Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?

The lyrics to this Louis Armstrong song keep playing through my mind tonight:

"Do you know what it means
to miss New Orleans,
to miss it both night and day
I know it’s not wrong
this feelin's gettin' stronger
the longer I stay away

Miss the moss covered vines,
the tall sugar pines
where mockin' birds used to sing
And I'd like to see
that lazy Mississippi
a’hurryin' into spring

Oh, The moonlight on the bayou,
a Creole tune that fills the air
I dream of Oleander in bloom
and find I'm wishin' that I was there

Do you know what it means
to miss New Orleans?
'cause that's where I left my heart..."

.......Just feeling homesick for our little house in Metairie, our neighbors (especially our sweet neighbor Caroline) and our friends there as well as those who have also moved on and are scattered about, some working unbelievably long hours as residents in hospitals around the country.

I miss the Big Easy! I miss trips to the Audubon Zoo, the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, the Children's Museum, riding the Crescent City Connection back and forth just for fun, walking along the River Walk, eating beignets at the Cafe Du Monde, the flowers in Jackson Square, seeing alligators in the wild at Jean Lafitte, safari rides at Global Wildlife Center, crawfish boils, Southern hospitality, warm weather, REAL rainstorms that drench the kids in seconds but are warm enough to play in, City Park, snoballs from Sal's, the French Market in the French Quarter, the street cars, old Southern plantations, the Mississippi River, flying kites and riding bikes along Lake Pontchartrain, feeding the ducks at Lafreniere Park, good music found everywhere, the FOOD, Mardi Gras parades and King Cake, Al Copeland's house at Christmas time complete with fake snow, did I mention the warm weather:)? and on and on. Mark says he doesn't miss the crack heads or the hos, since Detroit has plenty of those:).

Our experience with Katrina somehow cemented my love for the city that never gives up (although I admit living above sea level is a plus for us now). Making it through an ordeal brings people closer and we feel a kinship with those, most of whom had situations that were MUCH more dire than ours, who went through Katrina. We got to watch as everyone worked together to rebuild the city that we came to love.

The Super Dome has a new roof and the city a new hope.
Geaux Saints!
Count this as my love letter, New Orleans.
Here's to hoping for another hurricane free season next year.
Thanks for the memories.

Grant's Fourth Birthday

Grant was born four years ago this morning (at 5:36 am). I went into labor while Mark was with his dad in Houston, TX moving our things into an apartment near the Baylor College of Medicine, where he would be resuming his first true year of Tulane Medical School (we had already been at Tulane for the previous year as Mark worked on his MPH and was part of the ACP). Grant was a "Hurricane Katrina baby", born while we were displaced after the hurricane. Luckily, we were staying with my parents in Utah so my mom was with me for his birth and he was born at the same hospital where his father and eldest brother were born. Although it was difficult not having Mark there, Grant was born within an hour of arriving at the hospital and all went well. Mark was on the phone with me when Grant came into the world and was able to meet his newborn son late on the night of his birth.

I can hardly imagine what I would do without my Grant! He brings excitement and happiness to my life with his zest for living. He never slows down, unless he is asleep. I can hardly even tell when he is sick -- true story -- a high fever barely slows him down. He is also incredibly sweet and thoughtful. It is a privilege to be his mother. I am so grateful he was sent to me!

Today we celebrated Grant and his grand arrival into our family. His uncle Robb flew in for the occasion. Grant loves "Wobby", so having him with us to celebrate was extra special.

Grant's special birthday breakfast

Grant really wanted this new Buzz Lightyear. He was so excited that when we got it out of the box and handed it to him, he ran to let Buzz "fly" and accidentally dropped him on the floor and broke his arm off.....darn.

Grant has wanted these Lightning slippers for a long while.
He was pretty excited to get them on his feet.

A Grant birthday would not be complete without a visit to Chuck E. Cheese. Because Carston, Jackson and Peyton had to go to school, Robb and I only had three boys to chase after. Here is Uncle Robb with Luke (who is dying to get his food already).

We drove to Dearborn to go to the Chuck E. Cheese nearest Oakwood Hospital because Mark thought he might be able to slip away from the hospital to join us for lunch. He wasn't able to make it until we had already been there for over an hour and a half, so Robb and I were pretty ready to leave by the time Mark arrived, but of course, Grant was far from finished.

Grant is pretty good at air hockey, but he prefers if you play by his rules. If he wasn't able to score, he would scold me for blocking my goal. His rules specify that his opponent may not protect their goal so that he can have free shots.

Benjamin enjoyed all of the rides.

