It's Chri---- Wait!

It's Advent! Which has become one of my favorite seasons.  Even if half the world ignores it.  Even though "wait" is one of the most frustrating responses to my prayers.  Even when I rush through it and forget all sorts of things, or when my plans downshift suddenly and disappear.  There's something... comforting about this kind of hopeful waiting.  All the church-y songs have such a great wellspring of hope in them...


 

This will be our first Christmas without my brother Steve.  Which seems unbelievable, really.  It's amazing how much I miss him, when we didn't *see* each other regularly... but we did talk often.  And he loved Christmas.  A few weeks ago, Kaden asked us, "Remember when Uncle Steve drove his motorcycle to see us for Christmas? (pause as we say yes, and he gets a faraway look in his eyes)   That was nice."   It was, buddy, it really really was.  And the memories are nice, too.

Today I found out a friend of mine lost her younger brother.  He died unexpectedly due to heart failure...  at 34. I didn't know him well, per se, but I knew he was one of the good guys.  My heart goes out to their family... and another person goes on our prayer list.  It's really odd to have so many friends who have lost brothers- at different ages (late 20s to early 60s) and in different circumstances (most accidents or undiagnosed health issues)... none of them were expected.  Not a club I imagined joining.

Today (yesterday, actually 11/30) started the St. Andrew Christmas Novena.  In the past, I've never been big on novena prayers.  But I just finished one for our new-to-us parish namesake, St. Catherine Laboure, and I've missed it the last few days.  So when I heard about this one (again), I thought- this is the perfect one to do for all the brothers who've passed.  (St. Andrew being the brother to St. Peter).  Although, honestly, I'm not aiming for saying the short prayer 15x a day, but rather 3x (at meals) (actually, that might be 5x daily, given my pregnancy habits).  If you have any intentions you'd like me to remember, just send them along (email, fb message, comment below- however :).

For Steve, Rick, Chris, Andy, Vince, Jim S. and Henry...

Birthday Blues

July is a busy place around here.  We've made it through America's bday, and Nana's bday - though it probably wasn't the best day she had, since we were on the road for 11 hours and 2 people were sick.  Next up- the boys (bdays, not sickness).

The entire 23 person crew!

Kaden has been trying to claim his birthday since the day after Nana's.  We keep putting him off, and then this week I realized his actual day is next week- and I had nothing.  Nothing.  Well, besides a full ideas board on Pinterest, but we know how often that translates to reality (I think the precise ratio is 78 pin ideas = 1 real life activity).  Then tonight, I realized we have 6 days, or maybe 5 depending on when we celebrate, but I work 3 of those days, and family's coming into town, and... well.  It was time to plan over dinner.

Kaden working up the courage to jump!

And what does the boy have his heart on?  A pinata.  Like last year.  Last year, dear friends, I planned ahead by about 2 months, and Uncle Steve spent *weeks* creating two themed pinatas.  (And after a quick search, I realized that I never posted about EITHER of his birthday parties last year.  Sigh. Luckily, Google keeps my photos accessible!

First, take a look at "The Black Bamboo."  Steve looked up plans for a model of the ship Black Pearl from the newer Pirates of the Caribbean movie.  Then, using his CAD skillz, tweaked the scale and print out actual blueprints... then with his fiance, constructed this beauty out of cardboard and bamboo and sisal.

And mailed it to us in FL, where we had a fun filled Pirate Party, that included a treasure hunt where kids found their goodie bags, a 'walk the plank' game that involved water guns, an amazingly cute Publix cake, and the pinata of course!  It was so fun, for the kids and the parents and the teens who came to help!

Then we traveled to PA, for a superhero party. It involved homemade costumes, and pin-the-mask-on-the-superhero, and a SECOND pinata that Uncle Steve made and mailed to PA.

So at dinner tonite, when I told Kaden that this year's party would be more low key, he asked if he could please just have a pinata.  "I think I can do that, buddy, but it won't be as good as Uncle Steve's."  He was okay with that... "but you can make it a Robin superhero pinata, right"  Um, no.

Part  of the issue is that he has requested a "lego batman and robin" party- but the lego b&r stuff is super expensive.  ALSO not very popular, like Superman (on clearance at Target!).  Off to Pinterest I went. There are a lot of cool examples, but I have two problems... 1) no time and 2) I don't want to encourage kids to bash in a cute head like this:



or to beat up on a superhero, like this:

 .  And then there was a nifty TNT version, but I don't want to glorify bombs, either!  I know, I'm making this too complicated.  Yes, I know Target sells Pinatas for $12 or so.  But that *almost* feels like cheating to me.  But if you see me in the store the night before the party, you'll know.

In the meantime, JimDad turns 40 at the end of this month, and I got no ideas for that either.  Birthday blues, indeed.

Heavenly Birthday (not the kind you're thinking of)

Let me start by saying that trying to sneak something past airport security is never a good idea.

