Welcome to 2014!

 Whew!! Is it really already the seventh of January? How has a week of 2014 already passed me by? Before we get into this year, let's finish out 2013.


All of Christmas Day was so nice. The kids played with their toys and while the beginning part of the day was a blur, I so enjoyed just being at home all day. We got to lounge around in our pjs, play with all our new things, and then just enjoy being together. In the past, we have always traveled on Christmas Day so that we can have Christmas with all our family but that wasn't necessary since we were so close now. Mom and Dad, Lattie, and Nae came over to say Hi in the late afternoon and to let the kids show them what Santa brought. 

The day after Christmas is always our family celebration at Grandmom and Granddad's house. This year, of course, was going to be different and we knew this going in, but we were looking forward to getting to be with everyone. My Grandmother, whose health has been failing for quite some time, had been moved to the Hospice House at the beginning of December. She began to have difficulty breathing on Christmas Eve and while they had gotten it under control at this point in time, everyone was aware that she didn't have much time left. However, we continued on and had a house full of people with a wonderful meal, lots of laughter, and time spent together with our loved ones - exactly the way she would want. 

Alex had plenty to laugh at :)

Don't let his face fool you - he's happy. . . just intent on eating!!

The next day was our Christmas at the Flack house. We had a nice meal and lots of fun together. Lucy and Harper are just so cute when they get together. After lunch, the kids had a nap and the adults went ahead and exchanged gifts then since we knew it would be wild once the kids got up. Boy, was that smart. Lucy was ready and opened all of hers in a flash. Charlie and Alex were a little overwhelmed, I think, so Lucy came and opened most of their presents for them. And I think Harper still had gifts to open even when we left for the evening! It really was a nice day . . .I was I remembered more. While Michael and I had run to pick up dinner, though, I called my mom just to check in and she let me know that Grandmommy had died that afternoon. Even though it wasn't unexpected, it's never easy when you lose someone you love.

The next day was Christmas at the Alexander house. We went over after the kids had their morning nap. It didn't take long before Lucy was ready to open presents!

Lattie with the "Uncle Harold" bag (Uncle Harold always was in charge of the bag for trash at Christmas . . . so whoever has that job is called "Harold" at our house!)

 Lucy was an expert at passing by everyone else's gifts under the tree to find the ones with her name! ;) But with a little help, gifts got distributed to everyone. The boys favorite part was helping to pass the gifts out. .. only they would hand one to someone and then go back and take it away and give it to someone else!

Our love of Mickey Mouse continues . ..   

Even with all the activity going on, Charlie was still trying to escape from the living room!

We got to the end of the presents and there was only one left. All Christmas long, Lucy had been letting everyone know that Santa did not bring her part of what she asked for . . .A Sofia the First Magic Talking Castle. In fact, whenever anyone said, "What did you get for Christmas?", her answer was, "Well, he DIDN'T bring me a Magic Talking Castle!" (Never mind all the things that Santa actually did bring!!) Uncle Lattie and Uncle Day Day though had gotten it for her, so she was finally going to have one!

She was just in awe when she opened it.

Uncle Lattie had already put it together for her so she could play with it RIGHT AWAY! :)

After presents, we had lunch and then it was naptime. Dad left to go back to Statesville and Mom and I ran some errands. It was a different kind of Christmas, but it was nice to be together.

The next day was Sunday, but the boys and I stayed home because Charlie wasn't feeling well. He kind of rallied after his morning nap so we went on to our Christmas celebration at Aunt Tanya's house. We had a nice time - Lucy had such a great time playing with Lillian and Nathan. I wish we got to see them more often because I think it would be so good for her. I had my first allergy scare with Alex. He got a hold of Lucy's sippy cup which was full of chocolate milk. I don't think he did any more than get his mouth on the mouthpiece but I freaked out. I even accidentally knocked him down as I was trying to take the cup away from him! Thankfully, nothing happened, but it was just a reminder of how careful you have to be because even in a room full of people, something can happen. The boys are still so little that they don't understand that there are things that they can't have - and if they see something to eat or drink, they of course think that it is theirs! From now on, if Lucy is going to have milk, it will only be at the table and the cup will not be left anywhere in the room with the boys.

