Santa's Arrival

I am going to try my darnedest to keep my blog updated during the holidays this year. I don't think I ever finished my post-Christmas-mega-blog from last year that attempted to cover all our festivities. I don't want a repeat, so I will do my best to keep up.

Monday night we went to see Santa arrive in style on a firetruck at the Riverton City offices. The kids got to make their requests: Ashlyn wants a toy puppy and Trent wants all the cars from Cars 2. Luke is leaving it up to Santa this year. Hopefully Santa doesn't disappoint ;o)

After talking to Santa, we ate some hot scones, decorated a sugar cookie, got a goodie bag full of kid crafts, drank some hot cocoa, played on the playground, and went on a tractor-pulled hay ride. All of this was free (yippee!) and put on by Riverton city. It was a great kick-off for the Christmas season.

Gratitude

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I love Thanksgiving. By far my favorite holiday. The only bad thing about this day is that it makes my husband a bit grumpy (but don't tell him I said that). The sharing of holidays isn't his favorite thing, but unfortunately there just isn't anyway around it. Especially when our families live approximately 10 minutes apart. I will admit that it can be a rather hectic day with food preparations and visiting both our families, but I still love it all.

We continued our Thanksgiving tree tradition that we started last year. The tree hung on our fridge all month and we gradually added leaves, each one listing something we are grateful for. Then, the night before Thanksgiving we had our gratitude dinner. We opted for pizza by candlelight this year and we talked even more about all we have been blessed with. I read our gratitude leaves from last year and then we each said the one thing that we are most grateful for this year, which was recorded and placed in our gratitude box.

This is what was said:

Brian - Good health. I am thankful my family is healthy and hope it continues.
Jamie - Modern medicine, so that my Dad had a chance to fight his cancer and live longer.
Ashlyn - Jesus, because he loves us.
Trent - Hoppy (his small stuffed lion)

We were spoiled with out-of-town visitors this year, which was a lot of fun. Brian's sister came up from Las Vegas and Brian's Grandma and uncle Pat were also in town from Illinois. His sister was only able to come the weekend before Thanksgiving, so Brian and I hosted a pre-Thanksgiving dinner. I had every intention of taking a few photos, but I failed. I did take one picture of Ashlyn and Trent with Brian's Grandma. Ashlyn took a real liking to Grandma Wanda and asked to go visit her every day while she was here.

Brian's aunt Mary, uncle Mike, and cousin Katie also came to town from Washington for Thanksgiving. Brian's family isn't very big, so it was nice having a few more people around to visit with, especially since we hadn't seen many of them for several years.

My family also had some special guests this year. Aaron, Monica, and their three kids made the 22 hour drive from Missouri. Aaron had to go back after Thanksgiving for school, but Monica and her kids are still here and will stay until after Christmas (Aaron will fly back to Utah in a few weeks).

It was a wonderful holiday, filled with lots of family, lots of good food, and much gratitude for all my blessings.

You Look Like A Monkey...

and you smell like one too! HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my little guy Trent! I love this boy so much. I'd like to share some thoughts and facts about my now four-year-old, along with a few photos of him during the past year.

He is affectionate. I love that he will give me a hug or a kiss at any time of day, whenever I ask. Sometimes I don't even have to ask, he just walks up to me with his lips puckered and his arms open. And he always tells me he loves me, or that I am beautiful, or that I am the best mom ever. I am soaking it up because I know this phase won't last forever.

He makes up words. One day while we were at the park, he was so proud of himself for climbing up the slide. He called my name and said, "look at me!" I said, "Good job buddy, you are awesome!" He responded, "I'm a skropple!" Another example happened when we were having a mini-preschool and discussing the letter 'A'. I asked Ashlyn and Trent what begins with the letter 'A'. Ashlyn immediately responded with "apple" and "Ashlyn". Trent, not wanting to be left out, exclaimed, "appreciment!"

He loves wrestling with Daddy. It can definitely turn a frown upside down and will cure any bad mood.

He has a fascination with Wednesdays. I don't know why, but if ever there is a question of what day something will happen or has happened, he believes it will fall or has fallen on a Wednesday. Whether it is for good or bad, Wednesday is the day.

He used to be the best eater. Now almost every night is a battle to get him to eat his dinner. He will pack his cheek with meat, vegetables, potatoes, rice, whatever he doesn't want to swallow and just hold it there for a long, long time. He's like a chipmunk. But not everything. His favorite dinners are meatloaf (go figure), spaghetti, grilled cheese with homemade tomato soup, hot dogs,...and I'm drawing a blank.

He still loves his cars. And I love that I will find them in random locations throughout the house.

He hates getting in trouble. If he thinks I'm made at him, it makes him so sad. All you have to do when he has done something wrong is tell him to go to his room and he immediately starts to cry. He really is happiest when everyone around him is happy.

He loves going to preschool. He asks me at least four times a week if it's a school day for him. Too bad for him that he only gets to go twice a week.

He loves to cuddle. This morning he was the last one to wake up, so I went and laid in bed with him and he was as happy as can be. I asked him a couple of times if he was ready to get up and go eat breakfast and he kept saying, "I just want to cuddle." What a sweet boy.

He is all boy. The other day he got so mad at me for saying that a picture he colored was beautiful. 'Beautiful' is apparently a girl word and shouldn't be used to describe anything about him.

He definitely has the energy of a four-year-old. He loves to be outside riding his bike or jumping on the trampoline. This summer he learned how to do a front flip and was pretty proud of himself. He loves to jump off the stairs - the more, the higher, the better. And, he loves doing somersaults and hand stands on the couch.

