Yesterday was Olivia’s third birthday.  There are no babies here anymore!

Olivia names all of her babies “Hot Chocolate”, except for one she has named “Marshmallow”.  She has been asking for a “mug” cake for weeks now, and has specified that it should be orange.  We’ve talked it over, trying to make sure she knew what she was asking for; she never wavered!  I, of course, acquiesced, and made her cake a mug of “hot chocolate”, complete with marshmallows!  I had made an egg-free vanilla cake which I frosted with a chambord butter-cream icing and topped with fondant.  I added some peanut/nut/egg/soy free cocoa to the butter cream to make the “hot chocolate”.  It was YUMMY!

We went to church in the morning to see Alex perform with his boys’ choir for the first time and they were wonderful!  We sat with Martha, her mom & Tom, in the balcony.  That was a bit nerve-wracking, to say the least!  Olivia was enjoying jumping off the step towards the railing; at one point I was wondering if she’d make it to her fourth birthday!  Eventually, when the boys’ choir started singing, she did sit nicely in my lap and then we looked at books through the rest of the service.  The sermon was pretty heavy for little ones and made me appreciate our own church(s).  (If you want to know more about the sermon, just as D’Arcy what I’ll do if something ever happens to him…)

Olivia & Evan went home with my parents and we stopped to get some veggies before coming home.  When we got here, we frantically cleaned & cooked until D’Arcy had to go to a “half-hour” cub meeting that lasted close to two hours.  I was in quite a state by the time he got home, just before our guests were supposed to arrive!

We celebrated Olivia’s big day by inviting my parents, Bert & Lugene & Fernando for supper.  (We invited Auntie Ruth too, but she’s sick with a cold and didn’t want to pass it along.)  We had a pork roast, roasted potatoes, squash, and broccoli & cauliflower.  I had also made rolls, and the pork was marinated in a cranberry balsamic vinegar with rosemary sauce.    I was thrilled when Theresa surprised us by showing  up at the door in time for cake! I tried to convince her to stay the night, but she had to continue on to the city.

Olivia ended up falling asleep in my lap after she’d had her cake and opened her gifts and the other three went up to bed while we were still sitting at the table.  Evan’s belly was sore and he was stressed out about the thought of going to school this week.  Many hands made light work and we ended up getting the food & dishes cleaned up in no time.

D’Arcy’s birthday is the end of this month and then birthday season will be over again until next summer – phew!

The orange mug of hot chocolate...

The birthday girl with Ginna

Alex, playing host

Three years old!

D'Arcy & Fernando

Cake Time!

Olivia with her godparents

Olivia with Theresa

Presents!!

Olivia went to Halifax for her H1N1 vaccination today.

Obviously, it went well.  I didn’t realize how stressed out about it I was until I started to discuss it with her allergist.  I felt the tears sting my eyes and had the lump in my throat after he had explained to me that there was virtually no detectable egg in the vaccination ( the company that made it found 20 nanograms per part and Health Canada could find none) and that there had been no problems at all in the clinics they’d given to egg allergic kids so far.

As Olivia’s mom, I was able to find my voice and heard myself say, “It’s just that her worst reaction – the one where I held her lifeless body while five people scurried to find a vein they could get an IV in because her blood pressure was so low and her veins had collapsed – is burned into my brain…  I trust you, but…”

He was quick to reassure me.  He told me he knew.  (He has children that are allergic as well; actually he has life-threatening food allergies himself!)   He said that he wouldn’t suggest it if he didn’t think she would be perfectly safe, and that he would give it to his own daughters in the same situation.  How could I have any reservations after that?  I teased him about having a clinic for this on the most stressful day of the year for a parent of a child with food allergies!

He skin-prick tested her to the vaccine first, and after a fifteen minute wait to see what would happen, nothing did!  Her allergist talked to us some more and answered all my questions (and I had lots!).  We decided together that based on her SPT, we would give her the whole (half) dose at one time instead of doing it gradually.  The nurse came in and gave her the needle, to which she didn’t even flinch.  When it was over, she asked, “Where’s my chocolate milk?” since the last time we were there, in August, was for a dairy challenge!  We all had a great laugh over that and I promised we would go for some chocolate milk as soon as we were allowed to leave.