You know that.  I know that too, but this morning I somehow thought no one would notice the double boxed cremains of my brother next to an 1800 bottle and hard hat in my carry on luggage.  It wasn't a good plan, but I really didn't think I could explain without crying.   Thankfully, I came to my senses about 90 seconds before sending our stuff down the line.  I caught the attention of a security woman and managed to whisper something about a box, while vaguely waving a certificate toward my suitcase.  The delay, of course, caused a bit of attention I was trying to avoid.  Awkward start to our travels north, eh?

The whole day was a bit awkward and rough.  Instead of celebrating my brother's 50th birthday, I was escorting "him" to Pennsylvania.  It's the first time I've been home in about a month, since we first got the news of his car accident.  There was a week of whirlwind travels and planning and mourning with others.  Then a few weeks where we drifted around Florida visiting friends.  So my house feels... awkward.  There's a huge pile of mail to attend to, as well as figuring out some Louisiana law, and we need to resume settling in here.  But I'm tired and grumpy and sad.  So it can all wait until tomorrow.

What I want to share tonight, though, is two conversations with my 4 yr old.  He's at that age where he understands some things, but things being permanent is still a bit fluid...  

Conversation a few weeks ago:

Kaden: Where are we again?
Me:  Louisiana.

Kaden:  Oh, right.  Where Uncle Steve lives.

Me:  He used to live here, hunny, but he died, remember?

Kaden:  Right, he used to live in Louisiana, but now he lives up in heaven.

Me:  Well, we don't know where heaven is exactly, but wherever it is, that's where Uncle Steve is.

Kaden:  *I know* where heaven is.

Me:  really?  Where?

Kaden:  It's in our hearts.

****

Conversation this morning:

Kaden - Nana, why are you crying? is it because we're leaving?

Nana - Well, a little bit. But mostly because it's Uncle Steve's birthday today.

Kaden - That's right, and he's in heaven.  Well, you could always ask God to tell him that you said happy birthday.

Nana - yes, and I am going to let a birthday balloon go up in the sky later on.

Kaden - That's great, Nana, God will reach down and give it to Uncle Steve.

***

He keeps us honest, that boy.  Happy Birthday, Uncle Steve.  We miss and love you!

Welcoming a Brand New Niece!

Kaden's been having fun with his cousins- especially the ones within a year of his age.  

He's not quite sure why they wouldn't let him play soccer, though.

The really big news is our newest niece!  Here she is, with a proud dad and a fascinated cousin!

At one point, the nurse had baby E in the bassinet to warm her up... and all her siblings, plus Kaden and her dad, crowded around just to stare at her.

Really, wouldn't you?

E-R-E spells Everything

Our toddler can read. Sure enough, anytime he wants to correct you, he points to a written word and says "E-R-E. King" or "E-R-E. Cousins" or "E.R.E. Tomorrow". It's his answer for everything right now.

We also have the first (documented) incident of the child working the parental circuit. The other morning, he walked up to me with some clothes: 'Mama, do these match?' I mentally noted that he was ahead of the game by caring if they matched, then told him that he need a pair of green shorts. Ten minutes later, I see him fully dressed in the original clothes. Er?

Turns out Jimdad had sent him in to request the matchy-matchy service, and then Kaden returned to his dad, saying "it's good". Jimdad, slightly incredulous, "Mom said it matched?" Kaden: "yes, see here (pointing to a logo) and here (holding up shorts). It matches." I'm not sure if we should be impressed with his powers of reasoning, impressed with his ability to run around the parentals, or just dismayed at it all.

Oooh- see the stingray in this pic above? We saw some at the beach the other day. I stayed in the water long enough to snap the blurry pic, then headed for some sand castle building.

This pic is of a baby gator (head toward the left, about the middle of the pic). This was slightly MORE exciting, because we were on a boardwalk and not actually IN the water with the little guy. We hit the swamp and the beaches when some family came down- loads of people and loads of fun. And a great excuse to adverture in our amazing wild 'backyard' too!

A long time ago... and right now too

The pictures in this post are from a while ago. We took Kaden to his first real "carnival" - a local night time fair with expensive rides and crazy eats and new! things! everywhere! We went with some friends (his age and ours!) and had a blast. He was totally blown away by every ride, and only a little apprehensive at times. Otherwise, a real pro at adapting his reality to this new, fast and furious life.



So tonight, some relatives arrived for a visit. As I type, there's six kids sleeping all over the floor in one bedroom, 2 parentals with a one year old babe in the other, and Jim snoring on the air mattress. We have plans to go to the beach, to church, to find wild alligators. I imagine this weekend will be just like that fair: a lot of noise, a lot of excitement, a lot of fun, and passing by in a blur, over way too soon.



And isn't that Holy Week, too? Things that aren't that different somehow seem exciting because of the light we shine on them, the attention we give to symbol and detail, the way we dive to the bottom of our own personal and communal suffering barrels... all to have it end in a mad rush of excitement and celebration on Sunday. It's a blur, but it only feels right, makes any sense or is any fun if our friends are nearby. And then we go back to normal life, except sometimes we have to adjust 'normal' to somehow include an understanding of this latest stuff.

