New Year's Eve

As another year comes and goes, I find myself getting a bit melancholy. I always laughed inside at midnight on New Year's Eve when I would see the adults get teary-eyed, while the kids were just jumping up and down screaming. I wondered how they possibly could be sad during such a fun time.

As I get older, I realize the reason for their mixed emotions: another year of our short lives is gone and we do not know how many more we have left. For many, there are more years behind them than they have in front of them. Our children are growing up and although we have wonderful memories, they are just that: memories. We will never get those times back.

So, even though we celebrate and welcome a new year tonight, let us not forget to be grateful for the year that has past. Yes, for many, it has been a difficult year. We all have our problems, whether they be financial or health, emotional or physical, but let us not be like society as a whole and wish this year never happened. I read in the headlines people saying that they can't wait for this "horrible" year to be over with. There are far more things to be grateful for and remember with joy than to regret. Let us remember our childrens' smiles rather than their tears. Let us remember the babies born, the marriage covenants made, the lessons learned, the special times we all shared together with friends and family. If we wish the year away, it is like wishing away everything good that happened, as well.

God always brings good out of bad. So, if we take just a moment at the stroke of midnight tonight, let us thank Him for all of the good that happened to us this year and pray that we may be so undeservedly blessed in the next.

Happy New Year.

Christmas Preparations

Although it is the day after Christmas, I wanted to post some photos of the kids' Christmas preparations. The most memorable for me was taking them to "Five and Below" and allowing them to "shop" for each of their siblings, their parents and grandparents. They really chose gifts that showed they were thinking about each person and what they liked. They were so excited yesterday to give away their presents. I think they got the message that some of the greatest joys are in giving, not receiving....

The first photo is of kiddo #3's Advent calendar. He tore off a ring every day until he reached his "Star of Bethlehem" on Christmas.

























Second are some photos of the kids helping to decorate the Christmas tree.






















The kids also helped me in some of my Christmas baking.

The last two photos are of kiddo #4's gingerbread castle and of kiddo #3's handmade Nativity that he put on the kitchen table.



A Blessed Christmas season to all! I will try to get Christmas photos up in the next few days! :-)

Christmas Quote

Just came across this quote and wanted to share it:

Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world - stronger than hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death - and that the blessed life which began in Bethlehem nineteen hundred years ago is the image and brightness of the Eternal Love? Then you can keep Christmas.
--Henry Van Dyke


Happy week before Christmas!

Kiddo #4's birthday party

Last Friday, Kiddo #4 had her birthday party with her friends at the Little Gym. What a fun time! The leaders had the kids play all kinds of interactive games with lots of free-time in between. All of the parents seemed to be grateful that their children were being run ragged right before bedtime! LOL.



Now you see them,

















now you don't! :-)










The time in the gym was followed by pizza, cupcakes and balloons, much to the delight of all 15 of them! :-)




Happy 5th Birthday again, Princess! We love you!

Disney Pics!

We had a wonderful time in Disney for Thanksgiving week. Seeing the whole park decorated for Christmas was unlike anything we have ever seen.















We all got special treats- kiddo #4 got to spend her birthday in Disney and had a special dinner with Mickey and Friends to celebrate.

For Thanksgiving dinner, we had a special dinner at Crystal Palace with Pooh and friends! My mom got the special treat of actually sitting down to a Thanksgiving dinner without having to cook it all and serve it!

The weather was so unbelievably beautiful! Not a rainy day the whole week (except for the day we left, which we assumed was Florida crying to see us go! :-)) It was in the 60s-70s and sunny the whole time, with a few days toward the end of the week hitting in the 80s.

We went to Epcot for the first time and it has quickly become one of our favorite places! "Soarin" is beyond words and Spaceship Earth became a quick hit among the kids and had to go on it twice. With exhibits like that, you could probably go on them a half a dozen times and still not see and appreciate all of its intricacies. Our 3 visits to Epcot over the course of the week weren't even enough. I don't think we saw half of what was there. Well, there's always next time! That's what makes repeated visits so much fun-- you see your "old-time favorites" and always get to see something new.

Of course, kiddo #3 was beside himself in Animal Kingdom. The safari was incredible. The animals were coming right up to our truck and made for some great pics. The kids enjoyed the train ride and petting zoo there, as well.

The memories of our trip will last a lifetime.

Largest Model Train Display in the World!

The weekend before last, we ventured out to go to "Northlandz." What an amazing sight! It literally took 2 hours to go through the display. There are trains everywhere! There are bridges overhead, beneath and beside you. Words and the pictures cannot do it much justice, but suffice it to say, it is something to behold. From what we are told, it took years to build.



The kids had a great time. Luckilly, the bad weather stopped just long enough for them to ride the outdoor train, as well.


Another fun family day together! That's what it's all about, right? :-)

Please consider the millions who could lose their jobs

DID YOU KNOW….

