To all my friends and family who follow our lives through this blog,

we wish you and yours a

Merry Christmas

and a

Happy New Year!!

Old news, but better than bad news

OK--my friend Betsy (who has more brain cells than I do because her kids are younger then mine) remembered that I already posted about my swap. Duh! I guess I'm trying to compensate for all the stress in my life right now by doing a mundane thing like blogging. Yep, it's pretty mundane when it's a repeat.

Cookies and Carols

The Christmas piano recital was today, and once again, the girls showed their talents! They tied for first place and received trophies to add to their collection.

Amy and Sarah want me to tell you that they each have 4 trophies now.

Here they are with their piano teacher, Ms. Dena.

Halloween

Our jack-o-lanterns- top to bottom:Marty, Theo, Mama, Sarah, Amy
The Spooks-left to right:
Theo as Annikan Skywalker, Marty as an army general, Amy as Thing 1, Timmy as a chicken, and Sarah as Thing 2.

We had a lovely night for trick or treating. It was about 75*!
Much candy consumption followed, as was expected and they gave away about 5 pounds to Matt's staff again this year. They are such kind and generous kids.

Spoiled dog, and some knitting-and a Halloween party

Timmy loves his Halloween shirt, he needs a new one for everyday now.

detail of my new shawl

Finally done! Can't wait to wear it!

a mummy contest was fun for Theo and Amy

but Sarah was in her glory here, and her team won!

Amy and Sarah turn 11

On the 17th, they shared the spotlight with a friend, Jonathan, who was turning 5!.

He had a party at monkey Joe's, which is a big place filled with huge bouncy houses. Very fun!

They were thrilled with their "Good Life " shirts from Aunt Sheila. I have noticed that the shirts are always in the laundry, which means they are being worn frequently.

This unbelievable cake was made by a friend. Amy and Sarah have always wanted a "Full House" cake, and I could never make one happen. This one was fantastic!!!
Here are all the characters, made in fondant.

And here they are when they first saw it!

It lives on their dresser now, where I imagine it will have a place for a looong time.

Happy Birthdays, my sweeties!

Oh my goodness!

Is this not the funniest sign you've ever seen?!?

....only in North Cackalacky!

Feast Day! Our Lady of the Rosary

We had a fun afternoon celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary last month. The kids and I have always wanted to make a cupcake rosary and this was the perfect occasion! My dear friend, Betsy and her gang came over to celebrate, play, and talk knitting (oh, that part
was just the moms!).

It turned out so pretty, didn't it?

But this little guy was an even cuter sight...

All together, having fun!

Rats, I had another picture , but lost it.

Field Trip to the Alpaca farm

One day I read or heard blurb about a "Farm Day" nearby and on a whim, decided to check it out. My friend Betsy knew about it too, and it happened to be located between her home and ours, so we met there. There was a lady there spinning yarn, and we were given a very informational tour of the alpaca pens.

We went on up to Betsy's house and the kids had fun playing, while the moms had fun talking knitting and yarn.

An afternoon well spent!

This little guy's name was Zebedee--isn't he the cutest?

The kids even got to pet some of them.

This little one was only two days old!


This is Betsy my wonderful knitting friend and her gang
with the kids.

Health report II

Theo is feeling better today, but after playing outside in the wind can't understand why his ear hurts. I can't understand why he won't listen when I tell him to wear a hat. I think he will sleep through the night and tomorrow will be pretty well over the pain part. Hopefully, the whining will be gone, too.

Sarah was back at the dr. today. the rash seemed to be backing off (a bit) but she was in agony with the itching part. She was up several times in the night, and ended up sleeping with me after Matt left at 4:30am. The dr. was pleased to see the improvement, but stated that he "was thinking about her last night, and hoped he would not have to hospitalize her." Poor kid--two near hospitalizations in less than a month! He gave her a prescription strength antihistamine, and I do think it is helping some. She just finished soaking in a tub of Aveeno water. Hopefully she will be tired from the antihistamine and will sleep tonight. She is crying at the drop of a hat (steroids) and is exhausted on top of it.