But maybe that's not it at all, and maybe it's just where my head is right now. A very close friend of ours lost her mom last week. I can't stop praying for her. Thinking about everything- palm sunday, old fair visits- and trying to make it fit her new reality. How the life of our relationships are stretched and gathered and let loose... it may be that everyone else has or will someday go through this... but we are caught up in the newness of it all, along for the ride in the dark of night, looking for friends to help us through the apprehension.

Fire Trucks, Treasure Maps and Puppet Shows

Today was a good day. Fridays tend to be my favorite days, mostly because I rarely work on Friday. Sometimes I plan on cleaning or running fun errands, but some days we just play. We had lots to play with today. Earlier this week, Grandma and Pop sent Kaden an awesome little fire truck. It's loud, but not annoyingly so :)


Then yesterday we came home to a package on the doorstep. "For meeeeeee?" Kaden asked? Yup, it's all yours little man. Turns out a cool uncle and his family sent a great envelope stuffed with kaden's favorite things: superheros, pirates, coloring and stickers!

There was one very intricate drawing from our nephew with lots of pirates on a boat. First, our boy ran for his sword and tried to find his 'pirate hat' (a bandanna). Then, he studied his cousin's creation for a while, before declaring it his treasure map. It was awesome, as he pointed out who was who (here's Tali, and here's me and here's you Mommy).


We had another fun playdate today, with 3 friends coming over. I had bought some cute foam-y Easter crafts last night, when I realized I hadn't prepared any cool recycling ones :) There were stick puppets, which resulted in hilarious "shows" - one or more kids hiding behind the chair, shouting somewhat recognizable phrases and then falling down laughing. They were pretty good at taking turns, and I think the 20 second actual show time helped!!

Oh, and here's Sir Kaden, knight of all Florida and Pennsylvania too. You can see his knight hat, his sword, his trusty steed who is apparently named "My Turtle" and his maniacal laugh and he rides to rescue someone.

Here the 4 kids are crafting nicely. Hey, maybe I should plan ahead for when the 6 cousins all come to stay, too :)

Super Day for EVERYONE

It seems like we've been here before...

Click back to that blog and you'll see the 2009 SuperBowl, in which the Steelers beat someone in the final seconds. (Also, a very cute pic of our niece, who celebrates her 2nd bday today! Happy Birthday littlest E!)

But THIS year, you'll notice the team has grown. Not only is our star QB actually running his own plays...


But Jim's folks are visiting! Hurray!


Now, we're off to the neighbors for a par-tay. And it seems like the Steelers are in the Big Game more often than not, and we'll certainly all be cheering HERE WE GO STEELERS HERE WE GO. But win or lose, any day filled with friends and family (especially long distance ones) is a Super one!

How to Snap out of a Fall Funk

Take a cruise. To the Caribbean.

With a bunch o' family & friends.

See? We're totally unfunkified!

Where is it 80 degrees and full of love?

Not at the airport, but please notice the cute traveling bag...

It's where cousins celebrate your bday early by making an easybake cake
(and then fight over who gets a piece with you)

and a Pop who takes you for rides on the tractor
(even when you call him Grandma, repeatedly)

and a Grandma who loves squeezing playtime into her to-do list...
(even if that list is too long and your visit too short)

Yes! Pennsylvania is the place to be...

Holidays... on warp speed

Can you describe your Thanksgiving in five words or less? Here's ours:

Kaden's first.... "stomach flu".... freezing



I thought I'd be kind and spare you the details. Except for the 3 funniest parts:

Nephew, age 10, upon hearing his family is leaving b/c his uncle and grandfather are throwing up in the background:

"What's so bad about that? They just sound like ninja warriors: hoo-YAH" Picture him making karate chops and kicks every time a noise arises from the backroom...


Nephew, age 6, telling me he's afraid of Santa. Me: so how are you going to get all that stuff you want if you won't even sit on the man's lap? Nephew: "Hmm, that's a good one, Titi. Let me think about it."


Nephew, age 7, brother of 5 others, looking at Kaden: "Aunt Kristi, wouldn't it be neat if you had NINE kids?" I sputtered through my coffee, as I'm not ready to even think about #2 yet...


It took us THREE days to drive home- and each day had at least 8 hours of driving, and 2 hours of a crying baby (no, not the driver). Yucky traffic. And it was COLD every day. We had talked of moving to North Carolina... but you know what? It's still pretty darn cold up there. Maybe Georgia...


After ignoring Christmas music and displays and ads for the past 6 weeks, I am suddenly suprised that the big day is about 3 weeks away. Yikes! I'd like to decorate the house and set up a crafty, present making station... but, um, where? Cause our little bundle of joy has taken every free inch of floor space up! And now he can actually grab things, not just swat at them... and it looks like he'll be able to roll over by Christmas. So this will be interesting...


AND-- this weekend is the Feast of St. Nicholas, the saint who inspired Santa. Check out fun stuff here.



Here's a belated 4 month photo of Kaden. I think he looks longer- you?