2011!

Where have we been?!? I know, I know, it has been far too long!

As I look through my old posts, it is amazing how many things have changed and how much we have grown. What a year we have had! Below are our pits and peaks of 2011!

Washington DC Trip/White House Easter Egg Roll 2011

We couldn’t have been more thrilled for the chance of a lifetime to participate in the 2011 White House Easter Egg Roll! (Thanks Uncle Richard!) We decided to make it a lovely weekend at our Nation’s Capital, our old stomping grounds. We stayed at a Marriott right by my favorite grocery store in the whole world, Wegmens! YUM! While we were visiting, I sent Ling a text to tell her how much I missed DC, she responded are you in DC? Turns out, we were both visiting at the same time & she was staying less than 15 minutes from our hotel. It was such a great coincidence that we could see each other even if it was only for a brief amount of time.

The Easter Egg Roll was on a Monday, so we spent all of Sunday exploring the museums. Elijah LOVES, LOVES, LOVES Dinosaurs! So, the Natural History Museum was a huge hit. Air & Space, not so much. I think all the big space ships were a bit overwhelming for him.

So, it’s the big day, Easter Egg Roll time! We line up 45 minutes before out ticket time. We wait, and wait, and wait some more…almost an hour and a half standing in the heat! Kids are sweaty and crying then all of a sudden Elijah feels horrible! He has the worst tummy ache, his eyes are glassed over it is time to abandon ship! We were so close to entering the White House grounds when we had to turn around and head out. Poor little buddy!

We call this weekend, “The Easter that almost was.”

Elijah turned 5!

We had another great birthday at Hill Ridge farm! What can I say, the boy loves that place & who wouldn’t! There are acres & acres of fun activities, the perfect place for little ones. Almost every kid from his Montessori class made it to the party, which made for an extra special day.

I tried to convince him of a cowboy or farm thing, but he wanted dinosaurs. I made cute cupcake toppers, water bottle labels and even a matching t-shirt.

Our Old Man, Winston

We had a big scare with Winston in April. He suddenly got really sick and after an hour at home debating what to do, we made the decision to bring him to an emergency vet with the likely chance of putting him down. We were absolutely heartbroken, we sobbed and held him. Wouldn’t you know as soon as we get to the emergency vet, the little guy perks up! In typical Winston style, he starts marking his territory on everything! Oh Winston!

It turns out Winston has a condition called Mega Esophagus, a heart murmur and arthritis! As Mom always says, “Getting old is ugly!” Due to the Mega Esophagus, Winston is now on a “meatball” diet. It is quite an arduous process. Soak the dry food in water for several hours, put it in the food processor with olive oil then make round food balls. Anything for Winston! He always is on daily pain & heart medicine. He has definitely gotten slower in his old age, but he still has his “froggy” moments.

Halloween

Hmmmm, what can I say about Halloween. I see a pattern that emerges each Halloween year. Elijah is a superhero, he gets super excited that I can never take his picture, and lastly, he runs around like a maniac without even eating 1 bite of candy contributing to his craziness.

Next year I am going to make it a goal to get him ready super early and get some good shots of him!

Spring Soccer

We embarked on another season of soccer! This was Elijah's 4th season playing for the YMCA. He always plays indoor soccer during the winter. He absolutely loves indoor! There is a lot more action & the coaches are fabulous. 2012 Spring Soccer was supposed to kick off today, but due to a large amount of rain, no practice. We decided to give CASL a try this time.

Montessori School and Reading

This will be Elijah’s last year in Montessori school, big tear! I begged Ms. Janet to extend her class beyond 6 years old, but I wasn’t too successful. J Before this school year started, we got the usual packet of information. This year there was a special note which read, “Extended Day will start September 26.” Elijah was upstairs taking a bath, so I quickly ran up there & told him he had a surprise. Once I read the note, he stood up, arms in the air and yelled, “I MADE IT!” It was so adorable! All last year he asked everyday when he would be in extended day & now is was finally here.

This year he has blossomed into such a little leader. Ms. Janet just loves how creative & imaginative he is! He is also so empathetic, which is such a beautiful quality to have. We are so proud of his “challenging works” he brings home, he is definitely determined.

Just this past few weeks, Elijah has really started to read! It honestly just clicked like riding a bike. He pronounces each letter using phonics, and then reads the word! We have a little game we play at bedtime, if he reads a word & gets it right, I tickle him. Yes, it is a little bizarre, but he loves being tickled unlike his Mama!!!

We will be on pins and needles these next few weeks. We applied for a local charter school and we should get the admissions letter the 1st week in March. Shortly after, we will get the answer on his choice school. Due to revised county plan, you no longer have a base neighborhood school. The school district provides a list of 5 schools, which you must rank. Due to the overcrowding and popularity of our neighborhood school, there is a high chance there won’t be open spots for him to start 1st grade there. Ugh…it is such a stressful process!

Summer 2011

We had another busy summer! Here are a few pictures from the Wolfpack Club Bowling Event, a trip to the Zoo, and the Durham Kids Musuem.


Uncles Update

The last few months have been very difficult for the family, especially Nana. Uncle Bill had his kidney removed and is currently on chemotherapy and radiation for lung cancer. Uncle Andy had a series of horrible events, first a seizure, which led to the determination his brain cancer had returned. A few weeks ago, he had a massive stroke that has left him in the hospital.

Nana goes to the hospital almost every single day to care for him. He has lost a large amount of his eyesight and is unable to eat on his own. There are many hard decisions that will need to be made over the next few weeks. Nana is the rock in our family, the caretaker of all…

So during this hard time, all we can do is pray. Pray Uncle Bill and Uncle Andy can win this fight, pray they won’t be in pain, just keep our faith and pray.

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,
"You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during
the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one
set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most,
you have not been there for me?"

The Lord replied,
"The times when you have
seen only one set of footprints,
is when I carried you."

So Long 2011

So, that is in a nutshell our 2011! We are looking forward to 2012, it is going to be a great year!