Christmas at the Berry's

We did Christmas with my parents this year the Saturday after Thanksgiving. My personal feeling was that this worked out great. However, I'm sure I am biased since one of the main reasons we moved it is b/c I have to be out-of-town the wknd we'd normally do it. (Sorry sibs!) The reason I liked it is b/c it required one wknd of packing up instead of two. And for those of you who have to travel out of town with small children, luggage, road snacks, food for parties, gifts, outdoor gear, etc., it is quite the production (see pic at bottom of the pile we drug in from the car when we arrived home... guess who gets to unpack??). I also know it is a lot of work for those who are hosting us!! But, I'd say that we all think it's worth it!!

*Wyatt colored the longest... a personal favorite of his*

*Henry completely LOVING playing with his cousins!*

Like I said last year, Mom gets better and better at planning these mini-events. The kids party was shortened to snacks and gift-giving. Then the small kiddos/girls did an indoor activity while the boys all went out and played football with the dads. This worked out great and all the kids had a really, really good time. The video gives you a little peek at Myles, but also an idea of the noise level with my family. Remember, we're not at a restaurant, just at a typical Berry get-together!

The adults went out to dinner that evening. Then we all headed back to the house for gift exchange, good snacks and conversation, and a wealth of pictures and memories set out from my grandma and grandpa Garisch (my mom's parents). We have been working (or I should say mostly Tanya!) on the genealogy and have collected quite a bit of good information. I think the party ended around 1am - and I have nothing to show for it b/c I completely forgot to take a single picture! However, I'm sure someone in the family redeemed me, so you might see some later.

Thanksgiving at the Cooper's

We eat Thanksgiving dinner at the Cooper's every year on the actual day of Thanksgiving. It is a lovely tradition and Mom Cooper single-handedly makes, I kid you not, about 15 different dishes. It's quite amazing. I do nothing but bring the pies which is really the easiest part! We all enjoy lunch together and then about 8pm, start breaking out the leftovers.... my personal favorite :)

*Cooper Family* (David, Sona, Me, Jonathan, Lori, Josh, Dad Cooper, Mom Cooper, boys)

*Cutest Pic of the Wknd*

*iPhones are good for much more than you think*

*Uncle David deserves an award for dealing with Henry's unending questions... "Can I play, can I play, is it my turn yet?"

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are praising the Lord this year for many blessings! As Jonathan's mom reminded us, all through the OT, God tells the Israelites to constantly talk about what He has done for them so that they don't forget. While we are to remember all the time, this is a nice time of year to share with each other how the Lord has been good and how He has shown us more of Himself. We have had unexpected times this year... things that we wouldn't plan if we were put in control of our own lives. Thankfully, we are not.

The Lord has been and is teaching us about his strength in our weakness... it's an upside down concept in this world... That in our weakness, His power and strength is most at work! His grace is all we need. In 2 Corinthians, Paul says, "For when I am weak, then I am strong." What a beautiful, beautiful thing. We have seen this most this year in Myles' birth and in Jonathan's work... times where we feel lost at what to think. We are thankful for his WORD - the Bible, the way to know HIM!!

HaPpY tHaNkSgIvInG!!

the rest of the 5th

The day after Henry's b-day, Jonathan's parents came to visit. They got Henry a fireman costume that he LOVES. He has put out many fires in the kitchen, basement, bathroom, living room, fire place, and backyard so far... We feel much safer having a resident fire fighter. We then celebrated with Uncle Devon, Aunt Beth, and Reuben. We started the evening at Five Guys.. yum! Beth traditionally makes Henry's cakes, and she didn't disappoint us this year. Henry wanted a football cake - the Colts vs. the Bengals. (The Colts won of course!) He loved it-- and said it was the 'best cake ever.' We haven't told Beth yet that Wyatt wants a Spiderman cake... hmm...

Don't Ask Don't Tell - Volume 13

This is the cup I drink my water out of... this is a soldier in my cup. It literally made it to my lips. I guess you could say the soldier almost had the kiss of death... thankfully, he was rescued by my lips when I realized there was a foreign object in my water.

Happy 5th Birthday Henry!

1 years old!

Dear Henry, Today was your 5th birthday. We had a great day of spending time together and doing things the b-day boy wanted to do... you are a boy after your daddy's heart - your only request was that we do everything as a 'family.' So by 11am, we had gone to breakfast, played a game of Operation, and played a game of Monopoly. Impressive for a Saturday morning! On Friday, we took a snack into your Pre-K class. Of course, you know how I feel about 'bad' sugar, so we prepared these fruit kabobs together. You helped me the whole time and took your work very seriously. You were so excited about sharing them with your friends! You also asked me twice why I had to walk you into preschool that day... and that you could "handle your backpack AND your fruit plate" by yourself. I still walked you in :) We went to the Spaghetti dinner at Daddy's school - and we are sure you were convinced it was held in honor of your birthday. We got home at 8pm, and not once had you asked for a gift. It was so sweet. I think you were honestly satisfied with just being together. Wyatt gave you his gift tonight -- new Superman pj's! You were PUMPED! You'll get your other gifts next week with Uncle Devon and Aunt Beth. Oh, and as a special part of your birthday, we let you jump off the couch like Superman in your new PJ's. That was special b/c you aren't allowed to stand on furniture or jump off it and, of course, you were pretending to be like Superman.

