McCartney Family Christmas

Fiona is still slightly feverish, but advil is our friend.  Ken made his yummy enchiladas.  I went back and forth about going to the gathering several times during the day, but in the end, we went.  In sickness and in health right?!

Laura and Joaquin hosted this year in their new home in Beamsville.  We drove around Beamsville a little bit to get to their place and it looked really sweet.  I'm excited to go back in the summer and see more of the area.

Despite everyone not being 100%, we did have a lovely time visiting with family, eating yummy food, and opening silly presents.  This year the usual cousin gift exchange was exchanged for a white elephant game.  I was very excited to give Ken and Chris the tygs that we had custom made for them.  Chris looked so excited when she opened them.  It was awesome. 

Thank you Joaquin and Laura for a very Merry McCartney Christmas!

Christmas

On the eve of Christmas Eve, I took the girls down to see Grandma and Grandpa.  We were going to have lunch and go for a swim.  Everyone was fine when we left...

Alice wasn't herself.  She continued to get worse and worse.  We had a short visit with Grandma and Grandpa.  Cousin Nancy came over, and neighbour Marsha too.  Alice wouldn't perk up and by then she had a fever.  She also started saying she was going to barf.  We took off and went home.  Alice and Fiona continued to deteriorate.  We were supposed to go to Fairy Lake to watch the Nativity Play with the Tokarevs.  We had to cancel.

Christmas Eve - Alice  barfed in the night but was doing better in the morning.  Fiona still had a fever.  We hadn't made any plans for Christmas Eve, but it didn't matter as we just needed to lie low.

I held Fiona a lot.  Ken had a few turns.  I did manage to clean up and get all the toys and stockings sorted.  We left a note and cookies for Santa, and some carrots for the reindeer.

 

Christmas morning.  Fiona still had a fever.  Alice seemed to be much improved, but poor Kate.

Presents - Just for remembering and well, for remembering.
Kate - pony castle, polly pocket roller coaster, Book - Wherever You Are: My Love Will Find You, Bathtub recorders, markers, candy.
Alice - Little people school house, wooden tool box, dry erase book, bathtub tea set, markers, candy.
Fiona - Stuffed Olaf, Bug net bath toy, candy, crayons.
From the cousins - magnatiles and American money. 

Dinner...  We were hosting.  I didn't want to cancel.  How do you cancel Christmas dinner?!  Kate and Alice were doing much better but Fiona wasn't doing so great.  Mom, Dad, Andrew and Rayna all came over.  They brought gifts and appetites.  Ken cooked up a storm.  Fiona screamed.  I sat in the basement with Fiona during dinner.  After Ken ate he took over with Fiona and I ate.  As soon as the meal was done everyone took off.  That made me sad, but what were they to do?  I didn't get a picture of the dinner table, or the people around the table.  I didn't really get any pictures.  I took a picture of Mom and Dad just before they left, but that was after Andrew and Rayna left, so there were no pictures of them.

The girls loved their presents from Grandma & Grandpa and Andrew & Rayna.  From G & G Alice got bunk beds for her dolls, Kate got a Little Pet Shop house, and Fiona got her very own chair - a foam princess chair.  From A & R Alice received a baby that came with a bath, Fiona received twin babies, and Kate received a police station duplo set.  

I didn't do the best job of staying positive, of recognizing the blessings amongst the fevers, sickness comes and goes, but on holidays?!  On Christmas?!  I should have been thankful that we were all together, that we had good food, that the girls mostly had a good day.  There are a million things to be thankful for.  It wasn't the best Christmas, but.  I need to be more grateful.  We are blessed.  It was a good Christmas.

Oh.  One last note.  Ken and Wendy presents.  I bought myself a new mascara and a black skirt and a striped wool sweater.  I bought Ken some socks.  And something else.

A Bloggy Christmas Card

Love came down at Christmas,

Love all lovely, Love Divine,

Love was born at Christmas,

Star and Angels gave the sign.

