2012 Highlights

I don't normally do this post.  Picking one photo to represent 30 whole days is an exercise of discipline the likes of which I do not possess.  But I like to wrap things up neatly, so I gave it a try :)

January, roadtrip with my firstborn, so.fun. :

 

February, teaching my baby to ski:

 

March, selling.the.house.  Finally:

 

April, the ladies, wowing us with their ballet skills:

 

May, Kelly and I celebrating the half with our families:

 

June, at the ocean:

 

July, breaking ground!!!!:

 

 

August, family camping trip:

 

September, first backpacking trip:

 

October, racing cars at the Wallawas:

 

November, catching steelhead:

 

December, me and Joe, playing with our Christmas toys:

Wow!  What an amazing year!  So many blessings....here's to 2013!

The Anniversary.

It is days like today when I wish I'd carefully recorded our last 11 anniversary celebrations.  There are some that definitely stand out, like the first, mini-cruise to Mexico, plenty of adventure there to make that one memorable.  (Joe locked in an ATM in the ghetto of Ensanada, me alone at a Mexican bar with an unpaid bill and no means to pay for it, wondering if my husband had been kidnapped, and listening to the sound of the horn from the cruise ship announcing her imminent departure.  Yeah, that cannot be stricken from our memories.)  The second one, I know we spent at a bed and breakfast in CDA.  Memorable because it was the first time we'd left our two month old Kayte overnight.  We've escaped to somewhere every time, but they all tend to blend together into one big memory.

But this year, as anticipated, we were on lockdown at home.  Joe woke up Sunday morning, the only member of the family that still felt like death.  He tried to rally by the evening, but we decided to just keep it chill at home, and save our evening out for a time when his head was clear, and he didn't fall asleep into the soup course.

But I felt pretty great, and determined to celebrate! 

The breakfast sick-tray:

Our evening in :)

By the time we tucked the kids in bed, Joe was alive enough to mix me my favorite drink and prop himself up for a girly movie.  He thoughtfully took his water up so that it would seem more celebratory.  That's true love, my friends. :) 

And my cup overflows.

Counting my blessings.

So eventually, Kayte was back in bed.  More fever.  More coughing.  Lots of phlegm.  Sara kept sleeping.  The boys seemed to have escaped with just the cough and half the misery.  On Thursday, Joe woke up half-dead, and me with a sore throat.  Let's just say, the boys logged a lot of time on the Wii that day, and the rest of us, plenty of time on the pillow. 

I was pretty desperate.  The girls had been so sick since Christmas they had yet to play with their new toys, let alone find a place for them to live.  The house was totally blitzed.  I was alive enough to be aware of the problem, but too sick and fatigued to have the energy to do anything about it.  So we Netflixed us some Matilda, ate popcorn for dinner, and went to bed early.

On Friday, yes Friday, six days since Kayte's first little fever, I woke up to the same DL.  Except me.  I was ready to put a moratorium on sickness in this house if it meant propping people up in their chairs and force feeding them.   Seriously.  Kayte and Sara hadn't eaten in days, and bones were starting to protrude.  I was convinced it was the house that was making them ill over and over and over again...so I loaded up every down comforter in the house and dropped $20 at the laundromat to rid the beds of disease.  11 loads of laundry and 8 hours of detoxing the house later, I could breathe again.  I thought I could fight it with sheer will.  But my babies were still sick....

It's Saturday now.  Kayte spent today in bed.  Sara's looking better.  Joe looks like he might be getting a second round of it.  I went to Walmart and bought stock in Vick's VapoRub and anything else that said menthol on it.  I bought a gallon of Nyquil.  Sorry.  That's the only size I could find. Besides their horse pills.  Which even I can't swallow on my best day.  I think Kayte's given up.

I went out to my mom's tonight so she could make me and my three half-healthy kids dinner and give me a boost.  It was a life-saver.  What would we do without family?

Tomorrow, Joe and I celebrate twelve years.  Our plans are up in the air.  And they weren't big and fancy to begin with.  But honestly, we have a whole lot to be thankful for.  A week-long cold is really nothing in the whole scheme of twelve years.  And when I really sit down and think about it, if it comes down to me and Joe, surrounded by four sick kids with blankets watching movies all day, well, that actually sounds mighty fantastic. 