• 1 out of every 10 U.S. jobs is auto-related, supporting approximately five million jobs across all 50 states.
• They support 14,000 dealers across the country, and these dealers in turn employ 740,000 people, with a total payroll of $35 billion a year.
• The auto industry purchased $156 Billion in raw materials annually and is the largest purchaser of U.S. steel, aluminum, iron, copper, plastics, rubber and electronic and computer chips.
• Autos account for $690 billion, or about 20% of all U.S. retail sales
• 4% of U.S. gross domestic product is auto-related and represents 10% of U.S. industrial production by value.
• Auto sales generate more than $10 billion dollars of annual tax revenue
• Domestic auto industry has invested nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars in the U.S., including $10 billion alone last year.
• U.S.- based carmakers have 105 plants in 20 states, including California, Texas ,Kansas, Louisiana and Maryland.
• The auto companies provide pensions for 775,000 and health care benefits for 2 million.
• The collapse of this industry would reach far beyond Detroit. The Center for Automotive Research predicts that a collapse would lead to:
• Widespread failures of supplier companies
• Put nearly 3 million people out of work
• Personal income would drop by $150 billion
• Tax and social security receipts would fall by more than $45 billion

General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are not asking for a bailout or a handout, they are asking for a loan to be repaid to the tax payers! A loan to see them through the tough economical times that will only become tougher for us all if they are allowed to fail without our governments support!

To contact your members of Congress to ask them to support America’s domestic auto industry, please call the following number to be connected with your legislators - 1-866-927-2233. OR, you can visit www.gmfactsandfiction.com and click on "I'm a concerned citizen" button to electronically send a message to your Senator and Congressman if you prefer.

Either way, the process is quick, easy and necessary.

Bugs, Bugs and more Bugs!

Our local mall offers a free program twice a month for children. They bring in speakers, entertainers, museums, etc. It is always a great time and lots of fun.

This past time, they brought in "The Insectarium," the insect museum in Philadelphia. I believe it is the largest museum of its type in North America.

Kiddo #3, along with most of the other children was enthralled! There were bugs larger than I could have imagined that actually exist in the world today.
The kids eagerly touched millipedes and other bugs whose names I have conveniently wiped from my memory :-) and saw up close and personal insects such as scorpions and tarantulas. On display were deceased (thank goodness) insects of a multitude of (very large!) species from around the world.

The moms all cringed almost in unison as the bugs were brought around and one could hear a chorus of polite, but apprehensive "no, thank yous" as it was offered for us to touch the live specimen, as well. Some dads grinned and eagerly lined up to "pet" them with their children.

Kiddo #3's favorite specimen was that of the "Elephant Dung Beetle," since he is an elephant "expert." :-) You can see how thrilled he was to find that particular bug among the group by his huge smile in the photo.

We are looking forward to the next "Tuesday surprise" at the mall!

Halloween

Although all completely exhausted from our day at the parade (did I mention that there was a 2 hour backup on the trains coming home and I had to call my dad to come rescue 9 of us in his van?), the kids were determined to make it out for trick or treating after some pizza and fries and a quick review of the tape to try to find ourselves on TV. :-)

Kiddo #3 konked out after 2 blocks, the others not far behind at 3 blocks. Nevertheless, they still had practically a full bag of candy (people were especially generous since there were so many less kids. Maybe everyone else was still stuck in the city!) to dive into when they got home.

Kiddo #1, very predictably, was an Air Force pilot (Thunderbirds, specifically). :-) For those of you who don't have the pleasure of knowing kiddo #1 in person, he is bonkers about anything that flies. So much so, that he can identify planes by your descriptions to him of what you happened to see flying above you on any given day. He can easily differentiate between civilian and military aircraft and describe parts, engines, nicknames, etc.




Kiddo #2 was David Akers of the Philadelphia Eagles. Kiddo #2, who is bonkers about math and reading, has become enamored with the National Football League. He knows all of the teams and what city and state they are from. He can quote player statistics and knows the names of most of the commentators. Of course, he was quite pleased with the Eagles win this past weekend. :-)




Kiddo #3, our animal expert, was a polar bear for a Halloween party last week but decided on his elephant costume for the actual day. No surprise there. He is bonkers over anything elephant. As like with his brothers with their "areas of expertise"(except he with elephants), he can tell you the average weight of elephants, where they live, what they consume, how long they sleep and how much they relieve themselves every day, etc. :-)




Kiddo #4 was the shocker this year. She is the "princess" of the house and she very eagerly would tell you so. She has dress-up outfits of her favorite princess, Snow White, and others, which we were sure she was going to choose. Instead, she wanted to be an astronaut! She was a bit skeptical of her choice, at first, wondering if there were any "girl astronauts" in real life. After I told her of Sally Ride and the many others who have gone into space, she was quite pleased with her choice and she actually got many compliments while trick or treating on her choice and accolades of "you, go girl," etc. :-)

Us Among the Millions-The Phillies Celebration

Yes, we went. The kiddos happily played hooky from school (along with about every other kid in this tri-state area)and we boarded a train bright and early and headed into the city. We made it onto the 8:15AM train. We arrived at the ballpark at 9AM. The parade wasn't scheduled to arrive there until 2PM. It arrived at 3:30!