His best friend is his big sister and a close second is his cousin Maya. This sometimes means dressing up in a tutu or playing with barbies, but he doesn't mind as long as they are willing to play with cars half the time. It's a good trade off.

He hates being left out. I don't think anything hurts his feelings more than when he is with his cousins and wants to be a part of what they are doing but can't be or isn't invited or is told 'no'. He really does have a tender heart.

He definitely takes after his daddy's good looks. Check out this picture of Brian when he was about Trent's age -

All in all he is just a good, happy boy and we wouldn't trade him for the world. He adds so much to our family and we love him to pieces.

Happy Birthday Trenters!

Round One

Tonight I watched as my Dad took the last pill of his first round of chemo. We all clapped and cheered after he had swallowed it down. He now has the next two weeks off and we are hoping that he will feel like himself again. He said that so far the chemo and side effects are better than he anticipated and for that I am very grateful. His biggest complaint over the past four weeks was not having the energy that he is used to having. And so we are crossing our fingers that for the next two weeks he will have his energy back and be able to function like he used to.

I am so impressed with my Dad's positive attitude. He has definitely lifted the spirits of those around him during this tough time, even though it should be the other way around. He really doesn't complain, even though I told him it is okay if he does. But even though he won't openly complain, he will tell you honestly how he is feeling when you ask him, which we all do often.

Besides fatigue, my Dad has suffered from a few other side effects. His appetite has decreased and he has had to avoid spicy or acidic foods. No more tomato-based meals. Mild foods are easiest on his stomach and my Mom said she is craving Mexican food. Hopefully they can add a little spice to their lives for the next couple weeks. He also had some mouth sores develop, but after using a mouth wash that the doctor prescribed, he said that they cleared up. And lastly, his hands have suffered. Before chemo, my Dad had eczema flare ups on his hands from time to time. Now things are worse and he has several spots/sores on his hands. He continues to use the medication prescribed for the eczema, but his hands still look painful.

My Mom is still having a hard time dealing with this change in their lives. I know it has affected her the most. She said that it is hardest when she is alone and then it is all she can think about. My Mom lost her own mother to ovarian cancer over 20 years ago and it just isn't right that now she has to watch her husband endure the same trial. The word 'cancer' is now my least favorite word in the English language.

My Dad has to go through one more round of chemo before they will do another scan to check the size of the tumor. Which means we won't know until sometime after Christmas if the chemo is working. I can wait for some things, like finding out the gender of an unborn child, but not this. Waiting for this just stinks.

**Side note, I was wrong on the price of the pills. My parents only knew the portion that the secondary insurance was covering and based on what percentage they figured the primary insurance should cover, they came up with a figure of $18,000. However, turns out that primary insurance is covering just slightly more than half the cost, which means that the total for the pills is in the $9,000 range. Not quite as bad as we initially thought, but still ridiculous.

Arrrrr Matey!

We celebrated Trent's fourth birthday last night with a pirate party. I literally started planning this party 5 days before the event, but it miraculously all came together and it was a fun night.

Trent had originally requested a Cars party, but we did that last year. Then he said he wanted a Buzz Lightyear party. Been there, done that too. So, I suggested a pirate party and he was all for it. Plus, we were able to get double duty out of his Halloween costume - bonus!

I have never been so prepared for a party to begin. At about 10 minutes before the party started, I put a couple pizzas in the oven so we could eat soon after all the guests arrived. I was standing in the kitchen when Ashlyn came in with a quizzical look on her face and asked, "Why are you just standing there?" I guess she is used to me frantically running around, desperately trying to get everything done at the last minute. It was a nice change of pace :o)

The kids kept themselves entertained before dinner by coloring pirate pictures. Once all the guests arrived we had a pizza dinner, which is something I have never done before - another nice change of pace. It was certainly a lot easier than fixing a full dinner, and a lot more kid friendly too.

After dinner, Brian went over some pirate etiquette: how pirates act, what they say, what they wear, etc. We passed out the pirate gear (hats, eye patches, and earrings) and then Brian made balloon swords, which ultimately ended in a few spontaneous sword fights.

After all the kids were properly piratified, it was time for the treasure hunt!

Clue #1 -A dirty pirate doesn’t like to be seen, so go to the place where ye get yerself clean. (bathtub)
Clue #2 -A pirate goes here on a cold winter’s day to warm up his bones, then he be on his way. (fireplace)
Clue #3 -A special hidin’ place in here ye will find, where a pirate might go when he be in a bind. (playroom tent)
Clue #4 -Tis good for a pirate to laugh and to play, when he jumps tis not ‘weee’, but ‘arrrr’ he doth say. (trampoline)
Clue #5 -Early to bed and early to rise, makes a pirate healthy, wealthy, and wise. (Trent's bed)
Clue #6 -Ye be searchin’ for a treasure and ye want it a lot, yer final clue be simple: X marks the spot!

The 'X' was made from balloons, which doubled as part of the party decor and it took the kids back to the center of the party where the rest of the guests could see them find the treasure. Each favor was filled with gold candy: Hershey nuggets, gold coins, Rolos, and milk chocolate gold balls.

Then it was time for presents and cake and ice cream. Trent wanted to invite friends to his party this year, but I think we'll hold off one more year. Ashlyn didn't have her first friend party until she turned five and I think I'll make the rest of my kids do the same. With all the support and love of family, my kids get spoiled enough with presents.

This was honestly the easiest party I have put together, but it didn't make a bit of difference to the kids...something I'll keep in mind for future parties ;o)