Christmas Memories 2013

It's one of those Christmas miracles.  I am in the office with the door closed.  Everyone knows I am in here--and yet--and YET!--no one is calling me to come out! 

So, I will bask in this time of peace and share some photos from our Christmas.

 

As you can see, it was a pretty exciting Christmas for Nathan, with the foosball table AND Magic Slushy makers.  I don't have a picture of the boys with their BB guns yet.  I must get that done.  "Going Hunting" has been a great vacation activity!

Here is our Joachim family on Christmas Eve. 

Later on Christmas Day, we celebrated with the extended Melius family from the area.  Lots and lots of cousins!

 

To keep with the family theme, Teresa created this snow family yesterday. :)

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!  We hope your days were filled with the warmth and peace of family and friends.  We would like to report a Christmas of absolute health this year!  Wohoo!

We are enjoying these days of shooting birds with BB guns, playing foosball, Wii, watching new movies and playing with the myriad of other wonderful gifts that found their way in to our home.  Oh, yeah, and there's some sheet rock and mud going up on the walls, too! 

I am finding it difficult to come off the sugar train . . . chocolate covered pretzels, pfefferneuse cookies, peanut butter blossoms . . . and that's just for breakfast! 

We will find our way back to the normal routine of life again, but for now it's nice to take some time to catch our breath and soak up the Christmas season!

Things are looking up.

My, my, my . . . what have we been doing?

My husband keeps plugging away on our kitchen and dining room remodel that we officially began on Dec. 7. 
I'm not gonna lie--last week was pretty darn bad. 
Right away, hauling out shovels full of plaster and filling up the loader bucket was FUN! 
Then the next morning, I woke up with the kids' stomach bug.  I was still able to contribute, but it wasn't as much fun.  And there was NO END to that awful old plaster and sheetrock.  Then, even though this is what I wanted to happened, the stress of my house looking like a war zone got to me and I started to develop a cold sore.  The next day, David didn't feel well, but we still got work done because we had to stay on schedule.  It was de-insulation day! 

I HATE yellow insulation.  And blow-in insulation.  And old 1950's insulation. 

Seven days after we first moved downstairs, we finally hauled the last bits of plaster, nails, insulation and wood out of this house.  It was Rachel's birthday, so we went into town to celebrate!

If my life had a soundtrack, Billy Joel's "You may be right . . . I may be crazy . . ." would have been playing.  All. Week.  Long.

But, then it started to turn around.  We now have a re-insulated home and sheetrock will go up shortly!

I really am enjoying the pace of this remodel.  In years past, it was "work a little bit, wait 6 weeks while the farm work got done, work a little bit, try to be patient for the next 6 weeks of no progress. . ."  But, not this time!  I have to be on my toes making sure all parts are in place because THINGS ARE HAPPENING!

Tomorrow is the kids' last day of school before Christmas vacation.  It is a long one this year.  We should be able to keep them busy with paint brushes. Their favorite way to help, however, is to watch TV and "babysit Rachel."  It all needs doing, I suppose!  :) 

I do want to mention a big blessing for our family this past week.  After the Christmas program at church on Sunday, the Youth Group surprised us with a "20 second Bucket Run."  When one of the parents started to explain the concept, I had no idea it was in honor of our family, and especially Rachel.  I didn't have much time to process it before kids were running around the parish hall, people were emptying their pockets and waving money and at the end of 20 seconds, $158.09 was collected for the Cranio Care Bears organization.  It really brought me to tears.  It was the perfect Christmas gift.

In all of the chaos in our house right now, we have still had a blessed Advent.  The only stress I have right now is getting some last-minute shopping done.  I'm usually not a last-minute shopper, but demo and not feeling well ate up last week very quickly!  So, last minute it shall be this year! 

Rachel is 2!

Happy Birthday, Rachel!  Our baby is 2. She is everyone's favorite little sister and she enjoys that title very much. 

We celebrated with birthday pancakes this morning.  Grandma and Grandpa Melius joined us before going to cousin Lydia's party later today.  They share a birthday, along with Great Uncle Doyle, so it is a good day for birthdays in the Melius family!

