HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE ROCKET MAN

P1010147.MOV

David will be 5 years old on Saturday. We got such a kick out of this video that I thought I would post it. How in the world do kids get so smart so fast. I am 65 years old and couldn't begin to give all the names of the planets in our solar system. He cut them out and designed the solar system by himself, unless you count Daniel who was watching him. I think we have a rocket scientist on our hands.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVID WE LOVE YOU T....H....I....S... M....U.....C....H... XOXOXOXOX.

PRIDE, ANXIETY AND LOVE

The last week has literally flown by. We got in from our visit to Fayetteville, I went back to work and John's brother Jim and Becky came in for a short visit. I have not had the time or took the time to sit down and write on my blog for a few days. But since I have a snow day today I have nothing else taking my time, so I will try to post something.

I was looking back at the pictures that I had taken of new baby Mark Hayden and also the pictures that I had made in August when Daniel was born. It made me smile to look at the expressions on the siblings faces. You could see a little anxiety, (maybe wondering if this new baby is going to take over my territory). You could see the look of pride. (look I have a brand new baby brother). But most of all you could see the look of love on all the faces. Happy moms, glad to have baby here. Big smiles from the dads showing the pride they have in their families. Super happy Maw Maw and Grand daddy knowing that these are little pieces of them that will stretch into the future for another generation.

I dug out some pictures of our own little family when the kids were babies and I could see the same expressions on their faces. Big brother holding little brother, sisters being the little mommies to new baby and the look of "is he taking my place". I'm sure if I dug further and looked at pictures of my own siblings, I would see the same thing. ( Pride, anxiety and lots of love.

It never ceases to amaze me how fast time goes by. As hard as we try to grab hold and slow it down and keep it for a little longer it slides right through our fingers. The great part is that you can relive it again through children and grand children. I am really happy that we had a large family and the process of growing has been on going and no end in sight at the moment. This is what life is made of.

TIME TO HEAD HOME

We arrived here in Fayetteville last Wednesday. Mark Hayden was born on Thursday morning and because of the crazy weather got to come home the following day. The rest of the time has been spent trying to entertain Luke and Charlotte and let Sarah get back into the swing of things. Cody started his two week leave yesterday so it is time for John and I to head back toward Alabama. We will head out tomorrow after church.

Last night was very hectic. At around 3:00 AM, I heard Sarah and went into the hall to see what was going on. It seemed Luke had had a accident during the night and she was changing his PJ's. I was stumbling around sort of in suddenly awakening stupor. She tells me to check on Charlotte. Charlotte was sitting in Sarah's bed where she had just thrown up. I starting stripping beds and throwing linens into the washer. Somewhere in all the hustle she and Cody had notice that Luke had what appeared to be a reaction to a shot he had taken two day before. I felt that it was a reaction to the band aide he had worn since the shot. I was voted down:) and he called him mom in Nebraska at 3:30 AM. I know this probably scared her to death. (Sorry Linda). Then a call to the 24 hour medical advice line where they told us to just watch the area. Charlotte was sick a few more time during the night, but was feeling better this morning. Mark Hayden slept through all the commotion. Hopefully everyone is back on track now.

I guess we have done all we can do and from now until the other Grandma comes to visit in a few days Sarah and Cody are on their own. They will probably be happy get into their own routine. It was nice to get to be here for the happy occasion. It is true about grandparents coming and spoiling the kids and then getting into the car and waving bye-bye.

NEW BABY

We have been staying in close to home since we brought baby home from the hospital. Sarah was able to come home a day earlier because the weather. We were on the tail end of the snow storm that went through the area and mainly got freezing rain and ice. There was a couple of inches of snow on top so the kids were able to get out and play in it for a while. Things are starting to clear up some but refreezes at night. Maybe this will be the day it warms up and completely melts.

Schools are still closed so Luke gets to stay home for another day. This has given the kids a chance to get use to having a new baby in the house. Charlotte is starting to warm up to baby a little. When we first got home she seemed a little scared of him. Now she is asking to hold him and will give him a kiss.

Sarah is feeling much better and is getting around really well. John is the main child entertainer and I am the chief cook and bottle washer. As Charlotte says "Maw maw is a good cooker and Grand daddy is a good washer".

We will be taking Mark Hayden to the pediatrician later today. He has been eating like a little pig. We are pretty sure he has gained weight. He is in that eat sleep, eat sleep stage so we don't hear much from him yet. I'm sure that will change in a week or so.

