't find it in the yellow pages. I tried calling my friend, who had recommended the kennel, but she was out of town for Thanksgiving. I called another friend, who called a friend of hers.  To make a long story short, this friend of a friend did not know where the kennel was, but she did offer to take in our dog for the long Thanksgiving weekend!! What an offer! We made the decision to first look for the kennel, then call the friend of a friend if we couldn't find it. So, out the door we went. All nine of us, plus a large dog, hopped into the car. We immediately discovered our second little "glitch"...the car wouldn't start!!! (One of the kids had decided to help me by charging my cell phone with the car battery). At this point, Moira, who always has her camera handy, decided this trip was going to be interesting, and thought she had better document it.

Here's Mike, jumping the newer Suburban with the older Suburban. At least we can be thankful that the old Suburban has not yet sold and was readily available for a jump. By the way, anyone want to buy a '97 Suburban?




It gets better. After we jumped the car we began our search for the mysterious kennel, the only kennel in our city that is NOT in the phone book. We gave it a good effort, searching high and low, up and down the county road we suspected the kennel to be located. After about twenty minutes the kennel effort came to a screeching halt when our dog threw up in the car. (Moira decided those photos were too graphic). At this point, my new best friend of a friend, who heroically offered to take in our dog, was only a few miles away. Mike couldn't call her fast enough. We dropped Mocha off with the friendliest strangers we'd ever met, and wished them a happy Thanksgiving.

We were soon back on the road again and everything else was smooth sailing. We drove along beautiful Lake Michigan, and then over the Mackinaw Bridge, the third longest suspension bridge in the world. What a treat for Aidan! (That's the bridge, straight ahead)



Erin won the award for the all-time best traveler. Nothin' but smiles from her. We didn't even have to stop to feed her. She traveled first class.




The brown-eyed kids stuck together.

We arrived Wednesday night, just in time for the Packer win on Thanksgiving, which Erin enjoyed watching on her dad's lap. As long as he kept singing to her that is.



Later, Eileen borrowed some of Grandma's shorts so she could get a feel for Crystal Lake in November. I wouldn't call it the Polar Plunge, but maybe The Winter Wade.



Coming out...


Thawing the legs...


Then, on to rollerskating. Teresa roller skated for the first time and loved it. We had to drag her out at 10 pm.

It was a fun relaxing weekend!

Erin kissing her mom

Next time we're at Crystal Lake, these three munchkins will be swimming!

Last but not least, we are thankful for so many things....too many to mention! The top of the list this year, however, would have to be our little Erin. We are so thankful for her life, her patched VSD, her health, and all that she brings to our family. Thanks be to God for our happy little girl.

Happy Birthday Molly Grace!

We have a brand new four-year-old here. Molly Grace, our little MGD, who was named after Miller Genuine Draft (I'm kidding!), celebrated her birthday yesterday. She shares her special day with Uncle Tim. What a great guy to share a b-day with! We celebrated the day by going on a field trip to a place she has always wanted to go: Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant. OK, I'm kidding again. We had this field trip planned long ago, and it just so happened to fall on her birthday. She did have a lot of fun and got to play with some of her friends. The highlight was a science activity where the kids made the atomic structures of the first nine elements on the periodic table out of marshmallows and pretzels, which they then were able to eat. We finished the day with pizza, chocolate cake and presents. Her favorite present was the Island Princess dress. As she was opening her presents, Mike commented, "I think I've been to this birthday party before." The Island Princess dress was maybe the 20th princess dress opened with this clan. Six girls equals a lot of princess dresses around here!

Chocolate cake still on her face :)

Here's a recent picture of Molly Grace showing off her little Christmas trees that she made.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOLLY GRACE!! WE LOVE YOU!!

Erin's Heart Check-Up

Today Erin had her two month post-op heart check-up. They look and listen very closely at this visit to make sure the healing has gone well. The cardiologist listened to her heart and lungs for murmurs and fluid. Then the tech did an echocardiogram to make sure all the blood was going where it was suppose to be going, and that the patch holding the hole together still looked fine. They took all of her vital signs, which were excellent. Although she's still small, she is moving up on the growth charts for all three measurements: weight, height and noggin. In fact, she's grown 1 1/2 inches since her surgery. She's at a perfect 50% for the Down syndrome growth charts, and she's getting nearer to the 5% for the regular growth charts. (If she keeps going in this direction, she may even be on the typical kid growth chart by her birthday). After all this, the cardiologist walked into the room and said, "Well, I'm not sure how to tell you this, but Erin's echo revealed just what I was suspecting." My heart sank. I thought...what could be wrong? Then she finished up her sentence..."Just as I suspected, we don't need to see her for six months!" Music to our ears and hearts!!! Nothing but great news. Thanks be to God!

