Holidays

This is a LONG post of pics, since it's been so long since I've been able to update my blog. Life has been very busy, as usual, and time flies. It's so cold here right now, I am not enjoying winter, I never do. So looking back on pictures is cheering. Now I am looking forward to spring, my favorite time of year.

The beginning of December found us kicking off our holiday season in our annual reenactment at the Backcountry Farm in the Scheile Museum. It was a very cold day, so Max and I didn't stay dressed out for long. But here is the cabin looking festive.



Maura, staying warm in her cape.


The beautiful food the ladies there made, all the reenactors ate them after the public left.


Curtiss, Ben, Grace, David and Maura, singing Christmas hymns.


Kaley and Josiah, helping to hand out candles for the candlelight service.


Josiah was entranced with the lanterns.


Max, trying to stay warm.




This is Max and I on some random day before Christmas. He is so happy and getting so big. He weighs 18lbs already! He is one of our happiest babies. Always a smile and it doesn't take much to cheer him up if he is unhappy. We all adore him. Josiah love him so much, never a day of jealousy.


Christmas cookies were awkward and difficult this year. We never did get it together. I always had guilt at the sugar and carbs that were laying around. Maura can't have wheat so here she is trying her hand at gluten free cookies. Unfortunately, they aren't sugar free and are high on the glycemic index. So they wreaked havoc on her blood sugars. I am not sure what we will do next year.





She sure had fun. Maybe next year we will do the cinnamon cut outs for decorations-you don't eat those but still have the cutout fun.


We got snow!! Lots for us, the kids loved it. Actually, writing this 4 weeks later, we still have patches of snow on the ground. Unusual for this area of NC.


Kaley, still being a kid-yea!


Curtiss and the dirty snow man he and the kids built.


Our next excitement was a visit from my sister Melody and family. We don't get to each others houses but maybe once or twice a year so it was a treat! We all had a great time. My mom also was here so it was a real houseful. Melody is my birth sister so it is especially special that we know one another and get on so well. We have all been in touch for 12 1/2 years now and it's cool to look back and see how we have all grown.

Melody holding Max, sweet.


COUSINS!


Max


Four generations of women in our family. My grandmother, Lauretta; my Mom, Audrey, Melody and I and Kaley.


These are all my moms grandchildren in one place, wow! Left to right, back to front: Jon Paul 9, Grace 9, Charlie 12, Max 3m, Kaley 17, Joseph 6, Maura 5, Benjamin 7, Josiah 2, David 7, Robert 9, Curtiss 11, Sarah 7. You can see 2000 and 2002 were big years for grandkids for my mom and pop!


We sped on from there to Christmas day. Mark and I beat the kids up! (not literally)



My beautiful girls, I think this is Christmas eve.


Our tradition is stockings first and everyone gets a Christmas mug.


David


Me getting my surprise gift, an ipod!


Curtiss and Grace playing with their new camera.


The spread at mom and dads.


The outlaw Josie Wales.


A fairy that stopped by.


Snow on the ground still.



After Christmas my sister April and brother Randy came down. Here is my gorgeous nephew Jaden with Kaley



Oh, he is so cute. We had fun sitting around talking and nursing our babies.


I have more pics of family to follow, some of my other nephew Jack and the kids. I'll have to get them downloaded soon. For now, it's back to the sounds going on behind me near the wood stove as I type in the cold office. Back to dinner and a cup of coffee.

blessings

Giving Thanks

Finally caught that smile!


Making carmel cranberry cups, a traditional dessert started by my great-grandmother McElwain.



Max, our resident joy giver.

The spread before we sat down.

Max and Oma, his great-grandmother. We had a visit thursday afternoon and he was happy the whole time she held him.

blessings

Fall At Our House

We had a great visit with my cousin Courtney and her little boy Charlie, well sort of. Poor Courtney walked into a house full of the flu just waiting to explode! I was the first victim, then Kaley and Curtiss. Then Courtney! Isn't Charlie absolutely adorable?!!! We sooo enjoyed having them here, I just wish we hadn't been sick. We didn't leave the house the whole time!

