eSpecially Ben

Merry Christmas from the North Pole! The kids took Grandpa on the Polar Express to see Santa.

 This year 11 children built graham cracker houses at our annual party. Recipe and directions below. Everyone brings for each house being built: Approx a 12” x 12” cardboard or baking pan covered tightly in tin foil. This will serve as the platform for the house. If you use a baking pan, make sure it is not one you will need soon. A cardboard foundation for the house such as individual juice boxes (taped together), box from snacks, cut off the bottom of a ½ gallon OJ or milk carton. This will determine the size of your house. I recommend small. One box (or more for larger house) of honey graham crackers – any brand. Tape the foundation firmly to the cardboard. Sample Supply List Mini marshmallows Tootsie Rolls Green leaf candy Gum drops, assorted color Red & White Peppermint candies Mini candy canes M&M’s Twizzlers Skittles Chewing gum – Big Red – several

It has been a hectic couple of weeks with family visiting and strep throat invading our home (try switching that around - strep throat visiting and family invading),  all the while enjoying our usual festivities and holiday traditions. Through all the chaos and craziness, the boys found time to relax. Ben treated his brothers to a milkshake at his favorite hangout, Smelly Cat. Sending you good thoughts and wishing you all a wonderful holiday time with family and friends.

Last April, I wrote about the process we were going through to get an accessible bathroom for Ben. Since even before I wrote that post, I had been working earnestly on lining up bids from contractors, putting together a layout and design and meeting with people who could help in the process. I invested a lot of time and energy to this project, but even more than that was the emotional investment I put into having this bathroom for Ben. Two contractors dropped out for various reasons, another was so over priced that we could not consider them, and one will not return my calls. Just last week, my one Hail Mary, the guy who showed up wearing a big cross around his neck, promising me the world; his bid was as high as the over-priced guy. Deflated, depressed and dejected, I missed a night of sleep, moped around for at least a day and then read a book I purchased the week before called, " That Season of Hope ." If you need perspective, a good cry and inspiration, it is a good

A couple of weeks ago, I awoke at 6am. I heard a noise outside our bedroom window. A raccoon had been diving into our garbage on a regular basis and although I was not happy about it, I liked watching him crawl into a four foot tall can, eat and then crawl back out. Half awake, I walked into our closet to get to a window that overlooks the driveway, garbage cans and back yard. Our minivan was parked under that window. As I looked down to watch the raccoon, I saw something in our car, but in my sleepy state, I chalked it up to my hair going in front of my eyes. Then, I turned on the closet light, looked out the window, and saw a cat staring directly at me from inside our car. Ryan was sound asleep. Waking the husband up at early hours is reserved for other emergencies, and I did not want to cash in that card on this. It was up to me to get this stray cat out of the car. After muttering a few choice words under my breath, I put on shoes and headed outside. I opened one door to the

While in Atlanta over the Thanksgiving weekend, we visited with Santa. The elf who offered to take our photo with my camera, unknowingly took a video instead of a photo. After watching the video, it struck me as symbolic of our lives: we may start out on track, get off the beaten path and then eventually straighten back out, sometimes without even getting bitten . Happy Holidays to All!