Days with the Dorans

Santa Came!!! We are so lucky! Each kiddo had things under the tree that they wanted. Joe got mostly clothes and some much needed colored pencils along with a cool helicopter. Ali got a necklace that when she read it I think made us both get a little teary. It said, "Always remember you're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think and loved more than you know." She also got clothes and some crafty stuff. Z got a lot of great things including a helicopter (Joe and Sean got one too) that he can fly all around the house- he's gotten quite good. He also got a rock kit and other things! He had a good year! Sean's favorite things were BOOKS! I am not a buyer of books usually (LIBRARY) but when he's outgrown these, I'll take them to Room 119. He got some toys too of course. He was so thankful for everything. My favorite part of the morning was when he said, "Get over here!!!" and pulled Joey into a hug th...

I had such an amazing birthday! It started with being showered with gifts and then I went on my morning run. I've been sick and it hurts my ovaries (I know that sounds odd) when I cough but at the same time running feels good. As I was finishing up my 5 miles, I saw Dave pull into our driveway with tons of balloons! What great timing and how lucky am I to have such thoughtful friends! Kurt and Eric came over yesterday with a gift too! Ali made yummy cookies and Sean and I made these yummy treats that were were right up my alley (because they were EASY!!)! We topped pretzels with a Rolo and a peanut M&M. They are so good! At 3:15 we met all the Drapals at Johnny Carrino's. Michele doesn't work there anymore so it wasn't QUITE as nice. But we had a good time. We didn't have cake there because we had to head to church and the roads were nasty but it sure was beautiful outside! We haven't been going to St. Matt's for a while and are trying to ...

I thought this was the first time we had ever done gingerbread houses but Joey corrected me and told me that we had done it before but it must have been a while since I had forgotten!  We all had fun and decided that this needed to be a tradition. I helped Sean assemble his house and Jeff was trying to help Zach but let's just say, I helped him too... ;-) After an hour or waiting for our houses to dry/harden/secure, it was time to decorate! It was fun watching them and their different ideas and of course listening to their conversations as they worked. I escaped for a bit to finish wrapping presents (I don't remember EVER having wrapping done this early (the 23rd) but I'm thrilled about it!!! I think that Sean ate quite a bit of his candies instead of just putting them on his house! All those sweet treats, I can hardly blame him!  The kits made this so easy! Ali and Joe of course took lots of pictures to share with their friends on their "group cha...

There's no better feeling than being off of school! Any teacher in December knows what I am talking about! We decided to have a pajama party and watch some Rudolph (per Dave's request) to celebrate. Because I'm still coughing, I thought we should also make it a soup party! The Cosmans came with the cutest pajamas!! Dave's were perfect for watching Rudolph and I realized that I need to get me some sweet jammies! They got their cute jammies from Kohl's!! Kyle didn't wear any jammies so maybe we'll need to get him some too! My mom would have been so proud because Dave was very excited about my villages and said, "OK, give me the tour!" This is something my mom always says. There is a bunch of thought that goes into putting all these babies up! Of my North Pole village he said, "Sean, don't you just shrink yourself down and pretend you're going through the streets!" Exactly! Dave is "my people!!"  Jojo and Jod...

I was feeling a bit bad about taking off Tuesday for Joey's braces since I was out sick the week before. Still... your kid only gets his braces off once. I was THRILLED when I learned that Nicole was going to be in town and that she'd be available Tuesday. I told you Jesus loves me!! Unfortunately, this was a very last minute visit. She was in town because her dad is not doing well and was recently diagnosed with cancer. I hope that her visit was just the medicine he needed to lift his spirits. After all, she brought her cute little human with her! We were so excited to finally meet Torin Lee in person!! Nicole and my mom got a bit of time together first but I joined them soon enough as did Auntie Barbara (Busia) and Gary and then finally my dad. We had a wonderful afternoon together. After school, Danny and his crew came over and Jeff brought the boys (Al had her crazy long dance day so missed the meeting). We had so much fun catching up and Nicole and I had fun...

I took the day off so I could be the one to take Joey to his ortho appointment. We were told it'd be the day he got his braces off but Joe didn't really believe them. They had told them that before. I already had a little speech put together in my head if he came out with those braces still on his teeth but thankfully I didn't need it! The receptionist actually said, "Big day today!" and I looked and Joe and said, "See?" He said, "I'll believe it when I see it." He really didn't think they were coming off. I was working on addressing Christmas cards and I felt like I was getting through quite a bit which was a good sign! When he came out and I said, "Smile!" and THEY WERE GONE!! He had a bag of chewy candy in his hand and a retainer in his mouth. I had always wanted one of those... I remember pulling apart a paper-clip to see what it would look like. I don't think Joe is as excited as I would have been but he w...