Liam Reads!!!

Liam is starting to read! 

On August 29, Liam (4 years + 2 months) read aloud his first book by himself!  (Not memorized, I promise!)  Doug and I were both able to hear him read it out loud.  It was one of the Bob books, "Mac."  Normally Duog would have been at work, but he was home sick, so he was able to witness the moment.  He said he wished we would've captured it on video...

Liam was SOOOO excited that he had read a book!  Doug was seriously impressed that Liam was able to read so well.  Liam has gone on to read other Bob books from the blue box series (Beginning readers).  We are so happy for him, that he is interested in reading. 

Miss Ebony (his teacher at Lighthouse Academy in pre-K) has been amazingly instrumental in helping him along.  They use the Abeka reading program at the school, which emphasizes a phoenetical approach to reading.  Miss Ebony means business, too!  The kids were used to more “play time” in their last class (3 year-old class), but in Miss Ebony’s class, it is more like school.  They sit at chairs, have assigned seating at tables and do quite a bit of school work.  So, thanks to Miss Ebony and Abeka, we’ve been able to sound our way through the Bob books.  J 

At bedtime lately, Liam brings a stack of books (anywhere from 3 to 9 books!) to us, to start reading.  At first he bawked at the idea of reading a Bob book before any of the other fun books in the stack, but now he automatically knows we will be reading a Bob book before any other books, and brings the Bob books with the rest of the stack.  ;-)  He does so well with it!

When we head upstairs for bed, we also read two Bible stories in the kids’ beds, before prayers and turning out the light.  They have a bookmark (a popsicle craft stick) they use to keep track of which story we read the night prior.  We finished with the more elementary (simple) Bible story book, so now we’re reading the comic-style version of the Bible that Grandpa Dean and Grandma Dolly gave to Liam for his birthday. 

I’ve told Doug (and I firmly believe) that kids who read the Bible are among the most well-read.  (How can you NOT be, if you see words like Nebuchadnezzar?  ;-)   The kids seem genuinely interested in each of the stories.  I love to hear their comments about the stories we read.  J

I’m so geeked for Liam! Knowing he can sound words out definitely makes me feel confident he will do well in Kindergarten.  He will be “assessed” in May, to see if he is ready to take on kindergarten in the next school year.  I have no doubt he will do well with the assessment.  With such a late birthday for the Georgia cut-off (September 1), I'm trying to work hard with him, to be sure he is ready for Kindergarten next fall. 

Some of Ava’s fellow kindergarteners had summer birthdays and were purposely held back by their parents.  I think, given that Liam is already used to day care / a classroom setting, he will do well. There were some kids (two) in Ava’s kindergarten class, who, when I was volunteering in her classroom, I noticed didn’t know very basic words like “the” and “and”.  L  (After I was finished with basic volunteering tasks, the teacher asked if I would work with one of them directly.)  Those two students went on to repeat kindergarten this year.  Knowing Liam can sound out words and they couldn’t even in kindergarten, makes me more confident Liam will go on to thrive at Murdock, next school year.  We will be focusing on more fine-motor skills in the next month or so, to be sure he can write his name as neatly as possible.  He can write his name now, but we’ll work on practicing it more.  J Our normal early-morning routine of "playing school" - after big sis Ava heads to the bus - is paying off!

Peace, love and books!

Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

"Mom, you are a big woman!"

Liam, while we are eating ice cream at Coldstone's tonight:

 

"Mom, you are a big woman!"

 

I won't take it personally, since I know we've been discussing girls growing up to be women, boys to be men. But way to start early with inappropriately manly comments, Liam!

First Day of School - 2012

The school year has officially started! 





Ava was so excited to start school this year, as a first-grader at Murdock Elementary.  Liam is in his Pre-Kindergarten year at Lighthouse Academy.  He is excited to be "Big Man On Campus," in the oldest class at Lighthouse, now that the older summer campers are back to school.





We went to Murdock's class list posting party on Friday, August 3rd, to see who Ava's first grade teacher would be.  Ava saw her buddies Issy Lacasella and Ella Wheeler.  They all had to find out what class the other was in; Ava and Issy are in class together.  :)  Ava is in Mrs. Lane's class with 23 other students:

Natalie Alexis Allphin

Mariana Alvarez

Gal Amir (was in kindergarten with Ava)

Caanan True Armour

Klara Blanka Stefania Babinska

Jaret Ian Beck

Janae Veronica Lanoiox Bermudez

Ava Elise Carey

Krista Mary Foley

William Logan Groover

Elizabeth Brooke Katz (is in Girl Scout Daisies with Ava)

Adarsh Krishna

Isabelle Makena Lacasella (was in kindergarten with Ava / is in Daisies, too.)