Robb played with Mr. Luke and kept him content....

while I chased Grant and Benjamin, who ran from one thing to the next, since we were the only people there!

Finally, Daddy arrived and the real fun started.
Mark gave Grant some pointers on how to race.

Luke even tried out a ride or two.

I love the smile on Grant's face in this picture!
He is so full of life.



We stopped at Toys R Us before returning home
so Grant could get his birthday balloon and crown.

We had Grant's favorite spaghetti for dinner (as shown around his mouth). For his birthday cake, we had homemade triple chocolate torte with chocolate cream filling and chocolate glaze over the top. I need to perfect how it looks, it looks like it is melting, but this cake is delicious!

Happy Birthday Grant! We love you!

Grant's Lightning McQueen Birthday Party

Grant was so excited to have a Lightning McQueen birthday party this year!
We invited all of the boys in his Primary class at church
and Grant also decided to invite his siblings.

The boys danced to the songs from Cars, raced, played with cars on a race track and then sat down for some cupcakes with either a Lightning or a Mater ring on top and drank juice boxes.

You've got to love the blue icing on the cupcakes!

Mark read to all of the kids about how Mater saved Christmas before it was time for them to go home. It ended up being a crazy party, but Grant had fun and that was all I wanted so it was okay that the boys had just wanted to play rather than doing many organized games.

All in all, the party was a success! We were so glad to have Grant's friends over to celebrate.

Three Cedars Farm Santa

Not a particularly good picture of any of us, but we can't be too picky since it is the only picture in months which contains all of our family.
This picture with Santa and Mrs. Claus was unexpected. We stumbled upon the chance to get our picture taken together and we took it.
We piled into the car to hand deliver Grant's birthday invitations and just to get out of the house for a moment on Saturday. While delivering the invitations we accidentally missed a street and ended up on an unknown road in the middle of Plymouth, MI. We happened upon a darling farm all decked out for Christmas and had to take a look inside. They had a talking Christmas tree that was enjoyed by all and then a store selling everything Christmas as well as a loft where Santa was seated waiting to have his picture taken with visitors (for a small fee of course). The picture was poor quality, the kids weren't sure what to make of this Santa and Benjamin was in one of his moods, but I was grateful for a picture of our family and the money went to charity. It would have been a perk if it had been better quality and we had dressed up a little, but the kids all got candy canes and the picture works.

I love the Christmas season! We finally managed to put up our Christmas tree last night and I find myself stopping to admire it whenever I can. I have been painting the mouldings in the Christmas room (our living room) and loved watching Luke's amazement as he stared at the lights on the tree today. He grabbed ornaments off of the bottom of the tree, but I put bells and unbreakable ornaments there so I didn't mind too much.

Tonight, Grant dropped our snow globe with the scene of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. It shattered on the kitchen floor and water and glass flew all through the kitchen and family room. The globe was filled with glitter. Have you ever cleaned up wet glitter? It was an adventure, one which I invited all of the kids to join in. We mopped as a family, mostly I cleaned the floor while the kids wiped the glitter around on it. Still, it was nice to be working together.

Benjamin undecorated the small Christmas tree upstairs near the kids bedrooms yesterday during nap time. (I managed to put that little tree up a few days ago to help tide the kids over until we could pull out our real tree.) He broke several of the ornament hangers so they are now perched dangerously on the branches without any security. He ran for his life when I came up to investigate the sounds I was hearing. I wanted to laugh when I saw him taking the corner into his room. That tree is living dangerously being so close to the kids' bedrooms.

Peyton keeps taking all of the Christmas stuffed animals she can find throughout the house to decorate her bedroom. The only problem is that she insists that they all belong to her and she refuses to allow anyone who has had their stuffed animal stolen to retrieve it from her
Christmas display. Her intensity makes me smile.

Jackson insists on wearing a bell around his neck at all times. I can keep track of him that way and I'm not sure he realizes how much it helps me identify what he's doing.
He loves everything Christmas, just like I do. (Okay, I can do without Christmas sweaters, but that is just personal preference.)

Carston keeps fixing the Fisher Price nativity scene because the others kids mess it up when they play with it. He reminds me of myself sometimes! The whole point in buying the Little People nativity is so that the kids can play with it. I guess they'll have to play with it when
Carston is distracted.

We have been drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows almost every day after school. The kids walk home from the bus stop and by the time they get to the front door, their little faces are icy cold. I'm a sucker for their pleading for warmth. I keep thinking hot cocoa is a fun Christmas treat, especially if you stir it with a candy cane, but it might just treat us to sugar overload if we keep it up.

