Christmas 2009 and Connor's new room.....

It's been a busy couple of days. Today, we moved Connor into his new bedroom. We still have a few things to finish (like the inside of the closet and all the baseboard trim), but those are things we can do while he's in there. He's excited and worried about being in the new room all at the same time. Tonight might be interesting.....

CHRISTMAS 2009

Connor got a turn-table train set. It's all he's been talking about for 3 months. He was so excited when he saw it that he didn't care about the other stuff under the tree for about 2 hours. :) The elves --- the ones who stayed awake until 2 a.m. assembling that thing --- were very happy he liked it.

Mom and dad opening one of their gifts.....

Connor giving me the tea and creamer that goes with my new cappucino maker that Isaak bought me! Yum!

Connor and daddy trying on some new gloves and hat Grandma and Grandpa Berg sent......

Connor testing out the new beanbag chair gram and pap Kitzmiller got him.....

We all had a great Christmas this year. We're especially thankful Isaak made it out of Minnesota before all the snow hit. His plane was delayed nearly 2 hours, and we were so worried it'd be canceled. But thank goodness, he made it! And thanks to Beth for sitting with Connor while I was at the airport at 1 a.m. You're a great friend, Beth!

Rest in peace, Rain Man.....

I'm sure most of you have heard of --- if not seen --- the movie Rain Man, with Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise. The movie was loosely based on the man pictured to the right, Kim Peek. To learn more about Kim, go here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Peek

Mr. Peek died yesterday at age 58 from a heart ailment.

Having a son with autism, I am very saddened at the loss. Mr. Peek was an incredible man. I actually had the pleasure of meeting him when I first worked for the Butler Eagle. He visited Butler Senior High School. I was amazed by the sheer intelligence of this man. His memory was incredible. You could read him a story, and he would repeat it word for word after only hearing it a few times. His math skills scared me. And despite the social issues with which he struggled because of his autism, he still managed to get out there and show the world that autistic people are not to be pitied, but to be admired.

The world has lost more than just another autistic person this week. It has lost a great mind. Rest in peace Kim.

More snow fun......

Connor couldn't wait to get out in the snow again this afternoon and play. He likes pulling his sled up and down the hill all by himself. I was OK with that today, as my poor back hurt from shoveling yesterday and pulling him up the huge hill in our yard several times on his sled.

But after we sledded, Connor decided to help shovel the driveway with mommy. He managed to clear one square foot, but every little bit helps. :)

Windows and bruises......

I should never be left unsupervised. Yesterday, I fell. The pic of my elbow isn't exactly how black and blue it is now. The lighting makes it look lighter. My mom saw it today and couldn't believe it wasn't broken. My right leg from my hip to my knee is sold black and blue, too. Connor was hollering about needing the bathroom NOW, and I ran out of the kitchen and tripped right over one of his toys. Fell flat on my......well, you know. I couldn't get up for a good 5 minutes. Was glad I didn't need to go to the ER. But after my finger incident earlier, I'm not so sure I should ever be left unsupervised. :)

On a happier note, this is one of the new window frames/sills that I had installed today. A nice guy named Jim Scheid did the work. He built the sills himself and they are some seriously nice craftsmanship. This guy does great work at great rates, so if anyone needs a good handyman or woodwork done, I highly recommend him.

Why I should never be left unsupervised.....

So, at 6:30 this morning, as I was trying to change the blade in my razor, I cut a huge hole in my thumb. Still not quite sure how it happened, and was astonished at the damage I managed to do. It's hard to tell from this photo, but the cut is about half an inch across and really, really deep. It's one of those things where you can peel the skin back it's so deep. I was panicking, because I would have had to call my neighbor at that hour to come stay with Connor while I went to the ER for stitches. Thankfully (and by the grace of God), it quit bleeding. It's pretty sore, but I think we can get by without stitches.


But this is just one more reason why I should never be left unsupervised........

Merry Christmas friends!

Connor has been asking me to have a Christmas party with his little friends for a few weeks now. So Saturday, we did just that. It wasn't anything too formal, just the kids and some games and fun. Above, they were playing a cute game using The Gingerbread Man story. You wrap up inexpensive books and have the kids sit with them. Someone reads the story. Every time the word "ran" is said, the kids pass their present to the person on the right. It was a lot of fun.

Ice, ice baby....

This is what the street in front of my house looked like at 10 a.m. this morning. And no, that's not water. It's ice. Solid ice. We didn't even know there was this kind of ice until we decided to leave for church. Then we turned on the TV and saw all the accidents and the weather issues going on around us. Needless to say, we didn't go anywhere. And I was very happy it cleared up in time to take Isaak to the airport this evening. It would have created quite a problem if it had not. I say bring on the snow. I'd much rather deal with snow than this kind of mess!