Well, once again it has been far too long since I last posted an update. A lot has happened since my last post. First was Halloween. We kept it low key and beat the rain shower. There is still candy in the snack drawer, I guess I shouldn't complain that the kids don't go crazy for it. They definitely didn't get their restraint from me. 
Meaghan also visited the hospital for her biannual liver study ultrasound. It took a very long time, almost 45 minutes, to get all the images the doctors want. Meaghan was SUPER through the whole visit. Afterward we visited a friend and got McDonald's. It's kind of her thing and it makes the waiting, poking and barrage of questions more worth her while.
This is a major accomplishment for Meaghan. She visits this playground regularly during Jimmy's baseball season and has always been too afraid to take the first step. On this day she decided not to be afraid anymore and she made it all the way across the very first time. She did slip once or twice but realized the ground was quite padded and it wasn't such a big deal. There's no stopping her now, she swings from bar to bar with tremendous ease. She is so proud, me too.
When we came home from Disney it was official. The work crew was done in our house and we could start moving everything back into place. We're still working on that, it's been a little slow going. It was a LONG, HARD project and I am HAPPY that it's all done. Now that I'm living in it, it is everything we hoped for. Everything has a place and there is room left over. 
A couple of times this fall we had an opportunity to visit friends and the Howard County Conservancy for nature crafting lessons. Meaghan just loved this. She made a butterfly and two other owls that I didn't put pictures of here. Thankfully she isn't still collecting nature to craft with at home. She's still a big time crafter but here at home we use paint, clay, pom poms, yarn, strings and paper. It can get messy but I'm not constantly worried that a bug will crawl out of something we're holding.
This is our favorite new Christmas decoration. The kids finally wore me down and we bought an inflatable for the yard. He's the third one Meaghan picked up. Each time they got bigger and bigger. Our Frosty is a ridiculous 11.5 feet tall. He sometimes suffers from a bad back or maybe he was a little over served. Mostly he's a great addition to our lights display.
This is Meaghan's "Word Wall". There are more on other surfaces now. These are words she reads by sight, no sounding them out, she just has to know them. She uses it to help her spell while she writes in her journal and other things. Even though she's not spending time in a kindergarten classroom, she is loving learning. The huge benefit is that she is getting stronger and bigger and has been healthy since we brought her home from the hospital again. She is aware of how different it is for her to stay at home but also very understanding about why. She's a real smart cookie.
Speaking of cookies. Meaghan and Jonathan helped make snicker doodles this year. They're Meaghan's favorite cookie. Check that, they are the only cookie she'll eat. Thanks to all the wonderful ladies who baked for this years cookie exchange, we had many delicious treats to enjoy. Ms. Danielle's rolo surprise snicker doodles are the only ones Meaghan would eat. Jonathan hasn't met a cookie he didn't like so I had to try to trick him. I told him not to eat the ones I liked the best but when he caught me eating them the joke was on me.
Meaghan has been collecting the Lego friends Lego sets for almost two years now and this is the biggest one yet. She got it as a gift on Christmas night and by 11am the day after Christmas she was completely finished with it. She quickly moved on to the camper and helped me finish some of Jonathan's new Lego sets too. I love it, I think it is so cool that my girly little girl has a knack for such complicated tasks. She finished a 612 piece set in 4 hours.
After all that time inside on a cold winter day, it was absolutely fabulous to get outside and play. We took our big wheels, new r/c vehicles and Nerf swords to a nearby park. Jimmy had a chance to use a bunch of new baseball "stuff" while the little kids soaked up the sun with fun of their own.
2013 is just about over now. I have to say that when I look back over it, it was pretty good for us. We accomplished some lofty goals, kept our promises and grew closer and stronger as a family. We are truly blessed beyond anything I imagined. I look forward to every tomorrow and wish each one of you the same kind of happiness, peace and joy that I have found this year.