~Christina Rossetti

I love sending out Christmas cards.  I love receiving them, but truly, I love sending them out.  I love reaching out across miles, across years and saying hello to people, remembering so many loved ones in so many places.  This will be the first year since Ken and I have been married that we (ha ha - we) aren't sending out a card.  The choice to take a second year off work (infant care leave) is an expensive choice, but worth it, so worth it.  Mailing out cards wasn't high enough on the priority list.  (I'll call this one of our Christmas austerity measures.)  And because I'm not mailing out a postcard I can write reams and reams... okay, I won't, but I could!

2014

1.  Being home.  I can't say it enough, my heart is here in my home.  I love being home.

2.  Ken is providing for his family.  I am so thankful for him, for how hard he works for us.  I am thankful everyday for him, who he is as a person, a husband and a father.

3. Kate is an SK.  She is enjoying school more this year.  We still play hookie sometimes (shh don't tell) but she's having a great year at school.  Kate's two favourite things are reading and art.

4.  Alice loves pre-school.  She goes twice a week.  She cried the first day because she didn't want story time when the teacher said it was story time, but she got over it, and now she loves it.  Alice is such a loving little girl, and so funny with Fiona.  She loves being a big sister.

5.  Fiona.  I was tickling her tonight and listening to her laugh.  Is there anything better than the laughter of a baby?  I don't think so.  She is working so hard at keeping up with her big sisters.  She is in that fun language acquisition phase that I love so much.  Yesterday she learned the word "heavy" or as she says it "heaby".  All day today when she would drag things around "heaby, heaby."

6.  I used a hashtag for the first time.  Hashtag.  It's a weird word.  
I still think of it as a number sign - or a sharp.

7.  I used the hashtag #bacON14 for the Bacon Family reunion that happened in Ontario the first week in July.  Seeing my brothers, my sister, their spouses, their kids, being all together with our parents, it was so awesome.  I wish that we lived closer to our Bacon cousins.  

8.  Going to Connecticut in August.  Thank you Ken for working in the basement of my 
sister's house, so I could hang out with my nephews and niece.  I don't even know how you 
dealt with the noise, oh yeah, ear phones!

9. Kate completed a 100 book reading challenge this summer, and has been working on a 200 book challenge.  Alice completed her alphabet challenge earlier this fall. She had to independently arrange her magnetic letters in alphabetical order.  I love that the girls love to learn!
10.  Our faith continues to be the centre of our family.  It sustains us, it comforts us and it challenges us to be better, and to do better.  Christmas is such a special time of year, because it is, or should be, about Christ and trying to do good to your fellow man.

To all our friends and family wherever you are, we love you and send you the warmest Christmas greetings and wish all good things for you in the New Year!

All photos taken by Emily Jones, of Simply Emily Photography.  http://www.simplyemilyphotography.com/

Kate's Christmas Concert

I love that there's a Christmas Concert at Kate's school.  I love that so many classes participate and perform.  Kate joined the choir this year - as an SK she was allowed to.  The principal runs the choir, which I think is so cool.  Mom and Dad (aka Grandma and Grandpa) came to the afternoon concert.  Ken was working at home, Fiona slept through the entire thing - yay, and Alice, having some initial resistance to going to the concert did enjoy herself.

The presentations in the show were quite varied, in both their content and their delivery.  "Taking Care of Christmas", a play on the rock song "Taking Care of Business" was particularly interesting.  And by that I mean bad, quite terrible really, but at the same time, because they were kindergarten kids, it was okay, cute even. 

Kate sang a few songs with the choir at the beginning of the show and at the end of the show.  She also sang two songs with her class.  We really enjoyed the afternoon show, and Ken got to enjoy the evening show.  FUN!

The Stake Christmas Devotional

I don't seek out musical things enough.  I used to resist performing so much when I was younger.  I don't like being a soloist very much but I so enjoy being part of a group, or accompanying.  Carol Smith - the Stake Music Chair, and wife of the Stake President, and all round fabulous person, asked me to play the flute for two different musical numbers - one a solo, and one for the choir.  I'm so glad I said yes.  I'm so glad she asked me.