Nathaniel Martin Long

Taylor Kate McCook

Romil Hitendra Mehta

Alexis Haley Needle

Taylor Mackenzie Owen  (is in Girl Scout Daisies with Ava)

Brennan Arc Renna (the P.E. teacher's son)

Ava Michelle Rocco (who, from what I can tell, will be "Ava R.")

Dana Rose Shekastehband

Carter David Sirota

Samantha Elaine Tener (the computer teacher's son)

Liam Merric Tilden

At first, I was a little concerned, since Ava's class seemed to have the highest number of students enrolled (24).  After speaking with Ava's friend's Mom, I was told that a few first grade teachers don't have any EIP students in them, so they have more students.  (EIP- Early Intervention Program, for those students who might need more help during the school day).  Mrs. Lane also doesn't have a para-pro (student teacher), so I assume her students would need to function well independently, with little assistance.  I think Ava will do fine, but did remind her that she will definitely need to be sure to ask for help, if she needs it, given the number of kids in her class.

I think we probably lucked out, as someone else pointed out.  Mrs. Lane's class consists of the PTA president's daughter, the gym teacher's son (Mr. Renna) and the computer teacher's daughter (Mr. Tener).  Last year the children of Mr. Renna and Mr. Tener were also in the same kindergarten class.  Coincidence?  Probably not.  ;-)

I did think it was pretty funny that Ava is in a classroom with:
2 Ava's
2 Taylors
1 Liam

She is doing so well with reading!  We've read the first Ivy and Bean book, and a few of the Magic Tree House books.  "Ivy and Bean" books seem to be her speed, since they're about two best friends who are girls and the fun they have together.  We will definitely be focusing on comprehension and spelling this year.  She seems to have a knack for reading.

We then attended Murdock's "Meet-And-Greet" the Thursday before school started.  This allows students and teachers to sign-up for PTA, MESF, After-School Program, pay for lunch in advance, sign-up for any after-school extra curricular clubs, find their desk and meet their new teacher / classmates.  We ordered our school supplies through the PTA this year, which was nice.  We shopped for treasure box items at the dollar store.  Ava is signed-up for KidzArt, to take place on Thursday afternoons.  Her BFF Cosette will be attending, as well.  Olivia, our neighbor, will be going, too, so it should be fun!




I'm so excited to see what is in store for Ava this year at Murdock, with Mrs. Lane!  In my first grade journal, I ended every day's journal entry with the phrase "And I love Mrs. Panza."  I hope the same rings true for Ava. :)  Exciting times.

Liam is now in Miss Ebony's pre-k class at school.  I am so thankful!  She is a great teacher.  I'm hoping introducing him to the Abeka reading program is as helpful to him, as it was to Ava.  Pre-K will definitely be more learning and less free play.  I've mentioned to Liam that we need to be sure to learn lots, so he's ready for kindergarten next year.  He will be one of the youngest in kindergarten, since his birthday is in July.  The cut-off here is September 1st.  We've got our work cut-out for us this year!  I'm sure he will do great, though.  I love spending time with him in the morning, after Ava is on the bus, to read and work on motor skills / writing.  It is our special time together. :)

At Lighthouse, he is with the same motley crew, including Aiden, Marissa, Frankie, Kwame, Trey, Taylor.  Amazing how long these little ones have been together!  This has been the only school Liam has ever attended.  It will be nice to have no day care payment next year, and have Liam in "big kid" school.  He was a little sad when he figured out he wouldn't be riding the bus with Ava and Olivia.  Soon enough.  :)

Speaking of the bus, this year the neighborhood bus stop grew from three students to five (Olivia and Meilani are attending kindergarten this year).  You can see the busy-ness of our little neighborhood fairly early in the morning, now.  So we now have a 4th grader (Nicholas Argentis), 3rd grader (Matthew Quinn), 1st grader (Ava) and two kindergarteners (Olivia and Meilani).  Mr. Mike, the bus driver, won 1st in the state "Road-eo" competition, and then went on to win 2nd place in the NATION!  On the first day of school, I congratulated him.  I'm SO thankful we have him transporting our precious cargo to school. 





