Bring on the playoffs!

I'm a little slow getting this posted, but just had to say...
Way to go Patriots....16-0! It was fun to see the Giants come out and play the way they did, and to see the Patriots fight for the win.
The kids tried to stay up and watch the Pats finish with a perfect season, but one by one they ended up in bed, with the exception of Thomas. Thomas fell asleep just like this, sitting up on the couch.
We're proud of our Pats and look forward to the playoffs!

Grace's ticking update

Most, if not all of you reading our blog know that Grace was born with pulmonary atresia. Her pulmonary valve was defective and she had a cardiac cath at 4 days old to create a valve by puncturing the membrane or tissue wall that was at the valve site. She had the procedure repeated more aggressively at 4 months and has been checking in at least annually with her cardiologist ever since. Today was a check in at Children's Hospital in Boston involving an EKG, a 30 minute echo, and an initial report from Dr. de Ferranti. We were thrilled to hear good news...no change in the leakage of her valves. She doesn't need to come back for 2 YEARS! I thought my heart was going to burst on the drive home. Grace has taught us to appreciate life and we are so happy that she's got more time with this makeshift valve. Eventually she'll need a new one, but medical advances in this area are coming along quickly and if Grace can hang on to the valve she's got, there's a good chance that when she does need her new valve she'll be able to have it replaced through a cardiac cath rather than open heart surgery. That, and the longer she can wait the fewer replacements she'll need. I asked Dr. de Ferranti about the feasibility study for pulmonary valve replacement using cardiac catheterization that is going on at Children's Hospital right now and she said they should have a report within a year or so and that things look very good. We feel blessed to live so close to such wonderful medical care. We just can't say enough about the cardiology dept. at Children's. From the day Grace was born they have been absolutely wonderful to us and Grace has received nothing but the best care. So...we all squish hugged tonight and said a prayer of thanks before the kids hit the hay. Joy!

Christmas Eve/Christmas Day 2007

We shared our Christmas Eve with our friends, the Balmforths, an old friend Darlyne, and new friends, Gene & the Winfreys. We enjoyed a lovely meal and then the kids went to town decorating cookies for Santa...1 for Santa, 3 for me...Christina was very artistic in her creations, Thomas was FAST, Grace threw on a TON of jimmies, and Caroline was a very careful decorator. Afterward the children had a fun little gift exchange using this story and we listened to Luke 2 and The Cajun Night Before Christmas. Bro. B. served his mission in Louisiana & reading this hilarious book is a Christmas Eve tradition in their family. We laughed until we cried.

We headed home to carry on our family Christmas Eve traditions. We opened one gift...Christmas pj's. We learned that Grace does NOT like purple even if they are darling purple butterflies on soft flannel pj's. Thank heavens Grandma Ann sent Little Mermaid pj's too...they were a bigger hit than the ones mommie bought! We sang "Stille Nacht." My dad and grandparents all served missions in Germany and my parents taught all us kids Silent Night in German. I love singing it each Christmas and our kids nearly have it memorized. We shared our feelings about Christ, had family prayer, and the kids were off to bed. JOY!

Wayne and I tied up loose ends and got to bed LATE. The kids woke up EARLY and we stumbled out of bed so as not to squelch their anticipation. We have a tradition of opening the stockings first. Santa leaves a sugar mini cereal box for each child, and the kids have a quick cold cereal breakfast after going through their stockings.

After breakfast we all gathered around the tree. Again, it was so fun to see how different the kids are, but a common denominator was that they were all so thankful with each gift.

Christina gave Wayne and I big hugs after she opened each of her gifts. Thomas could have taken all day to open his gifts and not because he got a lot, but because he would dive into whatever the gift was...he'd start reading the book, setting up the Legos, stuffing a stuffable Dino, etc. Grace would rip into each gift and she would stop and play and have a little party (she could have spent all day opening gifts too). She and Caroline got microphones. Grace immediately went on pretend stage and rocked out. Caroline barely got a whisper out and was much more shy. As for the gifts, sweet Caroline took forever to carefully unwrap each gift! We had a ball....no tears and lots of grateful hearts.

The last present "opened" was found via a treasure hunt. I remember a few of these as a kid and they are so much fun. The kids started with a clue hidden in the Christmas tree and ran around the house following the clues until they reached the "new" kids computer that Wayne put together. Caroline immediately made herself comfortable in the big desk chair. Wayne and I sighed and thought, "These kids will have plenty to do this vacation!"

Christina is on her 4th American Girl book and Thomas has started reading from his Mark Twain collection. I'm going to add a book recommendation section to our family blog! Grace has been interviewing me using her microphone....look out Diane Sawyer! "So, tell me, what did you like best about your Christmas?...This is Grace Ann Menzie coming to you from Channel ABC." She's a hoot and a half!!! Caroline has been coloring a lot and playing on the computer. Wesley has been chewing on his toys. He got 1 front tooth for Christmas and the other is SOOOO close.