Tonight was a great night.  We were all going to go as a family, but it just didn't work out that way.  I'm a little disappointed that Ken and the girls missed the concert, but there will be more.  I'm so grateful to be part of a church that asks so much of us.  I'm not sure who I would be without these opportunities to grow and better myself.  I'm so thankful for music, for Christmas music.  I love the celebration of Christ.

The solo that I accompanied was about Mary.  It was quite sombre but pretty.  Heather Regimbal was the soloist and she sang the song really well.  The choir piece was called Bethlehem Wind, and it was awesome.  The flute part was awesome.  I got to be surrounded by music.  I loved it!

Snow Day on Drugs!

What a day!  Today was the day that we were to take Alice to the sleep dentist in Vaughan.  The plan - be there for 9:30, plan on an hour and a half, a little recovery, then home around lunch - or thereafter, pick up Fiona, put her to bed, cuddle with Alice, pick up Kate.  No where in this plan was there a snow storm... no where!

This morning the accumulation was already awesome.  We had two calls from the dentist, and after being told to take our time, we were off.  Dropped off Kate early to Madison and her Mom, Melissa at the school.  (Melissa was there early doing the breakfast program - yes, Melissa is a saint!)  Dropped off Fiona at Michelle's - Amelie and Marisol were excited to play with baby Fiona, and off we went.

The route.  I used to always have the route planned out in my head and Ken would always check with me about said route, because I'm crazy?  I don't know, that was before kids and well, I obsessed over lots of things that I now barely have time to think about.  The route.  Google maps said to go south on Mount Wolf road - so we did.  We were going to go east on King Road and snake our way down and make it just in time.  That is until we got to King and there was a jack-knifed tractor-trailer blocking the whole road.  We continued to go south, then east on Kirby, then south on Huntington Road.  Oh my goodness.

Prayer and Ken and just keep going, and burning rubber, and people going the opposite direction to be stuck at the bottom of a CRAZY hill.  From there it was Major Mack to Hwy 27, then to Langstaff, then Kipling, then Hwy 7, then the 407, then the 400 and then Rutherford and then we were there.  We left around 8:50 and rolled into the Dentist about 10:45.  (I really should post a pick of the route - went west to go east, and south to go north = CRAZY!)

The Dentist - Dr. Waxman, he was awesome.  His staff was awesome.  I am so glad that on the recommendation of Dr. Cornaby I kept paying for my dental benefits.  I'm not happy that Alice's teeth are so awful that we had to go to the sleep dentist, but sweet Alice with her "silver bracelets" on four of her teeth, her teeth are fixed.  I hope we can continue doing a better job of caring for her teeth, and I hope that her adult teeth will never be thus ravaged!

We left the dentist's office around 2:00.  Alice was awesome. So awesome.  I thought she'd be sobbing the whole way home, but she didn't.  She hadn't eaten since 8:00 the night before, but she was awesome.  She was groggy and drugged, but she was awesome.  (Ken gave her a blessing last night and we said lots of prayers.)

We pulled in front of the house around 3:25.  Melissa had agreed to pick Kate up.  Ken dropped Alice and me off at the house, and then got stuck, and stuck, and stuck, and stuck.  He never actually made it off our street, and finally returned about an hour later.  That's when I set off to get Fiona from Michelle's.  I waded through the school field, because even though the snow was past my knees, I just wanted to get to my baby and the thought of walking the streets to go around...  I dragged a little toboggan with me and wore a backpack to put Fiona's things in.

I got to Michelle's sometime around 5:00 in the dark, and Fiona had just fallen asleep.  I chatted with Michelle a bit then went to rouse Fiona.  I nursed Fiona and then we set off.  She wasn't keen on the toboggan at all, so I dragged the toboggan, and carried her.  I fell in the field once while I was carrying her.  Snow is cushy, but it scared me.  I prayed several times.  Alice was telling me stories this morning about the pioneers on the way to the dentist.  I don't remember the stories, but I thought of the pioneers as I was walking.  I was so grateful for my warm clothing, for my baby's warm clothing, for the relatively short distance I needed to travel, that the snow was light, and the temperature wasn't too cold and I was just grateful.