Marty has been nasty all day. How long will it take me to realize that any sickness, for anyone, automatically translates (in his mind) to "They are going to die. I am going to be abandoned." I guess I'm a bit of a slow learner on that issue. After I reassured him that "Sarah is not going to die, and I am not going to get sick. I will still be your mama," he was a happy camper again. It's so hard to read the fears he harbors.....another, often forgotten, issue of older child adoption.

Amy is being helpful, and will probably be fine until it's all over. Then she will fall apart, cry, talk about it, and be done with it.

Isn't it amazing how differently they all go through the same situations? I am a bit frazzled by the stress of having sick kids in somewhat serious situations; I need to get to bed earlier tonight.

Oh, and I forgot, the continuation of the fire truck post was this; the next night Timothy ate a cactus and had to be anesthetized to get the spines removed from his mouth and muzzle. What a goofball.

Health report

Here's the deal:
All kids had the swine flu 3 weeks ago. Bad week, that was.
Sarah got stung by something at the beach and it turned into cellulitis 11 days ago. She was given an injection of Rocefrin, oral steroids, and steroid cream. It seemed to be working to stem the cellulitis, until Sunday morning. She awoke with a terrible, itchy rash; very red and raised. By afternoon she had a temp. of 103.2*. I gave her a dose of prednisolone and she slept through the night.
Theo, however (and consequently, I) did not sleep through the night and was awake 3 times with a terrible ear ache.
Off to the dr. today. Sarah is having a severe reaction to the sulfa antibiaotic (Bactrim). Poor kids had to get another shot (steroids this time) and oral steroids for 5 days. If she is not better tomorrow morning, we are to return to the dr. for IV meds. and possible hospitalization. Must get to ER if she has trouble breathing (so far, that has not been an issue--thanks be to God).
If she's better we go back on Friday so they can see her before the weekend.
Theo got ear drops for the pain and an antibiotic for the infection.
Both of them slept for 2.5 hours this afternoon, so I know it's bad! Amy and Marty have been a great help to me, and I'm grateful for that.

In other news, I got word today that Dr. Ponsetti passed away Sunday afternoon. He was 95, and had a stroke a this desk on Tuesday. Dr. Ponsetti was the pioneer doctor in club foot treatment, and helped thousands of children have normal lives, with pain-free feet/legs because of his unique way of treating clubfeet. His legacy is great, and he will be sorely missed. We have been very fortunate to have Dr. Deitz, who was trained under Dr. Ponsetti, as Theo's doctor. Actually, we were supposed to be there today but missed because of flight scheduling problems. I'm sure it must have been a sad day at the ortho clinic.

Eternal rest grant to Dr. Ponsetti, oh Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him. Grant him and all the souls who sleep in Christ, eternal rest. Amen.

Theo turns 9!

Presents were opened
A new bike witha promise of back pegs to be added

Supper was spaghetti (he never changes that!)

and quickie chews for dessert.

Happy Birthday, to my big(ger) boy!

I'm REALLY 46 now!

Last year I thought I was 46, when I was only 45, so now I am really 46. Dang! Getting older is obviously wearing out my brain functions.

We ate a delicious supper at La Dolce Vida.

Matt gave me this lovely crucifix with an Our Lady of Grace
centerpiece (OLofG is my favorite depiction of Mary).

Timmy enjoyed the evening as well, chewing on gift wrap.

Fall swap package

I joined a Ravelry Swap in the Fuzzy Mitten group and today received my package. We were to each knit a Fuzzy Mitten toy and then add whatever goodies we wished, and my partner did a wonderful job of treating me. Here is my new littel squirrel friend. The girls are going to help me name him (I think it's a"him.") The toffee is VERY good and I can't wait to get started on a siamese kitty with the yarn and pattern she sent. Pink--perfect!! Thank you, Margaret!

Isn't he cute?
Everything from the package. Wonderful!

Really, it was SO not an emergency!!

9-09-09, a date to be remembered......or not.