Happy Anniversary Joe, in sickness and health, I love you more than life.  I'm having the best time ever with you.  And I'm so super-happy that you gave me all these stupendous kids.  Runny noses and all.

Boxing Day...

So.  I don't really know the true meaning of Boxing Day.  But around here, we celebrate big.  We stay in our PJs all day, and play with all our new toys.  And in the evening, I cook up a big fancy Christmas Ham Dinner.  This year, before the ham was half cooked, my Sara had spent the entire day sleeping, adding up to nearly 30 solid hours, then promptly coughed so hard she puked.  Which landed her back in bed.  I was setting the table when Will fell asleep on the floor in his bedroom, decided he wasn't hungry and went straight to bed.  Down to four, and worse, Will's my very biggest fan of ham.  I lost energy for the whole deal by the time I'd reached the green beans, so we sided with apples and store-bought buns instead.  All the while, the phrase "No one's walking out on this fun old-fashioned family Christmas!" running wildly through my head.

But the ham was sure good.  And there are days of leftovers left over.

It was just a little quieter at the dinner table that night.  And yes.  Still in our PJs...and bedhead.

And, drumroll please....Christmas Day!

We started out the morning with a treasure hunt for the new Wii  :)

Kayte's hanging in there.  By a thread.

Sara, explaining the gift she bought for Ben... he's impressed.

No Christmas would be complete without fishing gear!

See, in the background!  The new canvas-wrapped photo that Joe bought for me.  It's the kids at the ocean, and I absolutely love it!  Have I mentioned how much I love photos on canvas???  And the pic changes color during the day according to the shadows around it.  And the sun always glows so brightly.  So. cool.  Plus, it's got my kids in it.  :)

Will's fanciest fishing reel.  For catching steelhead!

Then we went back to the Casebolt's for even more presents and Ann's famous cinnamon rolls...

Sara sat staring at this box all morning.  She didn't want me to open it, cause she was afraid I'd lose the pieces.  She just imagined what she might do with it!

The kids each have a Santa's bag with their presents in it...

...American Girl!

After breakfast, we headed back to our house.

Which looked like this:

A mess we more or less ignored, so that we could do this:

And then we all took really long Christmas naps and then headed back for Christmas dinner!

Leg of Lamb and Mac.  Yum!

Where we promptly lost Sara to the fever.  Snuggled in with Rapunzel....

Such a very Merry Christmas!



Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve actually starts in the morning...back at the parent's for more presents!

Poor Kayte, you can tell we are starting to lose her.

Will's chipper!  New slingshot!

Henry's swords.  Ben was happy to duel it out with him!

Kayte got hit pretty hard with the fever/cough that's going around, and by evening, she was out cold.  I was super-bummed to miss out on the Christmas Eve service, it really is one of my favorites...but instead I got to cuddle up with Kayte...then we headed over to Joe's families house to celebrate the big night!

Food was all ready by the time we got there, and clearly, the boys were hungry!

Super-yummy!

Grandpa read the Christmas Story...

...and then the cousins took turns performing!  This is Ben, singing his favorite, Joy to the World, at the top of his lungs.  With gusto.

My sick baby.  She didn't want to miss out!

Sara, doing her Christmas verse.

And Aunt Heather reading to the littles...

we managed to get in a round of the Newlywed Game, where Joe & I again got bested by his parents!  Next year, Casebolts!

...and then it was home to stuff stockings!

Pictures of Christmas Eve Eve...

Yes, we start out on the 23rd, so that we can have a leisurely 4 days of celebrating Christmas.  Lots of food, lots of presents, and every single member of our immediate families...cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, perfection.

First.  Food:

Stephen cooks up our very favorite: cheese dip!

Mom got the mittens from Connie Lucas...a new tradition this year!

Ok...I've been experimenting with the camera...not always great pics, but always great memories.

Dad.  Reading the Christmas Story.

I love my mom's Christmas cabin.  Even though we didn't grow up here, it's home.

Snuggle buddies.  So cute!

And then presents!

And snuggles!

And, of course, American Girl :)

My favorite.

And, my roots.

...and all the branches...

Legos!

And we always manage to squeeze in some bingo and sugar cookies.

I love this night :)