December/Christmas

December was a good month, although it didn't feel quite as busy as some years.

We started the month with a recital.  Joseph teaches Maddy the violin, Rebecah teaches Annika piano and Jenny teaches Rebecah piano.  Jenny decided to have a little recital for everyone learning piano and violin.  It was short and sweet and everyone has made improvements.  Rebecah played a beautiful arrangement of O, Holy Night at her recital and in church.  She did a great job!

Kimball is doing well in track, although not as well as he would like.  He has gotten a personal record in every meet so far this season.

Having the Whiting girls over for the evening while their parents attend the temple.  We even managed to get the Grinch's reflection so we will always remember what we were watching.

Rebecah continues with therapy.  Her physical therapist has said that Rebecah is able to return to physical activity.  We finally started OT regularly and the progress is much slower with her eyes than the rest of her body.  The teachers are FINALLY following accommodations for Rebecah and printing her assignments on large pieces of paper (11x18).  The larger paper makes Rebecah's eyes work less to focus causing less eye strain and symptoms.  She practices tracking objects on the computer, working with her convergence and divergence focusing muscles and also working to improve her memory.  We have at least six more weeks of vision OT ahead of us.

We don't have an Elf on the Shelf, but we have Meme!  Meme does fun things year round.  He'll sit at the window all day waiting for Eden to come home or poke his head through the stair railing at bus time.  One afternoon he was watching TV when Eden came home from school.  It's fun for Eden and for me.  We talk about Meme as if he were real and for her, he is.  My mom shared The Velveteen Rabbit with me when I was near Eden's age and I think it's about time I shared it with her.  Maybe I'll give my book to Eden the way my mom gave it to me!

Twinning in Christmas pajamas.   

Most people meeting us for the first time don't know that Lincoln and Annika are twins anymore, but sometimes it's fun to twin with your twin.

We took the little ones to Palmyra to visit the Joseph Smith Farm and the Hill Cumorah on Joseph Smith's birthday (December 23rd).  It was a fun little trip and the kids enjoyed it.  The older ones stayed home because they have seen the sights so many times.

Christmas Eve

We had a great Christmas Eve service at church.  After church the kids decorated graham cracker houses.  In the evening we kept our tradition of attending the Lutheran church for their Christmas Eve service.  We were able to attend the church where our friend pastors.  He was happy to see us and welcomed us with big hugs.  There was a lot of singing during the service and it was wonderful!!  The Lutheran service went a little long so we abbreviated the rest of our Christmas Eve activities to watching The Nativity Story while we ate dinner.

Christmas morning!

We didn't read Luke 2 and Matthew 2 on Christmas Eve so we read it after seeing what Santa brought, but before opening the rest of the presents.  

Rebecah is obsessed with the color orange.  She was very excited about this hoodie.

Lincoln has so many Minecraft Lego sets he now has a Minecraft village!

Dinner was simple, but I loved my colorful plate!  Kimball requested collard greens this year and it was a great addition to our meal.  

Ice Skating!  It was the first time Lincoln, Annika and Eden have been ice skating.  They did really well and Eden got much faster using her skate helper. 

We have been very blessed this year and we look forward to a wonderful 2024!

November

 November was a busy month for me, but I don't have a lot of pictures to prove it!

Rebecah and I spend a lot of time together going to 1-3 therapy appointments a week.  Sometimes we have two appointments on the same day!  She is improving, though, and her balance is much better.  She was finally able to start occupational therapy and had a consultation about her vision as well.  She still suffers from daily bouts of nausea and dizziness which will hopefully improve with her OT and vision therapy.  

In this picture Rebecah put her hairnet on me and masks are just required at the therapy center.  The hairnet on Rebecah was to keep her hair and the equipment clean so they wouldn't get the other dirty.  She was working with a laser trying to work on vision control.

The highlight of the month was going to St. Louis to surprise Heather for the 20th anniversary of her car accident.  It was SO fun surprising her and she was SO surprised!  We attended the temple on her anniversary and ordered sandwiches from Subway.  We had a low-key weekend, but it was so nice to get away for a few days and relax.  I plan to go back in 7 months for Heather's 40th birthday!

Chandra picked me up from the airport and dropped me back off at the airport EARLY Sunday morning.  As we pulled into the airport I realized we hadn't gotten a picture together, so even though I looked a little rough, we had to document our time together!  

