We are so thankful that Val is so good with the kids. This picture was taken on Christmas evening when Luke and Val decided to play chase. Luke loved it as you can see by the huge smile on his face and Val had fun too - she would wait until Luke rounded the corner to bolt out of sight and then continued that for about 10 trips around the house. It was fun to watch.
We had a nice Christmas this year. It was a pretty quiet morning. Brian went to the gym while I slept in, we enjoyed a french toast breakfast together, and opened presents between the three of us - Val made out pretty well this year with lots of fun toys. We weren't going to do presents this year, but Brian insisted once we put the tree up that we had to exchange something on Christmas morning. We later headed out to Bob & Mary's and enjoyed our time together with everyone.
We celebrated Christmas in Philly this year. What that means is we miss the Christmas Eve celebration in the Burgh. It isn't the feast of the 7 fishes, but it is fried butterfly shrimp & homemade raviolis. And while it isn't a feast of 7 fishes, it is a feast we were sad to miss. In fact, Brian asked if my cousin Kathy could Fed Ex us some because it is that good.
We always say we love a good blizzard and love lots of snow - the silence, the comfort of staying inside with the fire and family, as well as seeing others helping others plow out of the snow. I'm not so sure Brian feels that way after the blizzard of 2009. 12 inches into it, he looked out the window after three bouts of shoveling and said, "stop the madness!" After 23 inches he asked me to get him a chiropractor and hernia surgery for Christmas. He did all the shoveling himself since everyone told me to take it easy being pregnant and all. While he didn't really enjoy it this time, Val had a blast frolicking in the deep snow. We thank Brian for all his hard work.
As planned we spent our Sunday cooking up a batch of chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies. They were delish and I'm surprised we still have them left over after a few weeks.
Last time I saw my sweet Alana and adorable Gavin was early October. We never made it into the Burgh for Thanksgiving and are hanging back in Philly for Christmas. I'm not sure when we'll get to see them, but my mom sent these pictures from a photo shoot that my cousin Rebecca D'Angelo shot. They warm my heart. Hugs and kisses!
As a kid we would always go over the river, through the woods and mountains to my Grandparents' house. We would arrive and many times would make sugar cookies with my Grandma, Aunt Charlene, and cousins. We would decorate the cookies with lots of icing, sprinkles, and those little silver balls.
We received some very good news about Val this week. After a few months of medication, bottled water (per Jimmy), prayers, love, and more prayers, it seems that Val's condition is stable and in the mildest form. Her urine protein went down and the vet said if she presented that number at first he wouldn't have been inclined to put her on medication. Her blood protein went up and is in the normal range. Brian and I were ecstatic to hear such good news. And Val has been jumping for joy lately too - she is obsessed with her ball and plays catch all night long with us. So thank you to all for praying and sending good healing vibes because it is working - keep it coming.
We celebrated Thanksgiving this year at our house. Mr. Kenney, Bob, Mary, and the kids joined us in our thankfulness for an awesome 2009 and to an even more awesome 2010. Brian made a succulent turkey and we enjoyed all the sides of the great feast. Pictured above are shots from the evening - Brian and his masterpiece, the Kenney boys, and what would an event be without a picture of Ava draped over Val. Love and happiness to all!
