Well, this holiday season has been one that will be remembered for years to come. We started out at Yosemite for Thanksgiving. The following week I headed to Georgia for a surprise 25th wedding anniv. party for my mom and step-dad. I returned to finally put up the tree 2 weeks later than usual and for those of you that think Christmas is hectic anyway, try being behind before you ever even start, :-)!
Mix in kids classroom programs, Xander performing in our local theater, which I might add he was brilliant in! He was funny, on cue and even did some voice overs. Being the only child in the play, he was "loved on" by the entire cast. He certainly showed us that he is listening to what we teach him at home about how to be a good human being in the world and putting it to good use. We were complimented left and right on his "good behavior", now if he could only remember to use it at home......hmm, have to figure that one out!
Now add in 2 hospitalizations, one small boy with a runny, green nose and Christmas is what I would call, Heaven on earth! Truly I couldn't have asked for a better year. Truth is that none of those gifts under the tree, the hustle and bustle of the season or anything else really matters. Having my ENTIRE family (the five of us) to spend the moments together was all I asked for.
I also have to give major kudos to Xander because even though he "knows" who Santa is, he would never breathe a word of it and he honestly behaves like he still believes in the bearded one. Instead of being the older sibling who likes to taunt the younger one's with the "truth" he is so gracious and really plays it up even though we know he knows, although we've never had any conversations about. He still gets so excited over the small things and still tracks Santa on Norad and gets upset when other kids his age stop believing. He is horrified when older kids talk about it in front of younger one's and is quick to correct them, sometimes they even give him grief about it. I am coming to learn so much about him, he is a true traditionalist! He loves to have things a certain way during the holidays, like where we place the trees (yes, that is correct, trees, there are about 6-8 trees in our house every year - email me if you wonder why and I'll explain), how we decorate all the trees, the food we make and small other things that mean more to him than I ever thought imaginable. He is so generous as well. He has come to know that Christmas means more about giving than receiving and I believe that he is rising a notch on the maturity level (well at least for this week that is, wink)! I (we) are very proud of him, he is showing potential!!!
Hannah Mac is doing great, she is bouncing back to her old self. Now I just need to put some meat on her skinny bones. She is about a size 3T in the waist but a 5T-6T in the length, go figure. Thank goodness for adjustable waist bands. She just adores her new American Girl doll and is excited about our upcoming trip to the LA American Girl Doll Store in January for her b-day. She will have a play date with a couple of her girl friends this week and next which she is very excited about. She is definitely our Julie McCoy (get it? Love Boat Social Director???) Did I just age myself? Anyway, she is doing great and took her last dose of antibiotics tonight so instead of looking back at what was, we shall now look forward!
The Moose, well, what can we say about him? He is the terror of tiny town and is such a sneak. Man oh man is he fast too. I tell him all the time that it's a darn good thing that he's so cute otherwise he'd be in a world of trouble, not that he doesn't have his fair share of time outs or swats to the bottom but his cuteness also gets him out of some stuff too! He is feisty and precocious and funny and smart and extremely clever and full of wit and wisdom at the ripe age of THREE! He fell off the stool in the kitchen while helping the other day and as he picked himself up off the floor proceeded to tell us that he (in his own words) "didn't make a very safe choice to stand on that stool", got up and walked away with only a bruised pride! Bob and I both just looked at each other and laughed. He is always saying such "older child" type of stuff. He is a master negotiator and will make a great attorney (or street swindler) some day. But at the end of the day, he is still my sweet, stinky, little, huggable "bear kisser" as he tells me. He makes me melt into a big puddle. I hope he never reads this as my mommy bluff will be called and I'll be done for!
Bob is doing "okay" however truth be known, I have never seen my husband look like he did the other day in all of our 14 years together. I was scared for him. Thank goodness he felt what he felt and we went in to check it out. Today he saw the family doc who ran more bloodwork, looked at another EKG, ordered urine creatinine collections to check kidney function, ordered an ECHO and will be doing a week to week follow-up with him for a little while. He is on TWO heavy duty BP meds and I have put him on a healthy diet (who knew it was so hard to cook healthy- I have to think about sodium levels and heart healthy before I load up the salt and butter on our usual fare) and regular exercise regimen. WE are both going to get back in shape and healthy for the sake of our family. Bob and I have climbed over 8,000-9,000 feet backing in the Teton mountains with 40-70lb backpacks on, not once but twice and now we can't climb a 10 foot mountain. How easy it is to let things go when you are thinking about everyone else (the kids) first. Well, truth is, the kids do come first which is why it is important that we both take action and this was a gut wrenching wake-up call. I expect each and every one of you in blogger land to continue to follow-up with us, to make sure that he and I are taking this to heart and following though with this. Bob is my love, my life and my best friend, I can't imagine a day in this world without him. He makes me laugh, keeps my Type A wound tighter than a top personality grounded and calm, he brings me so much happiness and joy that to see him in any kind of pain hurts me to the core. I love him with all that I am and if it means we have to upset the apple cart, get out of our un-healthy habits of convenience eating beacause it's easy, then that's what we do! His life depends on it! Please continue to say lots of prayers for him as he is not out of the woods yet.
Anyway, as I digress, to know that my daughter and my husband are both on the mend, the boys are good and that the remainder of our family all across the US is safe, happy and healthy is all I can ask for these days! So, yes, it has been a wonderful holiday season and we are humbly blessed.
We are looking forward to the new year and all that it brings. Sorry for the long post my thoughts and love for my family just kept coming.
Good night!
Kimberly
XOXOXO
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