After Thanksgiving

So...the dust has settled on a beautiful, exciting, relaxing, snowy (the most snow I have seen here in 8 years!) holiday week. Grandma and Aunt Marti are headed back to Arizona on their airplane as I type We are so grateful for all the effort they made to come here and be with us, and for Uncle Ralph and Scott coming, too. It was a terrific visit and such a happy Thanksgiving and birthday week for Addie.


The day after Thanksgivng--Friday--Uncle Ralph, Scott, and Richard headed up to Mill Creek to do some cross country skiing (they took Heidi, too). Gram, Auntie M, and I stayed home with James & Addie and decked the halls for Christmas. When the guys got home, the tree was up and most of the decorations, too! Then we headed out for a matinee of Tangled and a yummy dinner...

"Tangled" was a very fun movie. We all enjoyed it--I liked the music a lot.

Addie brought her two friends Hailey and Sarah to teh movie and dinner with us to celebrate her 9th birthday (it was on Sunday, so we waited a few days for a friend party) at Fiesta en Jalisco.

Rich, James, Marti, Ralph...

Cousin Scott, Grandma Lyn, and me.

Addie in the birthday sombrero--"Ponchita!"

Our waiter and our friend/owner of the restaurant, Ponciano, singing to Addie.

We had such a wonderful day Friday--Thanks, Uncle Ralph!

***

On Sunday morning, we braved some snow storms and headed to Helena for baby Emily Post's blessing. We left at 6:45am and arrived just in time for 9am sacrament meeting!

The adorable Post Family after Em's blessing:

Jacob, Amie, Emily, Matthew, and Sam

Emily snuggled with her Great-Grandma Lyn

Two beautiful girls!

Aunt Marti, Emily, Heidi, and Grandma (yes, that's my hand)...snugglfest!

Heidi is going to be such a great big sister!

Here's the little lady fo the hour, Miss Emily Post chillin' with her daddy

(Emily was born, by the way, on the famous ettiquette expert Emily Post's birthday!)

"Mama said knock you out"...how cute is that?

Here's what Em thinks of the papparazzi!

She's like a little pink marshmallow and I could just eat her up!

Matthew=cutest doting daddy EVER!

Addie loves her baby burrito!

One last peek-a-boo before we left for home...bye, Emily!

***

Today we just cleaned up and got Gram & Marti packed up. It was so nice to visit quietly and have the girls back at school.

Grandma & Richard (& James) saying good bye on Rich's lunch hour.

We picked up the girls from school and went straight to the airport at 3:30pm...

Grandma, Me, and Aunt Marti at the Bozeman airport.

Gram, Marti & Addie at the airport

Heidi stayed buckeld in and waved good bye from the car.

Addie and Gram...ADIOS!

***

So we've just had family night and the house is all quiet. We miss our company already!

Hope all is well with you! Happy Monday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We cooked for two days and finally took a little break around noon today to watch some Charlie Brown Holidays DVDs...Cousin Danny, Rich, James, Heidi, Cousins Scott, Grandma Elrey, Aunt Marti & Adeline
Father & Son

Marti & Addie watching Peanuts Thanksgiving...

Then Grandpa & Grandma Melin brought over the extra table and we set up for TG dinner at 3pm. Grandpa Melin sat with his grandkids...

Kids' Table clockwise: Addie, Danny, Rosalie, Grandpa, Heidi, Hannah, & James

***
The Spread:

We decided to serve buffet style to eliminate lots of passing of the food...

Grandma Elrey & Rosalie, BIL Davey, Uncle Ralph & Richard

Uncle Mikey looking over the grown ups' table

Grandma Elrey & Grandma Melin at the buffet

***

Aroudn the dinner table at "Say what we're thankful for" time, we revealed that we are having a new baby in May (ETA May 25th). Everyone just about choked on their food, and my darling Adeline burst into tears of JOY. She just sobbed and said, "I wanted a new baby SO BAD!!!" It was indescribably sweet! We are all so very excited!

Heidi & Addie & me celebrating the fact that I am 14 WEEKS PREGNANT!

HOORAY!

***

Hopefully your day has been as wonderful as ours.

Some Pictures

Well, it seems winter has finally caught up with us in Livingston. Have a look from my front porch:

White out!

the snow from my side deck. WOW.

There's no better time to blog the few pictures I have taken this week! On saturday, we deep cleaned all the kids' rooms and moved some furniture around. We moved my old desk from Angie's house into Addie's room so she can do a little more quiet studying (Math is getting a little tricky this year). She was really excited when we finally got it done. So excited, in fact, that she sat down and did homework!

Addie at her desk

Studying away!
Desk

The first homework completed at the new desk!

Addie on her fluffy bed!

(the other kids were asleep by the time we finished this room, so we didn't take pix of their rooms).