Peace, love and first-day-of-school excitement,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

"Would You Like Some Coffee, Ma'am?"

Liam: "Mom, when did God make me?"
Me: "God made you in my belly. I tried to eat sooo healthy, since the food I ate is what you ate, too!"
Liam: "Mom, did you drink coffee?"
Me: :/

 

What Liam does not know, is my focus on eating all things healthy while pregnant with him - and Ava.  Coffee - YES, CAFFEINATED - was the only real "guilty pleasure" I allowed myself.  And what does a four year-old know about coffee's affect on the human body, anyway?

14 YEARS of Wedded Bliss

January 24th marked fourteen years that Doug and I have been married.  Hard to believe it's been that long!  (And that we're that old???)

We had our picture taken by my Mom before going out on a date during the holidays.  I knew Doug really liked the picture, so I had it printed out and framed so he could put it on his desk at work.  I also got him a bag of miniature Heath bars, which are one of his favorites.  Doug got the movie "Courageous" for me.  I was originally hoping to see it over Thanksgiving, but the start time ended up being crazy late, so we opted to go for coffee and a walk around downtown Rochester, instead. 

The pictures I printed out for Doug's frame

(I thought I'd let him pick which one he liked best)

The movie he bought for me, for our anniversary

We hope to have a bigger celebration next year, when we celebrate 15 years! 

It was fun to run around getting things for our anniversary with Ava as my sidekick.  We picked up the photo together and then went to get a picture frame, balloons and some rainbow roses.  While at the grocery store, Ava picked out the mylar balloon (we bought four additional red and white plain balloons).  I told Ava we should probably get Daddy's favorite dessert, as well, so we found some Tira Mi Su in the bakery area.  While there, I saw a cookie cake that was decorated with icing and balloon decorations.  I thought it might be fun for the kids to have their own dessert, so we added that to the cart. 

In retrospect, I think it was a good thing for Ava to see how important it was to celebrate 14 years of marriage.  I probably wouldn't have normally bought balloons, but thought it might help her realize how "fun" anniversaries can be.  She may not remember shopping for our anniversary vividly, but just knowing that it's important to celebrate our "togetherness" should stick with her!  When we got home, I filled out Doug's card while she was busy drawing a piece of artwork for the occasion.  :-)  Liam was super excited when he walked in and saw balloons and roses on the table.  It was a fun time.

I had written something on Facebook about our anniversary earlier in the day.  It was very heart-warming to see all of the comments of congratulations and love from friends and family.  God has truly blessed our marriage and family immensely!

What's funny is that Doug and I both wrote similar things in our cards for each other.  We both mentioned being thankful for "waking up next to each other."  I guess after being together 14 years, we might be morphing into the same person.  ;-)

We plan on going out on Saturday night, since our friends Mark and Amy have kindly volunteered to babysit for us.  Our neighbor Kirsten mentioned her favorite new restaurant is "Seed," which is a farm-to-table type restaurant.  All of the food cooked at this restaurant was grown locally.  Sounds super yummy!  I can't wait to try this new place!

Peace, love and togetherness,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Entertain, Inform or Persuade

Ava cracks me up.  The other day we were reading a book before bedtime. 

Ava breaks out with this random thought: 

"The purpose of books is to entertain, inform or persuade... I think this book is to entertain." 

This girl has a memory like an elephant; she doesn't forget a thing. 

Peace, love and retention of a good kind,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Popcorn Words

Ava's class at school has been working on their "popcorn words."  These are words that should "pop" into the student's head and be automatically recognized (without needing to sound them out).  There are 80 words total, 40 that comprise the kindergarten list.  Ava finshed ALL 80 words before Christmas! 

At first taking a word for face value wasn't the easiest thing for her, since she learned phonetically how to read words (with A Beka's reading program at Lighthouse Academy).  Reading phonetically should help her in the long run, though, since she'll be able to sound her way through words that might seem difficult. 

She is quite the reader!  Prior to the holidays, she has been reading up through level "I" in Newmark's rising reader leveled books.  We haven't attempted anything above level I, yet. 

Newmark's "level" chart:

This is the note that was sent home with her, which was attached to a bag of celebratory popcorn!  Now that she has made her way through the popcorn words, she is working on spelling all of the popcorn words correctly.  I think Ava, a little boy named Cody and Ava's friend Ansley are the first three to have moved onto spelling the popcorn words. 

Go Ava!!!