She had to wait in the office for an hour to make sure she didn’t have a reaction.  I won’t say it was fun, but it was certainly eye-opening to be in a room with that many other parents of egg-allergic kids.  Normally, we all keep to ourselves in the waiting room, but today people were talking about what other allergies they were dealing with.  Two boys had mustard allergies – glad we don’t have to deal with that!

When we were given the okay to go, we headed out to McDonald’s to get her some french fries & chocolate milk and then headed to Costco for a few things.

Meanwhile, Sarah was with her grandmother, creating her pumpkin which was a great likeness!

Pumpkin Sarah

The three boys, meanwhile, raked the leaves on the church property with the Cubs.

I arrived home mid-afternoon and helped Alex bake a cake for Olivia and while it was in the oven, we went to get some dark shoes for his first boys’ choir performance tomorrow.  Then I dropped him back at home to carve his pumpkin while I went to get a few things for Olivia’s birthday tomorrow.  It was one of those crazy days where, we were all doing different things at different times; I set out cheese, ham, fruit & veggies for them to eat for supper.

We had our first trick-or-treater at about 4:30; he was about two years old.  My parents came down at 6:30 so that we could all go out together as a family.  I can’t help but think this might have been our last year to do that since Evan will be in Junior High next year.  Although it was a Saturday night, the streets were fairly quiet; the boys’ principal, who is a neighbour surmised that it might be due to H1N1.

The girls & I did the block and D’Arcy took the boys a bit further.  When they got home, we sorted through the candy and took out anything deemed “unsafe for Olivia.”  They were all in bed before too long, but then D’Arcy & I had to switch gears and I started getting ready for Olivia’s birthday and D’Arcy tried to get some marking done but keeps falling asleep.

I should take Auntie Ruth’s advice and “not worry until there’s something to worry about” as today went far more smoothly than I expected!

Dare I say it, we even had fun!!

Cousins & friends

Last day as a two-year old!

I tucked one very happy five year old girl into bed tonight.   By all accounts, it was a great day. Before heading upstairs to bed tonight, Evan said, “birthdays are so much fun around here!” My cake turned out fantastic. It had some seams showing that I was disappointed with, but it contained five frogs with pink spots, two holding umbrellas, one with glasses and the purple rain was falling! It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be; I’m just not sure how I’ll top it in the future…

Sarah's special frog; her father made the glasses out of copper wire.

The day was great from the start.  Sarah got her pink ipod, which she’s been asking for since last Christmas.  I thought at that time that it was just a passing whim but she’s still been asking for it one.  We bought her one and loaded it up with the soundtracks from all three High School Musical Movies, among other things…  (Third children grow up much faster than the first two!!  Olivia is now saying that she wants a yellow ipod when she turns five!!)

She went to preschool this morning then this afternoon we got a fruit & veggie tray ready for her party, making dips to go with them.  We also spent time at the kitchen table, stringing  fruity cheerios on string to make necklaces with tags that read, “Thank you for coming to my party.  We will deliver your artwork to you when it’s ready.  Love, Sarah”  She gave each child one after she opened their gift.

She has been planning this party at the Clay Cafe for almost a year now;  I didn’t have to plan much of anything.  (She has a bit of her mother in her…)  Alex had his music lessons after school, so my mom came and took him and all our goodies to that while Evan, Sarah, Olivia & I walked to Sarah’s party because D’Arcy was driving the carpool.  Before we all left in different directions, we let Sarah have a look at her cake for the first time.  The look on her face made being up after midnight creating it worth every moment!

I’m glad we showed it to her ahead of time.  Normally, I hide the cakes from the kids until the big reveal, but my mother pointed out that then they don’t get time to enjoy them.  We kept this one on display during the party.

It was a very low-stress party.  D’Arcy arrived from school shortly after it started.  The kids all behaved beautifully and sat in their seats and enjoyed their painting.  Nothing got broken and there were no big meltdowns.  We had safe pizza delivered at five and the kids ate the pizza & the fruit & veggies.  After the cake, Sarah opened gifts and it was time to go home.  She had friends from preschool & dance there as well as her siblings and they all seemed to have fun together.  She was especially happy that her fairly-odd god parents were both there.  (Martha & Chloe for the whole party, but Stephane & Gabriel stopped in for a hug!)