Courtney and Kaley took the boys for a walk.

They had fun. That's Max that Josiah is holding, very important to him. He'll find him after leaving him somewhere for awhile and exclaim, "Hey Max! I miss you!" I was so excited to find a stuffed Max, from the book Where the Wild Things Are. It's his favorite book, I didn't realize there was a movie out, no wonder I found it.

Sweet boys!

Sweet baby!! He is smiling so much, hopefully we can catch it with the camera soon.

Kaley was out with me checking on some ladies, and we caught this sky. Around here we call this Carolina Blue, you can't find a sky like this in any other state ;)

Our new fire pit in the back yard. Our first fire was actually a bomb, it was too wet. The second one was better, some marshmallows even got roasted.

Max and I in some weird green light.

My elusive photographer! She is always taking pictures and never in them.

Well, now that we are better we are actually enjoying the fall a little. We went on a nature walk yesterday and did a nature lesson. We are doing school everyday and that is going great! We are baking up a storm. Cranberry bread, date nut bread and Grace made a gluten free cranberry bar recipe for Maura. We are decorating with natures beauty, collecting pine cones and different berries. The girls are good at it.

Better run, baby is getting fussy for daddy.

blessings

Random Pictures/Updates

Hmm...having a baby makes posting on a blog kind of difficult! But here are some random pictures. Not much going on here, getting used to a little one again, doing school (yeah!) and enjoying fall. Not sleeping much, fired up the woodstove and had a fall party.




Max at 4 weeks. He has a lot of reflux but in the last few days he has really started being more aware of us all and smiling so big. He is soooo sweet.



Daddy and Max hanging out while Mommy gets ready for our date night.



Max getting sleepy. He nicely slept in the sling through our dinner out. He never made a peep.



What we found when we came home! Well, backing up, usually when we have a date night, the kids eat dinner and watch a movie. Our DVD player is broken and we don't have cable or anything. So, instead they were wonderfully creative. Hmmm, maybe we don't need to replace it! So during dinner, Kaley asked them all to think of a character they could dress up as and they took pictures. David was great at thinking up props and picture ideas. He's the duck at the bottom. Maura's sour face is because she is Mary from the Secret Garden, she and I are reading that.




Here is the duck flying off the couch.

Max almost smiling.

And Josiah got a new bed. So here he is all excited. However, he only manages to sleep in it every other night. And he is trying to give up his naps, or take one at 6pm and get up at 8pm and then play till midnight! So, we are working on that.

Well, Max is up and hungry. More later. Mom is coming to visit and bringing my cousin Courtney!!! Yeah!! So I'll have more pictures next week.

blessings

Autumn Splendor

When Mark asked me what I wanted to do this Saturday I didn't really have anything in mind. I've just been trying to rest in between visits to the Diabetes Clinic. I asked him what he wanted to do. Now, if you know him very well, you'd know Mark is not very spontaneous. In fact, I've learned it makes him downright nervous sometimes when I am. He lives with two very spontaneous women but we contain ourselves for his sake and try to be planners just cause we love him so. But I have learned when he IS spontaneous it makes for a marvelously fun time. This was one of those times! His quiet reply was, lets go to the mountains.


It was a little cool and misty and foggy at parts but oh so pretty. I had no idea the colors would look like they did. We threw a bunch of food in the van and were headed for North Carolina's Blueridge. Newborns are so portable. Max spent his day eating and sleeping mostly. Looking at the sky and me the other part.


Our first stop for a late lunch. (Maura's BG was 55!!) The kids explored while they ate sandwiches and fruit. We ate in the van. Luckily Kaley is now the family photographer and still keeps up with the kids adventures. She got so many gorgeous pictures, it was hard to pick which ones to put here. I hope she puts some more on her blog.



