Esther at 15 Months

Esther hasn't really changed much in the past month.  She is probably a bit more vocal and enjoys playing and singing.  She did have one week where she slept through the night a few times, but it isn't consistent.  Someday soon, we hope!  We have transitioned to using a sippy cup for breakfast and lunch, but still use a bottle for dinner and bedtime (and any night time bottles).

Esther weighs nearly 21 pounds and is 30 inches long.

I know I need to get some recent pictures of Meghan and Evan on here, too, but for now you get a few pics taken tonight right before bedtime of Esther.   She wants you to meet Bunny.

Thirty-Three

The blessings of the week...

1. Derek celebrated his thirty-third birthday this week.  At his request, I made scalloped potatoes for dinner and a peanut butter pie with chocolate topping for dessert.  Derek will never catch up to me in age, but it's still nice when he has a birthday.  Derek received this very cool Star Wars pop-up book for his birthday.  It is very cool, and much too delicate for children.  (They looked with him, but did not touch.)

All the pictures in this post will be of him.  I may be a bad wife for not having any recent pictures.  I'm not sure what he thinks of the final picture, but I like it showing his goofy side.  And I happen to be the one writing on this blog, so I get to include it for now.

Derek coaching Meghan's football team.

2. Meghan was sent home from school with a fever this week.  Amazingly, it only lasted a few hours.  She had to stay home the next day, but only missed one day of school.  

Derek and Evan planting a tree.
(This was the men's work during Meghan's Little House birthday party.)

3.  Not only did Meghan's illness not become the flu, but no one else became sick.  (Esther just has a perpetual runny nose.  This does not go well with her long hair.  She constantly has crusty hair.)

4. I'm reading another L.M. Montgomery book...something different this time and not Anne.  It's called Pat of Silver Bush, and I adore it!  (I have not finished the Anne of Green Gables series.  I only read about one LMM book a year...unless I get my hands on a used copy of Mistress Pat...)

Christmas Crackers come with a crown and a goody inside.
Derek knows how to sport them.

5.  I attend a book/Bible study on Thursday nights based on the book Shepherding a Child's Heart.  This week the teacher was not able to be there.  I volunteered to take her place so we could still meet.  It was my first time teaching adults, and I really enjoyed it.  I think I learned more from preparing this chapter than from reading the whole book!  

How We Spent Christmas Vacation

On my other blog, This Simple Home, I took Fridays to consider the blessings of the week (usually five).  I am going to start doing here, since it is such a  nice summary of our weeks and focusing on the positive.

I'll back up a bit and consider Christmas vacation.  Here is the good stuff!

1. Safe travels.  Though Esther threw up on the way to NE PA (five hours), we made it there and home again a few days later without any problems.  Part of this was due to us making the choice to leave a day early to beat the storm.

2. Grandma's 90th birthday.  We had a great time with Derek's family celebrating the wonderful woman his grandma is.  All of her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren were there!!

3. Family.  We were able to see most of my family and all of Derek's family while up.  We left here at 7 a.m. on Saturday and returned Christmas night (Tuesday) at 11 p.m.  In between we had Christmas with my mom, dad, Derek's extended family, and Derek's immediate family.  Plus, we had a birthday party for Grandma!  

4. HOME!!  Then we came home!  From Thursday until the following Wednesday I only left the house to go to the pharmacy and church.  It was wonderful to be home!!  (If you didn't know, I am a homebody and prefer to be right here at home.)

5. Sewing with Meghan.  Meghan learned to sew over Christmas break, at age 6!  It was awesome to spend that time together.  I wrote more about how we did it and included some more pictures at the other blog here.  She really sewed almost every stitch herself!

6. A painted bedroom.  Derek painted our bedroom on his time off.  Neither of us love it, but we are glad it is painted.  Now, maybe after 4.5 years, we will hang something on the bedroom wall??

Grandma's Birthday

Grandma (Derek's) turned 90 on Christmas Eve.  We surprised her with a card party.  Donna (Derek's aunt) placed an ad in the local newspaper and contacted some non-locals, too, to let them know of Grandma's milestone birthday.

Above are Gma and Gpa.  

It is hard to believe that Grandma is ninety and Grandpa will be 90 in March.  Though retired from farming, they are both busy.  Grandpa builds furniture and still works outdoors plowing and mowing.  Grandma played piano on Christmas Eve for the church.  On Sunday, she prepared a dinner for the 19 of us. We are grateful for all the time we get to spend with them when we visit or when they visit us.

Instead of going out to dinner or someone hosting the family, we rented the local community hall and had a catered meal, supplemented with some of our own foods.  We were able to relax and really enjoy our time with Grandma.

This is Derek's immediate family on his mom's side.  You see Gma and Gpa seated in the center.  Seated beside Gma is Norman and his wife Jacque.  Beside Gpa is Janice (Derek's mom) and husband Clyde.  Directly behind Gma and Gpa is Donna.  To the left are Norman and Jacque's three kids: Angela, Chris, and Adam.  Derek, Esther and I are beside Donna, and to the right is Derek's brother, Brandon and his wife Stephanie.  On Gma's lap is Reed, Brandon and Steph's baby.  On the floor you see Evan, Meghan, and Arden.

(We didn't plan where to stand.  It just worked out like that!)

 Last I heard, Grandma received 144 birthday cards!!  They were "gifted" in a bread box that worked nicely as a mail box.

This was our best attempt at a family picture.  Initially, we just wanted a kid picture, but Esther couldn't stand to be out of our arms without throwing a fit.  (This went on for the entire time we were in NE PA!!  Can you imagine!?)  You can probably tell that she still isn't too happy.