Although waiting 6 hours for a minute or two glance of your world-championship team may seem silly, it was so worth it! The kiddos will have those memories for the rest of their lives. They met other kids and played with them all day in the closed-off street in downtown Philadelphia. They played football, tag and the two younger kiddos were even finding and feeding bugs with some of their new friends. :-) The bonding with total strangers over an event that brought us all together is truly the highlight. Everyone was friendly, everyone shared tidbits, memories, joy and even some entertainment (footballs, baseballs, etc.)

It is something that the kiddos still are talking about. I still fondly remember watching the parade go by the last time the Phillies won 28 years ago when I was 12 years old. I hope that my kiddos will be sharing these memories with their children someday. So, if you saw the footage, there we were- a few specks among the 3 million cheering with the best of them! (some of kiddo #1's friends who actually went to school saw him on TV! We were lucky enough to have a news van a few feet away) :-)



Thanks again, Phillies and we love you!

All Saints' Day Celebration

Kiddos #3 and #4 attended an All Saints' Day Celebration on Thursday 10/30. It was held at an infirmary for aged and ill priests.

The priests were so appreciative and happy to see the children who marched around as their saint, told a story or facts about their saint (or their moms told it for them) and sang some songs. The program ended with some refreshments.



St. Matthew and St. Katharine Drexel were portrayed very well by the kiddos. Kiddo #4 stayed in her costume literally all day and took it off only to go to sleep. She kept looking at herself in the mirror and saying, "I really look like St. Katharine, mommy!"

PHINALLY!!!!!!

Wow! More than 12 hours after the fact, it still isn't quite sinking in. World Series Champions.

Elation, relief, celebration. This town hasn't seen the likes of this in a long time-- a very, long time. I was 12 the last time there was a Phillies parade down Broad Street. And, now at 40, I will happily attend this one with my 4 children in tow.

What really impressed me was this team. They were not boastful or egotistical like many other athletes in other sports. These guys were a team- a textbook definition of one. They worked together, supported each other and were always thanking each other even for their own accomplishments. They were each so humble in their remarks and all thanked the Philadelphia fans. It made a lot of us cry-- not only for the magnitude of their accomplishments, but for the way in which they accomplished it. They are an incredible group of guys and we will never forget them. Thank you, Phillies, for bringing a championship back to this town. Thank you for making us proud again. Thank you for giving us something to celebrate in these troubled times.

We Philadelphia fans are a special breed. We love our teams with a passion that cannot be duplicated in any other city. That enthuiaism will again be on center stage at the parade tomorrow for the whole world to see.

Yo, Adrian! We did it!!!

Turning 40

On September 17th, I hit the "milestone." 40. It didn't seem to hit me, at first, as I have always considered myself a kid at heart. However, some things started to come into focus and I realized that I am indeed, if not old, certainly getting older.


You know you are getting old when your doctors/surgeons are younger than you are! I guess that was really what hit me lately. My husband's kidney surgeon, who operated on him for 5 hours on Monday, is younger than me. He was only graduating from medical school when I preparing to have our second child. Oh well, I guess there are certainly advantages to having a younger doctor, but I won't say that it didn't get to me, even just a little bit. :-)

You also know that you are getting old when most players on your baseball team, which has finally reached the World Series (after a whole lot of years!)(GO PHILLIES!) are more than half of your age! Most of them were not even born when I stood on Broad Street and celebrated the first and only Phillies World series victory 28 years ago with the rest of Philadelphia.

You know you are getting old when you go into a sporting goods store to buy a t-shirt commemorating said Phillies entry into the World Series and the salesman tells you that he was born in 1989, so he has no recollection of the World Series loss in 1993 and his parents weren't even married yet when the Phils won in 1980. yegads!

Even though my birthday was last month, we had a big celebration this past Sunday. It was a wonderful time! We actually rented a place called TNT amusements, that has a gazillion (ok, not a gazillion, but a lot) of video and arcade games. My family and friends got to play to our hearts' content for 2 hours.
My children were amazed at our favorite games like "Centipede," "Ms. PacMan," "Frogger" and "Space Invaders." It was fun feeling like a kid again, even with our primitive graphics. :-)
We went back to the house afterwards for some of mom's homemade cooking and my baking and a really good time was had by all. The nicest thing, though, was actually seeing everyone relaxing and playing and if even for the shortest time, not having a care in the world. :-)