Josiah keeping up with the big kids. He is such a little man now. Right before Max was born I noticed he was with all the kids more and me less. I'd go all day with hardly a snuggle! He is just busy being one of them now. He yells, wait guys!




A huge leaf!

We stopped here at a place called Graveyard Fields. It used to be Balsams before a fire in 1925 cleared it out. It was so red. We decided to stretch our legs from all the driving.

Another view from the parking area before we walked down.

The path was really interesting. Muddy mossy areas, then boardwalks, then windswept grassy fields and streams. Truly unique. (that's me!)

Our elusive photographer~ see her shadow? I loved this picture.




Wild things in trees!! Or the Von Trapp children??

The river.




Fields.

Max slept the whole walk in his sling. He loves to ride there. If he's awake when I put him in he is really quiet and usually drifts off to sleep.



Grace who is almost as tall as her big brother!




Josiah doing a fake smile for Kaley. He loved the walk.

Maura who begged Kaley to take her picture one more time. You can see her pump in her pocket. Oh we are loving it. It makes life so much easier. We did our first site change at home today on our own. It does involve a needle and loading up insulin and using the needle to get the cannula under her skin. I have to admit I'd rather have Mark do it but I'll have to get better at it. It could fall out while he's at work. I'm learning.




This is Cold Mountain. As in the book. And movie. Which I don't really recommend. But I'd like to see if the book is different than the movie.

Looking Glass Rock. The picture doesn't do it justice. It is so big and amazing.




The tree color was just beautiful. I've been so wrapped up in my cocoon with Max, fall has really snuck up on me. It was just summer! We don't have color like this around our house yet, we are 2 hours east of here and a mile closer to sea level! I felt so blessed we caught this fleeting day to see the splendor.

On the way home. Lots of tunnels, Josiah's favorite. We got home late, to a roast in the crock pot and dinner almost fixed itself.

It was a good day.

blessings

ps Yes, Kaley, I will continue to ruthlessly and boldly use all your photos on MY blog. Hey, at least I give you credits!

Pump Day!

WE ARE PUMPING!

Sorry for the red eye! My camera, not Kaley's :) Everything went great with getting our pump going. We used an IV prep cream that numbed Maura's skin and she didn't even feel the insertion. So that was great! She is so proud of her pump and the nurse at the Diabetes Clinic gave her the cute pink and purple cover to go over it. So for today through Wednesday we are just pumping with saline to practice and learn the pump but Thursday we start life without shots! The pump gives a more finite dose of insulin and offers much more flexibility for eating schedules etc. So we are very happy to be at this point.

Here is our beautiful boy Max. He is so sweet and I am enjoying every single second with him. He mostly just eats all the time, sleeps and looks at me so serenely. He spends his time being loved and held and has no need to cry. We train our babies early that all their needs will be met, therefore, they never need cry for much. We don't wait for them to cry a lot and then give them what they need. And he is usually in arms or in sling so he is content and loved. Of course he complains sometimes as all babies do as they learn to fit in the big world. And he spits up a lot :) But mostly he is content. Not to say we haven't had babies that just cried anyway. Benjamin and Curtiss were doosies. They had a harder time fitting into our world, but Max is easier. And maybe that's because we've learned a lot over the years. So he benefits from the experience we've gained with those harder babies. We make it easier for him.

Here is Kaley practicing her magic big sister baby soothing powers. She seems to have a mysterious way of lulling babies to sleep. Mark's theory is that she and I smell the same. And she is wearing a new hat that she got just today. It was her first day out of the house in 9 days as well. Since she and I are not homebodies, that's saying a lot. She deserved a hat :)

We are all well and adjusting well. So thankful for Max and his birth. I'll try to post about that soon. It was very different than all our other babies. Not so much physically taxing as emotional. Thank God for good midwives and a wonderful husband. And babies than turn around in roomy pelvises and patience and well, I'll have to write about it :)

blessings