Playing in the leaves in our yard while waiting to go to the Clay Cafe.

I just loved the look on Olivia's face in this one!

A kiss for the birthday girl!

A hug for Stephane!

Martha & Chloe - Two generations of best friends.

Next, we have Hallowe’en on Saturday and Olivia’s birthday on Sunday.

I think I need a nap!

Our sweet Sarah Sue, Sarah Liz, Saragus turns five today.  With a temperament to match her strawberry blond locks, she has grown from a serious & studious baby into a real spitfire who dances to the beat of her own drum.

She will spend the morning at preschool, then this afternoon we are heading to the Clay Cafe for a party with a few of her friends.  She has had this party planned since last year.  (And she’s already got next year’s planned as well.)  She very specifically asked for a “frog with pink spots, sitting on a lily pad, holding an umbrella, with purple rain” cake.  I can’t wait until she sees it!

We loved you from the first moment we saw you!

One Year Old!

Second Birthday, Point Pleasant Park

Third Birthday!

A four year old Princess!

Five years old today!! (With her new pink ipod!)

We were lucky enough to be invited to Phinn’s 1st birthday party last weekend!  Where did that year go?

Emily had set up a scavenger hunt for our kids (the rest of the invitees were either babies or adults) and they had a ball looking for things with the help of their older cousins!  They were impressed with how much Phinn enjoyed his cake and a great time was had by all.

We came home with balloons, whoopie cushions & nerf swords, so we hope Mike & Emily realize we’re keeping track for future reference…

Scavenger Hunt!

Sarah & Cousin Sean

The dads, trying to figure out where things were hidden...

Phinn was interested in the boys' swords while Sarah & Olivia cuddled with Emily

Here comes Phinn's cake!

YUMMY!

Sarah made him a birthday hat - bath time!

My friend Theresa & I have been through a lot together.  We went to piano camp together when we were in elementary school and seven years later ended up living on the same floor in residence at university and reconnected.  She would borrow my ID, and we became great friends.  We ended up sharing our first apartment together, she & her husband Jeff are Alex’s godparents, and in 2004 we were pregnant at the same time and delivered six days apart.

I had Sarah and she had triplets – Aidan, Brendan (Our godson!) and Tyler.   I was visiting with Theresa in the hospital the day they were born and she didn’t look very good.  I had told D’Arcy that night that I was worried about her and first thing the next morning, she called me and told me she was a Mom!  When my water broke with Sarah, I popped into the NICU at the hospital to tell Theresa I was there and it was time.  She heard the call over the intercom when the peds team were called into my delivery room and she & Jeff came to see me just after Sarah was born, but had been whisked away to the NICU.  I introduced them to my nurse as “the triplets’ parents.”  (Local celebrities!)  The nurse joked that they had caught up to us, to which I replied that no, we had just caught up to them!  (I didn’t get to see Sarah until over four hours after she was born.  I’ve never asked, but perhaps Theresa & Jeff saw her in the NICU before I did!)  We do like to joke about the fact Sarah & the boys were hanging out together from Day 1!  That evening, Theresa & Jeff came up to my room and had a beer (the boys had a beer or two…  Guinness for me of course; good to bring in the milk…) to celebrate the kids’ births!  In fact, I believe there is video footage somewhere of the beer in the sitz bath with ice!

We’ve tried to celebrate their birthdays together each year since.  We missed their second birthday because I was in Halifax, waiting to deliver Olivia.  We were supposed to head to their house today for pizza & cake, but Theresa reluctantly cancelled yesterday because they have a bug in their house.  Hopefully we will be able to find a time to reschedule before too long!

In the meantime, a few photos from the past five years…

AT Theresa's Baby Shower, July 2004. She's four months pregnant; I'm six months pregnant.

At the IWK, October 6th, 2004. Her babies were born two weeks later; Sarah was born three weeks later.

January, 2005. Their first time together outside the IWK NICU. They had spent the day Sarah was born together there..

Seven months old

Feeding time, the night before the boys' christening

Ten months old

First birthday party!

Christmas, Age Two. We missed celebrating the birthdays together because I was having Olivia. Sarah cried the entire duration of this visit.

