Friday, December 21, 2012

Back to Normal


 
At our home it is "back to normal", or at least as normal as it gets around here. :)  School has been happening every day, cooking and cleaning get done and life just keeps speeding right along.  Juan Pablo is doing fantastic.  We had a follow up appointment with the neurosurgeon and he is doing fine.  He will have an MRI in February to check and make sure everything is as expected.  He is still taking his anti-seizure medication (which he hates) and can't participate in "contact sports" or jump on the trampoline, but otherwise things are normal.
 
 
Some of these pictures are earlier in the fall and some are later. 
 
Our grandson Aidan celebrated his first birthday.  He wasn't too sure about the cake, but he did eat some of it.  He is such a happy little boy and so much fun.  In the spring he will be joined by a little sister.  He will also be getting a cousin.  Our daughter and her husband are expecting a baby boy at the same time.  Lots of baby fun and loving coming our way in April!
 
 


Not the best picture, but this is what you do when you have to stay in your room because you were disobedient.  Juan Pablo and Andrew took blankets, stretched them across their room and made a "tent".  Maicol joined them for a campout in their bedroom.  Quite a mess, but lots of good memories made.

In October we made a trip to the college where Dan graduated (and where we met).  The boys had not been there before.   The weather was decent enough for us to get outside and show them some of the places we used to go.  This  is a picture of a lake near the college we spent time at.  These are the cliffs where you  could jump off into the water.  It was too cold for that now, but I was just sure Andrew was going to find a way to get in the water.  Miraculously he stayed dry.  But I did do alot of reminding to stay away from the edge.

Way too close to the edge for me.
They may not always get along, but they love each other.
One of the adventures the last couple of weeks has taken place in our backyard.  Andrew came to me and wanted to know if he could dig a hole in the front yard.  Something he had seen on TV.  I vetoed that idea, but did tell him he could dig in the garden area in the back yard.  I figured it was a good way to get the soil turned and they could have fun.  It started out as a little hole and is now maybe 2 feet deep, 2 -3 feet wide and 6 feet long.  Kind of coffin shaped. :)  They (and several other kids in the neighborhood) have built a top for it with scrap lumber and play out there.  I have had quite a bit of mud in my house as a result, but they have had a great time working and playing together.
 
 

This is an inside project they worked on one day.  Dan had this set of plastic corrugated pieces that you put together to make big shapes to play in.  After they finished it of course they wanted to sleep in it.  I did let them attempt it, but they were obviously not going to be getting any sleep and so they ended up in their beds. 


This is football in the hallway.  Since Juan Pablo can't play football they figured playing in the hallway and lining the floor with comforters, blankets and pillows would be okay for him.  Lots of fun and no injuries.

This is from our study of earthworms.  Juan Pablo had been pestering me for a long time to study worms.  I finally relented.  We studied about them, did some puzzles and writing about them and then crafts.  The first picture is using partially cooked linguine dipped in paint and then dragging it across paper like a worm to make a picture.
This is eating "worms".  Hot dogs cut into thin strips and then notched along the edges so that they would curl a little when boiled.  Fun and kind of gross at the same time.  Gotta love boys!


Last night we had snow.  Only a couple of inches, but it was enough that they were out the door this morning to play.  We're certainly hoping for much more!

We are looking forward to Christmas in just a few days and all the fun and excitement that brings.  We have been doing some advent reading almost every night and have enjoyed that.  I think the lighting and blowing out of the candle is the most exciting part for them.  Hopefully they are learning a little bit too. :) 

God has blessed us greatly this year and we are so thankful. 

Dan and Karen