....And We Are Back

Some of you might be wondering what happened. We had Reuben's birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years. But not a peep on the blog. Why the black out?

Holidays are really not my thing.

 Add to that my work load was regularly hitting 50 hours a week and Aaron's was hovering around 100 hours. We were total zombies. Aaron was gone. Our child care situation for the kids changed in the middle of the craziness, and while we tried to make new arrangements, I found myself compensating by doing full time parenting by day and full time work at night. You didn't want to see it. It wasn't pretty. (Pray for the children)

We entered the New Year burning with what we thought was the warm glow of holiday cheer (thanks to wonderful times with family) but actually developed into the roasting heat of scarlet fever.  We've decided the 2012 can only get better.

This explanation is my justification for not putting together any sort of Holiday Greeting card.
If we had put one together, it would have said something like this.

Dear Friends and Family,

We love you. Thank you for your support, love, humor, and interest you have shown our little family this past year.

 

Reuben is now 3. He starts everyone's day, every day, with the sun rise and fills those days with his big smiles and clever mischief. He enjoys telling long stories. Most feature Miriam, his cousin Eliza and himself leading a band of resourceful cats through the varied terrain of all seven continents, though Africa is a particularly favored location. The cats are named Battle, Finnegan, Biscuit, Whiskers, and Fat Oscar. These stories last around 10 to 45 minutes when told and our often repeated. Last week, he had each character take their turn jumping a shark, and I thought yes, this story is definitely at that point, though I appreciate his creativity. Aside from the story telling, Reuben loves running, playing outside, digging in sand, building things, fast cars and furrowing his eye brows. He tells us he wants to grow up to be a veterinarian who is "a doctor who helps only animals NOT people." He has also developed a hatred for coats and the state of Ohio which he believes I travel to every day, in order to do my work. (In actuality I go downstairs to my basement office but this is not believed.)

 

Miriam is 17 months. She is a strong, determined person who fills our lives with joy. Little Miri loves to jump, read books, talk, run and roll around with her brother. I can hardly believe my tiny dark haired baby is already such a strong, golden haired girl. She was an early walker and early talker. When I say she likes to run, it means she will take the opportunity to sprint whenever she spies an open area. When I say she likes to jump, it means every day she climbs up on our couch then throws her little body off with a squeal of glee. The child is a dare devil. Her earliest words  were "mama" "dada" and "whatsthis?" Her curiosity is insatiable. We have been amazed at how quickly she has grown and developed. She is a wonder to know. She loves pandas, Roo her brother, dancing, drawing, talking with friends, singing, and being "tall!" - lifted somewhere high, like her dada's head. If you want to be her friend, read her a book. She's always looking for someone to read to her.


Aaron and I led fairly similar lives in 2011. We have no great achievements. No marathons. No vacations. We worked like automotans and felt very blessed to have the chance to keep our little family afloat financially. We look forward to a new year in which we hope to find more balance and quality of life. We each find great meaning and happiness for our lives in the teachings of Jesus Christ and the wonderful relationships we enjoy with you. Your emails, letters, calls, and visits were the highlight of our year.

Over the holidays, we were at the National Gallery together and managed to take a few pictures of our whole family together.

Kind of together, see the reflection? Though no one is looking.

Reuben where are you? This would have been gold!

Almost, but Miri kept reaching for my phone...

Only missing me. And Reuben isn't looking.

There I am. But Miri fell down and R is still not looking.

A family that draws together, stays together, right?

Miri with her Grandpa