We love you so very much. You are so independent, very responsible, conscious of your health, make your bed without us asking, get dressed every morning before you come downstairs, fold all your clothes and put them at the end of your bed, want to show Daddy everything when he gets home from work, love school, like to think you're in charge of everything... and then you'll remind yourself out loud, "Oh that's right... I'm not in charge. You're mommy and daddy, not me," and you ask questions about God all the time. Tonight we were walking by the woods when it was dark, and you asked me to hold your hand b/c it was dark. I said sure, but reminded you that we were all together and that God is always with you. You said, yes, I know, but will God be with me when I die? Just another great opportunity to tell you of the love of Jesus. You are five already -- and we love you like crazy. Praying all the time for your salvation. Happy Birthday!! (Btw, Daddy prepared your special birthday treat tonight... an artist at heart!)

Memorable Things Kids Say - Volume 17

I have been doing some serious online shopping for weddings, Christmas, and birthdays. Therefore, we have had packages arriving daily to our doorstep. Henry loves to bring them in for me. The other day...

He said, "Mom, there are 3 boxes on our steps! I'm going to bring them in."

I was finishing up something in the kitchen and walked through the hall to see this. I thought he had gotten a bit quiet. (Thankfully my camera was sitting right on the counter.)

I said, "Oh, wow, I wasn't expecting this package."

He said, "Mom, guess who I am?"

I said, "um... let me think... Jesus?"

He smiled.

 

Smiles with Myles - Volume 5

We visited the Thomas Center for Down Syndrome on October 26th. (Yikes, 2 weeks ago and I'm just now writing it down.) It is associated with the Cincinnati Children's Hospital. We originally had 2 back-to-back appts scheduled- one with the developmental team and one with the doctor. They had to cancel our doctor appt and reschedule us for December 28th. But we still went down to meet with the developmental team. They were awesome. So knowledgeable and so many good things to say. The team is made up of a speech therapist, an occupational therapist (OT), a physical therapist (PT), and a dietitian. The speech therapist and OT both work exclusively with Downs patients... 40/hours a week - that's all they do. One of them also has siblings with Downs. We felt really blessed to be so close to this center and know that we have full access to them at any time.

The majority of the visit consisted of getting initial information, updating them on who Myles is, what the birth was like, how we found out, what services he gets now, what his schedule is like, his growth, etc. They were very encouraging about him at this point. They said he is exceptionally strong for his age. Hypotonia (low muscle tone) and Downs go hand-in-hand so weakness is expected and delays in typical milestones like turning over, holding head up, etc. So far, so good. I see some slowness in him compared to the boys, but he is still within the range of 'average.' We'll just have to wait and see how he progresses. But he is definitely off to a good start. We will see this team and meet the doctor on December 28th. We are excited to meet the doctor. We have heard excellent things about her and how thorough she is.

The bottom picture is of Margaret -- Myles' EIS (early intervention specialist) that comes to see him every 2 weeks from Warren County. She is wonderful! The boys are liking her too... especially since today she brought them a Snickers bar :) Next time I'll get her face!

It has been a wonderful 4 months with Myles. Like I always say, he is very pleasant and mild-mannered. We love having him with us. I never forget that he has Downs, but there are definitely days when it is not at the forefront of my mind. However, the other day I was in the Flower Factory shopping by myself and saw a middle-aged lady pulling a cart and an older lady (60-ish?) pushing it. I'm almost certain the oldest woman had Downs, but I could be wrong. At any rate, it got my mind thinking about the future and the very good possibility that Myles could be in our home for as long as we are here on this earth. That certainly changes the way we think and talk about the 'future' of retirement or having kids out of the house, etc... :) I also got to thinking about how thankful I am that Myles has two big brothers. It brought tears to my eyes to think of them being older and maybe married and possibly having to care for Myles. That 'thought' doesn't really go anywhere beyond just a 'thought'... b/c I have no idea what lies down the road. Just seeing that lady got my mind thinking and it was the first time in a long time that I cried. My heart is getting bigger for all of these boys... and I'm overwhelmed with gratefulness for what the Lord has given us now!!

Hayride

After the short session of candy gathering, we went to my parents to have dinner. My Dad built a bonfire and did a great hayride for the kids. They LOVED it. Wyatt loved hanging over the edge and watching the ground go by. They went all through the woods and around the property.

The plan was to enjoy some warm doughnuts and cider by the fire, but we did have one minor accident... which, with 5 boys, is bound to happen. Somehow (we're still not sure how!), Cam got hit in the face with a stick that punctured his forehead. It bled pretty good, but didn't require any runs to the urgent care. It did make for a fairly gruesome picture... the tiger face, blood on his clothes and his painted face, and 2 cuts right above his eye. Now that it's over, it will make for a funny memory! :) But, it did put a quick end to the rest of the evening... you know how it is with tired, over stimulated kids... one accident and everyone loses it! We still made a great memory though! Hope we can do it again next year!

Oct 30

We were in Fort Wayne over the 'halloween' wknd. Henry was a FB player (surprise, surprise!), Wyatt was a cowboy with big freckles!, and Myles wore his Colts jersey like Henry. They had a lot of fun with their cousins dressing up and pretending to be different people... or animals! Cam was a tiger!! We only went to 4 houses, which was really perfect, and then ended at my parents for dinner and a hayride. We had a lot fun enjoying each other's company!