The next week was a little crazy. On Tuesday, Michael and I left the kids with the Flacks while we went to Statesville to meet with everyone as we planned Grandmom's celebration of life service. The kids didn't feel all that well, but we were hoping it was just from being exhausted after all the Christmas fun. Of course, it wasn't so on New Year's Eve, we took Lucy to the doctor and found out she had a double ear infection. Then on New Year's Day, the boys made trips to the Urgent Care (Charlie in the morning, Alex in the afternoon) and each one had a left ear infection. It took them several days even after starting the meds to start to feel like their normal selves! So while they haven't felt their best, here are a few pictures from this past week.

Lucy, modeling her new Sofia the First bathrobe

Charlie, my little helper!

These boys have a good time with their cars!

Charlie, reading up on the princesses in his sister's book.

Lucy, ready for her first day back to school after break - when did she turn into such a big kid??

Grandmommy's Celebration of Life service was on Saturday. It was a beautiful service, followed by a wonderful reception afterwards. As I sit here trying to type out words, I still find myself at a loss. Maybe I can write my thoughts in better detail later. However, I have given a great deal of time to thinking about the lessons that I will carry on that I learned from her. When I think about Grandmommy, I think of family and tradition. So many of my memories are those that involve family activities - reunions, holiday celebrations, vacations . . . .always full of good food, lots of laughter, and many loud people. (Yes, Loud. . . there's no way around it. The Alexander crowd is a loud bunch!) And tradition. I love traditions. I have always loved the traditions that my family participated in as I grew up and now, with my own children, I have begun to establish our own family traditions so that they will hopefully mean as much to them as they do to me. At Grandmom's at Christmas time, she always had this tradition of letting each of her children have a turn to choose the Christmas menu. As her grandkids got older, she included us as well. I still remember when it was my turn to chose and how special I felt. I remember sitting around the table and having the other cousins talk about what they were going to choose when it was finally their turn. (Thankfully, Caroline grew up a little and decided that cereal wouldn't be the best choice for Christmas dinner when it got to her turn!) I think Grandmom loved being able to do that for all of us and that tradition has continued, even after she was no longer able to fix the dinner herself. In fact, this year, it finally got around to Michael's turn! (He has been patiently waiting for what - eight ?? - Christmases now??) At Christmas time, we also used to always have Cheerwine/pineapple juice punch and for as long as I can remember, it was my job to help Grandmom make it. Even when I got to the age where I was old enough that it was no longer a big deal, she would wait until I got there and say, "I can't make this punch without you." And while I might roll my eyes, I still loved that it was something that we shared and that she waited for me because it was our tradition. One other tradition from Christmas that stands out in my mind is one from when we had Christmas at their old house. Every year under the tree, she had a Christmas gift for each of her children that was marked from Santa. These were always small things from their childhood - an old yearbook, a toy, pictures . .. . something from their past. She would always say that she was cleaning out the attic/basement and wanted to get their things out. But for me, I always saw it as a mother giving back a piece of her children's childhood to them. I remember seeing their faces as they would flashback to that time in their life for just a moment, to a simpler time or perhaps something they had forgotten or hadn't thought about in a long time. What a precious gift to give your children - I always looked forward to those gifts each year, just to watch their faces. As a mom now, I think to how special that is to be able to remind your children that they are always your children, no matter how old they get, and that whenever they come home, you will be there to help them remember from where they came. 

I don't know if any of that makes any sense. And there's more I could say, but I just can't put it into words, so I'll stop. But before I finish this out, let me just say, I'm thankful for the life of my grandmother. I'm also thankful that she is no longer in pain. And I do have joy and find comfort that I know I will see her again one day.