I can't believe that Christmas has come and gone already! Our string of celebrations began the 19th of December when we celebrated at Greg's parents home with the Sheely side of the family. It was a wonderful afternoon of delicious ham, great company, and the entertainment of Noah and James attempting to open, and help everyone else open, gifts. Noah even got a Disney "Cars" Snuggie!
On the 20th Noah had his very first church Christmas program, "A Birthday Party for Jesus". From the moment he woke up that day, he was telling Greg and I that he was not going to sing, and that he was not going to stand with his class! He did stand with his class and maybe sang a few notes here and there. He was pretty funny though as he was trying to show everyone how he can balance and jump on one foot for the majority of the program. Check out the video below!
After making the decision and committing to going to Little Falls and Miltona for Christmas Eve thru the day after Christmas, we learned that there was an impending Snow Storm...so we packed up and left Rochester on the 23rd. We were in the car roughly 5 hours (usually a 2.5 hour drive) and saw about 5 car accidents (one of which was a truck with a camper that was completely tipped on it's side). We were determined to make it though, and did without a problem. Jen's cousin, Chris, and his wife Stacy along with their two boys also came to Little Falls that night. It was beyond entertaining to see Noah and Carter play. They are three months apart in age.
Christmas Eve we made the trip to Miltona. The roads were still a bit difficult to travel but we rode with my Dad and Sue. With plenty of time to spare we attended the five o'clock Christmas Eve service. My Grandparents church has moved since I was a little girl. I remember many Christmas Eve's walking across the street from my Grandparents house to the church. We now have to drive but it is still a small, "country church". It brought back many memories of going up during the children's time and the pastor knowing who I was, seeing the same organist year after year, and finally, with candles lit, Silent Night in the dark church. It was so great being back in that, "place" and sharing that with Greg, Noah, and James. I will admit it was not quite as peaceful having to chase James through out the church or remind Noah 500+ times to be quiet, but overall it was perfect. Christmas at the Salvog's also included Bingo! Greg even got to give Grandpa a break and call numbers.
Christmas Day we woke up at Grandpa and Grandma's and headed home after dinner(lunch). We made it home with enough time to spare that Greg and I took the opportunity to go to a Christmas Movie. The Little Falls theater seemed so small and run down after going to theaters in Rochester for so long! It was fun, however, to hear high schoolers behind us telling stories of some of the teachers I once had.
My sisters, Jamie and Julie, along with their families made it to Little Falls on the 26th to celebrate at our Dad's and Sue's house. We had some yummy roast beef and the kids opened gifts in what I would call mass chaos! It was a fun time. Noah loves any opportunity to play with his cousins! We were planning on making the trip home that evening however the roads were still not great so we stayed one more night and finally got home about 3 pm on the 27th. 5 days and 4 nights later we were all somewhat in one piece. James had tummy problems for over a week and besides diapers and wipes we are also lacking sleep and patience. This has gotten a lot better over the last few days.
We've also begun the process of weaning him off of nursing and onto Whole Milk as his birthday was Wednesday. This has gone pretty well, although Jen is still pretty sore, and he has even slept through the night for two nights in a row! We are definitely enjoying that change!!
Greg and I both have had this week off and have taken the time to get our lives back in order, and spend some time together as a couple and as a family before Greg starts classes again! So far we have watched a movie or two, gone sledding, got James' one year photos done, visited Greg's Grandma Davis, and RELAXED!
We thought you might enjoy some photos from our past few weeks.
Monday, December 28, 2009
New Job!
Most of you already know this, but I have worked in Patient Account Services at Mayo Clinic since September of 2007. My job mostly consisted of taking call from patients, families, insurance companies, and many other people regarding outstanding accounts with the Clinic. I have enjoyed working there, but, as anyone who has worked in a call center knows, it is draining to take calls day in and day out.
Well, I am really excited because I just found out last week I am (officially) being promoted to an Operations Analyst. I originally interviewed for the position in October, and, at the time, was given the job as an "enrichment" due to the economy. There was no guarantee that I would ever be hired on and could have been shifted back to the call center, but the shuffling of some duties within our department created the opportunity for me to be hired on full time!
This should be a great experience for me as I will get to work on a variety of projects. I am still waiting to hear exactly what the job will entail, but am looking forward to the opportunity.
Well, I am really excited because I just found out last week I am (officially) being promoted to an Operations Analyst. I originally interviewed for the position in October, and, at the time, was given the job as an "enrichment" due to the economy. There was no guarantee that I would ever be hired on and could have been shifted back to the call center, but the shuffling of some duties within our department created the opportunity for me to be hired on full time!
This should be a great experience for me as I will get to work on a variety of projects. I am still waiting to hear exactly what the job will entail, but am looking forward to the opportunity.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
One of those days, weeks, months... years.
Well, it has obviously been a while since we've posted any updates surrounding the details of our day to day life. While it would be so fun to try and explain the last several months with you, I am only on my lunch break and do not have the time or motivation to do so. Instead, I will focus on today.. or this week rather.