***

This morning while he ate his oatmeal, James practiced his letters on Addie's new chalkboard. He was so excited to be able to write his name and his cousin's name!

James Writing from MelinFamily on Vimeo.

On Wednesday we had a belated FHE and put up our Thankful Tree (A golden branch strung with lights and hung with leaves that say what we're thankful for). Sadly, I came home yesterday adn our little tree had shed a whole limb! It looks a little Charlie-Brownish now, but we still love it.

There is only one me, I am IT.

To brighten your Tuesday, one of my favorite Sesame Street songs.

A Couple of Heartbreakers

Yesterday while I was driving Heidi to Bozeman to go to the dentist, she told me about her dream and then asked, "What did you dream, mom?" I said I couldn't remember my Wednesday night dreams, but I remembered my Tuesday night dreams because they were kind of sad. I watched Oprah's interview with GW Bush right before I went to bed and I was struck so much by the love and respect between him and his dad. It was mentioned several times.

Papa Bill & Baby Heidi

And so as I drifted off to sleep, I began to sob (I'm a little hormonally imbalanced right now) because that great love in my life is gone and life hasn't even slowed down enough for me to really feel it. But the closer the holidays come, the more my heart aches for my grandpa. So of course I dreamed he was with us for the holidays, and I woke up feeling his absence like never before. I told all that to Heidi in six-year-old terms. She responded, "Oh, I miss Papa Bill, too. He talked to me the other night in my bed when I was missing him."

"Oh, really?" I said, curious. "What did he say to you?"

"Well, he wasn't really talking to me, mom. It was just like when Jesus talks to you with a feeling in your heart, you know? And he said, 'Heidi, don't be sad. I love you so much!' and I felt better."

I'm not kidding. That is exactly what Heidi said (I wrote it down when we got to the dental office because I loved it). It makes me feel happy because I know she is learning to feel and recognize the Spirit, and also that she has an eternal relationship with my grandfather, which is something I really hoped for my children.

Addie, Papa & Heidi in 2006

"For the joy of human love--brother, sister, parent, child

Friends on earth & friends above--for all gentle thoughts and mild

Lord of all, to Thee we raise

This our hymn of grateful praise."

Makin' A List, Checkin' It Twice...

I've had some requests that I post the Post-Drews Family Christmas Exchange List for this year, and also some wondering how they can help with Thanksgiving. If you belong to one or both of those categories, this post is just for you! Christmas Gifts 2010

(family-to-family)

Jamie-Sara

Willy-Amy & Michael

Laura- Marshall & Abby

Lisa- Jamie

Sam- Willy

Dana- Laura

Jill- Lisa

Matt- Sam

Sara- Dana

Amy & Michael- Jill

Marshall & Abby- Matt

Thanksgiving Menu
Turkey (brined & roasted) & Gravy -Jamie
Stuffing -Jamie
Candied Yams & Squash -Jamie
Cranberry Sauce & Salad- Jamie
Mashed Potates-Mike Melin
Green Beans- Mike Melin
Carrots--------
Relish Tray--------
Rolls-Rosalie
Martinelli’s- Jamie
Lemon Water -Jamie

Dessert Bar
Pumpkin Pie-Rosalie
Apple Pie- Angie
Pumpkin Cake- Addie
Chocolate Tarts- Jamie
Whipped Cream-Jamie
Ice Cream-Angie
Various Cocoas-Jamie

(If you're coming and don't have an assignment yet, it's vegetables :) )

Cozy Day

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear friend & nephew,

Tallon Smith! (click)

He's 18 today and this is the first year we've been able send him our greetings personally, though we've thought about him every year.

I hope you have a great day & a wonderful year, Tallon!

***

This morning I felt good enough to get up like a normal person. I saw Rich & the girls off, then James and I went to Grandma's house. Grandma was babysitting my niece Hannah AND trying to do payroll AND helping me with some Christmas surprises. James and Hannah played together so nicely Grandma and I both got lots done! Then James and I came home and made lunch for Daddy, then we got busy baking 7 dozen sugar cookies to freeze and decorate on Thanksgiving...Cookie Men ready to bake!
James took this picture of me in my "England Apron," which I bought while I was with Erin in England. Now I kind of wish I had found a "Mind the Gap" apron...oh well.
James has a problem--he can't resist climbing on the bar. We were listening to Christmas tunes on the ipod, and this is him being an angry reindeer dancing to The Smithereens' "Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer." He's so funny.

Angry Reindeer close-up (my favorite pilgrim guy is in the background).

Thanksgiving decor in the Living Room.

