Life Lately via Phone Photo Dump

Well, it seems that this little blog continues to be neglected ... for journaling purposes, here is life lately via a phone photo dump.

On June 15th we celebrated not only Father's Day but also a significant birthday for my mom! 

Lydia continues to want to be just like her big brothers ... I have a feeling she is going to excel at tee ball and then softball!

It has become an end of the school year / beginning of summer tradition to spend a weekend in Door Co.  We were thankful that the hotel we stay in has an indoor swimming pool (it was a bit of a rainy and cool weekend).  We were still able to go mini-golfing though!  And, the day we were leaving the warmer temps and sun came out, perfect for feeding the ducks at a custard place that has also become tradition for lunch on our last day (Yep, ice cream for lunch!).

 

 This past week we had three baseball games (was supposed to be four, but one is postponed due to rain), practices, Nora's speech and PT, little odds and ends, and Jack had baseball camp every day.  Jason did most of the taxi'ing back and forth, but I was thankful to be able to do a drop off and pick up (the location of the camp was about 40 minutes away).

After a busy week, we were ready for some family time this weekend so we got the bikes loaded up and went to a state park to bike the trails, had a picnic lunch, and then the kids braved the lake.

Phew ... add in a little one who doesn't sleep through the night and it's no wonder we're exhausted, but in the most thankful way possible.  We are blessed!

'O Christmas Tree

In 2006 we started a tradition of saving our Christmas tree and taking it to a nearby state park in the spring to be used for a family campfire / hot dog roast. 

I wrote a bit more about it here.  Well, the past few years we have cheated a bit - we have still used our tree for campfires, but we've done it in our backyard in a portable fire pit.

We found ourselves reinstating our original tradition this year (last weekend), and we all had a blast.  It is getting more and more challenging to find family activities and outings that a 2 year old up to a 12 year old can embrace.  Burning the Christmas tree, making dinner over a fire, taking a hike, and even stopping at the park's playground was a hit with everyone.

 

Yes, we may have let Samuel try using the axe ... oh dear ...

 

 

 Thankful for these days!

Year of the Horse

Today begins the Chinese New Year.  As I wrote last year, it is important to us that we preserve Nora's culture.  Today was also the six year mark of Owen's diagnosis, I typically journal a few words here about this date but reflecting back it seems that the feelings year over year on this date are often the same, and it's easy to slip back into that unforgettable moment and hearing the words that our baby had a condition "incompatible with life."

So, this year, no dedicated blog post to January 31st.  Instead, a dedicated blog post to our Chinese Firecracker and preserving her culture.

(Side note - if you look closely you can see that Lydia has a bit of a shiner ... an encouter with Jack's sweatshirt ... while said sweatshirt was being swung around Lydia fell victim to the zipper ...)

 

To celebrate, we went out for Chinese with sweet friends. 

We also did a little decorating using last year's lanterns we made and some new foil paper stars.  

We again dipped fortune cookies (and, admittedly, we know that fortune cookies are totally an American thing, but they do look pretty in red glitter).  The kids got their red envelopes with money (chocolate coins). 

We set off a lantern and let the arctic breeze take it away (a balmy 4 degrees earlier this evening ...). 

And, we even celebrated at work in honor of our colleagues in China. 

Such a rich holiday ... may we always preserve the beauty of her culture!

 

Happy Chinese New Year!!!

A Banana, Two Monkeys ... and a ???

My crew tonight ... Jack as a ... not quite sure ...
and his "hobo" friend ...

 

Two monkeys and a giant banana ...

October 31st, 2012 ...
One year ago today we were united as a family in the same geography ...

 

Thankful ...

 

Pumpkin Carvin' 2013

Another first for Nora ~ pumpkin carving and painting this past week.  And, I love that Samuel and Nora dressed for the occasion (purely coincidental).

This girl is fearless in so many respects (while at the same time having some unexplainable fears like the cracks in wood planking / playgrounds), she just dug into the bowl of pumpkin "guts"! 

Jason, Jack and Nora are going to have to be the designated "scoopers" every year (the rest of us are happy to let others take care of that step of pumpkin carving!).  

 

Utilizing a technique learned from the cousins last year while we were in China, love that the kiddos have the memories of their time with the Grandmas and their Uncle, Aunt and Cousins so vivid!

 

 

On pumpkin carving day the LilyKids received a package in the mail, super fun trick or treat bags from Elizabeth.  Love that she surprised the kiddos and love that she so accurately pegged each of their personalities!

 

And, that was pumpkin carving 2013.

 

Twelve

Today my "baby" turns twelve ... I'm sort of in denial.  I mean this is it ... the last year before he is officially a teen, a teen!  (Although he has many teen tendencies already!)

So thankful to all be HERE together to celebrate Jack on his birthday (last year Jason and I were in China, anticipating the "arrival" of our sweet baby girl, no doubt though, Jack was loved on and celebrated in a big way last year and for that we will always be grateful).

We celebrated Jack's birthday with family yesterday. 

Hi.  I'm Heather.  And, I like themed birthday parties.  This is like the "twelve" (no pun intended) step program for me.  Jack confidently announced a couple of months ago that he did not want a theme this year.  

While inside I was cracking, I knew that my themed family parties for him may be a thing of the past, and I had to accept it.  He then decided on the type of cake he wanted and when asked what he wanted on it, he decided he wanted the UW-Madison W on it.  Cool (well, mostly cool since I am a Marquette grad and all).  Then he announced that he was going to wear a Wisconsin Badger tee and hat for his party.  Nice.  Kinda sounds like a theme to me!  And, since it sorta sounded like a theme I laid aside my Marquette roots and got the whole family in Badger red.

I wrote a bit about Jack here ... I am so proud to be his Mama ... no doubt that he has his moments (don't we all?) ... but, his kind heart, his smile, his persistence, his love of others trumps those moments.

Jack, you are a good kid, and we thank God every day for the gift you are to this family.  ~XO