Peace, love and kernels,

Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Ava's Report Card #2

Ava received her second report card Friday.  She did GREAT!  She is meeting all of the expectations very well.  The only thing we found that we can work on with her is identifying and describing our national holidays.  (I had no idea - especially considering how crafty she is for EVERY holiday!)  I thought it was interesting that this is the only item on which she received a "2" (Progressing toward meeting standards), instead of a "3" (Meets standards).  I am wondering if it was because "Veteran's Day" was celebrated right around the time the report cards were graded?  I guess I had not yet gone over it with her!

She has improved in many different areas, now with most of her "learning skills and behaviors" rated S for "successful". 

The key is: 
S= Successful - Student displays appropriate learning skills and behaviors.
P= Progressing - Student is progressing; displays appropriate learning skills and behaviors most of the time. 
N=Needs Improvement - Student does not display learning skills and behaviors that lead to success.

Here are the areas on her report card:

Learning Skills                                                  Q1 / Q2
Organizes self and materials                              S / S
Works neatly                                                         S / S
Works independently                                           S / S
Asks questions / seeks help when needed       P / P
Completes tasks in a timely manner                  S / S
Stays on task                                                        S / S
Learning Behaviors                                         Q1 / Q2
Uses self control                                                   S / S
Exhibits good listening skills                               S / S
Accepts responsibility for behavior                    P / P
Claims fair share of attention                              S / S
Expresses feelings appropriately                       S / S
Cooperation, Rules & Procedures               Q1 / Q2
Treats others with respect                                   P / S
Accepts personal responsibility                         P / P
Works cooperatively                                            P / S
Follows directions                                                S / S
Shows respect for property                                 S / S
Shows respect for authority                                 S / S
Controls talking                                                     P / S

So it appears she has improved quite a bit! 

I do think I might ask Mrs. Mckenzie, teacher of the Mckenzie Mcintoshes, what the deal is with "accepts personal responsibility" and "accepts responsibility for behavior".  If anything, I think if she is caught responding to another student when they aren't supposed to be talking, she will often tell me "that person was talking to me and I was telling them to be quiet."  So it might sound like she isn't accepting responsibility for responding / talking to them.  Not sure.  I went over all of the items (positive and possible improvements).  She seemed very receptive and loved hearing how well she did. 

We let her pick where we went for dinner on Friday night.  Grandma Pam would be happy...She chose Frankie's.  She has grown quite fond of their tortellini.  She says she loves it because it tastes "warm".  It is served in a cream-style sauce, so I think she's describing comfort food!  :) 

We're so thankful she continues to progress!  Fun times.  She is loving school.

Peace, love and studious Mcintoshes,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Prepping for Christmas: Mr. and Mrs. Claus vs. Elflings

Doug and I have this awful habit of coming up with the most elaborate, time-consuming projects to give out as Christmas gifts.  These ideas casually spring into our head on or around December 1st. 

Couple these fun ideas with the following "must-do's":

• Christmas gift shopping (in time to get holiday gifts to Arizona and Nevada before the Christmas holiday / and for the least possible shipping charges),
• Decorate tree.
• Holiday party attending (school, day care, friends and work),
• Trying to savor a few holiday family moments
• An occasional baking night for holiday goodies
• Wrapping the kids' toys
• Laundry and packing for two weeks in Michigan
• Schedule appointment to have Christmas pictures taken for Christmas card.
• (Find outfits, trim up kids' hair for said Christmas card family portrait).
• Send Christmas cards.
• Preparations for heading out of town (which includes setting timers throughout the house, so any potential perps won't realize we're out of town. ;)
• Contacting US Postal Service to put our mail on hold.
• Contacting our Community Supported Agriculture organization, so they won't deliver vegetables to our front door while we're gone. 
• Cleaning my house so I don't leave it in a state that is seriously regrettable, should I perish in an automobile accident between here and Rochester Hills, Michigan. ;-)
• Attend normal activities, keep kids fed, avoid getting sick.  ;-)
• Remember to give African dwarf frogs to our sweet neighbors with small bag of food before heading out of town.
• "Keep calm and carry on."

And there you have our life in December!  Oy!

This year, I decided the BEST gift for my sister would be a digital frame that included an SD card with all of our family pictures.  My Dad and Dolly fortunately gave me a great start, with 1,200 pictures from their own digital frame.  Piece of cake, right?  Umm...Not so much. 

