Mary from The Secret Garden

I'm not sure how I missed reading Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden when I was kid.

I stumbled upon it about a month ago and read it out loud (more for me and Rob, but Rachael seemed to like it) when we drove to North Carolina for Thanksgiving.

We didn't finish it, but liked what we read.Out of the blue, the other night Rachael decided to dress up like Mary.


Here she is, holding the book.


And then of course she needed to get her jump rope!

Our annual Scottish Rite visit

Many of you remember how we spent Christmas 2005: with Rachael in the ICU for about three weeks with a sudden and severe blood disorder.

Last year Rachael, Robert, and I brought a lunch platter to the the PICU waiting room and visited with both the staff and current families who were in the waiting room.

It looks like this will be turning into a yearly tradition for us, because yesterday my parents watched Baby Ben while the rest of us went. (Rebecca really wanted to join us this year.)

On the car ride over, Rachael said, "I'm special." [Because she came close to dying, but was saved.]

Rebecca immediately became indignant. "I'm special too!" she said. "Barney says everybody is special!"

Rachael replied, calmly and wisely, "Yes, everybody is special. But I'm more special than you."

Rebecca didn't like that much, either.




This is Rachael with one the PICU nurses who remembered us. Most of the staff from our stay are gone now.



Here's Rachael and Rebecca in front of the lunch we brought to the waiting room. One of the PICU staff let each girl pick a stuffed animal. Rachael named her bear Pinky, and Rebecca named hers Hannah.




This is Rachael in the PICU hallway. Some of you remember this well: the rooms are on the right, and the waiting room is on the left.

Rachael made cards, even using photos and scrapbooking tools, for two of her doctors, the Red Cross, her favorite nurse, and one card "to a girl" and one card "to a boy." She gave those last two cards to parents we met in the waiting room. Rebecca made some things as well.

Both last year and yesterday, I thought the parents we spoke with had a distinct way about them that was familiar yet hard to put into words. One possible way -- although this isn't quite right -- is "polite but distracted." Robert suggested "fuzzy."

It's hard to explain how it feels to go back. It's difficult, and strangely tiring, although a little fun and exciting at the same time, but it feels important somehow.

The second Christmas get-together

My parents joined us for Christmas dinner ... well, it was more like Christmas lunch. For once I did something smart, and we ate while Baby Ben napped.

I made my infamous kugel, and my mom brought a lamb, which was SOO good!



Here's Rebecca with her talking doll, who she named Sally, which was a gift from my mom (in the green chair).



After dinner we were joined by my brother and his family. This is his wife Chris in the middle, my niece Lauren, and my nephew Ryan.



Here's Lauren opening her present from us: perler bead creations by Rachael, and her own stash of Christmas cookies.

I got an e-mail from my mother this morning which said this:

What a dancer Rachael is ... quite the entertainer yesterday ... and she was so happy with the knitting machine ... good suggestion. Rebecca just loved Sally, I knew she would ... she will be a mommy some day ... I will bet on that ... she has soo much love in her to share ... And your choice for Benjamin [a toy rocket] blows me away. I could not have found such a wonderful toy. When we arrived yesterday, he had on only one shoe ... when I said this and asked where his other shoe was, he immediately ran to his room and brought the other shoe to me ... what a darling child ... and such a good hugger ... all your little ones are so amazing to me (and Dad) ... we love them so much.

Christmas morning!

In the middle of the night Rebecca came into my room and said, "Mommy, I saw the Christmas tree, and there's a dollhouse in it!" Then she crawled in bed next to me and fell asleep.

At about 8:00 am the five of us headed into the living room. The girls had candy canes, little gingerbread houses, and sticker sets in their stockings. Santa brought Baby Ben a pack of animal crackers and his own toothbrush.

Becca got a fort she really wanted, and a Richard Scarry floor puzzle.

Rachael got a High School Musical DVD game and a weaving loom kit.


Here's Becca getting right to work on her new Tinkerbell watercolor paint kit.



And here's Rachael painting her Cinderella picture.



Here's Robert building his dinosaur kit I got for him.
(I don't understand; I just buy.)

The pre-Christmas get-together

On Sunday Rob's family came down from North Carolina for a few h0urs so we could have a little Christmas celebration together.

I was grateful at how low-stress they made it for me. We ordered a Veggie Tray and Sandwich Wheel from Publix, they brought a homemade pie, and we used paper plates and cups.


This is Rob's sister Carol and her boyfriend John.



This is our neice Anna (Carol's oldest daughter) and her husband Thor. Thor is in the military and they are stationed in Jacksonville. They had been visiting everyone in North Carolina, so they drove down with them and then headed back home after the visit.



This is a cute picture of Rachael and Rebecca with little purses they got from their grandparents. Rachael had been wearing that outfit for several days (yes, I did manage to wash it while she was at dance class). It is her "Alice" costume.



This is Baby Ben's present from his grandparents, but I think all three kids liked it!

I don't have a picture of the Big Hit Gift: The Grotto! Well, actually it's an Ariel vanity, but the girls loaded the drawers with the jewelry and pretend make-up and cell phone that they got from Aunt Carol, and called it their grotto.

We barely saw them for the next 24 hours. They would come out of their room briefly to eat or something, they say, "You wanna go play grotto?" and run back into their room together. When I walked past their door, I would hear things like "You went to the surface? That makes me so mad!" or made-up songs about living in the sea.

NOT!!!

So much for Blogthings being accurate. I cannot think of a better to describe what I am NOT LIKE:

You Should Be a Mechanic

You are logical, calm, and detail oriented. You're rational when things are chaotic, and for you, reason always prevails. And while you are guided by logic, you aren't a slave to it. You're flexible when it counts. You are always open to being wrong. You do best when you: - Work with your hands - Can use tools, machines, or equipment You would also be a good architect or carpenter.

What Should You Be When You Grow Up?

Sweet Rebecca

Rebecca (age 4) and Baby Ben and I were sitting together the other day.

Rebecca said, "When Ben grows up, I think he's going to be a daddy."

I said, "You're probably right."

Then Rebecca said, "When Rachael grows up, I think she's going to be a mommy."

I said, "Yes, I think she will too."

And then Rebecca said, "And when I grow up, I'm just going to be me."

And I gave her a hug.