Claire loves to hang out with the girls her age from church. I have a wonderful outdoorsey nature loving friend who planned a great outside activity for the girls that we oversee together at church. We took them to a local park to feed the birds. The birds are so used to people that if you are still and quiet enough they will eat from your hand. The girls had a ball and the activity was a smashing success. I had a few birds land on me even though I was NOT trying to attract them. The girls got a good laugh out of me being grossed out! We had a member of our church (Rulon Simmons) who is a bird expert, teach a class on what kind of birds the girls might see a few weeks ago. It was a great day!

We have been so busy that I have neglected our blog this month so here's a quick update.

Otis was diagnosed with a thyroid disorder and Addison's Disease before the holidays. He is doing much better. We are grateful that we were able to get a diagnosis and help him to get better. He will be taking daily medications in conjunction with a monthly injection for the rest of his life.

Claire is taking Cheer Tumbling and Dance Acro still and she is really excelling. Much like her mother she sees what the girls who have been doing this for 10 years can do and she gets discouraged! She is doing wonderful in school as well. She has made great improvements this year in all areas and her teacher is fantastic (and cute too!). She has the same issue that I did at her age; socializing is the most important part of school :-) She is really enjoying reading all of the sudden which is wonderful. She is getting really good at choosing books that she is interested in which is half of the battle. At her age I was still pretending to read! Claire is part of a group of girls her age at church that she really enjoys. We get together twice a month and it is great to see Claire look forward to Achievement Night.

Jack refers to school as Fallujah. They have been on lock-down so many times that we lost count. I had to pick him up for an appointment earlier this week and we watched 2 high school boys leave in handcuffs. It makes me angry and sad that school is such a chaotic place. Jack asked to take the exam for McQuaid last month. We have completed all of the application components and are waiting for word from the school concerning his acceptance. Our next step will be applying for financial aid. Jack wants to attend McQuaid for the next 6 years very badly so we are hoping to find a way to swing it for him. We agree with him that he would be MUCH MUCH happier there. It is just a ton of money. We are approaching the final stretch of ice hockey for the season. There are a few more games in February and then we are in tournamentS in March.

Shane is preparing for his surgery in 5 days. He does not seem to be as worked up or nervous as I am. I'm sure he will be fine. He will be out of work for the whole month of February. I've been threatening to buy us some matching jogging suits so we can mall walk with all of the retired couples each morning. We have been celebrating his birthday for several weeks now although it is not until 2/14. We have had 2 "parties" and we are taking another cake to a friend's this weekend. He sure didn't miss any celebrating because of his surgery!

It is the same each year. Stress, worrying, rushing trying to make the holidays wonderful. Then they are over in the blink of an eye. So much building up and anxiety for just one day. Now the clean-up continues. Usually I have everything put away and my home back to normal by this point but this year I just can't get myself in gear. We are still "Christmas-y" around here. Hopefully by the end of the week I will have everything put away. On a happier note, the holidays were wonderful!

The holidays were wonderful for us. FAMILY is what it's all about and we were surrounded! Jack and Claire had a great time with their cousins, Andrew, Bennett and Henry. They went sledding, shopping, roller skating, ice skating and to the dog park. The Nerf gun battles seemed endless and UNCLE MARK was the winner. The time that the kids get to spend with each other is limited but they all cherish each moment. They really enjoyed spending time together.

The last time my family was together for Christmas was in 1991. Each year my only Christmas wish is to be with my sister for Christmas. Tonight my doorbell rang and there stood my sister and her 3 boys! It took a 2 day train ride due to a train that was 6 hours late and another several hours late but my wish finally came true. WE ARE TOGETHER. Merry Christmas to all. I hope that Santa is able to make your Christmas as magical and special as mine!

Last night was the holiday party for the MCYH Vipers. It was a lovely party and the players had a ball playing knee hockey, breaking a pinata, eating a wonderful meal and even got great treat bags! The "girls" on the other hand, Claire and Rachel, were inseparable while they passed around the basket of "siblings of players" treats! Ma enjoyed watching the girls have such a great time!

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Over the weekend Claire was able to spend some great time with her friend Rachel. The girls have become close while their brothers play hockey. Claire is grateful for Rachel who keeps her happy and occupied regularly. We are so glad to have the Sniders as our friends! the girls build a great snowman at an outdoor game at the Winter Classic Rink. We also went to see Tangled the night before. It was a fun weekend for the girls.