Sarah, Third Birthday Party

Aidan, Brendan & Tyler, Third Birthday. (For some reason - perhaps because things were chaotic - we don't have a photo of the four of them together at this party.)

Christmas, Age Three

A phone call from Santa, Age Three

Birthday Party, Age Four

Summer 2009 - Almost Five!

I’ve looked everywhere and I can’t find the CD’s that contain our family photos from Summer 2006 – December 2007. This, of course, includes the time period including Alex’s first day of school and Olivia’s birth. I feel sick. They must be around here somewhere, but I normally keep all of them together in one place. The only thing I can hope is that I lent them to my mother to get prints made up and she didn’t bring them back. Hopefully they are safe & sound at their house, but they’re away so I can’t find out. Will tear the house apart here today, just in case… (And perhaps organize the office at the same time!)

Yesterday was Alex’s monthly eye appointment at the IWK.  He & Evan have been anxious to see Chris, so I had asked Gwen last week if she thought it would be okay. She thought that Chris would love to see the boys.  I told Evan that he would be allowed to miss school to accompany Alex  and then the three of us would go to the hospital together.  Alex & Sarah busily started making cards.

Alex’s eye appointment went well.  He had a senior medical student, Sarah, and his favorite orthoptist “Dr. Mike” checking him out.  This was the first visit since he’s had his new glasses with his full prescription and no patch or drop, so they spent some extra time making sure that all was well.  His vision had dropped by three letters, but we had been expecting that.  ”Just a bump in the road; he’ll have good vision days and bad vision days.  At this point, we only will be alarmed if he has a two line drop from his best vision,” Mike explained.  He was thrilled with the way the new glasses are keeping his eye turn in check.  Before Alex’s surgery, he had an inward turn of 66 diopters, or 35ish degrees.  Yesterday, his turn was variable (in or out) and only measured between one & three degrees!!  Hallelujah!  For the first time in five and-a-half years, Alex gets to go two months between appointments rather than his usual four weeks!

After we finished up with Alex’s appointment we left to see Chris.  When we got to the hospital, we checked in with the nurses’ station to make sure it was a good time and they said that the nurses were in with him at the moment, but would be finished soon if we’d like to wait.  We did wait outside his door and discussed the sign posted on his door that says “Chris would like to have a tv”.  At the moment, he does not have a tv because they feel it would possibly keep him from sleeping, interrupting valuable healing time.  After what felt like about ten minutes, (a nurse had come by and explained that he was having a “procedure” to which we replied, “no rush”!)  a tall, thin, blond nurse told us we could come in.

The three of us went in together and found Chris up & dressed and in a wheelchair.  He has lost a lot of weight and his left hand was curled inwards.  He reached out to me with his right hand.  I told Chris who we were, but he already knew.  The nurse told him to put his head back because he was leaned forward and she helped him rest his head on the headrest of the chair.  I bobbed around a bit, trying to find his line of vision.  (As it turned out, when I was getting the boys settled into bed last night, Alex told me that the hardest part of the visit was not being able to make eye contact with Chris!)  We made small talk and Alex read the card he had made to Chris who seemed to listen patiently.  The nurse giggled when he finished:  “Roses are red.  Violets are blue.  I hope you feel better and I’ll bet you do too.”  (100% Alex!)

The nurse asked Chris if his hip was still hurting and he nodded.  She explained to both of us that he had just had Tylenol and that it would take 5-10 minutes for it to kick in.  Chris grabbed my hand and whispered that it still hurt.  I looked at the nurse questioningly, not knowing what I should do and she told me to just give it a few minutes…

The boys told him that we ran in the run for Chris and all the events that have been held at the elementary school in his honour.

Chris held and rubbed my hand and told me that he couldn’t see out his window… wanted to go outside…  wanted to go home…  I told him that he’s come so far already and he said, “It doesn’t feel like it.”