I asked my Mom, Dad and Dolly for any other family pictures that Sherry would love.  (Sidenote:  A big thank you to Mom, Dad and Dolly for my badgering them to find the most memorable pictures and send to me).  I thought I would just add any pictures that I had of Sherry's family to the existing collection from Dad and Dolly.  Oh. Mi. Gosh. 

A little sidebar:  My Mom, knowing me all-too-well, has been sending me little dollar store photo albums filled with pictures, since Doug and I moved to Georgia in 1998, whenever there was a momentous occasion in the family.  I scanned my little heart out after Thanksgiving, before Christmas, to turn pre-digital age pictures into .jpg files that could be saved to a 16 Gig memory card.  2,300 pictures later, my sister has a comprehensive collection of pictures that I think know she loves. 

I know she likes her family pictures displayed throughout her house, so I thought this would be THE perfect gift for her.  Knowing she might not be super geeked about the frame itself, I put a note on the frame package that said "Plug Me In."  She cried when she plugged in the frame.  At first, I don't think she realized how many pictures were actually included in this frame.  It's hard to visualize 2,700 pictures!  Doug asked me before Christmas if my goal was to "make Sherry cry."  Well, not intentionally!  :)

'You know how you just can't wait to give someone a gift that you know will be perfect for them?  This was THE gift this year.  I was SOOOO excited to give this to Sherry.  More excited than any gift I could think of receiving myself this Christmas.  There are now over 2,700 pictures on Sherry's frame.  My Mom liked it so much, she wanted a copy.  I liked it so much, I finally decided to break out the digital frame I bought a year ago and put it to use. 

In addition to this gift, I decided to get really crafty and come up with a few different recipes.  I saw Williams' Sonoma sold a "Pecan Pie In-A-Jar" made by the Saba River Company.  I took it on as a challenge, baking a few four different pecan pies to come up with just the right recipe to put in a jar.  I took two of the "good" pies to Liam's day care Christmas party.  Everyone raved about the pies!  Everything needed to make the pie is included in the jar, with exception to eggs, butter and a storebought deep-dish pie crust.  I absolutely love the labels, from  http://www.myownlabels.com/). 

(Note:  It was unbelievable how hard it was to find smooth-sided Ball quart jars.  So that was added to my endless"To Do" list.  I didn't want an embossed/bumpy jar since I had to affix a label to it.  Michael's sells smooth-sided ones, thankfully.)

My unlabeled jar on the left, vs. the Williams Sonoma jar on the right:

I also wanted to make a winter fruit jam of some sort. After my Google search came up lacking, I used a recipe I found and then tweaked it to include specific fruits.   (Fresh cranberries, apples, pears, dried pineapple, orange, lemon).  It turned out super yummy!  It's my take on a cranberry walnut relish that makes it's appearance often at holiday tables.  I guess I could technically add walnuts and make it a conserve in the future.  Hmm.

The gift Doug made this year was an oven rack tool that he turned on his lathe.  They are beautiful!  It has a fork-type tip to it, so you can push an oven rack in without having to touch it.  Above the fork area, there is a hook cut out of the wood, so you can grab the oven rack and pull it toward you without getting burned.  He made about 9 of them.  They were all made out of different, contrasting woods.  He actually drew up a prototype for it and everything!  So it was seriously custom-made.  He finished them and put the polyurethane coat on them the MORNING. BEFORE. WE. LEFT. for Michigan.  Everyone seemed to like them.  Aunt Jean commented that hers was too pretty to use.  I hope they're useful to everyone that received them!  These pictures honestly don't do them justice.  Some wood even had a hint of purple in it. 

And, the reason I wrote this post originally... Here is how the Carey kids prep for Christmas.  This picture taken during the car ride to Michigan.  :)  Rough work, isn't it?  ;-)

Peace, love and holiday goodness,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Merry Christmas from the Carey Clan!

2011 Christmas card and family photo.

I called on Thursday, 12/15 to make an appointment for pictures to be taken at Portrait Innovations.   Considering the usual mad crunch to get things done before leaving for Michigan, I thought it might be a longshot that they would have something available.  They had a slot open the next night, a Friday!  Phew!  I haven't sent Christmas cards out in three years, I'm guessing.  Doug didn't relish the thought of taking pictures, but was a good sport and went along with it.  I'm so glad he did!  We were running late for our appointment, but when we got there, we waited almost an hour and a half.  Gulp. 