I found these great handmade tents at the craft fair this fall and the pink John Deere print had Rachel's name all over it. 

 

Happy Birthday, Rachel!

 

Progress

Here are a few more works of art from our gallery.  Nathan drew the football game, big hairy spider, and the flower.  He's a kid of many talents!  Landen drew the little United States map next to the big hairy spider, of course, and Teresa made the two princesses holding hands.

 

 

 I don't plan on posting much for the remainder of the month because I have been hired on the D. Melius & Family Construction Crew.  We're all moved into our little basement kitchen.  It's all snug and cozy and as convenient as possible. 

This is what remains of the upstairs kitchen.  You can see its whole history here--the green and gold paneling, the white I painted shortly after we were married, and the tan I reached over my pregnant belly to paint in 2007. 

I have had the same verse written on the kitchen door since last spring.

The time has come!  Wohoo!

Write it on the chimney . . . and the walls!

The kids have their first snow day of the year today.  Nathan and Teresa were especially excited to go out and play in the snow this morning.  

I prepared for the worst as Nathan started getting dressed. 

Usually Nathan's first winter experience involves him writhing on the floor kicking and crying because nothing fits right. 

He put on the new gloves and said, "They fit perfect." 

Wait.  Whaaaat? 

 I was so excited, I ran to alert his father. 

 "What should we do?" he asked. 

"My Grandma Joachim would say, "'Write it on the chimney,' I answered. 

(I really don't know where that saying came from, but it's always something my Grandma has said when something unusual happens.)  

And so, David grabbed a Sharpie and did just that! 

 

 

 

Operation Remodel is in its infancy, and to entice the boys to rip off the bottom wall trim, I told the kids they could write on the dining room walls when they were finished. 

Now it was their turn for "Wait.  Whaaaaat?"

We will have some very interesting artwork for the next few days.

All of the kids had fun working on their murals.

 

It's a first for any snow day here!

Teresa's first lost tooth

We did have some happy news tonight.  Teresa lost her first tooth!  Landen lost one of his in school today, too.  Nathan has a loose one. 

 

Watch for falling teeth!

My Uncle Sonny

My Uncle Sonny passed away this morning. 
I first met him when my parents took me along on their trip to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, when I was about 4 years old.  I instantly loved him.  He asked me what I wanted for breakfast, and after I requested tuna fish and bacon, that's what we had.  Even at a young age, the way to my heart was through yummy food. 
Shortly after we returned home from that trip, I began writing letters to Uncle Sonny and Aunt Carol, a practice that continues to this day.  I wrote more letters to them than anyone else in my life.  I shared all of the little and big things of growing up with them from my small town existence in South Dakota.  Sonny commented on the frequent smiley faces I would include, something I now do on my keyboard. :)
I only actually spent time with Sonny a handful of times.  He did not like to fly, so Aunt Carol would always come back to South Dakota each year alone.  When he did come back with her, it was always an event.  He would entertain my aunts and uncles with his comedy in my grandparents' kitchen, cook his fabulous southern seafood like NO ONE ELSE.  We talked too fast for his Southern drawl, but he adapted.  His presence was always a rare treat for us all.  A native of Mississippi, he gave us a different perspective on life. 
I had the wonderful privilege to attend Sonny's baptism and confirmation as he was received into full communion with the Catholic Church in 1999.  My mom, sister, grandparents, and I flew down to spend a long Easter weekend with them in Baton Rouge.  I will always treasure that time we spent together.  In typical Sonny fashion, it didn't matter that he had many responsibilities that weekend.  He asked each of us what we wanted to eat, wrote up a menu, and made sure each of us were adequately fed before our departure back to South Dakota. 
This is all too soon--it always is.  We knew his time was getting short.  I was hoping to get to see him one last time, but that time will have to wait until we get to the other side. 
I don't know if souls eat in heaven, but if they do, I am sure they are enjoying one huge and wonderful Southern feast today--shrimp at least four of five different ways, catfish, crawdads, black beans and rice, and hush puppies.  Maybe even tuna fish and bacon.
I love you, Uncle Sonny.
I will see you again.
And I'll have a menu ready.