Naturally, Matt wasn't home when this event happened (he misses all the fun). Timmy had an accident on a favorite blanket, so I was washing it at 9:30 pm. I noticed that the washer was not agitating and went to check on it. Upon opening the laundry room door, I was met with a HOT electrical smell. I fully expected to see smoke behind the washer when I climbed up to look behind it. No smoke. Hmmmmm.....it could be nothing, it could be something, it could be a disaster inside the wall waiting to break free. What to do, what to do? Call Matt! He says wait awhile, then see if the smell goes away, if not call fire department. Waited.......still smelling. Now I'm nervous because it is time for bed and I really don't want to go to bed with a smoldering fire possibly in the wall .
Okay, I'll call, but I'm calling the non-emergency number. The recording says call 911. I do, and FIRST THING I say "This is not an emergency--there is no fire," but alas, they are trained for emergencies and dealing with people who are not smart enough to determine if it truly is an emergency. When she kept repeating "Ma'am, remove yourself and the children as quickly and as safely as possible from the home," I just figured it was no use and agreed. I opened the garage doors, turned on the lights, backed the van into the driveway, and we all went out to wait.
Imagine how excited the kids were when they heard the sirens! Imagine how chagrined I was when I heard ALL the sirens! To be exact, 5 trucks and an ambulance. I wanted to melt into the pavement.
They rushed out out their trucks and into the house, in full fire gear, only to emerge a few minutes later to ask where my fire was. Long story, short, they used the heat scanner to check the walls and there was no fire. The chief recommended that we did not use the washer anymore until a repairman checked it out, and the trucks left, one by one.
It was funny (and embarrassing at the same time) to watch the neighbors' lights come on, and see their blinds peek open. It was heart-warming to see our across-the-street-neighbor come across to make sure we were okay, and offer a place for us if we needed it. (Nickolas knows Matt is gone a lot and I think he watches out for us more than I know).
The kids thought it was all very fascinating and exciting, and I felt reassured that we could sleep in peace. We ended up going 4 days without a washer and I'm not real fond of the new one, but all is well in excitement-ville.

The next night held even more fun..........

to be continued.....

Recycled Club House

The kids and Matt are building a club house with the wood and various supplies they have scavenged from the construction sites on the cul-de-sac. The foreman said we could have what ever was in the trash piles--you wouldn't believe how much waste there is in house building!

We were told that the contractor won't pay to have the waste transported to new sites, so they just toss usable stuff. It's a waste of resources, and part of what makes building so expensive, I think. the club house is much further along now, and I'll have to get some recent pictures posted for you to see.

Part of the "lumber yard" that was Matt's side of the garage.
The frame. The houses behind are up and sided now; the sheet rock is in, too. Today it looked like cabinets were being delivered.

ps -- those are my green beans climbing over the fence this side of the club house

First Day of School

Amy is in 5th grade
Sarah is in 5th grade

Theo is in 3rd grade

Marty is in 2nd grade


Sunnie and Timmy are our mascots!

More catching up....

The kids made this back to school cake by themselves from a library book.

(You can see the new paint int eh living room in the background)

This is a cape I made for Lucie's 6th birthday.
Homemade drumsticks.....

Yummy!

Introducing..........

the newest member of our family!

Timothy John Deluhery came to us on August 8th, at the age of 4 months.
He's a miniature poodle, and because he has some "unusual" markings, he was not show or breeding quality.

Sunnie the cat is bigger than the interloper, and has claimed himself as king and leader.

Timothy has added a lot of fun to our house, and we
love him a lot!

The Marty-boy turns 8!

He woke up with a smile
and partied with his friends

and ate pumpkin bars (not cake)


and looked like a star in his new cape with his new bike.

Here he is opening his presents from the adoring siblings.

Where have the years gone? Just yesterday wasn't he the tiny, shy boy coming down the escalator at DSM Intl. holding his papa's hand? The one I fell in love with many months before that wonderful homecoming?

Marty-man is growing up, and he's quite a sweetie pie.

The night before his birthday I told him goodnight and said it was the last time I'd have a 7 year old. I teased him about being my baby and growing up so fast. He answered,

"That's okay, Mama. I'm going to live with you forever,

but when you die, I get your house."

Is that not the funniest thing ever?!?

Happy Golden Birthday to my baby.