Christmas Blessings

 Michael's Christmas Eve had him staring up at the night sky with his reindeer glasses on.   He was listening for the reindeer and wanting to catch a sight of Santa in his sleigh.  Jimmy read him a bedtime story and tucked him in.  He talked a bit to himself, sang Hark The Herald Angels Sing, and held onto his stuffed friends.  All the build up since Thanksgiving had brought him to this moment.  Tomorrow would be the birth of Jesus and he was prepared to celebrate.   So he drifted off to sleep with the glasses blinking and dreams beneath the Christmas Tree.

Jimmy spent the night and was eager to wake Michael up.  Finally we let him rouse his brother up, both of them, and start the morning.  Mikey's eyes were sleepy but he was definitely excited.

Hand on hip he strutted down the hall to the tree.
There were all the packages to share with our family.  And Michael was filled with such joy, such genuine happiness with every package and every present he handed out to others.

All three boys were home and it was wonderful.  A true gift for myself was having everyone together and healthy.  I am so proud of my boys and their love for our family.   They were so happy to give Michael his space gifts and to watch as he tore open the paper.

Michael read each package and delighted in each gift.

He was very happy to get some playmobil Knights.

Santa  brought him a Santa suit and Michael was so excited to wear it.  He had asked for one on Santa's lap and Santa had said, "Sure, I can do that."  So Santa had to search many places to find one.  But he did!

Sharing this season with Michael has been such an adventure.  Marking the days off, trimming the tree, setting up the Manger scene, Michael as a sheep in the Nativity Play, his enthusiasm has been so
beautiful to witness.  God blessed us with our boys and I am so thankful.


Happy New Year and new adventures to all.

Happenings at Home

Happenings at Home

Michael has been learning about his senses.  For the past few weeks we have been working on hearing.

We have been playing a listening match game that he really enjoys. He listens to sounds and has to correctly match the sound to the object or person making the sound.   He can usually figure out

which sounds are made from each picture on the cards.  He really likes this game.

A few weeks ago I purchased an old-fashioned looking phone for Michael to practice talking on the phone.
He now knows his address, his phone number, and 911 for an emergency.

It also has a drawer on the bottom with paper and pencil and so we play store with the phone as well.

 Michael calls me up and I place an order and he writes down the items I want him to deliver to me.  Then he packs a bag and delivers it to me.

He is so careful as he writes, he is getting so much better!  He really enjoys knowing how words
are spelled.

We also filled a yellow bucket up with pasta and containers for pouring and filling up.

Papa Zen gave Michael his first canvas to paint and he was so excited to fill in the lines with paint.
He asked when he finishes it if he can hang it in the living room with the other art....I said we would
find a place for it together.  It will hang somewhere for he worked real hard on it.

               Life has been simple lately.  Trying to keep it that way as I work, raise my boys, and try
to keep a household running successfully.  Michael keeps me in check most days as he is filled with
such joy over the simple.  I learn so much from him everyday.  So much more to learn as we make our
moments count.

Ethan Allen Park with Michael and Nora

 Ethan Allen Park

We took Michael and Nora to Ethan Allen Park the other day.  It was  so fun to watch the kindness that they showered each other with and the delight they seem to always find in one another.

The first stop was the playground and they raced together.  The two went laughing and racing towards it, Nora  staying  beside Michael.  I watched their joy, such enthusiasm became my own joy to watch.

Jim got in the action and helped Nora swing across this slide...

 and he went down his own slide!

 Michael went down the slide after Nora.

Then they both climbed onto the tire swing and Jim gave them a push.

They giggled and shouted out as they spun about.

   Then we began our walk to the Tower.  Michael held Nora's hand as we set off.

                                  The tower was open so we went inside and made our way to the top.

                             The view was so beautiful!  Fall really made the city so vibrant with
                            all those colors.

                                    Even the kids remarked at how pretty the world all seemed
                                               from up so high.

                           
                                       Then back down we went to climb and sit and make our
                                        way to the Pinnacle further up.

                               
                               At the steps we all went up and sat inside the Pinnacle.

                 

                                          The Maples were so bright, burning with color!

                                             
                                          We sat for a bit and took in the view of Lake Champlain.

                                       
                                   
                                          The trees all about us were spectacular in their colors!
                                               Nature's wordless poetry.

                                       
                                         Nora decided this hill was just perfect for log rolling
                                          so she went right to it!  Michael watched unsure
                                         how to coordinate to do it.

                                             So he kept running up and down the hill which was so
                                        good for his little legs!


                                           And Nora, well she kept right on rolling!
                                     

Jim and I hadn't been up to the Pinnacle since we were teenagers!
It was nice to go back.

                                     Here Nora was pretending to be Rapunzel while Michael
                                   went to the bottom of the window and yelled for her to
                                  let down her hair!

                                                 The it was time to head back down the hill,
                                                   and  make our way back to our homes.
                                             
                                                   It was a nice walk back down and I
                                                   really lived in those moments, taking in
                                                  the sounds, smells, and colors of Fall.

                                               I wrapped the day up in my mind
                                                      so that I could
                                                  open back up the moments
                                                        to change
                                             one of our frequent rainy and dreary days,
                                                into moments of remembered peace
                                                       filled with such color,
                                                  color burnt in my mind this fall.