January

What a month!

We spent a quick 3 day weekend in Ohio visiting family since we didn't make it up North at Christmas.  Thankfully, we had a nice survival kit for the car, compliments of my thoughtful sister, just in case we had a repeat of the 24 hour trip from a couple of years ago.  You know, the year that I was traveling alone with the kids, had only a few granola bars in the van for food and found myself sitting on I-77 in WV for 6+ hours as they had CLOSED THE MAJOR HIGHWAY due to snow.  My favorite item there is the Folger's coffee can labeled as "Family Restroom".  Really could have used that 2 years ago...

Anyway, we had a wonderful time with family and I did not use my camera like I should have.  Shannon had her in-laws over for dinner and games one night and we all had great fun.  Then, Grandma Brown hosted a delicious dinner for all of us so we could see most of our Ohio relatives.  You just can't beat Grandmas rolls, green beans and corn!  Then it was time to head home again...  The kids did get to enjoy playing in the snow and sledding with Mike and Uncle Jason.  They were thrilled beyond measure to see the snow!

Grandma Brown with the Great-Grands

Katey and Gabriella

Aubrey (I think she and Katey may have the same sense of style!)

January wrapped up with Seth going under the knife.  It was a whirlwind event as we found out that he needed his tonsils and adenoids out January 9 and he was having surgery on the 20th!!  The good news was there wasn't much time to worry about how he would do.  Seth was very brave and, leading up to the big day, was only upset that he was going to miss a week of school (which made his teacher super happy!). 

The day before surgery I told him that I could pull out the once-beloved Puppy and Sheepy for him to take along.  He said I could if I wanted to, he didn't care either way.  However, the morning of surgery he sought-out Puppy and didn't let go...which made Mommy happy.  (I've missed Puppy and am a little sad that Seth is growing up and doesn't need him around anymore)

So, all went well with the surgery.  The doctor, upon coming out to the waiting room afterwards, informed us that Seth's tonsils were HUGE and everyone in the operating room could not believe how big they were!  Glad we got them out!

Recovery went very smooth (though it was touch-and-go with my attitude and Seth's around day 5-6!) and Seth is no longer snoring or having moments of sleep apnea that we have noticed.  Wahoo!!

Seth before surgery

Puppy got a new friend (appropriately named), "Tonsils"!

And that sums up January.  Whew!

Why I Love Living in NC in the Winter

Taken in the backyard on January 13!!

Debut

Just after Christmas Katey had her first-ever piano recital!  It was a special day and we were glad to have lots of family in town to witness and enjoy Katey's performance.  She was a little nervous but she put on a splendid performance for us! Katey played:  Sunrise, Skip to My Lou, Turkey in the Straw, Angels We Have Heard on High (a duet with Alison, her teacher) and Jingle Bells.

 

Katey with her teacher, Mrs. Alison

Katey's first recital!!

We were also treated to the musical talents of Aunt Christy and Aunt Joanna, playing a beautiful duet! We hope Katey was inspired by their performance and sees what diligence in practicing can produce!

Christmas

Our family enjoyed a wonderful Christmas and New Year with family and friends.  This chica was rather lax with camera usage so there aren't many pictures after Christmas (and thank you to Brandon and Annie for taking most of those!). 

The quick overview is:  we celebrated Mike's sister, Joanna's 18th birthday together (partly by making pizza and throwing crust in the air to stretch it!);  we opened lots and lots and lots of wonderful gifts; ate lots and lots and lots of wonderful Christmas cookies and candy; laughed while playing games and watching movies; enjoyed seeing our kids play with Nate and hearing him boss the dog around; passed around some colds; played laser tag; went to Katey's first piano recital (more on that in another post); took a quick trip to Morganton to visit with the Molendorps for a couple of hours; rang in the New Year with Mom, Becca and Kevin.

And, here are some pictures to prove it all (well, some of it, anyway) happened.

  (No, Nate isn't hurting Seth - that is just our ham-ball, hamming it up for the camera!)

Out-takes

40 pictures.  That is what it took to get a nice picture of my kids together and a nice one of each of them separately.  Have I mentioned that they are 8 and 10?!?! 

I did finally get some keepers, but thought I would share a few of the ones that didn't make the cut...

Just for the record...

Each year our kids are visited by a Christmas elf.  No, I'm not talking about the little Elf-on-a-Shelf, but an elf that comes and delivers surprise presents under the little tree upstairs.  Last year and this year, they even got a letter from STAR the after-Christmas elf!

The kids are completely convinced that this elf is not real, but is actually one of our Averill family members (Katey says she has it narrowed down to Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Jo or Aunt Christy).  And, for the last couple of years they have set traps in the playroom in a ploy to catch "the culprit". 

Because they are so very adamant about STAR not being real, that got me to wondering what else they deem to be real or not real.  Last night I asked them:

If STAR isn't real, is Santa?
K:  YES!
S:  Yeah.

How about the Easter Bunny?
K:  I don't know...maybe
S:  Probably

The tooth fairy? 
K:  YES!  I know for a fact that the tooth fairy is real!
S:  No...Katey, remember, Daddy told us.

The Grinch who Stole Christmas?
S:  I don't know
K:  No...Dr. Suess made him up

I love it!! 

Alabama!

As mentioned in my previous post, we took a little road trip to visit Mike's sister, Christy, in Louisiana Alabama a few weeks ago.  (After Christy moved there I could never remember if she lived in AL or LA!  No worries Christy, I have it straight now that we visited.)

Christy and her roommate, Stephanie, were wonderful hostesses and we had a great time hanging out at their apartment and going on our many adventures.  

We got to tour Beeson Divinity School where Christy is attending.  What a beautiful campus!  The kids had fun climbing trees and collecting nuts (where we found the infamous "Nutty" the acorn).

Then it was off to the botanical gardens to smell the roses, touch cacti plants, explore nature, enjoy time with Aunt Christy, hang out in some bamboo and, of course, collect more acorns!

Finally, our day ended with a tour of Hogwarts at the zoo!  We got to ride the Hogwarts Express from Platform 9 3/4, tried Butterbeer, which tasted oddly like warm rainbow sherbert..., got sorted into houses by the sorting hat, made wands, had faces painted and played on roller racers (which have nothing what-so-ever to do with Harry Potter but were awesome fun!).

Our weekend adventure ended with visiting Christy's church and getting to meet more of her friends.  It was such a blessing to get a glimpse into the life of our sister and to hear the words of praise her friends had to speak about Christy.  She is one incredible, giving, passionate and loving young woman!!  We love you, AC!!