Our Three Days of Christmas

On Christmas Eve the waiting was over and Ben, Janae, Alaina and Eric finally got to open the presents they had bought for each other and that had been sitting under the tree for the past couple of weeks.

Janae had strongly hinted that she wanted the movie Spiderman: Far from Home, and Eric was SO excited to give it to her.

Janae had drawn Eric's name and bought him the game BopIt, which all of the kids enjoyed playing.

Alaina got Ben a mystery box of D&D figures, and Ben got Alaina two books in a fantasy series.

So, they were all happy! 

Since we had driven around to look at Christmas lights the night before (with Janae becoming the "Christmas Bozo" within the first minute), all that was left was for us to watch our traditional Christmas Eve movie, A Muppet Christmas Carol, and then get out some cookies and milk for Santa. Eric wanted to leave out nine carrots so each of Santa's reindeer could have one, rather than just Rudolph, and he insisted on leaving a BIG plate of cookies :)

We heard a few footsteps early Christmas morning, before 6:00 even, but when Eric finally convinced me to get up at 7, we just saw presents and stockings--no brother or sisters. (Of course Janae and Alaina had been up at 6 to see what was there....)

Janae had the largest gift this year--a vanity desk for her room (which Ben helped Jason put together the night before).

Alaina got the coziest gifts--new bedding, slippers and a soft blanket to cuddle up with.

Ben got what he had been hoping for--a PS4 and Jedi Fallen Order to play on it (you might see him playing in the background of some of the other pictures).

And Eric got a Transformer, a Lego Ninjago set (which Ben helped him build), 

and a Hot Wheels car racing set, which Jason has fond memories of playing with as a child.

That afternoon we watched the live action Lion King then headed over to Jason's mom's house for dinner. This will be our last time visiting her there since she's sold the house and is moving to a townhouse next month.

After way too much sugar, we headed home for the night.

Today I made buns, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes for Christmas dinner with my family at my sister Tina's house.

The kids had fun being with their cousins, and we enjoyed my mom's wonderful turkey dinner with eggnog trifle for dessert (my favorite!). 

It was a good Christmas for everyone, and even better for lasting a full three days!

Getting Ready for Christmas

This December we have really enjoyed the benefits of having four kids! Yes, it is a little more expensive to buy all the presents, but we have had so many wonderful concerts and activities to attend every week, starting with Janae's violin concert at the end of November and lasting up until tomorrow, when Alaina and Jason will be singing in our church choir and Janae is scheduled to play the violin.

The first weekend in December we had our church Christmas party and Janae's music school concert. 

It was Alaina's turn to be Mary in the nativity at our church party, and her cousin Luke was Joseph. Eric was one of the (very loud) sheep :)

The music school concert was held the following night at a beautiful church and featured all kinds of Christmas music. Janae sang "When Christmas Comes to Town." She isn't in a vocal class, but her piano teacher thought her voice would work well for the song, which came at the end of the concert. Janae would not practice in front of us at home, so we weren't sure what to expect, but she sounded great and we were really proud of her.

The following Monday Alaina had her first-ever cello recital. She played "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" alongside her teacher, Judy. Some of the more advanced students played Christmas music, including a trio, so we got a glimpse of what Alaina will be doing in the future.

A few days later, on Thursday, we went to Alaina and Eric's school Christmas concert.

Eric's kindergarten class was all decked out in glowing Christmas lights and sang "I'm the Happiest Christmas Tree" with lots of enthusiasm. They also sang a song that said, "There's a light inside of me, just like on a Christmas tree" that was very sweet, and gave the traditional poem where the kids blow a kiss to their parents as a Christmas present. It was wonderful to see Eric singing and smiling, despite his difficulties with going to kindergarten from day to day.

Alaina's class sang "The Little Drummer Boy" in French, just as Ben had done in Grade 5 (Janae had the other Grade 5 teacher). Jason (being from Quebec but not being a big fan of French) had been teasing Alaina about it, so every time she looked at him during the performance she gave a big smile.

Two days later, on Saturday afternoon, we got to see Jason, Janae and Alaina performing in Handel's Messiah at our church. Jason and Alaina were in the choir and Janae was in the ensemble playing violin. They had been practicing for hours every Sunday for five weeks, and it was nice to hear them singing and humming the songs around the house. Janae's violin teacher also gave her two hours of extra lessons for free to help her get ready, which we really appreciated, since the music was quite challenging. 

