It was so exciting to play in the snow!
(And come inside for hot cocoa)
All dressed up for the Christmas Eve service!
Christmas Doings in Royal Oak
Dec 27th, 2016 by ECM
Mean Ponies
Dec 26th, 2016 by ECM
Jason and Matthew have been playing My Little Ponies with the girls at various points the past couple of days. According to secret cell phone footage, the girls’ ponies are saying things like, “You’re not beautiful! You can’t come to the ball!”
When I asked them who taught them to play Mean Ponies, Susie proudly insisted that she thought it up herself. I am going to have three teenage girls in ten years….
Christmas morning
Dec 25th, 2016 by ECM
Touched Down in St Louis
Dec 20th, 2016 by ECM
Is it me, or are winter clothes just cuter than summer ones?
Brownie Bites Fail
Dec 14th, 2016 by ECM
But at least I had some help getting them out of the insufficiently-greased pan…
Saying Goodbye to the Arguellos
Dec 13th, 2016 by ECM
They’re packing up their house today! Sniff, sniff. Pictures from last week’s going away party…
Praying for safe travels and exciting new adventures in Washington!
Charlotte has already informed me that Tommy and Elizabeth are old enough to fly by themselves, and I can send them up to Washington any time to visit!
S-Pad Christmas Cookies
Dec 3rd, 2016 by ECM
We have the greatest neighbors among the stinkers who I complain about. This week they have taken such good care of us that I still haven’t had to make dinner and only went to the grocery store for the first time yesterday. All of the families got together this morning and did a massive Christmas cookie decorating party! Then Regan made up cute little tags and gift bags for the kids to deliver to all the mean neighbors (and the two other great families without little kids), with extra cheery Christmas greetings from the children they dislike. And we have extra packages for our mailman, the groundskeeper, and the people at the campus security booth!
Note that once again, Janie refused to be in the group picture. She is going to look back at her 2’s and 3’s and ask why she never got to be part of fun group activities, and let me just go on record as saying that she was standing next to me, crying, while I took the above shot.
Painting Projects
Nov 29th, 2016 by ECM
We’re trying to get back to normal life. The kids and I got a little schoolwork done. Derek went in to work yesterday and managed to teach both of his classes. I was still in a lot of pain, but Sarah and the boys came out for the day to hang out with us. The kids had been begging to paint, so we (read: Sarah, the world’s greatest friend) smocked up all the kids and let them go at it. Then Sarah made us tacos for lunch. Then the big kids played while Sarah used up my overripe bananas and made banana muffins with the little kids. I was able to avoid pretty much all bending and reaching all day long, and we didn’t have to resort to TV for the whole time the Den Hartogs were here, which was helpful since Derek and I were pretty beat by evening. Have I mentioned that Sarah is the world’s greatest friend?
I’m feeling less stiffness overall, though the bruises on my knee are finally coming to the surface, and that is just a bundle of pain. But I can turn my head to the right today, so we’re thankful for improvements! And we both slept last night (Derek naturally, me with the help of Tylenol with codeine). On the accident front, I called and found out the police report will take 10-15 business days to come in, so we are reaching out to the homeowners along where the crash happened to see if anyone has security camera footage that might have captured the hit-and-run driver. Our insurance is totaling out Derek’s car this week, but we’re not going to worry about a second car until after Christmas. Derek is too sore to walk up and down the hill to work, but since my license was lost at the scene, he’s the only one who can drive the van, anyway.
It’s amazing that we’re alive.
Nov 27th, 2016 by ECM
Derek went to look for his keys and my driver’s license in the car this afternoon. God was protecting us.
From the UCLA ER Trauma Rooms
Nov 27th, 2016 by ECM
Derek and I were in a really bad car accident on the PCH tonight, coming home from the Notre Dame-USC game. Someone who was probably a drunk driver side swiped us into oncoming traffic, and we hit two cars head-on. We were both able to get out of the car, but since so much of the interior smashed in, protocol is to check for neck injuries, and we were airlifted, strapped to back brace boards, to UCLA hospital. X-rays, CT scans, and ultrasound showed no broken bones, brain damage, or internal bleeding. We are both sore from head to toe and quite bruised. One of the other drivers was basically okay, and the other one was airlifted with us but seemed as injured as us but not worse. Praise the Lord that no one was killed. Praise the Lord for our sweet neighbors who came over to take care of the kids when the babysitter had to leave and for the sweet babysitter who kept her cool when I called to tell her we wouldn’t be home in 10 minutes, after all. Praise the Lord for our other neighbors who came to bring us clothes (they cut everything off of me but my tennis shoes) and drive us home. The hit-and-run driver seems to have gotten away, but we are going to be okay. I know from my accident that Derek will be reliving it many times, wondering if he could have done something different, but I was there, and he couldn’t. But pray for us to sleep and be at peace after such a scary night!
Oh, and Derek’s phone was destroyed in the crash, so email him or contact me if you need to get ahold of us.