And to see a visual difference heart surgery made for little one, check out these before and after photos.  Notice how much her face has filled out.  And her coloring is SO much better (although it is hard to tell from the photos)...

Just before surgery

Two months after surgery

Sweet Potatoes...

...are good for the complexion! Now, if only she could get some in her mouth.



Just now, Aidan was looking over my shoulder as I was uploading this picture. His comment was...."Oh, cute. I love it when babies are slobs".  Haha.

Noah, the Ark, and the Beavers

I love teaching kindergarten. It's one of my favorite grades because you can almost see the light bulbs going off, daily.  I also love that kids are still excited about school, and they are beginning to read, which is fun. However, my favorite reason for teaching kindergarten would have to be that it is highly entertaining!

Aidan is regularly listening to the Old Testament stories this year, starting with creation. We read a story one day, the next day he retells it back to me, while I write it down, and then he illustrates his story on the third day. At the end of the year he'll have a nice book, all his own, of the Old Testament. Not long ago we were reading about Noah and the Ark. Somehow he had it in his mind that Noah must have needed some help building that ark. When he retold his story, this is what he said:

God told Noah to build the Ark. The people were being bad. Noah was good and listened to God. Beavers have good teeth. They could bite your finger off! They helped Noah build the ark because they're good animals.

So here is Aidan's illustration. Notice there are several beavers, even babies. There's a river surrounding the hard-at-work beavers, and very tall grass. If you think he forgot all about the Ark, you're mistaken. Look at that teeny tiny yellow thing at the bottom of the page - that's the Ark. LOL! OK, so it's not all in proportion, but it's all there, and he's got the basic idea. Very funny.

Our Little Flower

Teresa has always been drawn to flowers, like a magnet. She is the first to get so excited to see the flowers coming up in the spring. And when she was younger it took all her might to not pick a flower when she saw one growing in our (or the neighbors') yard. Last week I was reading a story to her about St. Anne. We read that the name Anne means "grace". She interrupted and said, "I wonder what my name means? Oh, I know, it must mean some kind of flower, probably a rose." In fact, she is named, partly, after St. Therese, The Little Flower.  Her name fits her perfectly.

As you can imagine, this art project of making paper flowers was a real treat for Teresa. Here she is showing off her pretty flower arrangement.

Erin is Eight Months

What was life like before Erin was here?? I can't remember. She turned eight months on the 1st of November. She continues to do so well. She is coming up on her two month heart check-up next week, and we're hoping that may be our last cardiac visit!

Erin fills our lives with love and laughter. Her latest crowd-pleaser is waving "bye-bye". Even though she hasn't quite figured out what it means, it's still very cute to see her little hand waving, at random, many times throughout the day. She has learned quickly that she gets a big response when she does it!

Here's a recent photo. Although you can't see it, her t-shirt says "I make chunky thighs look good" (thanks Fecks!) :)

They Were Suppose to be Raking...

...but Moira caught them on camera.

A Walk in the Park

I think this must have been peak day for fall color. We took the kids to the park on this beautiful day, but of course the pictures don't do justice, as usual. I think you have to have a fancy camera to capture the color as it really is.

Margaret's in Denial

No really, Margaret, Halloween is OVER.  It only lasts one day!  I know it's hard to accept, but don't worry, Molly Grace will support you through the tough times.

Feasts of All Saints and All Souls

We ask all the holy men and women to pray for us. We remember those who have died, especially this year.



Here's a sampling of some of our favorite saints.

St. Gemma Galgani.......


Saint Patrick....


Saint Helen, with her son, Constantine, looking for Jesus' cross...


Our Lady, Queen of all Saints....



Saint Agnes...




Saint Francis of Assisi, shown with the five wounds of Jesus on his body. I think he's near a river here??...



Saint Bridget of Sweden...



Saint Claire, who started the Poor Claires. The drawing on the right is portraying her as a princess, and the drawing on the left shows her as a nun...