The stake leaders had planned to bring in dinner for the performers, since they were doing The Messiah at 4:00 and then again at 7:00. Unfortunately, the food did not go over well with Alaina, and she got really sick. I felt terrible that I hadn't been there (I'd watched the afternoon performance with Ben and Eric and gone home) and that Alaina was all alone when she was so sick. She ended up staying home Sunday and Monday, not being able to keep food down until Monday. By Tuesday, though, she was back to all her usual activities.

On Thursday, we went to Janae and Ben's school for their Christmas concert. As we walked in, we saw the artwork of various students, including this winter scene sketch by our very own Ben!

Janae's dance class did a performance where they were misfit toys coming to life. Janae also played her violin with the choir as they sang "Imagine." The concert was excellent and we came away amazed at the talent at their school.

Since the school concert was on the 19th, Jason and I celebrated our anniversary the following night at the Greek Islands restaurant. The server even brought us a special dessert.

After all that, I think we're really ready for Christmas! Only three more days to go....

Days off of Kindergarten

Tonight when I put Eric to bed, he prayed that he would be sick tomorrow so he wouldn’t have to go to kindergarten. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a first-time or rare occurrence, despite the many conversations we’ve had about needing to be healthy or about why going to school is a good thing.

Yesterday (Saturday) when Eric woke up, the first thing he said was, “Can I please not go to school the day after tomorrow?” Throughout the day, he repeated this request over and over—every time he thought of it, and today has been the same, except now it's "tomorrow."

This past Friday morning, Eric made himself throw up, hoping that would keep him home from school. Wednesday and Thursday he had actually been home (and I'd taken the days off of work) because he’d coughed so much in the mornings I didn't think I could send him to school, but then as soon as the other kids were gone he felt great and did all of his usual activities: 

getting his hair cut,

asking for hot chocolate,

dressing George up as Santa George,

even practicing his reading.

So, what's going on?

Eric had a wonderful start to kindergarten in September. He loved his teacher, made friends right away and was excited about going to school.

When he'd been going for about a week, though, and the gradual entry completed its course of leading the kids up to full days, Eric started complaining. He told me, "I wish I could go back to when I first started kindergarten," i.e., when he only went for an hour or two then came home.

Soon after that, he had a confusing incident when a new friend's mom didn't want her daughter to play with him anymore (because the little girl had said Eric was her "boyfriend"). Eric became really worried about getting in trouble at school, and he started not wanting to go.

Next, his teacher got sick with a terrible flu, and she ended up being off work for two weeks. On one of the days (the day Eric was "special helper"), she came for the morning but was so sick she had to leave halfway through the day.

Eric didn't like having all the substitutes (but these things happen), and then he ended up having a cough himself (completely unavoidable) and staying home for five days.

After missing work for a couple of days, I asked my parents to look after Eric one day (fun at Grandma and Grandpa's!) and then my niece to watch him another day (fun with Becca!) ... so it shouldn't have been much of a surprise that he didn't want to go back to school the following Monday.

Even though his teacher was back and his cough had gone, Eric cried and begged to stay home. It took a long time to get him into the classroom, and with each day, there were more tears, the begging to stay home got more desperate, and the reasons to stay home became more complicated.

Eric was afraid of getting in trouble because he'd had to sit out in gym after accidentally hitting someone with a ball. He was worried about some of the kids being mean to him or not liking him. He was worried he would get sick at school and need to come home.

But talking to his teacher, I found Eric was doing great with following school rules/routines and making friends. She said that every day I'd left him crying he'd been happy and fully engaged in class within a few minutes. 

When I pick Eric up after school, he is always talking to people outside, running to join in a soccer game with the Grade 5 boys or shouting out to friends he sees from a distance. He really does seem fine.

At night, Eric often agrees to go to school nicely the next day, but in the morning he changes into a different person, consumed by fear and worry. 

It was so sad on an inside out/backwards day the school was holding--Eric could hardly contain his excitement in the morning at home--he was full of confidence and fun--then as soon as we started walking up the hill to his classroom, he was crying and asking to go home.

The teachers at the school got involved and came up with the idea that Alaina could take him into class in the mornings. This would cut down on the long, drawn-out goodbyes where I would be trying to talk him into going to school and he would be begging to go home.

The teachers also reminded me that Alaina had had many of the same difficulties when she was in kindergarten and Grade 1, and now she is an excellent student with lots of good friends and feels very comfortable at school. As of her first report card, she had 100 percent on every test in French, math, science, spelling, history ... am I missing anything?