At this point, Evan told me that he felt that he felt like he was going to faint.  I took a look at him and he was ghostly white.  I got him to sit down in the chair and put his head between his legs.  At the same time, I got Alex to busy himself signing the sign-in sheet.  I continued to talk with Chris and hold his hand.  Evan looked worse & worse, and started stripping off his clothes.  I asked him if he thought he’d be sick and he told me he wasn’t sure.  I asked him if he could get out into the hall.  He went into the hall and lay down on the floor outside Chris’ door.  (Evan fainted in music class in Gr. 2 and has a phobia about it happening again.  His doctor told him that if he feels like that’s going to happen, to get his head low to the ground.  He took that literally and wouldn’t get off the floor in the hall.)  I went to the nurses’ station (thank heavens it was close!) and asked if they had a basin in case he threw up.  They came and helped me get him up & onto the couch in the patient lounge next to Chris’ room with a cold washcloth on his head.  The reassured him that he had done the right thing if he was in school, but that they were there to help him and he would be okay.  The nurses there really are wonderful!

Meanwhile, I went back into Chris’ room where Alex was trying to make small talk.  I explained to Chris that Evan had been light-headed and went to lie down.  Chris told me that he hoped Evan would feel better and asked me where Sarah was?  I explained that we had come to Halifax because Alex had an eye appointment at the IWK and that Sarah was at preschool with Ms. Ellen, but that she had made him a card.  Chris asked about Evan again, so I went back to check on him.  He was starting to feel better (he’d been overwhelmed, I think) and we both went into the room together so that Chris could see that he was okay.  Evan was able to hold Chris’ hand and we all told him that we loved him.  We told him that we’d come back to see him again.  I said that we knew he was tired and that we were going to go so that he could have a rest.

He took my hand, and very clearly thanked us for coming; his eyes made an effort to try to find the boys.

When we got outside the hospital, Evan very clearly came back to life.  I teased him that he’ll never be a doctor and he very quickly agreed – he wants to be a cartographer and thinks that’s a much less stressful job!  Surprisingly, they both felt that it was a good visit and that Chris looked “better than they’d expected.”  They both had been afraid he’d be bed-ridden.  They were both fascinated by the IV in his arm that wasn’t hooked up to anything.  His hair was shorter than they remembered and his beard surprised them.  They didn’t mention anything about his left side or the fact that his emotions aren’t easily read through his face; just Alex’s comment about the lack of eye contact and he was further away than Evan & I were.  All three of us had held his hand and he rubbed them furiously!

On the way home, they asked if Chris was like Jesus because he had died and came back to life?!  I, shocked for a moment, replied that he had never actually died, but it was certainly a miracle that we were able to see him & communicate with him today after all he’d been through.

At bedtime as always, more emotions came out.  When I was tucking him in, Alex was upset because he can’t communicate what he feels about Chris without crying.  I explained that there is nothing to be ashamed of when you care about someone so much that it makes you cry…  I asked him if he remembered that Daddy & I had cried when we thought that Chris was going to die?  They did and I think that gave them permission to be upset.  The first few times I read Gwen’s journal, I couldn’t speak about it without being brought to tears.  Alex wanted Chris to know that he hopes he gets better soon; he just wasn’t able to say that out loud today.

He also wanted to tell Chris a joke, but wasn’t able to get it out:

Knock knock!

Who’s there?

Needle.

Needle who?

Needle little sympathy?

Gwen told me that she’d tell Chris that joke when she’s with him today and will make sure Chris knows it was Alex!

When he was upset last night, I told Alex that he & Chris have more in common than the rest of us do.  Alex has been on a marathon of his own these past five-and-a-half years, trying to retrain his brain to use his right eye.  We don’t often look back, but when we first started the patching process, Alex was legally blind.  He qualified for special education funding at school and we even had to buy him a sippy-cup to drink from because he couldn’t find his dishes on the table and kept knocking his cup over.  In preschool, he had to be partners with his teacher in gym so he wouldn’t get hurt.  I had to go to the school on Alex’s first day of Primary because he had fallen and scraped both knees when he couldn’t tell where the playground stopped and the pavement started.

It seems like a lifetime ago.

Alex’s vision isn’t perfect now and it never will be; it’s normal for him though.  Chris will be struggling and healing from now on and although he’ll never be perfect, we know that he’ll improve towards a new normal more than he is now.  There will always be bumps in the road and some days will be better than others, but he’ll get there.  Just like Alex will never be able to see a movie in 3-D, there are things that Chris won’t be able to do either and that will be frustrating.

Alex’s finish line is in sight.  He’s run his race and is almost at the end.  There were some days we didn’t think he’d ever be off the patch, wearing his full prescription, looking at us with a straight eye or be able to go more than four weeks without a trip to the IWK, and here we are!