I got my wish for a Christmas (cat)nap and we all chipped in to clean up things before the missionaries came over for dinner. Wayne put together a beautiful turkey dinner. He loves to toy with different recipes when it comes to cooking turkeys and this one was YUMMY! Mashed potatoes (cooked whole)- yummy! Gravy- yummy! Our missionaries are wonderful and it really is a blessing for us to have them in our home. They shared a spiritual message and a prayer, and when they left we felt like we have been uplifted.

We regrouped, sang Christmas carols, and the kids had no problem conking out by bedtime. I scurried off to our friends' house to borrow Bourne Supremacy for a in-house date night. Intense---2 thumbs up (on the movie, not the date...well both were the thumbs up...OK, I should stop now:))!

Wayne has a nice long vacation...we are THRILLED!!! It's so much fun being all together. I love this family of ours. I love our traditions. I love our quirks and strengths. I'm so glad to share the lead with my sweetheart, Wayne. I treasure our marriage and the 5 beautiful blessings we have in our children. I'm thankful for the faith we have that binds us come what may. TRUE blessings!

Merry Christmas to YOU from the Beantown Menzies!

From our house to yours we wish you a Christmas filled with joy and love, traditions old and new, connections with friends and family, health and warmth, remembrance of and anticipation for our Savior, peace and comfort, and that which is truly meaningful.
Our family is very thankful for Christ and for his priceless gift. We are happy to look to him each day to help us do a little better and be a little better. He has given us peace through the past year of job uncertainty, health issues, and our move west (45 miles west:)).
He has brought great joy into our lives with Wesley's birth in May and Thomas' baptism in July. We are so very thankful for His gracious hand in our lives. We know that every good thing and every inch of progress in our lives is because of our Savior.

Best wishes for a very merry Christmas!!!
With much love,
Wayne, Rebecca, Christina, Thomas, Grace, Caroline & Wesley

Santa is a Pats fan!

We had the Patriots-Dolphins game on today. One of the sound techs on the NE side was in a Santa suit with "Patriots" embroidered in the white fur of the hat. Caroline said, "Mommy, Santa is at the game!!!" Wayne said, "You know what that means. Santa is a Pats fan." I added, "And he's in Massachusetts RIGHT NOW!" The kids all jumped up and down and cheered in excitement. Oh, what fun!

Mom's Christmas wish

The other day Wayne told me he was having a hard time deciding what to get me for Christmas. My quick response was, "Tack $ on to the spa cert. I have yet to use (from Mother's Day/Wes' birth was the same day)." However after giving this more thought and after putting in yet another 18 hour mommy day, I came home from taking Christina to Activity Days and told Wayne I knew exactly what I wanted for Christmas. He looked hopeful. I said, "I want a nap (I could see the relief on his face and the mental check mark on his gift list)....AND (Wayne's relief turned to a look of defeat) I'd like to wake up to Christmas music playing, a clean house, and happy children getting along with each other." Wayne smiled as if to say, "You silly," but what he did say was, "Why couldn't you have just asked for earrings?" We both had a good laugh.
Thomas was standing nearby for all of this. In his beautiful way he said, "No problem!!! We can do this, mom! You got it!" I love my Thomas! (You silly:))
PS. This photo is of one of my most recent naps, a post c-section morphene/codiene/??? nap the day after Wesley was born, which would be 5/14/07. It's nice to have proof that I've had at least 1 nap in the past 7 1/2 months.

Snowed in...sweet!

Our Christmas kitchen has been busy, and being snowed in today, the fun had was yummy indeed. First I gave the Salmon Breakfast Casserole (see "recipes" to the right) a trial run and thankfully it was a hit...something we'll make for special occasions/brunches. Next in the oven was Cousin Sharlene's gingerbread cookies. My aunt Karen hosted a family Christmas party at her home many years ago, and cousin Sharlene brought a big batch of her cookies to share. I haven't had a Christmas season without baking her cookies since I got her recipe. They are FUN! Cousin Shar gave me permission to share...everyone should have a cousin as sweet as Sharlene.!
Cousin Sharlene and Aunt Dorothy's Gingerbread Cookies
Bring to boil:
1 1/2 C. butter (3 sticks)
1 1/2 C. sugar
1 1/2 C. molasses (1 jar/12 oz. Grandma's dark or Robust flavor)
2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
Let cool, then add:
3 eggs, beaten
Stir together while molasses mixture is cooling and add:
9 C. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
6 heaping tsp. cinnamon
3 tsp. ginger
3/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (opt.)
Mix well in large bowl. Put in gallon size Ziploc freezer bag and chill thoroughly in refrigerator. Lightly dust counter with flour and roll out dough to 1/4". Dip cookie cutter edges in flour as needed to ease the cutting. Bake @ 375 for 10-15 minutes.
Frost with buttercream frosting: 1 bag sifted powdered sugar, 1/2 cube butter, 1 tsp. vanilla (clear if you can find- it keeps your white pure), milk (a little at a time 'til you get the right texture.