Anyway, Eric did well going in with Alaina for three days, and then he started having a hard time being passed off to his big sister. Eventually, I felt that it wasn't fair for Alaina to start her days this way, so we went back to the long negotiations. Educational assistants have offered him stickers, other kids have invited him in, even the principal offered to walk in with him, but Eric has only gone into class being dragged by his teacher while he cried and begged to go home.

The most recent days Eric has gone to school, Jason has taken him in, and apparently that has gone better, but on Friday I was at the school for a choir assembly, and I watched a very troubled Eric repeatedly go talk to his teacher, then sit by the side of the gym instead of going up to sing. He told me later that he was telling his teacher that he was sick and needed to go to Mommy. Apparently the problem was that he'd seen me in the audience.

Our next step is working with a school-based team to come up with new strategies to help Eric's mornings go more smoothly, but it's hard to imagine anything we haven't already tried.

I have been wondering if we've got him at the wrong school, if I should leave my job and try the virtual school, or if we should just stick with it and hope things go well like they did for Alaina. 

The process has been heartbreaking for me, and obviously deeply troubling for Eric. I think we're both dreading tomorrow morning, but I will try not to let it show....

This Year's Tree

This year we felt like we really had to hunt for our tree.

First of all, the farm we had gone to last year (and really loved!) was closed. We followed Google Maps to another farm and then another until finally we found one that was open.

When we got there, we saw so many beautiful trees ...

but the kids could not agree on which one to cut down. Janae, Ben and I liked the sturdier noble firs, but Alaina liked the bushier Douglas firs (Jason always stays neutral, and Eric was more interested in breaking up the iced-over mud puddles he'd found). After looking at lots and lots and lots of trees, we settled on a noble fir. Alaina looked once more at the tree Janae had chosen and finally said, "That tree is awesome!"

Whatever the reason for Alaina's change of heart, Jason didn't waste any time cutting it down.

It's nice to have so many helpers to carry the tree (or at least pose as if they were planning to....)

We made it back for hot chocolate just as the sun was starting to set.

And now we have the wonderful smell of freshly cut tree in our house....

Just in time for December 1st and the beginning of our countdown to Christmas!

Janae's Cozy Christmas Concert

This year Janae's violin teacher had her Christmas concert at the Mennonite Heritage Museum as part of the museum's "cozy Christmas concert series."

We hadn't been there before, but it was nice and Christmassy. 

Janae was a little embarrassed that her teacher had assigned her to play "Frosty the Snowman," but we all agreed that the violin can make any song sound beautiful. She also played Beethoven's "Minuet in G," which was her graduation piece from the violin level she'd just completed. 

Her teacher handed out certificates to everyone who'd completed their level this fall.

A few minutes before the concert began, I mentioned to Jason that I'd invited my parents, but I hadn't heard if they were planning to come or not. Right after I'd said that, Mom and Dad walked through the door! It was so nice for Janae to have them there--the first time at one of her violin recitals.

Afterwards Janae got her traditional DQ treat--this time it was a chocolate brownie "cupfection." I was looking forward to hearing Jason say that at the drive-thru, since I'd already had the experience after a previous violin event :)

I finished the morning feeling so grateful to have a daughter who plays the violin. Her concert was the perfect way to get us ready for the Christmas season.

Another Happy Halloween

We had a nice, sunny day for Halloween this year.

Ben dressed up as a barbarian warrior, Janae as a masquerader, Alaina as Cinderella, and Eric as Spider Man.

Janae's pose, inspired by The Selection.

Ben made his own helmet and ax. 

Alaina wanted to be Cinderella so she could incorporate her hamster, Max, into her costume. (Unfortunately, Max bit her this morning when we were taking pictures, and her thumb was sore all day!)

After school we stopped by Grandma and Grandpa's. My mom had made both Janae and Alaina's costumes--in just a couple of days, miraculously!--and Grandma and Grandpa's house has always been one of our favorite Halloween stops. After spending a few minutes there, we headed home to get ready for the big night.

Jason had invited his sister, Shannon, over for our annual Halloween dinner of mummy hot dogs and skeleton veggies. She and Jason went out trick or treating with Janae, Alaina and Eric while I took Ben to a friend's house and then gave out candy at home.

Our adventurers came back a couple of hours later, having had a great time speaking in British accents at people's doors and collecting a pretty impressive pile of candy.

Definitely a happy Halloween all around :)

It’s Gone

On Friday Jason had arranged for me to drop off our van at our mechanic’s house—which is across the street from where we used to live, near my mom and dad’s.

When I got there, I was shocked to see that our old house was ... gone.  More accurately, it was in the process of being demolished.