Once they were ready to take our pictures, the kids were pros!  The photographer was great with the kids.  She asked Doug if he wouldn't mind slipping a red velvet Santa sleeve onto his arm.  It was a glove like Santa's, with a red sleeve that only went up to his elbow.  At first I thought...What in the world?  She handed him a tray of "milk and cookies" and told the kids to pretend like they were giving milk and cookies to Santa.  The kids thought it was absolutely hilarious that they were actually looking up at their Daddy and not Santa.  Oh how funny this was to me (and them).  Only Doug's (I mean Santa's) red sleeve was captured in the picture, along with the kids' expressions. 
Portrait Innovations took some of the best pictures of Liam I've seen, so far.  It is SO HARD to catch Liam with his eyes open!  They did a great job.  Doug also mentioned that we wouldn't be leaving their studio without the picture of Ava with the black background.  He loved it.

We walked to an ice cream shop while our pictures were printing.  The pictures were done at 9 p.m.  We headed home.  The next morning, I was hoping to print labels before the kids' gymnastics class.  Unfortunately we didn't have enough labels.  I ran to Publix and bought stamps.  They didn't have the Avery labels.  I went to Office Max and bought the labels.  I headed home, printed out the Avery labels, grabbed our Christmas return address labels and the Christmas cards to be sent, and then headed to the kids' gymnastics class.  I stuffed, applied stamps, return labels, address labels and sealed the envelopes during their gymnastics class.  After gymnastics class, I dropped the nearly 70 Christmas cards in the post office mailbox, in time for the 1:15 p.m. mail pick-up.  Ba-da-boom, ba-da-bing.  Never before have Christmas cards been processed so quickly (14 hours, to be exact)!  If we would've printed the cards or letters ourselves, I would've been sunk.  It was nice for at least one holiday project to go quickly and turn out well! 

Kudos to the kiddos and Doug for going along with it!

Peace, love and family-style,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

And the children were nestled all snug on their...step?

Getting ready for Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa Carey's.  Ava laid down on the step and decided it was a nice place to take a snooze.  At first I really thought she was, as she calls it, "fake sleeping."  When I crept up on her, I learned she was really sleeping!  She is definitely not her mother's daughter in this case... ;-)

Peace, love and comfy cozy sleeping conditions,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Aunt Jean

Often, on the way to Michigan, we will stay with my Great Aunt Jean.  She is my Grandfather Lawson's younger sister.  She is such a sweetie.  She ALWAYS insists on cooking something for us whenever we visit, regardless of the time we arrive. 

Before heading up to Michigan, we learned that she was in the hospital that week, due to a fracture in her spine.  She had fallen earlier last year and broke her pelvis and shoulder and seemed to have recouperated well from that particular fall.  We were sad to learn she had recently fractured her spine. 

She was in the bathroom when she fell, she said.  Her neighbor's wife was able to help her as the ambulance arrived.  She got out of the hospital the day before we were heading up to Michigan.  I told her that we would like to visit her wherever she might be, but that we didn't want to spend the night at her house.  She INSISTED we stay with her.  I felt horrible, but also knew that she would probably like to see us.  She wanted to stay semi-active, to keep pneumonia at bay (she had a cough), and wore a brace around her torso for support.  She is fortunate to have a very nice neighbor named Robert who really watches after her.  She calls him "the boy", even though he is well into his 70's.  :)  While she was recouping at her sister-in-law's house from the pelvic fracture, Robert put a wooden ramp onto the back porch of her house.  Talk about timing.  I don't know how she would get up the steps to her house now, without this ramp!

We spend the night, arriving late in the evening due to bad traffic.  It was actually a good thing, I think.  (She still had a blueberry cheesecake waiting for us when we arrived.)  We were able to visit with her for a little bit before the kids were extremely tired.  We retired to our beds for the night.  She woke us up early with a knock on our door, as we said we wanted to get on the road early.  We were going to celebrate Christmas with my Mom and sister later that night, after driving the remaining miles to Michigan. 

We took these pictures before we headed out in the morning.  I wanted to show my Grandmother that Aunt Jean appeared to be doing well.  About three days after we left, her neighbor insisted (for the fourth time in the few days after we left) that she go to the E.R. due to a bad cough.  She finally agreed.  It turned out she had pneumonia, after all. 