Chris, however, is still at the beginning of his journey and that finish line is still off in the distance.

Alex can now empathize with Chris even more and has asked when he can go to visit him again…

You can follow our friend Chris’ story at:  http://marathon-of-hope.blogspot.com/

D’Arcy got to go and see our friend Chris today for the first time since his massive brain bleed. His wife, Gwen is back to work three days a week and he is ready for outside visitors. We knew D’Arcy had appointments in the city yesterday & today, but since Gwen wouldn’t be in today decided this would be a better time to visit to break up the day for Chris. We asked her permission and D’Arcy tried to prepare himself with the guidelines she had set out in Chris’ journal.

The following is the email report I sent to Gwen tonight as dictated by D’Arcy (I’m the faster typer!):

Hi Gwen,

D’Arcy had two short, but good, visits with Chris today.

When he arrived at about 10:30, Chris was on top of his bed, awake. He was dressed and wearing his running shoes, on top of his covers, but covered with his magic blanket. D’Arcy walked in and said, “Hi Chris” and went to his right side (because he forgot that he was supposed to go to his left). He told Chris, “It’s D’Arcy” and Chris clearly said “It’s nice to see a friendly face – everyone else here wants something from me!” Chris put his hand out and D’Arcy held it. D’Arcy told him that he had dropped our van off and was in the city for an appointment and wanted to come and see how he was doing. D’Arcy couldn’t understand everything Chris tried to say to him, but thought Chris was asking about the folder under his arm. D’Arcy explained that he had brought his marking with him to the city to keep him occupied at his appointments. He went on to tell Chris about his Angels winning against Boston (to which Chris gave a thumbs up) and said he thought that they were playing Philadelphia next, but Chris corrected him to say that they’d be playing New York. He teased him and said that he always thought that Chris was a Red Sox fan. After about ten minutes, knowing that visits should be kept short, D’Arcy told Chris that he was going to an appointment, but that he would come back to see him. At that point, D’Arcy said he looked like he was ready to go to sleep, but as he left, physio was arriving.

D’Arcy called me after he left Chris and filled me in on the visit. I had asked how he looked and D’Arcy responded, “Like Chris.” He noted that his hands were pale and his lips looked chapped (which is how mine always got during my hospital stays when the kids were born!). D’Arcy did not notice that he had any tubes connected to him at all. D’Arcy was certain that Chris knew him and felt that he was genuinely happy that he had come by to visit.

The second visit was shorter. He arrived shortly after lunch, around 12:45. Two nurses were in his room changing his bed and Chris was (still?) awake. D’Arcy gave Chris the report that he has to get a splint for his wrist because he’s been diagnosed with carpel tunnel and his arm goes numb when he runs now. Chris asked D’Arcy something, but D’Arcy couldn’t understand his question. (Maybe he was asking him to be part of his Cape Breton relay team next year?!) D’Arcy talked a bit about what was going on and told him that he was going back to Truro shortly. Chris very clearly said “Thank You” to him for stopping in and D’Arcy said that we would come by to visit him again. They shook hands and D’Arcy patted him on the shoulder before leaving.

He’s really glad that he went.

Gwen & I have emailed since and I’m going to take Alex by next week (Alex has been asking) after his eye appointment. I think that seeing the reality of Chris’ now is less scary than the images that he’s imagined since that awful night we told him that Chris was going to die.

Gwen seemed pleased with the visit and happy that Chris was able to remember the baseball details. I replied that D’Arcy felt that Chris was absolutely aware of who he (D) was and went so far to say that they were able to carry on a conversation as well as two men; one who mumbles, and one who is re-learning to speak can while holding hands! (Chris will love that observation when he’s ready to read it!)

I can’t wait for my turn to visit!

Please keep Chris, Gwen, Tara & Quinn in your prayers! You can follow their story at: http://marathon-of-hope.blogspot.com/

We hosted D’Arcy’s side of the family for Thanksgiving Dinner yesterday and it was worth every moment of the preparation!  Back when we first invited everyone, they all wanted to bring food, but because of Olivia’s allergies, we decided that it is far less stressful to cook everything ourselves and then we could be sure she was safe.  I started making pies & rolls two weeks ago, and put them in the freezer.  Auntie Kay came over on Saturday and we peeled, chopped & cooked the potatoes, squash & applesauce.  We closed out the B&B Saturday night and got the tables set up so that we wouldn’t be in a huge panic in the morning if guests decided to hang around.

