Christmas Day

The advantage of combining Clark and Wolfe traditions is that we don't have to get up super early on Christmas Day.  :)  The kids wake up and can play with the things they received on Christmas Eve, and then when everyone is awake and going we can dig into the rest of the gifts. 

Unfortunately Johanna woke up feeling rather puny and spent the whole day on the couch with only a little bit of water in her belly all day.  :(  But at least she felt well enough to be with the rest of us and didn't have to use the trash can that she kept by her side all day. 

We called it a Super Hero Pony Christmas because there was a lot of each.  Ha!

In the background is Chris' gift....a new exercise bike....that he's been using for a few days already.  It's SO much quieter than the old one.  Nice!

I have been enjoying this Christmas gift from Chris for a while now, still very special to me.

We enjoyed the day relaxing, playing games, doing puzzles, eating, and staying warm by the fire.  We have been very blessed this year.  We have had our shares of ups and downs, but the Babe in the manger makes life worth living every single day.  Happy birthday, Jesus!

Christmas Eve

We had a nice family Christmas Eve this year.  So much of the holidays is wrapped up in tradition......a photo shoot by the tree, reading of the Christmas Story, snacking on cheese, sausage and crackers, opening about half of the gifts under the tree.  It was nice to celebrate with Grandpa and Grandma W this year.

The kids of course enjoy the excitement.  It's fun to see them give their gifts to each other and watch in anticipation as they are received and opened.  They put much thought into each gift, even into the wrapping (ie. Ami likes to make the wrapping as girly as possible for the boys, ha!). 

Michaela wrapped up her driver's study guide for Benjamin.  I can't believe that he'll start training this year!

Dad printed a picture of our triage center where they removed the fly from my shoulder on our backpacking trip....then he inset the actual fly and hook in the photo.  Fun memories!

My studious husband.  :)

More Catching Up

Last week was a whirlwind of finishing up school, extra practices for the Christmas play, dental appointments, hosting our Chinese student, and more.  Here are a few more pictures that I missed posting.

We rolled out sugar cookies with Cici.  We also took her to our favorite local pizza place.

The tooth fairy came for the first time for Ami. I must say that all of a sudden this little girl looks more grown up to me.  :(

This zoomed in picture doesn't do justice to the size of the red tailed hawk that was hanging out on our driveway.  He was as big as our cats!  I made sure to take a head count of all cats and small children!

And oh, I love this season of baking cookies.  Well, actually I enjoy eating them more than baking them, but it's fun to splurge and enjoy lots of goodies. 

Snow!

We started off our Christmas break on Thursday by waking up to our first snow of the season!  The kids were very excited and couldn't wait to get out to play.  We only had about an inch, and it was very blustery, but that didn't deter them. 

Ami had a blast trying out the new snowboards.  She's starting on our "bunny slope" and I'm sure she'll progress to the steeper backyard soon.  Hmm, maybe I need to require helmets! 

Christmas Program

This morning during the Sunday School hour the kids put on a Christmas play.  They did a great job of telling the true meaning of Christmas.  Johanna played an exuberant angel (with quite the dramatic flair), Elijah was Joseph, Ami was a cute shepherdess, and Michaela accompanied the piano with her flute.  Benjamin claimed to be too old for Christmas programs....

We are thankful for our church family and the friendships that our children have with others there.  Many are also homeschooled, so they share a lot in common. 

Grandpa and Grandma W are now here, and we're looking forward to a week of relaxing, family time, games, food, and celebrating Christmas together.

One Year Ago....

...Chris and I were sitting in the surgical waiting area of a children's hospital in STL.  Our Benjamin was in the middle of having a cancerous tumor removed from the back of his knee.  We were being covered with SO much prayer.  Soon Dr. G. came to us with the best news ever.  The tumor had literally peeled right off the nerve, in one complete mass, with a very clear margin.  There was no damage to the surrounding tissue or nerve, the mass was out.  GONE! 

We had a few ups and downs after that, initially fairly confident that the mass was benign, but later we received the devastating news that it was cancerous.  It was such a rare form of cancer, that really only a couple of other cases had ever been reported.  Our one-in-a-billion kid felt a tad special, yet in many respects it's not that great to be so rare. 

This last year has been one of continued steps of faith and trusting in His care for Benjamin.  We have rejoiced after each of his 3-month check-ups that have showed clear results.  We are so very thankful for the wonderful care that has been available to us, for the many prayers that have been offered on our family's behalf, and for the "normal" lifestyle that Benjamin has been able to lead.  He is beating cancer and we are hopeful that this cancer will never return.

It's easy to forget what we faced a year ago, but I never want to forget and take for granted a single day.  Each day is a blessing, and for that we are forever grateful!

First One!

Ami has been wiggling and wiggling her loose tooth for several days now.  Finally with Mommy's "help" flossing, it came right out.  She didn't flinch or skip a beat.  (I well remember Michaela in tears over her first lost tooth!)  It's great timing as we are headed to the dentist for check-ups tomorrow.  Now hopefully the older and "in the know" siblings will let her enjoy her tooth fairy experiences for a little while!

This and That

Every once in a while I have to do a catch up post with random pictures.  So, here goes...

Santa came a bit early for Chris, my cycling enthusiast.  He really needed a new exercise bike because he had been banished to the garage with his very LOUD bike.  With colder weather upon us, it was time to upgrade, and now he can exercise in the comfort of the indoors again.  Good timing, too, because all of the Christmas goodies can give unnecessary insulation.  :)

Ah, the advantages of having an older sister that likes to primp little sisters....or the advantage of having a little sister that is a willing participant in such adventures!

Ami was very patient while getting her hair all tied up.....but the result in the morning was a bit curlier than expected!

Unfortunately I didn't get another picture after the final styling had been accomplished.  Big sis used some detangler, brushed it out, and we ended up just putting it all up in a pony tail, but it was a very cute pony tail!

Practice for the Christmas program at church next week.....

We gave Cici an early present since she won't be with us on Christmas.  She was so excited because this was her very first Christmas present ever.  She also attended church for the first time ever on Sunday.  Lots of firsts, and we think she is enjoying it all!