When we were living there, our landlords had decided to sell the house. We wished we could have bought it, because we really loved it there—it was a short walk from Grandma and Grandpa’s and close to the school; it had a huge backyard and beautiful woodwork inside.

Anyway, it was sold for what seemed like a fortune at the time and then rented out again. We have watched it go downhill over the past four and a half years as the renters have neglected the yard, but our kids have always dreamed of moving back there.

A re-zoning sign went up on the front lawn several months ago, indicating that someone had proposed a new development for that area—but the sign had been there so long we wondered if anything would ever become of it.

Anyway, on Friday it looked as though a bomb had gone off, and it was kind of sad to see the house destroyed. According to our old neighbor, it took only an hour and a half to come down. The owners are planning to put up two new houses, so it will be interesting to watch those go up over the next little while.

But a piece of our history is definitely gone!

One Year Ago Today

When I drove Janae to her violin lesson this afternoon, I realized it was exactly a year ago today that I sat at the park down the road from her teacher’s house, not knowing I had kidney stones, not knowing that I had sepsis, not knowing I would soon be in the ICU or having emergency surgery.

I was in so much pain, watching Eric and Alaina (and Alaina’s friend Winnie) use branches to sweep leaves under this giant tree, praying I could make it home with all these kids who were relying on me.

Today, though, I went for a walk during Janae’s lesson and just felt grateful to be healthy and well.

I read that people who survive sepsis often don’t make it through the next year, and I know I’m very fortunate not to have had any lasting effects. But I do think about the experience often, and especially when we drive past this park.

It is a good reminder to me to appreciate the life I have.

Kind of a Big Week

A lot has happened this past week, with everyone going back to school, Eric starting kindergarten, and Alaina turning 10.

Eric was pretty excited for the first day, although he only had a 10-minute meeting with his teacher (and me) to get to know her and see his classroom.

Our elementary school added an extra kindergarten class this year, and Eric was put into the new class, his teacher "TBA." At first I was kind of upset that he didn't have one of the teachers we already knew (having been at the school for 10 years!), especially since he'd been literally the first student to register for this year's kindergarten, but then the thought occurred to me that he might have an even better teacher--and that is exactly what happened!

The new teacher hired had team taught with Alaina's Grade 3 teacher and Janae's Grade 4 teacher. She is really nice, easygoing, fun, and enthusiastic--and with this being her first class of her own, I'm sure she will be excited to make it a great year for everyone.

Eric already knew her a little bit from seeing her around the school, too.

The meeting went well, and Eric wanted to start kindergarten right away, although he had to wait until Thursday to do a half day with some of his classmates. Friday was also half a day with half the class, but Monday will be a little longer with the whole class, Tuesday will include lunch, and Wednesday will be his first full day.

So definitely a big week for our little guy! I wasn't expecting to have a hard time with the whole thing, even though I'd been sad about my baby starting kindergarten. I hadn't cried last year when he'd started preschool, but something about this year was different, because as soon as he lined up to go inside the school, tears started falling down my cheeks--and by the time I got to the car I was really bawling. Luckily, he came out two hours later, saying he'd found a friend and had a great time.

I think it was different last year because I was so busy writing dialogues for my freelance contract that I'd just dropped Eric off and hurried home to get as much done as I could, even on his first day. 

This year having him go to school also means I'll be starting work outside our home, too, which is going to be hard for me after so many years. I'll miss being home with little kids!

Eric is really ready for it, though.

And if that wasn't enough, my second youngest baby turned 10 yesterday :)

Alaina is kind of obsessed with small, furry creatures, like Max (her hamster) and all the mice at the pet store that I won't even consider buying for her ... ever.

She recently read the novel The Rescuers and loved the story, so I made her a white mouse cake, patterned after Miss Bianca.

She wanted to barbecue hamburgers for dinner, so we did that, inviting Grandma and Grandpa over, too. 

Then there was Ben starting Grade 10, sporting an actual mustache (he's been watching Victoria with Jason and me and claims to have been inspired by the Coburg cousins). 

Originally, I said he could grow it until school started, but then we made a deal that he could keep it if he went to seminary every day. He agreed, so he's just got a mustache now. One of his teachers told him he looks five years older than he did at the end of June, so if he needed any extra incentive to keep it....

Janae started Grade 7, but she's in a Grade 7/8 split class, so she is happy about that, too. It seems everyone wants to be so grown up, and there's not much I can do about it!

So, when I say it's been a big week, I really mean it! Hopefully it will be a good year for everyone.