Greg is once again winding down the semester of course work. With only a take home final left to complete he has/will be gone every night this week. Greg is also working on trying to get our Christmas letter finished so we can send that off along with some photos we had done at Sears. We've also been busy with various things for the kids. So when I realized that James had sticky stuff in his hair as I was taking his hat off at daycare this morning or that Noah can recite "his order" from McDonalds without skipping a beat... I had to remind myself that this phase of our lives will pass, kids are resilient, and (as cheesy as it sounds) nothing else matter as long as Greg and I are together with our beautiful boys and we are all healthy!
So here are some updates:
Noah had his Early Childhood Screening last Friday. Greg and I both took him to "School" as he so fondly referred to it. It was so amazing to watch this 3 1/2 year share his knowledge and understanding of the world with a complete stranger. I just sat there shocked and overjoyed by what a brilliant little man Noah has become. It seems surreal to be at a point in Greg's and my life that we have a child getting ready for preschool or school. It brings forth a strange sense of being proud, helpless, sad, and excited all at the same time. I can't imagine the type of emotional mess I will be when he starts kindergarten!
James has been "walking" for almost a couple months now. He took his first steps right around 10 months and has been attempting to "run" in the last week or so. He is constantly out numbering Noah at the amount of teeth he had at his age. James is working on his 7th and 8th while Noah only had 2 at the age of 1. James will turn one at the end of this month- hard to believe! In October James and I both had H1N1 which took us both out of commission for a couple weeks. It was not a pleasant situation and to top it off Greg and Noah were also sick with Bronchitis and Ear Infection/tonsillitis/Step throat. We were a mess to say the least!
James turning one also brings to the end my time of nursing my babies. With no more children in our future this brings a sense of sadness. Don't get me wrong... I am thrilled to not have to "remember" to pump everyday or plan my work schedule in such a way that revolves around nursing... but it will be difficult to give up a part of my life that I have been dedicated to 100%. About 2 weeks left... I'm not looking forward to the "look" from James either.. You know, the "how could you do this to me, you traitor.. how can you expect me to get comfort from this sippy cup, please save me, mommy" look. Noah was really good at that look...
So in the midst of the nights of overtired, constant nursing, unbathed, teething, storying telling, playing with their food, wrestling boys... Greg and I will find a night of remembering the joy of the season. We are going to A Christmas Carol this Friday night. Quite a few people from the production of Beauty and the Beast that Greg was in a while back will be in this production, which will make it even more entertaining to watch! Looking forward to spending some time with Greg before the chaos of Finals at school shifts to the chaos of Holiday gatherings and travels.
Finally here are some recent photos of the boys for you to enjoy!
Greg is once again winding down the semester of course work. With only a take home final left to complete he has/will be gone every night this week. Greg is also working on trying to get our Christmas letter finished so we can send that off along with some photos we had done at Sears. We've also been busy with various things for the kids. So when I realized that James had sticky stuff in his hair as I was taking his hat off at daycare this morning or that Noah can recite "his order" from McDonalds without skipping a beat... I had to remind myself that this phase of our lives will pass, kids are resilient, and (as cheesy as it sounds) nothing else matter as long as Greg and I are together with our beautiful boys and we are all healthy!
So here are some updates:
Noah had his Early Childhood Screening last Friday. Greg and I both took him to "School" as he so fondly referred to it. It was so amazing to watch this 3 1/2 year share his knowledge and understanding of the world with a complete stranger. I just sat there shocked and overjoyed by what a brilliant little man Noah has become. It seems surreal to be at a point in Greg's and my life that we have a child getting ready for preschool or school. It brings forth a strange sense of being proud, helpless, sad, and excited all at the same time. I can't imagine the type of emotional mess I will be when he starts kindergarten!
James has been "walking" for almost a couple months now. He took his first steps right around 10 months and has been attempting to "run" in the last week or so. He is constantly out numbering Noah at the amount of teeth he had at his age. James is working on his 7th and 8th while Noah only had 2 at the age of 1. James will turn one at the end of this month- hard to believe! In October James and I both had H1N1 which took us both out of commission for a couple weeks. It was not a pleasant situation and to top it off Greg and Noah were also sick with Bronchitis and Ear Infection/tonsillitis/Step throat. We were a mess to say the least!
James turning one also brings to the end my time of nursing my babies. With no more children in our future this brings a sense of sadness. Don't get me wrong... I am thrilled to not have to "remember" to pump everyday or plan my work schedule in such a way that revolves around nursing... but it will be difficult to give up a part of my life that I have been dedicated to 100%. About 2 weeks left... I'm not looking forward to the "look" from James either.. You know, the "how could you do this to me, you traitor.. how can you expect me to get comfort from this sippy cup, please save me, mommy" look. Noah was really good at that look...
So in the midst of the nights of overtired, constant nursing, unbathed, teething, storying telling, playing with their food, wrestling boys... Greg and I will find a night of remembering the joy of the season. We are going to A Christmas Carol this Friday night. Quite a few people from the production of Beauty and the Beast that Greg was in a while back will be in this production, which will make it even more entertaining to watch! Looking forward to spending some time with Greg before the chaos of Finals at school shifts to the chaos of Holiday gatherings and travels.
Finally here are some recent photos of the boys for you to enjoy!
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