Here are our family's treat requests this year to keep our Christmas kitchen bustling, our home smelling sweet, and our tummies (& friends' tummies) happy...

Caroline- Chocolate covered pretzels with jimmies (that's sprinkles for you out-of-towners)
Christina- a gingerbread house and gingerbread cookies (we share a good portion of the cookies--each batch is huge)
Thomas- a gingerbread house
Grace- a gingerbread house
Wayne- truffles
Becky- Julee's almond roca
Wesley- Whatever mom wants

We hope you're enjoying the sweet tastes of the season too!!!

Some Christmas Cheer

A friend just sent this to me and it made me laugh out loud. This is esp. for my sister who is recovering, as I type, from surgery. I hope it brightens your day, sis. Get well soon!

Grace's Prayer

"Dear Heavenly Father, ....Please help us get good things for Christmas, and please help us be very thankful for things we get that we didn't want...."

We talk of Christ

At church the kids were given a candle and a note listing a Christ-centered New Testament scripture to be read each night in December until Christmas. I was pleasantly surprised at how enthusiastic the kids were to participate! Grace runs to turn out the lights, and they think it's pretty special to read by candlelight.
Tonight's lesson is "Jesus Christ was obedient to God's law" (Matthew 3:13-17- Jesus was baptized).

Christmas project

I, too, have a gift bin with several gifts I've kept ready to give on a moment's notice or just for future special occasions. One gift I've saved is a little tea set I found at the Field Museum in Chicago. I'm pulling it out to give to Caroline and Grace for Christmas this year. But what to go with it? I found this darling apron pattern and am finishing up 3 ruffled aprons...one for Caroline, one for Grace, and one for my oldest and best helper of all, Christina. I have to say, making aprons is a lot of fun!

Christmas trees make me happy!

That's what Thomas said as we were stringing lights on our Christmas tree.
We found our Christmas tree just a few minutes away at a stand that was donating 10% to a few good charities. The kids had fun helping choose the tree. We forgot the camera, but you can imagine Christina and Thomas giving some sound input while Grace and Caroline danced around the trees in their ballet attire and winter coats. It was dark (we're pretty consistent about finding our tree just before closing time), but as long as the tree isn't dry I'm not too picky. I feel bad rejecting Christmas trees for some reason, so I just "yeah" or "nay" the rest of the family's choice, and they've consistently picked out wonderful trees.
With 5 kids from nearly 7 months to 11 yrs., we've accumulated a good deal of homemade/kid-made ornaments. From primary, school, and home they come. Paper, doilies, foam, painted clay, painted wood...our children have had fun making all sorts of ornaments. Besides the kids' adorable ornaments, we've got ornaments given to us from family and friends, a few we bought on vacations, and a few from Wayne's and my childhood. I love the red bell my mom personalized for me in '82 and I have to wonder if there wasn't a better picture of Wayne the year he scraped up his face just before baseball picture day! I love that ornament. What a cute kid he was!
Add to all of this our tradition of giving the kids an ornament each year (mom-made or a picture frame ornament) and you can imagine how meaningful our family Christmas tree is to each of us. I LOVE IT! Like Thomas, our Christmas tree makes me feel happy inside.

The Annual Ward Christmas Party

Friday night was the church Christmas party. It was a fun dinner party just like the ones I remember as a kid. For the spiritual part of the Christmas program, Wayne read Luke 2 and we all sang Christmas carols. The kids sang a few songs as well. For the "fun" part of Christmas party, Santa came to visit. By the time our children got through the line they were seriously tired (Grace fell apart and had to be put back together w/ much love). Caroline managed to hang in there because she really wanted a candy cane from Santa. Well, it was a pretty one-sided conversation due to nerves on Caroline's part, but she got up on Santa's knee to listen to him tell her what a good girl she's been this year. She nodded a few times, took her fingers out of her mouth for the photo, took her candy cane, and was outta there! At 11, Christina most likely had the last conversation of her life with Santa. Thomas was eager to tell Santa what he wants for Christmas...the Star Wars trilogy and Nintendo DS. Grace would have no part of Santa this year. She told Christina to give Santa a message, "I want make-up for Christmas." I don't think Santa is that cruel to this hard working mommy:)
One of my pumpkin gingerbread loaves (with chocolate chips, of coarse) caved a bit in the oven so I thought it best to keep it home rather than take it to the party...we munched on it all day today.
OH, and we bought our Christmas tree. To be continued....

The scent of Christmas

I spent Friday night giving an old twig wreath I've had since '97 it's 5th life by covering it with pine boughs. Saturday a.m. Christina came in the family room where the wreath hangs and said, "It smells like Christmas!"
Don't you love how a scent like pine can bring back a flood of memories and ideas?! Like Christina, I love the smell of Christmas. As the month goes on I'll blog some of the traditions we have and fun things we're doing to make this Christmas a special one for our family. I think we're off to a good start with the smell of Christmas filling our home.