Decorating for Christmas

Due to the fact that we're having a baby and now with things in regards to my grandma, we decided to minimize the Christmas decorations this year. Last year I had Christmas in every nook and cranny so it was hard to take out only a few things but I know later I'll be happy we did.

We bought our tree today and had a decorating party in our PJ's tonight. We decorated our big family tree and then let the kids each decorate a small tree for their bedrooms. They had a really good time. Olivia put all the ornaments on 2-3 branches. I of course had to move them around to space them evenly (my anal needs!), and Braden has a set of R2D2 lights on his tree so it's perfect. I remember having a small tree for my bedroom when I was young and I LOVED getting it all set up each year. The glow of Christmas lights in my room as I was falling asleep was so cozy. Now it's their turn and I love sharing those traditions with them.

My Grandma

Thanksgiving - although a day for remembering all that you've been thankful for in life - was something a little different this year for my family.

As we were rounding the table and finishing with our usual, "What you're most thankful for," speeches my parents phone rang. It was my cousin Michelle with horrible news about my Grandma Snyder. She was in the hospital and was unresponsive. This came as a total and complete shock. She had talked with my mom earlier in the day and everything seemed fine and left the sweetest voice message on my cel earlier in the week.

The next 6 hours were a whirlwind. It turns out she had an aneurysm burst in her brain. We knew it was there and had been for quite some time but hadn't caused her any troubles. When the doctors did a cat-scan she had no brain activity at all. Her heart was working fine on it's own but she was on a respirator to breathe. My mom and dad left immediately and after talking with the doctors at the hospital they decided to unhook the respirator. My grandma died last night at 10:30pm.

I haven't lost very many people in my life which is fortunate but the people that I have lost I have had a chance to say goodbye to. This is the first sudden death that I've been confronted with and it brings with it a lot of different emotions. I feel guilty that I didn't call her back this week, that I didn't tell her I loved her more, that I didn't visit as often as I'm sure she would have liked. I haven't sent pictures of the kids as often as I used to or cards just to say hello. When I think about all that I could have done differently I am struck with a heart that hurts.

I know that my Grandma would tell me not to feel guilty about any of those things. She was ready to go - she has mentioned that many times to my mom - and she missed my grandpa dearly. She wanted to go fast and that she did. I know with time the guilt will fade away and I'll simply remember all of the wonderful things about her.

Things I'm remembering right now about my Grandma...
-She made the best pink Jello (strawberry jello with vanilla ice cream)
-She always had Dannon yogurt and Kraft cheese squares when we'd visit.
-I loved visiting their house and playing in the extra room with the doll house and card sorter.
-She had a drawer (first drawer on the left when you entered the kitchen) that she kept cinnamon hard candy and caramels.
-She bought us Easter outfits each year.
-Her house was always clean and had a certain scent to it that I can smell right now.
-She hid Christmas presents in the basement.
-She made the yummiest desert bars that had chocolate on top.
-She loved Mickey Mouse and Santa.
-She was very proud of her Danish heritage and loved to talk about it if you asked her questions.
-She doted on my Grandpa like you wouldn't believe.
-She married my Grandpa after not knowing him for very long... it's a fun story. :)
-She loved my dad - he could do no wrong and whenever she talked about him she beamed.
-She picked up my Grandpa from the train everyday after work.
-She couldn't get enough of Braden and Olivia. Her phone call to me on Tuesday was to tell me she was going to save Braden's birthday Thank you forever because it was the first thing he had signed for her.
-She sent them packages that smelled like smoke(hehe) about once a month - they had stickers, snacks and other goodies in them.
-She had danish candles and bubble lights on her Christmas tree every year.
-She had more ornaments on her tree than anyone outside of a department store.
-She worked for Marshall Fields for many years.
-She always looked put together and wore a lot of cardigans. Her best color was pink.
-She loved talking about my Grandpa after he passed away.
-She loved sharing stories with me about her pregnancies and raising children.
-She was always moving - never sitting down long enough to do anything but read or watch the Cubs.
-She kept up on politics and sports :)
-Even in her retirement home she made sure she had pots and planters on her patio.