My phone is our stereo of choice since we don't have our stereo set up yet. It is constantly playing Christmas music, but I miss the speakers. The phone can't put out enough sound for a few rooms, only one. If only we could just pull this house together and finish moving in......

It is cold here, but the kids are dying for snow. No snow yet. I admit, I don't wish for it. I adapted to Louisiana weather and miss it something fierce. Michigan keeps me in warm socks and sweatshirts in the house. I love warmth. I am a big fan of the sun. That being said, I do hope for a white Christmas for my little bunch. They are dying to put on their new snow pants and boots to trek out into our forest of a backyard to build a snowman. I think their dad is anxious for snow as well. It reminds him (and me) of home.
Christmas snow is magical.

I need to rush off and work on one of our many projects around the house. I should also fold the laundry piled high in the clean laundry basket.

I am so grateful for this time of year and the reminder it is for me of what is really important.
I really needed the reminder.
It helps me when snow globes shatter, tree ornaments are broken and scattered, tires are flat, washers break, water heaters don't work, furnaces need to be replaced and the munchkins are bickering over to whom the singing stuffed animal dog belongs.

I'm grateful for the gifts in my life. I have so many.
I am truly blessed.

I hope you are enjoying this Christmas season.

Decking the Halls

We decked the halls a little later than usual this year. Before we could put up our Christmas tree, Mark and I had to finish installing the hardwood floor in our living room/dining room. It was quite a project. I still haven't finished painting the crown or the base mouldings, but I was anxious to get the tree up. So, with only a small set of shelves and a rug in the room, we put up our tree as the lone decoration. The kids were anxious to help. Benjamin began offering ornaments before the tree was even put together. Peyton had the important job of watching Luke.

[To make up for the tree's absence over the past week, I put limited decorations around the rest of the house and even set up the little tree, we bought last year in Phoenix, upstairs near the kids bedrooms so they could enjoy Christmas lights as they fall asleep. The little tree is making itself useful as a nightlight and a toy. I keep having to redecorate it because it magically loses all of its ornaments and scatters them across the hallway.]

Jackson was full of Christmas cheer but wasn't particularly interested in the tree until it was ready to be decorated.

Carston helped his dad fit the pieces of the tree together and then I "fluffed" the branches out. Mark and I bought this tree while we were at BYU and weren't allowed to have a real tree in our apartment because it was considered a fire hazard. It is probably safer since I put Austrian candles on our tree every year.

Benjamin recognized he wouldn't be able to help until the tree was ready for ornaments so he retired to the ladder I've been using to paint, but he watched our moves carefully (and believe me I watched him with that ladder).

Grant put himself in charge of all of the Christmas stuffed animals we have acquired. Once the tree was ready, he spread them out on the tree skirt beneath its branches.

I finished up the tree after the kids went to bed. Here it is the next morning. Mark always makes fun of me for moving all of the decorations everyone else puts on the tree. I can't help myself. I want to give them the opportunity to help but then also want it to look right. I'm sure the ornaments will be rearranged several times over the next few weeks and it will be my struggle to let the tree take on a new, more scattered look. I'm trying to let go of these things.
BESIDES, "it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas" around here and I love Christmas!!

Luke is already enjoying the tree.

With that face, he gets away with an awful lot. I am smitten with him.

Merry Christmas!

My Brood decked out in their Sunday best

My boys

My Sweet Six

My Baby

My Girl

Sankt Nikolaus Tag

I love this Austrian tradition that we have adopted as one of our favorite family Christmas traditions. The kids have learned to put their biggest boots out for Sankt Nikolaus to fill on the night of December 5th. I look forward to filling their boots with an orange, chocolate and candies every year. We've added a small toy and a Christmas book to the mix which makes it even more fun but a bit more expensive. I filled the boots this year while Mark worked on our new wooden floor in the Study. I could hardly believe there were so many boots to fill.
Our family has really expanded. It is so great! I can't imagine life without them.

Grant and Benjamin were pleased with their gifts. They pulled out the small toy Lightning McQueens placed in one of their boots and played with them immediately.

Carston got a Christmas movie that he can hardly wait to watch tonight.

Jackson loved his Christmas book and his candy.

Mark and I were exhausted after having worked late into the night on our floor, but Mark found some treats Sankt Nikolaus had picked out just for him. Luke was happy playing with his strawberry banana puffs since he had already had his breakfast.

Peyton quickly gulped down all of her candy before she even ate breakfast. What a healthy way to start off a day! You've heard that candy each day keeps the doctor away, right?