Yesterday, D’Arcy put the turporken in the oven at 7 a.m.  We had told people to arrive anytime after two.  We went to church, and rushed around tidying up.  I was in a panic because at 2:00, I was still mopping the kitchen floor and D’Arcy was running out to my parents’ house to pick up extra chairs.  At 2:45 when the first guests arrived, I commented that I should have remembered who it was coming to dinner and then I wouldn’t have been so stressed about not being ready on time!

It was a beautiful day, so the cousins could go outside and play while the grown-ups got caught up.  The one thing I was most stressed out about was making gravy, as I’ve not had much success in the past, and the turporken is so lean that there weren’t many drippings.  However, between Shannon, Karen & I, we actually made a pot that tasted really good!!

At five, we got everyone assembled around the table and D’Arcy welcomed everyone and said grace.  Then, we proceeded to go around the table of 35 and everyone (with the exception of the under-5 set) told what they were thankful for.  There was lots of laughter and a few tears as we reflected on all the riches we have in our lives, and thought about those family members who couldn’t join us due to distance or work commitments.

We then got the food out on the kitchen table and served it buffet style.  I am pleased to say that I managed to get it all out hot and had made enough!  When we were all eating, Sarah presented Grandpa with an ear of corn that she grew for him.  Her corn stalk had produced two ears – each about an inch long – so she cooked one for him and one for her!  I didn’t realize until afterwards that she actually ate hers!

At dessert time, we recognized Phinn’s upcoming first birthday and Uncle Bill’s upcoming 50th.

I tried to figure out today how much food we actually consumed and came up with the following:

• shrimp ring
• veggie tray
• two bags of veggie chips
• a bag of pita crisps
• Large Turporken which should serve 25 (all but one drumstick and enough meat to make a sandwich)
• 8lb pork roast
• 4 lbs roasted new potatoes
• 5lbs mashed potatoes
• three squash
• 2kg sweet green peas
• 5lbs stuffing
• two steamed cabbages with sage butter
• 1 litre bean salad
• 6 dozen rolls
• 1 litre cranberry sauce
• 1 litre apple sauce
• 1 litre gravy
• 1 jar of mustard pickles
• 1 pumpkin cheesecake
• 24 pumpkin muffins
• 1 pan of apple crisp
• 2 1/2 blueberry pies
• 1 1/2 apple pies

I hate to fathom a guess how much wine, beer, pop, juice, coffee & tea we went through!

And did I mention that it was ALL peanut, treenut, egg & soy FREE?!  (I did mention at the table that I was thankful to have regained dairy!)

When everyone was leaving, one of D’Arcy’s brothers suggested that this might have to become a new annual tradition and we couldn’t agree more!

The homemade bread, dried and ready to be made into stuffing

The table, being set

Olivia with Auntie Kay & Uncle Hug

Brian & Morag

Emily playing with some of the youngest family members

The turporken, just about at temperature. (Yes, we cooked it upside down!)

Visiting before dinner. (I didn't really ever get out here to join in.)

It was a beautiful day for playing outside!

Phinn with his Uncle Ryan

Skateboard lessons from cousin Pat

Evan, the no-handed pogo stick jumper

Our boys will need to practice a lot before they're as good as Pat!

Michael, Camille & Stephen discussing various important matters.

Cheesy photo, but the only one of the two of us...

Another cheesy photo while we tried to figure out how to make the gravy... It was really tasty!

Olivia & Aunt Shannon

Finding our places at the table

D'Arcy, welcoming our family and getting ready to say grace

Kathleen, starting off the "What I'm Thankful For" Circle

Sarah, presenting Grandpa with the corn she grew for him.

What we're thankful for - our family!

Phinn being amused by his grandpa, "Otty" so Emily could finish her dinner.

Thanksgiving Dinner entertainment by John. The other kids joined in of course!

Phinn with his "Great" Auntie Anne

Fourteen of twenty-two grandchildren & one great grandchild!

We truly are very blessed and have so much to be thankful for!