Catching up....again

You know, when I started this blog I was thinking that it would be a better way of keeping friends and family updated with what's going on with us, since I don't email as often as I'd like. And now, in addition to not emailing folks often enough, I'm not updating my blog often enough either! My New Year's resolution is to post more frequently. And, unlike dieting, I think that's a resolution I'll be able to stick with!

So, to catch up: things are going well for the LeVines. Matt's made an almost complete recovery from his back issues and returned to work for a couple weeks now. There have been lots of changes at his company - namely, business is booming! Despite the bad economy, Direct EDI's customer base is steadily increasing. So much so that they've almost doubled the staff in Matt's department alone. It's exciting stuff, and great news for us.

In early December, we had the usual parent-teacher conference at Joey's school. His teacher said Joey is doing really well, and she's pleased with his progress. She also shared a funny story illustrating Joey's knowledge of science concepts. Apparently, they were reading a story in class, and at one point it mentioned lily pads floating on the top of a pond. Since this was the first time the Spanish term for "float" (flotar) was being used, the teacher asked the class if anyone knew what it meant. Joey raised his hand. She called on him, and he began to explain, "Well, when the density of the water is greater than another object..." The kid is just too smart for his own good!

Kristin is having a great time in preschool. Recently, they completed a series of lessons about space. They all made these cute space helmets out of old milk jugs spray-painted silver. And then they'd go on pretend missions to outer space in a rocket ship. Kristin had fun learning more about the solar system, especially since she knows it's one of Joey's favorite subjects! Hooray for sibling bonding!

We've been busy around the house as we prepare for the holidays. This year, since we actually have space, we'll be hosting the big family Christmas dinner. We're going to try making a Turducken for the main course. That's a turkey, stuffed with a duck that's been stuffed with a chicken. I'm a little nervous about how it's going to turn out - but I'm trying to just look at it as a culinary adventure. I'm also making a regular turkey breast on the side, just in case. Hee!

And finally, I wanted to share our family's Christmas miracle: my sister Tandy is pregnant! Tandy and her husband didn't think they'd be able to have children of their own. The chances of conceiving were very, very slim. But - surprise! They're both thrilled, and we're so excited for them. I can't wait to be an auntie!!

Merry Christmas to all! (Or Happy Chanukah, or Kwanzaa, or Solstice...or Festivus! Whatever you celebrate, I hope it's wonderful!)

Thankful

Hope everyone out there had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a nice day over at my mom's house. Lots of good food and good company. And we have much to be thankful for this year.

For one thing, Matt's back is slowly recovering. Lots of rest and lots of medication seem to have done their job. He's up and around and feeling pretty good! He's off all the pain meds now, and is only taking Motrin to keep inflammation down. He still has his MRI on Tuesday, and then a follow up appointment to discuss the results. But he says that if he continues to feel good, he anticipates going back to work next week! Great news for us! I'm very pleased that he might avoid having more surgery. Though his first back surgery was an absolute miracle with a quick recovery, it's still not something we take lightly. The more they're in there, messing around with his back, the more likely the problems will reoccur. I have to say that when Matt was in a ton of pain, it really made me realize how much I take my own healthy back - and really, my health in general - for granted. So, we're going to make some steps to improve things in that arena in the very near future.

Back to Thanksgiving - after the big turkey dinner, we had our usual photo shoot for our family Christmas cards. Lots of good ones of the kids. Here are a few. The last one is my very favorite.



Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Kristin's Preschool Photo

We just got Kristin's (pre)school photos back last week. She looks so grown up, with her hands posed on her lap like that. The morning of picture day, I had asked my mom if she could "try to do something with Kristin's hair" because normally it's....shall we say, a little wild? So Grandma curled it and put clips on the sides. And, miraculously, Kristin left the clips in her hair longer than five minutes!

Trilingual!

Next month at Joey's school, in addition to his usual Spanish language instruction he will also start learning to speak Mandarin (Chinese). He'll be having lessons each week at school. We have parent-teacher conferences in a couple weeks, and at that time they're supposed to tell us about the new schedule and Mandarin curriculum. I'm excited for Joey to have this new opportunity. He already knows a few words and phrases. In fact, he came home the other day and was saying "I love my little brother" to Simon.

Speaking of Simon, the little guy apparently thinks Spanish is hilarious. He will crack up when Joey says the word "sombrero."