My kids missed me a lot!  I don't go away enough because they had a hard time without me and I received multiple texts, phone calls and emails all day, every day.  I loved my welcome home banner that the kids made.  It was Annika's idea and she didn't like that the other kids ruined the surprise.

Thanksgiving was fairly low-key.  I had three appointments with Rebecah the first part of the week, so it was tricky getting all of my usual chores and laundry completed while also baking for Thanksgiving.  The kids were a huge help on Wednesday and Thursday. Lincoln wanted to wear an apron just like I was. 

The first quarter of the school year has come and gone.  The kids have settled into the school routine.  Indoor track started and Kimball is adjusting to new coaching staff.  Kimball has driven a few times, but does not like to be pressured about driving.  Joseph and Kimball attended an all-day interview so Kimball can be a foreign exchange student next year.  Kimball ranked his top five choices and will find out his location in December or January.  His top five choices are: Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, and Finland.  He had a great time talking with students from other countries and hearing their experiences.

Rebecah and I attended Kimball's first indoor track meet.  Kimball ran the 55 meter hurdles and achieved his personal best: 9.75 seconds.

October

 Our October is always a busy month.  We made some time around Saturday soccer games for a fall outing. We just went to a pumpkin patch that was 10 minutes from our house, but it was a fun trip.

The corn maze wasn't very difficult, but it was fun letting the little ones lead us in any direction they wanted and then back tracking as needed.

Lincoln was far more excited than Rebecah was to make it out of the maze.

Birthday Week

Birthday week is always very busy.  This year was no different.  I think everyone felt special though and enjoyed picking out a special breakfast, dinner and dessert for me to make.

I sure am getting old!  I guess I'm technically middle age! 

Eden was so patient waiting for everyone to get home and dinner cleaned up before opening her presents.  She is a great girl and I can't get over that our baby is actually 7!

Once again, Lincoln and Annika shared a birthday. ; ) Some years they don't enjoy sharing their special day and this year was one of them.  We made sure we gave them individual attention and their own time to shine in the spotlight. 

Lincoln wanted a cookie cake and Annika wanted a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake.

Waiting for the bus!

We decided to have parties for the kids this year.  We had the girls do a combined party and Lincoln had one the following week.  So it wasn't too much work, I planned the party for the girls and Joseph planned Lincoln's party.  Eden and Annika had 15 friends come to their party.  Joseph was working during the party so I had a friend come and help Rebecah and me with the party.  There was a lot of happy screaming and running around, games, crafts, and food.  The girls had a great time!  Lincoln enjoyed being the only boy and having all of the girls chase after him!  

With our good friends, the Whitings

Lincoln's party was...different from the girls' party.  Lincoln had 9 boys come to his party.  The volume was just as loud as the party for the girls, but it was a lot more physical.  The boys were very active, not spending too long at any one thing.

Lincoln decided he wanted a Minecraft party, so Joseph made a cute Minecraft pinata.  It was basically indestructible, but the boys sure had a fun time hitting it!

Eden's turn to swing.

Lincoln's turn

Annika's turn

The soccer season ended with cupcakes and medals.  The kids all enjoyed their fall season of soccer.

Rebecah's soccer season ended as well.  She never did make it back to playing after her concussion.

The school nurse called one day to let me know that Eden struggled with her vision screening at school.  I set up an appointment for her three days later.  She is a little far sighted with an astigmatism.  

She's now seeing much better with her new glasses!

Primary Activity Nights

Learning about electricity

Painting rocks

Halloween Fun:

Track-or-Treat at school

We went to the track or treat at school.  The kids always enjoy seeing their friends in costume and collecting candy.  It was a mild evening, so it was perfect for the activity.  You don't always get that at the end of October in Syracuse!

Carving pumpkins

Trick-or-treating with friends.

Kimball hasn't wanted to learn to drive, so while he has been 16 for two months, he didn't get his permit until Halloween.  He passed his test easily and is now ready for the road.  In NY you can't get your permit until you are 16, and then you need to have 50 driving hours, your permit for 6 months and take a driving safety course in order to get your license. 

The weather was really mild this fall.  We didn't see any snowflakes in October, which is rare.  

Rebecah continues to recover from her concussion.  She was referred to the Concussion Center at the Upstate Medical campus.  She is now having regular physical therapy appointments to help improve her balance and help her return to normal physical activity.  She starts occupational therapy in November to help her eyes learn to track together again.  She continues to suffer from daily headaches, dizziness and nausea.