I could go on but need to be done for now. I miss her terribly and wish more than anything I could just hug her and tell her I love her one more time. I know that my dad must feel the same way and I hurt for him.

She was a wonderful woman who always had the best of intentions. She wasn't a perfect person - none of us are - but she was an absolutely perfect Grandma.

I love you Grandma. I hope you are with Grandpa, that you are happy, content, and that you know how much you are loved.

Thanksgiving

Olivia's choice of an outfit for Thanksgiving!!


Braden playing with Sam's old HEMAN.


The new cooks - The BIG kids took over making the Turkey this year. It was deep-fried and injected with incredible marinade. :)


Olivia and her Auntie Em!



The Fam... Just the four of us... For now!

Holiday Parade

We went to the Holiday parade last weekend and had a great time! Aren't they adorable??!!

Emily and Olivia

Olivia LOVES being girly. She loves her jewlery, purses, make-up, and anything else that has to do with girls. Don't get me wrong - she can hang with the boys and hold her own very well but given the choice, she'd like to have lip gloss on and her toe nails painted.

When Emily arrived on Saturday Olivia was in her glory. Emily had on boots so Olivia quickly showed up with her boots on. You'll notice in the picture that they are purple and black snow boots but boots none the less. It was absolutely adorable.

They were buddies the whole night. Olivia is so lucky she has her Aunties (Emily, and Chris) and her cousins (Nikki and Jill) to help her be girly - she loves every minute with them all.

Party Number 2!

After naps on Saturday, we had a family party for Braden. His Nana, Papa, Grandma, Bapa, Uncle Marc, Uncle Sam and Auntie Em all came to help celebrate.

We had Pesto Pasta, a dinner requested by Braden, followed by cake, ice cream and of course presents. We are so thankful that everyone made the time to come and visit. We love you all.

Celebration number 3 will come this Thursday on his actual birthday - wow, what a lucky boy!!

The Dinosaur Party

Braden had his first "kid only" party this year. I was in my element planning fun games and activities and I believe it was a success. Braden had a great time and felt really special which was the goal!

Evan, Andrew, Isaac, Daniel, and Patrick arrived at all about the same time and we began by decorating goodie bags in the dining room. We had dinosaurs all around. They drew on their bags and put on dino stickers. I was excited with how cute they turned out. When they were starting to finish we put on tattoos from Ice Age 3 (Dawn of the Dinosaurs). This was quite exciting!

Our first game was pin the horn on the triceratops. I had been planning on making the game but changed my mind at the last minute when I found one online for $5. Well worth the money - it was cute!! When they were finished they got to take a set of "grow dinos" and put it into their goodie bag.

Next we came into the living room and they tossed rings onto plastic dinosaurs. They did a pretty good job and they each got to choose a dino to add to their bag when they were finished.

The last game we played was heading into the backyard for a dinosaur egg hunt. It was beautiful so we were able to be outside - otherwise the plan was to hunt in the basement. They searched all over the yard for dinosaur eggs (easter eggs in the shape of dinosaur heads which were filled with treats) and again added them to their bags as they were found. Each boy found seven eggs. They were super excited about their discoveries.

Since it was so nice out Steve got out our bouncy house and the boys (and Olivia) played while we made pizza. We had a pizza lunch followed by cake and ice cream. I was impressed by how much they ate - good growing boys!!

After eating we went to the living room and played spin the bottle to figure out whose present to open. He got very fun gifts and beautiful drawings and cards!!

After opening presents the boys played with their dinosaurs outside in the bouncy house for the last 15 minutes before heading home.

It was a perfect way to celebrate Braden turning 5. It's fun to watch he and his buddies interact and I'm so glad that he had a good time.