Challenges

Over the past few weeks, we have unfortunately been experiences a recurrence of Matt's back issues. I say "we" have been experiencing it, because it really does affect the entire family. Back in 1999, Matt was helping a friend move a bookcase and hurt his back. It caused a herniated disc and severe sciatic pain. The problem was in his back, but the pain was all in his leg. He had a really hard time walking, and often had to use a cane. After several months of various treatments that didn't work, Matt finally had surgery in October of that year. The surgery was a miracle. Matt could barely walk without help when we got to the hospital that day, and an hour after leaving the operating room, he was going up and down stairs on his own and feeling great. The doctors warned us that the surgery was not a lifetime cure, and that Matt might have problems with his back again in the future.

Well, my friends: the future is now!

It was about 3 weeks ago that Matt started feeling sciatic pain. It's gotten progressively worse. The doctors put him on pain medication and told him to rest, but so far his condition is not improving. Sadly, it's the opposite. In fact, on Saturday Matt was in so much pain he couldn't walk at all. He's also on some seriously heavy medications for pain, which make him a little loopy. When he's really doped up, he almost can't carry on a conversation because he loses his train of thought so easily. Considering he can't walk, can barely stand to sit up, and practically a zombie because of the medication, he can't work. We're not sure when exactly he'll be able to go back, or what this will mean for us financially. We just bought a house, after all. So we really can't afford to be on one income right now. But we're just taking things one step at a time. No need to panic.

Matt is going to call today to schedule an MRI so we can find out exactly what's going on with his back. Once we can see what's going on, we can find out more treatment options, or maybe schedule another surgery. We just have to wait and see. In the meantime, we'd appreciate all the prayers and good vibes you can spare!

Dia de los Muertos

Dia de los Muertos is a celebration in Mexico. Since Joey is in the Spanish Immersion Program at his school, the kids learn about many Spanish/Mexican holidays. So every year, in addition to the school doing Halloween stuff, they also observe Dia de los Muertos. For those who might not know about the holiday, here's a little blurb, encyclopedia style:

The Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos in Spanish) is a holiday celebrated mainly in Mexico and by people of Mexican heritage (and others) living in the United States and Canada. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and relatives who have died. The celebration occurs on the 1st and 2nd of November, in connection with the Catholic holy days of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day which take place on those days. Traditions include building private altars honoring the deceased, using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts.

Though we celebrate Memorial Day here in the US, I've always felt like that holiday was geared more toward those who died in wars. It was like Veteran's Day was for celebrating those who served, and Memorial Day was to celebrate the memory of those who were lost. But I guess Memorial Day is the closest we have. Anyway, I really like the idea of this tradition - a day set aside to honor those close to us who have died. This year, Dia de los Muertos has special significance since we so recently lost my dad.
It's been over four months now since he passed away, but with the holidays approaching, I've been thinking of him a lot. I had kind of a rocky relationship with my dad, but I have many happy memories as well. Especially memories of him laughing and playing with his grandkids. He just loved them to pieces, and even when he was sick he still made every effort to be an active part of their lives. Like, he'd go on hikes with Joey, and put puzzles together with Kristin every morning. They had such great times together, and it was a joy to watch.I really miss him.

Halloween

Hard to believe another Halloween has come and gone! This year was a really fun Halloween. The festivities started on Monday when we were invited to a pumpkin carving party over at the home of our friends' The Smiths. We all ate pizza and then carved pumpkins. Well, Matt and Joey did most of the carving. I was taking care of Simon most of the time, and Kristin was more interested in playing on the slide in the yard.
Kristin said she wanted "a happy pumpkin" this year, so here's what Daddy carved for her. It's pretty simple, compared to other pumpkins Matt has done in the past. (Remember when he took over 6 hours to carve The Sorting Hat? Sheesh!) But it was everything Kristin had hoped for.
This Halloween was also special because we got to trick-or-treat around our new neighborhood! It may not seem like that would be a big deal, but when we lived in our old apartment, we didn't really know (or trust) most of our neighbors - nor did we get very many trick-or-treaters at our door. So, our trick-or-treating was always limited to the few family and friends we'd go visit (by car, no less). But it's a whole new world in our new neighborhood. It was really great.

This year, Joey dressed as an astronaut and Kristin was a witch. Though you can't tell in this photo, Kristin was actually very excited about her costume. She just wasn't thrilled about having to stop trick-or-treating for photo taking.Simon's costume for this year was a lobster - but hated it. He was anxious to get out of it as soon as we'd put it on. But we got a photo or two before the wailing began.