3rd time's a charm

Right?  It has to be, or at least we hope it is.

Carolyn is scheduled for yet another surgery on Feb 12 (CORRECTION- surgery has been moved to Feb 5).  She will be in the hospital for 2 to 4 days, and then home recovering for another 7ish days.

Keep her in your prayers and thoughts -- that she remain infection-free and healthy until then, and that this one really does stop the reflux into her kidneys.

New Years Bash - photos

The Girl Scouts posted some photos of the two-night camp that Carolyn attended with her friends over New Year's this year.

Relax

The first day back at school after the long holiday break must be hard on 6 year olds! 

Winter Storm

The other morning we woke up, freezing!  The wind was whistling, with gusts up to 60 MPH. Our power had gone off, and the temperatures were in the single digits.  We looked around and saw tons of trees blown over; our porch furniture had blown off the deck; and garbage cans were flying around the streets.  We were worried.  We called some friends and none of them had lost power, so we started to realize that our neighborhood (area of town) was one of the hardest hit by this storm.  Power came on around 7pm the next day, in time for us to warm the house back up for bedtime.

   

New Years Eve Bash

Carolyn and about 70 other girls aged 6 to 14 rang in the new year at Girl Scout camp.  It was a two-night slumber party at Trefoil Ranch, in which the girls got to decide what to do.  They slept inside in the bunk houses by the main lodge, stayed up late, made crafts, played games, had fashion shows and made music videos, and went snowshoeing.   Carolyn mentioned that she took a nap during the New Years Eve party, and from other stories, it sounded like one of the girls in their room woke up around 3 or 4 each morning and would proceed to wake up the other bunk mates.  The counselors made them play the "potato" game until the sun came out; I think that means they had to quietly talk to one another and only the person who held the potato could talk.  Needless to say, the girls did not provide a lot of details of what they did during their weekend, but it is clear that they had lots of fun, but not much sleep.  (Not many photos other than a few from drop-off; perhaps GS will post some soon)

Lizzie missed Carolyn; One day she even asked her teacher at daycare for an extra granola bar so she could save it for her sister.  On New Years Eve, Steve, Lizzie, and I went to our friend's house.  We ate carry-out and chatted, while the kids played.  We were home by 1130 and I had to struggle to keep my eyes open for midnight.

Creativity that comes from a long holiday break

A few weeks without school + extra cold temperatures + a desire (at least by parents) to keep pajamas on and do nothing = some creative moments.  Here is a music video that the girls made.  They played band all day and made a companion Sally to join them.

I am ready for all of us to get back into our routine and schedule.  The house is far less messy than it is now!

Christmas 2014

Christmas Eve started with Steve and Carolyn skiing, and me going to see the Nutcraker with Nikki, her mom, and our friend Julie. At about 3pm, we all arrived back home and were ready for our night together.  The girls put on their fancy christmas dresses, which were much appreciated hand-me-downs from their friends Annie and Kate.  We poured cocktails and started the fun.  When steve saw Carolyn in her fancy dress drinking a "cocktail," he immediately said how much Grandpa Harry would have liked to have seen that.  So we spent some time reminiscing about Grandpa Harry, and what he meant to all of us.  We then facetimed with family in Ohio, opened gifts, enjoyed a simple meal of spaghetti and meatballs.  Our next door neighbor RJ joined us for dinner.

The girls slept until about 9 on Christmas morning.  They immediately came out to see if Santa had brought the gifts they wished for.  Carolyn wished for a pair of wooden clogs.  Lizzie asked for a green present with red paint.  Santa delivered, so it must mean that they were good this year!

We had many more packages from friends and family and from one another to open.  Carolyn especially loves the spirograph from Grandma Lynn and Grandpa Mike.  Lizzie has been busy with her magnetic blocks, and also really likes her Olaf hat.  Lizzie picked out a pink sweatshirt for Carolyn, while Carolyn bought Lizzie a board that you sit on (kind of like an indoor teeter totter).  A zipline toy and a remote control car were other favorites of the girls; a metal wind-up elephant riding a motorcycle brought the loudest squeals of delight.  I bought the family new camp-cooking supplies, so we got excited about what camping trips we should take together.  And, Steve got me the shoes I really wanted, plus some great new jewelry.  A trip to Toys-R-Us to pick out their own new toy from Grandma Carol was as much fun as opening gifts.  The girls both walked around the store and debated what they wanted.  Lizzie was sure she wanted a Thomas the Train set, until she had a last minute change of heart and went to the back of the store to go get the doll baby and carrier that she saw.  Carolyn settled on a microscope, and we are thinking about how we might be able to use that to do her science fair project next month.   We are blessed with the generosity and riches we had bestowed upon us this holiday season.  

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rebeccautz/15552713163/in/photostream/

One of the highlights was the party we had Christmas day. We invited friends to come over anytime after 4.  The house was a complete disaster at 3 with all of us still in pajamas and wrapping paper and gifts strewn about everywhere, but we pulled it together before our first guests arrived.  There were probably 30 of us.  We put out all the ingredients to make your own pizzas, so pizzas are coming out of the oven all night.  We set out a whole bar with a variety of mixers, so everyone starts mixing creative cocktails for one another.  The kids watch movies and play with new toys.  The adults laugh and talk and then snuggled in on the couch for an always amusing game of Cards Against Humanity.  It is such a fun night, and makes me thankful for the friends we have. (no photos, other than the blurry one of us playing games)

This year, Carolyn was very interested in the story of Jesus, and why we celebrate Christmas.  So, one of our special family gifts was our very own nativity scene.  A tiny little pewter set.  

Holiday Performance, Indian Hills

Carolyn's school had a holiday music performance.  Each grade performed a song, with a few songs by the whole school.  Carolyn's class sang "Candles in the Window" which has become a well-known and well-rehearsed song in our house. (Carolyn takes her singing pretty seriously.  We will see; she may need to foster her talents in this area).  In the videos, the first graders wore white shirts and were standing on the steps of the stage; she is in the back left if you are looking at the photos.

Winter Solstice Party

A great annual tradition, hosted by our friends Michelle, Josh, and Max.  It is a time to reflect on our friendships and our goals for the new solstice.  At a solstice ceremony, we each make a wish that gets burned in the fire.  Most kids wished for things like puppies and new legos.  Steve wished for big biceps.  Others were a little more serious like health and harmony for friends and family.  Carolyn's wish was that she would never get sick again and that she would have healthy kidneys!  I was not expecting that and choked back a few tears, but it is further realization that her illness the past two years has really taking a toll on her psychologically and emotionally.  It always weighs heavy on her mind and heart, just like it does for us parents who are trying to coordinate all of our docs to help us prevent the next pyelo episode.