I got home around 6:00 - or a bit before and Ken set off to get Kate.  He got home around 7:00 and I snapped the picture of the three girls on the couch around 7:15.  I looked at my three beautiful girls, home safe and warm and I was just grateful again.

The driveway is shoveled, the girls are asleep, the plows will come sometime tonight (if they haven't already) and we will be warm and safe and together and I will be grateful.  Grateful that we were safe, that we had friends who helped and loved our kids, amazing access to great medical care, and a world filled with so many good people helping each other pushing stuck minivans down the street, and too much beautiful white snow.

Santa!

I don't know why I love my mall Santa photo so much, but I do.  I really, really do!  I think it was three years ago that I started buying the outfits a year in advance - post Christmas sale at Gymboree.  This year Alice and Fiona have the same shirt, Kate's coordinates.  Fiona and Kate have coordinating pants and Alice, well, Alice doesn't.  I think their Christmas picture outfits are fun.  I think next year I might go in a different direction though...  I was so happy the photographer caught this.  Fiona was none to impressed, even though I tried hard to do some brain-washing. 

She carried her Santa doll (from Auntie Wendy) around for a few days, and we looked at pictures.  Fiona even started saying Santa, and happily too.  We even had practice pictures...

First at a pancake breakfast fundraiser at Kate's school.

 

Then at the Ontario Early Years Centre Christmas party.

Yay for Santa pictures!  Yay for fun Christmas traditions!  We had a fun trip to the mall, complete with Grandma and Grandpa, subway sandwich for lunch and play time in the play area, rides on the rides, and a walk through the Disney store.  What more could you ask for?!

A Walk, A Parade, A Party

Saturdays can be dangerous.  If we haven't figured out what we're doing the night before, we often sit around debating what we should do and never end of doing anything.  Today we had lots planned for the bottom half of the day, but nothing to start.  It started out okay, but quickly deteriorated into a lot of little girl bickering.  The girls needed to get out, Ken and I needed to get out.  Kate was a particular kind of crazy today...  I decided that we needed to go on a walk.  It was after lunch and I couldn't wait until three for the parade, so off we went on a walk.  Alice and Fiona in the stroller, Kate being forced to walk because she wasn't doing what she was told.  Kate protested much.  Very much.  Somewhere just past the post office she finally calmed down enough to follow instructions and got to sit and ride in the stroller. 

As we continued walking there wasn't much change in temperament until we finally got to the trail that runs south of mill street, opposite the steam train.  As soon as we hit "nature" there was a sudden change.  The girls were suddenly different.  Everything was right with the world again.  It was quite magical, and I was kicking myself that we didn't just get out first thing!  I took a few pictures, and Alice and I ended up walking further and then up the hill by the funeral home to get home.  She was such a trooper.  Fiona had a little sleep in the stroller, Kate calmed down, and everyone was happy again.

We weren't home for long before it was time to get ready to go to Beeton to see the Santa Claus Parade.  We went with Michelle and the girls.  We were all sad that we had missed the Tottenham Parade.  It is a great little parade.  We went with expectations high that the Beeton Parade would be as good... it wasn't.  But, it was still fun, and I'm glad we went.

Afterwards we all came back to our house and had hot chocolate, donuts and tim bits.  We hung out for a bit, and then it was time to get ready for the Christmas Party in Orangeville. 

I should have asked more questions about the party.  I didn't realize it wasn't dinner, I didn't realize I had the start time wrong... oops!  We showed up without food to share because we thought we were late, and Kate was the narrator for the opening act.  Even after we realized that we were half an hour early, we didn't go get food - lame.  The girls ate a little, Ken and I ate a little, we watched a great show, with some incredibly talented friends, and it was fun, and really well done.  Kate was a great narrator!  Everyone kept telling me how awesome she was!

After the party, thinking it wasn't too cold, we decided to go to see the lights at Kay Cee Gardens.  We had a brisk walk - Kate thought she was going to die... but we still had fun. Christmas is so fun, and magical.  Kids make Christmas fun.  I love it when I hear people talking about how much they love Christmas music - especially when they aren't Christian.  Jesus is pretty special!