MARK HAYDEN HAS ARRIVED

Mark Hayden was born this morning at 7:51 am. Sarah and Cody got up at 3:30 am to get ready for the trip to the hospital. I thought I was up most of the night waiting for them to get up but I must have fallen into a sound sleep just before time, so Sarah had to awaken me and I had just enough time to hop into my clothes and brush my teeth before we left. I had this bedhead spot in the back of my head all day that made me look a little like a Monk. There was a time when I would never have ventured out of the house like that. That's the beauty of age you don't worry about stuff like bedhead.

Mark Hayden is a beautiful baby with lots of dark hair and a perfectly round head. That is one good thing about a c-section baby, they come into the world with rosy skin and no cone shaped heads. He sucks his fingers already and apparently was born hungry. I took as many pictures as I could, but I am no competition for the other Grandma.

I came back to the house this afternoon so Sarah and Cody could have some time alone with Mark Hayden. Luke and Charlotte are sad that they can't go into the hospital to visit. With flu season in full swing, the hospital doesn't allow anyone under 12 years of age. Hopefully everyone will be home by the weekend. Maybe the snow won't keep them from coming home Saturday.

It is a relief to have No. 10 here and healthy

WAITING ON THE STORK TO ARRIVE

We are still waiting on the arrival of new baby Mark Hayden. I think it may be harder on Maw Maw and Grandaddy waiting on the birth than it is Sarah and Cody. I have had my clothes stacked on the dresser in our bedroom for a couple of weeks now. I would put them in the suitcase, but I would just have to keep digging them out to find something to wear.

Sarah is scheduled to have a c-section on the 28Th, but we were all sure that she would go earlier. I guess we were all wrong, the 28Th is just a week away. I am not the best at the waiting game. I find myself getting more and more nervous. It is like listing to water drip. Your mind gets totally caught up in waiting for the phone to ring, then when it does you about jump out of you skin. We are just getting so excited.

As fate would have it two out of three of the cars we have went kerplunk this week. John spent all of today putting a new radiator on one and the battery went out on the other. If we take the van, we will need a couple of new tires. So while I worry about the birthing process, John is worrying about keeping a car running long enough to get us there. I guess it all goes back to the vow he made with God before we were married.

We will probably be out of pocket for a few days starting next week. When we I get back I will post pictures of Mark Hayden. In the mean time I continue to wait. DRIP..Drip....drip.

GRAND KIDS, THEY ARE ALL DIFFERENT

I started back to work Monday. It was great having three weeks off for the holidays. We stayed pretty busy the whole time and actually had all the family home for the New Year's holiday.

Our family is growing with leaps and bounds. Daniel was born in August and Mark Hayden will be here by the end of the month. That will make 10 in all with 8 boys and 2 girls. This is wonderful. Lots of people to take care of us in our old age.

It is funny how all the kids are so different. JP our oldest is still very loving at 13, but you begin to wonder how much longer he is going to want to hang out with the grandparents. Right now he seems very comfortable with us, because at thirteen, he thinks we are a little crazy. Emily is very smart and such a good reader. Emily was our only grand daughter for a long time. She is not as affectionate with us now as she was when she was younger, but is glad to have us available to answer her beck and call, and believe me she can keep us both busy.

Andrew is super smart and will probably have Musial talent. He is into boy scouts and just made the school play. Matthew is probably going to venture off into the wild and become the next Indiana Jones. He is not crazy about school and wants to be grown up before his time. You just want to tell him to slow down and enjoy being a kid. Aaron is a little stand offish with us. It takes him a little longer to warm up to us when we visit, but once he does he lets his hair down. Andrew and Matthew are the ones I have to fuss at the most when they visit, but when they leave they cling to us and the tears flow. Maybe they just love to hear Maw Maw fuss and scold.

David and Daniel are the two grand kids we have spent less time with. David is quite the little man and talks big and tells you everything he can think of and more. Daniel is just 5 months old and is all snugly and smiles. That is a wonderful age to bond with a child. He is a really tall baby. He is average in all his percentile measurements except 25% in weight and 95% in height. I guess he will be tall and thin like his dad.

Luke and Charlotte have been with us the most. Luke has lots of common sense and if you tell him to go move something or carry something, he goes and does it without asking how or why. I guess he has a lot of Nebraska farm boy in his genes. Charlotte is our little miss Pris. She is one of those little girls that is just born with the girlie nature. She likes to dress up, have tea parties and play with dolls. We are now waiting to see what Mark Hayden's personality will be like. Our wait is getting shorter each day. He will be born at the end of the month.

I guess no matter how many you have, there will be a different personality to go along with each one of them.