She is one strong lady, let me tell you.  She has lived on a farm for most of her life.  She recently sold the farm across the street, which had been in her husband's family for generations.  She has a dog (Snowball) and a cat (Daisy) and LIVES for her babies (her animals).  She and her husband never had any children (she had a stillborn baby, unfortunately, back in the late 60's), so her animals are her life.  She LOVES to see Ava and Liam.  Ava called her "Grammy Jean" at one point, which I think really tickled her.  When we told Grammy Jean what Ava called her, she said in her sweet matter-of-fact Southern voice "Well, you just go ahead and call me that, then."  :) 

I love visiting her and hearing stories about my Grandfather.  She looked up to him and he took care of her, as well.  While we were there, she gave me one of his Navy award ribbons.  They were worn as an abbreviated version of a medal, I believe, so you wouldn't have to always wear all of the medals on your uniform.  I will be curious to see which medal this ribbon might represent.  I contacted the U.S. Navy Awards Office in hopes of getting a list of his awards. 

"The U.S. Navy can award a variety of ribbons to the dedicated men and women who serve. Ribbons are small rectangular bars, worn horizontally and attached to the uniform with specially made ribbon bars. The wearing of the Navy uniform, including ribbons, is governed by regulations. Ribbons worn on the uniform must be in order of precedence. U.S. Navy personnel who earn awards from other branches of service may also wear those ribbons, but they must be below the ribbons awarded by the Navy."

 Sitting up and drinking coffee at breakfast - with a fractured spine! 

The kids seem to hang the moon for her.  This picture was taken bright and early. 

I'm surprised the kids' eyes were open for it.  :)

Grandfather's World War II U.S. Navy ribbon.  He originally gave it to Aunt Jean years ago.  She then gave it to us this Christmas.  How special!  She says she remembers watching him "go around the bend" when he left for the Navy.  The bus ticket he used to join the Navy can be found in the scrapbook he kept. 

Aunt Jean says she was so sad when he left.  He is her only full-blood sibling.  He was 17 when he went into the Navy, so she would've been 15.  He chose the Navy (instead of being drafted) as the Navy was known to have more service members who returned to the United States alive.  He knew that if he was drafted, he probably wouldn't have a choice in where he served, and may end up in the Army.  I believe my Uncle Danny (Grandfather's only son) has Grandfather's service medals.  I told Aunt Jean that it probably would be best to give this ribbon to Uncle Danny, so all of Grandfather's medals are in one place. 

Aunt Jean was discharged from the hospital and continues to get better.  We're SO thankful for her health and pray she is only gets more healthy with each day!

Peace, love and Christmas ribbons,

Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Lights of Life: Holiday Festivities 2011

During the holiday season, we like to try to do at least a few memorable things as a family, before heading up to Michigan to celebrate the holidays.  This year, we found out that there was a "Festival of Trees" charity event at a local hotel, where you could vote for your favorite decorated Christmas tree.  By voting for that tree with money in an envelope, you would be giving money toward that particular charity.  The hotel offered free hot cocoa, cookies and apple cider. 

When we walked into the Embassy Suites, Ava immediately saw a pink Christmas tree and was in love.  :)  There were so many trees!  (30!)  And each of them had a different theme / decorations. 

We got some hot cocoa, but I think the kids both burned their mouths on it...it was scalding hot!  While the cocoa cooled off, they rode the glass elevator with Doug. 

Then came the voting.  Ava originally wanted to vote for the tree that had ballerinas on it.  The charity was The Atlanta Ballet.  Considering the numerous other organizations that dealt with more immediate needs, I was hoping she might change her mind.  ;)  She decided on a charity (the name escapes me right now) that helped kids become leaders.  If you pushed certain buttons near the tree, there was a narrative with kids' voices that mentioned how they were learning to become leaders.  Great choice!  Liam decided on a tree that had little wood houses on it.  I think it might've been Habitat for Humanity or a very similar organization.  They both put their envelopes in the box and we headed out the door.

On the way home, we decided to cruise by Life University's "Lights of Life."  Each year they put on an impressive Christmas light display through which you can drive.  The kids LOVED it.  These are pictures, a few snapped in the car, with my phone.  Although a few are blurry, it captures the essence of how magical the lights are. 

Liam has officially trademarked the term "awesome lights," and will say "Look at the awesome lights!"  If you say "awesome lights," though, he will say "No!  Don't say that!"  I think he thinks he owns the phrase.  :)  This year the kids, Liam especially, have gotten excited over the most meager of Christmas light displays.  I love it.  I hope they always do! 

 

Peace, love and a silent and light-filled night,

Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam