Happy 2010!

One of my new favorite family photos.


Wow, here it is, 2010! The passed few weeks have been a bit of a blur, but a new year stretches forth in front of us, and I will hope for peace and joy for my family.

Libby making her first batch of Christmas cookies.

We had a very fun Christmas Eve with my brother Keith, his wife Diane and Kyle. Traditional Swedish meatballs were served and we all stuffed ourselves. Libby had a great time making Uncle Keith play hide and seek, and even cajoled her teenage cousin to play with her. We all agreed that Christmas Day was going to be too hard to celebrate after we heard the news of Rick, so we postponed it until Saturday. That was fine with us, and we hunkered down and had a very nice family day together. Libby is still oblivious to toys and the fact that she gets them for her birthday and Christmas. I don't want to push it, but was sure that this year there would be a little more, hmmm, "mine, give me", etc...She loved everything she received and had a great time playing. I had a few things wrapped that she did not touch, so I put them to the side and will give them to her for Valentine's Day, Easter, and family day. I love a girl who does not think it is all about her!

Our beautiful snow princess.

My brother's service in Hibbing was very nice. His two children did a very good job, far better than I could have done under the same circumstances. That evening, we sat around the pool at the hotel and ate and laughed and told stories. The one thing missing was Rick and his bad jokes.

Libby contracted pink eye and it was pretty nasty. She also has some rumbling in her chest, so we have kept her home from pre-school this week. I think she is feeling much better today, and should have gone back, but a bad night's sleep by all of us, made it hard to be on time. We are having another lazy day here. We are at a loss regarding some sleep issues that Libby has. We cannot establish a pattern as to why they happen when. From everything I have read, it actually seems to be a combination of night terrors and nightmares. She is not asleep, yet she is not quite here. It is very frightening. She will run around the room and yell at us, the dog, the cat, etc...Last night, it lasted almost an hour. Then, suddenly, it will end. She will snuggle up in my arms, my sweet girl will return, look up at me, and say "Mama". We have reached a point where we would like to contact a doctor who specializes in sleep disorders.

We are still waiting word from our agency on a referral. We have come to believe it will not happen for a few more months. I may have mentioned in another posting, that once we get the referral, it can be up to six months until we travel. Why? A whole bunch of reasons, but very frustrating to those who are anxious to be with their children.

Somewhere in the midst of all that was going on was my birthday. I had planned on a brunch with friends and neighbors that day, and debated canceling, but so glad I did not. We had close to 30 people here that morning, and the noise, chaos, laughter and sheer number of people reminded me of holiday celebrations when I was a child. It was a very nice balm to my soul to be surrounded by so many dear people.

I wish you all a safe, peaceful, and happy 2010!

Pretty Christmas Day girl.