I HATE WINTER

The weather here in Alabama is extremely cold for the south. We have been holed up in the house for two days now and I am starting to go stir crazy. I know most people would love to have a couple of days to just lay around the house and do nothing but for some reason this really gets to me. It is not that we haven't done anything the last couple of weeks, we spent five days at the group lodge with family and friends. Then when we got back on Sunday and unpacked everything and had a good nights sleep, we left Monday and spent two days in Tunica MS. We usually do this to celebrate our anniversary. This is always my idea, because I love playing the slots. John goes along with the plan because I am easier to live with if I get my way.

We did have a great time and probably needed the time away with just the two of us. We stayed at the Hollywood Casino hotel. They have the deep memory foam beds, so we rested well. We spent a few hours at the Outlet Mall looking around. I found a blouse and John got a new pair of shoes. I'm not much of a shopper. I see thing that looks great on the rack but when I try it on, it looses something in the translation.

We spent a little time at Fitzgrarld's. If you go, head up the escalator. When you get to the top there will be some eletronic games along the wall to the left. They are called Platium something or other. They may be new, because they were paying off. We must have set and played for three or four hours. John would have won pretty well if I hadn't kept asking for money:) We started to stay two more nights, but then decided to come home since the weather was supposed to get bad. We got home about 7:00pm on Wednesday.

Thursday morning we awoke to a dusting of snow. Now I know that sounds like nothing to some parts of the country. But when we have snow here, the roads are not treated with salt and whatever else they put on the roads. It usually rains, then freezes, then a little snow on top of the ice and suddenly it is slick a goose poop. School was out in our whole area. Some work places closed down to keep people off the roads. The temp. this morning was 12 degrees and now at 5:49 PM it is 21 degrees. Hopefully tomorrow will be a nice day. I will be happy just to go to the grocery store.

John made a few pictures for me. As you can see it is just a cold, gray, miserable day. It makes me long for the nice hot days of summer, with just a touch of persperation glistening on your forehead and a big glass of ice tea sitting next to you while you're lounging in the hammock. AWWW!!!!

IT WAS A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR CELEBRATION

Since our family has grown so much in the last few years, it is almost impossible to get all the kids and grand kids into our three bedroom house. With five kids, their spouses or significant other and nine grand children it was time to find a bigger place. Luckily we were able to rent a group lodge with thirteen bedrooms and twenty six beds. This was like a dream come true for me. There was a long hall that ran from one end of the building to the other and the little kids were in hog heaven. They must have run a marathon while we were there, all of them racing up and down the hall playing tag and playing with the toys they had available to them.

The weather was really cold while we were there, but the kids managed to get out and do a little fishing, Frisbee football and John Pearson and Andrew even slept out in Andrew's new tent one night. The men watched a lot of football and the women had a little time to catch up on gossip. Sandra and I put out meals for everyone. Lucky for us it had a commercial kitchen so we were able to cook everything quicker. One morning we made about a hundred pancakes with sausage and bacon.

New Year's day we fed forty people for breakfast then that evening we had a traditional New Year's meal of hog jowl, black eyed peas and turnip greens. Just so everyone would be happy we cooked a pork loin, fried okra and Mac and cheese. We decided if anyone went away hungry, it was their own fault.

Our New Year's get to gathers have been taking place for almost forty years now. The Kriegers and Sundquist started the tradition when we had five children between us and we would take turns each year having it at each others house. Then as the kids got older we stopped staying over. Then we back on the road during the holiday and worried about someone having an accident. Now there are twenty of our family and fourteen in theirs so it was time to move on to bigger and better places.

If you want to every entertain a house full of kids let them play bingo. Monica and Suzanne bought a whole mess of gifts from the Dollar Tree and Big Lots and Sandra brought a bingo set including the roller basket and the little ones had a blast. Once they had bingoed they couldn't bingo again until everyone bingoed. You could just see the excitement as they waited for their number to be called.

I don't know how we crammed so much into four days. We even managed to have Daniel baptized after mass on New Year's eve. This is another tradition our families have. We always go to mass on New Year's eve. It gives you a sense of peace to finish the year with your family sitting next to you in church and then get up on New Year's day and have them with you to start the next year. I don't know how many more years the younger members of our families will be interested in these get-to-gethers, but as of right now, I think they are all still enjoying them.

Thank God for another blessed year and we wish for the same in the year to come.

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
by Clement Clarke Moore
or Henry Livingston

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."


Take a little time to cozy down with a blanket and a cup of hot chocolate and read this story to your children or grand children. Sleep tight.