Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!  May your Christmas season be full of Joy, Peace, and Love!

Nothing sparks a little boy’s imagination like a Renaissance Festival.

Magicians.  A spark is lit.

Kings.  Queens.  Knights.  Another spark is lit.

Performers of all kinds.  Fire-eating.  Belly dancing.  Jousting.  Twirling.  Juggling.  Singing.  Dancing.  Another spark is lit.

Unbelievable costumes designed with attention to the smallest details.  Another spark is lit.

Artisans selling their wares.  Blacksmiths.  Weavers.  Sword makers.  Authors.  Face painters.  Another spark is lit.

A few treasured finds.  The sparks collide, the imagination is set afire.

The little princess sleeps, peaceful and well protected.

Today is a big day…Mom is finally going home.  She has been in the hospital for quite some time.  Six long weeks to be exact.  Six weeks wasn’t part of the plan so each day brought all of us anxiety laced with hope as we waited for God to heal what needed to be healed.  And He did heal her.  He has shown great mercy and rewarded all of our hope.

While she was busy healing, I missed her.  I missed our daily chats.  I missed her gentle encouragement.  I missed her cheery voice.  I just missed my dear sweet friend.  Despite the fact that life seemed on hold for her, for us life kept moving forward.  Mostly because it just doesn’t stop when there are four thriving children propelling life forward.  Our six weeks were filled with ordinary moments and milestones mixed in.

Mom, this post is for you…here are the highlights of the last six weeks for us.  These are all the things that happened…while you were healing.

We went trick or treating.  At 4:00 Halloween afternoon, there was a major panic.  William discovered that his boots had a little mold growing on them and, “Mommy, Superman’s boots DO NOT have black on the toes.”  A can of red spray paint saved the day!  Joseph was the Great Pumpkin; William was Superman; Andrew was a dog; Katie was happy just to go along for the ride.  We took the wagon, four happy little children, and three pumpkin buckets and set off through the neighborhood…we came back with the wagon, three tired but excited children, one sleeping baby and three pumpkin buckets filled to the brim with an insane amount of candy.

I read.  Then I read some more.  I saved all of them for you to read.

I celebrated my 33rd birthday.  We had devil’s food cupcakes with The Pioneer Woman’s delicious mocha frosting.  (I promise I’ll make you a fresh batch whenever you want!)

Joseph and William had their first camping experience (although as I may have already mentioned, it came to an end when, at 9:30 at night, William was convinced that a bear might attack in the middle of the night…in our backyard.)  The first camping experience was complete with a fire, s’mores, and a tent.

We visited the pumpkin patch.  The kids romped joyfully amongst the bright orange pumpkins, each choosing a small pumpkin of his own.  William tested his pumpkin to see if it could possibly be used as a ball.  He found out that wasn’t such a great idea…we ate pumpkin for dinner that night.

Katie gained a little over a pound.  She’s a whopping 16 1/2 lbs.

We went through at least one box of band-aids.  Apparently, little boys get lots of owies and the only way to make it feel better is with a band-aid.

We prayed.  A lot.

I finally opened the Baptism gift you sent for Katie and added it to our prayer table.  It’s beautiful.  Thank you.

Andrew discovered the word “hate.”  Now he hates everything.  “I hate lentils.”  “I hate that blanket.”  “I hate ice cream.”  Really?

I sorted and organized and sorted and organized and somehow managed to get out all the cold weather clothes.

We accidentally released a butterfly from the butterfly house at the Botanical Gardens.  And felt incredibly guilty all day long.

We watched a colony of ants dig a complex series of tunnels.  Then we released them into the backyard (and ran away from them as fast as possible, assuming they were probably a bit angry with us for having them locked up for so long).

I did some Christmas shopping.

We played.  A lot.

We finally finished studying Ancient Egypt in Joseph’s history lessons.  We know a whole lot about how to make a mummy and build a pyramid, just in case you’re in the market for either service.

Katie learned to roll…and roll…and roll.  Not really sure where she’s going, but she’s rolling to get there.

We prayed the miracle rosary for you.  Joseph refused to fall asleep each time we prayed it.  He wanted to be sure that the entire rosary was said for the sake of Grandma Cindy’s healing.

I got a haircut.

I did some canning.  And then I did some blogging about canning.

Dax started golfing again.   A little more balance has returned to our lives since baby girl joined us.

I watched The Pioneer Woman for the first time and desperately wished I could call you to tell you what I thought (I loved her!).

I talked to Dad every day.  I thirsted for any bit of information I could get out of him and I thrived on his hope and faith.

We took many nature walks.

I went for a pedicure.

I got out the sewing machine and made a wall hanging.  I used pink thread on an orange pumpkin wall hanging.  I didn’t dare try to change the bobbin so I used it just as you left it this summer.  Thank you for leaving that bobbin in there!

We went clothes shopping for longer pants for Joseph.  Again.  That boy just grows overnight, it seems.

We thanked God for our blessings…we especially thanked Him for you.

I downloaded this really cool app on my phone called 2nd Vote.  The only problem is that now I don’t want to shop anywhere except a few select stores.  I didn’t realize how liberal most of the stores are.

Katie wore tights for the first time.

I baked a really bizarre loaf of bread and imagined myself as the Duchess from A Duchess Bakes a Cake.  Then I remembered how you used to read that book to me when I was little and I missed you.

Dax had to report for jury duty.  Twice.

I deleted the onslaught of junk email in my box and laughed when I imagined how full your box must be getting.

We slept.  And prayed for you to have peaceful dreams.

I did pile after pile of laundry.  Bet you didn’t miss that task.

Katie had her shots.

Andrew learned to correctly pronounce William.  It’s no longer Wimmy.  We’re still working on Joseph…it’s still Ro Ro.

Joseph, inspired by watching me voraciously read for my book club, decided to start his own book club.  He had a meeting in October for the book Library Mouse and the kids made their own books.  Then he had a November meeting for Molly’s Pilgrim and they made clothespin dolls.  His is still a work in progress, but you would be very impressed with his creativity.

I finally sat down to try to figure out all the inner workings of my camera and photoshop.  I think I made it to page 10 and nodded off.  I’ll keep trying.

I talked to Les every day.  And I was so grateful to have a sister.

The Halloween books were packed away.  Thanksgiving books were pulled out.

I did the usual picking up at the end of each day.

Dad made the Thanksgiving menu.  I drooled over it.

We visited the water plant and were amazed to learn how water is processed.

We watched our meal worms change into beetles.

I tried not to cry.

I remembered that you always tell me, “this too shall pass” and I believed it with my whole heart.

I missed you, Mom.

I thanked God for his mercy and compassion…for filling my heart with hope…for filling yours with inspiration, perseverance, and purpose.  I thanked God, often, for Dad and for Les…for their strength, their faith, their hope.  It was all so palpable it was living and it sustained me.

Today I thank God for healing you and for bringing you home.  I thank Him for giving me another day to share with you and I thank Him for blessing me with you…my mom, my friend.  I love you!