After cookies, we picked up Heidi from school. She wondered why I was taking pictures. I told her "I've got to blog SOMETHING today, so why not YOU?" She thought that was funny. Now she and James are enjoying cocoa and fresh snickerdoodles (I rolled the cut scraps in cinnamon sugar for them). Addie is on her Grandma date and all is well. We hope it's just a nice where you are.

The Best of Nights, The Worst of Nights

Yesterday was a draining day. It was my first day "up" all day in nearly a month. I got up and finished all the laundry, mending, cleaned out the girls' dressers/ closet, made a thrift store donation, prepared for PTO meeting, picked up the kids, went to teacher conferences, fed the kids (Rich was at his stake meetings in Bozeman), went to PTO meeting, and picked up the kids from Grandma's at about 8pm. While they were climbing into the car, Heidi got her hand shut in the car door. It looked gnarly enough that Grandma and I decided I should take Heidi to the ER and let Addie and James stay with her. After about an hour and some XRays, we learned that Heidi's hand was not broken, just contused. Rich met us at the ER and Heidi's hand is in a splint for the weekend. Luckily (well, lucky for the kids, not me) there is no school today, so she won't miss any work (it's her right hand). It ended up being a late night and I was in a ton of pain. I finally got all settled in bed with a heating pad and some lemon water, and turned on the Colbert Report.

My hard day was rewarded with Elvis Costello singing a song from his new album, National Ransom on The Colbert Report. The song, "A Slow Drag with Josephine," was BEAUTIFUL! In fact, while I was all enthralled with the show, James was laying next to me, commenting, "That guy is a cute Grandpa... That cute Grandpa sings fun songs...Mom, this is my favorite song, I love it." (aside: yet another great song about "Josephine"--I love the Wallflowers' Josephine song, too--if I ever had another daughter to name, she'd be our Josie!) After his new song, Elvis sang "Dream" with Colbert. Stephen Colbert is the luckiest dawg in the world! Check it out:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Exclusive - Elvis Costello - All I Have to Do Is Dream
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election March to Keep Fear Alive

So that end of the story is, hard, hard day rewarded by not just a lovely lullabye from one of my all-time favorite musicians, but also IRA GLASS (my other Jewish boyfriend) and DAVID SEDARIS on The Daily Show. Most nights I'm sorry I ever turned on the TV; last night I was exultant. Heidi is fine today, I feel better, we baked 6 loaves of banan bread, and Sedaris' new book in in the mail (Rich got it for me for my bday). Life is sweet.

Adios, October!

I didn't say, "Good riddance, October," although that's kind of how I am feeling. It has been a hard month--a beautiful, hard month. I get a little depressed when I don't feel well for long stretches of time, especially when that time is full of activities, trips and things that must be done, even when one feels yucky. But we survived, and life is good! I have been so under the weather that I have done a TERRIBLE job of taking pictures. My little brother Michael came to visit andwe didn't take a single photo, we had the most beautiful fall in years and I didn't take pictures, and we have ONE picture of Halloween! ONE! Bad mommy...anyway, here's what was on the camera this morning: On the porch, October 16th: Our Slovakian "son", Peter, just spent his 4th summer in Livingston. He came by the house to say good bye and brought Kinder Eggs for the kids. This year he is going to Hawaii before he returns to Prague.


Here is the single Halloween photo I have of our family at the Trunk or Treat on Saturday night. Addie was a "Halloween Fairy," Heidi was an "Angel Queen," and Richard and James were pirates. I went as a "Really Tired Party Pooper/Activities Chairperson."

***
On Sunday after church, we drove to Helena to see our new baby cousin, Miss Emily Post, who was born to my brother Matt & Amie on Wednesday, October 27th. She is a doll!


Addie was trying to take a picture of Emily's yawn, but she missed it and had her finger on the flash. It's still a cute pic, though, and I love having Amie in the background.
Aunt Jamie & Emily

Addie & Emily

Heidi & Emily

Sweet Baby!

James & Emily

Amie's mom, Cynthia, was there helping and it was so nice to see her!

Addie is a good little mommy--she loved holding Emily.

***

The day before Emily was born, this darling baby, Henry Brent Mayberry, was born to my dear cousin Brent (who's practically my brother) and his lovely wife, Autumn.

Seriously, how cute is that baby?!?! I can't wait to see him! Brent is serving our country in Djibouti, and he was only home for 2 days before Henry made his debut. What good timing--now daddy can spend the rest of his "R-n-R" bonding with his boy and spoiling his mighty wife. We are OVERJOYED for the Mayberry's and this long-awaited golden boy!

***

So the month wasn't all bad--it's so nice to have those two lovely babes in the world and to have Halloween over with (My sister, Sara, found out she's having a BOY in March, too!). So now it's November and time to get on with the business of GIVING THANKS. Aunt Marti & Uncle Ralph and my dear Gram are coming for Thanksgiving and I couldn't be more excited. Bring it on!