Merry Christmas from the Vernon's

We hope that everyone had a great Christmas. Ours was busy, crazy and yet very enjoyable. The worst part was trying to work around Matt having to work.
The following is the Christmas letter that we sent out (Matt is the author). If you have already read it, then you need not read any further. If you haven't read it, it is because I don't have a current address for you.


Another year has come and gone in our “swing-state” Ohio Home—we have now been here over 4 years. To celebrate, we had our 4th child, Maris, on May 2nd…….NOW we’re fillin’ up the minivan.

Maris, 7 months, now flashes a single lower tooth in her previously all-gummy smile. She loves to spend time around mommy, daddy and older siblings. She’ll cry incessantly when left out of the crowd.

Parker, now 2 ½ years old, is a stereotypical, rough ‘n tumble, little boy. He loves to jump down steps and off the couch. He has little regard for his own personal safety. His little blue eyes flash of mischief most of the day—but his ever-present smile argues a plausible alibi with every crime committed. Oddly, he loves to share food with others and help mommy in the kitchen. When sleepy, he NEEDS his binky, stuffed frog, AND frog blanket or a catastrophic tempest will ensue. Not completely used to sleeping in a big-boy bed, he is often found by mom or dad sleeping in front of his bedroom door when we check on him at night.

Nolan, 4, is in his 2nd year of pre-school. He still enjoys the bus—but rides independent of big sister this year. Nolan is speaking more and has a broad range of knowledge—he knows the upper and lower case alphabet, numbers to 100, and can tell time on a digital clock. If ever kidnapped and found by you, his identifying feature will be the wrist watch that he insists on wearing to watch each minute tick off. Brenda had to donate her old one as he wore it all the time. Nolan still is being evaluated by developmental specialists—but to this point, he has only been diagnosed with a “speech delay.” Daddy thinks there may be more to the story, but hopes he is wrong. Nolan still struggles with social interactions, but is leaps and bounds beyond where he was last year. He still loves playing outside and, like any 4-year old, hates going to bed. He’s currently making strides at getting potty-trained.

Nicole, 5, is still mother’s favorite shopping buddy. Nicole thoroughly enjoys kindergarten with her 6’ 7” teacher—Mr. Matzen. She enjoys swimming and has learned to swim for short distances without a flotation device. She enjoyed playing soccer in the spring—but was certainly one of the more timid players on the team. Nicole enjoys having books read to her and is even reading some of the words with us. She is a genuine helper and has been a godsend to her parents with her easy disposition and love and concern she gives her 3 younger siblings. She still misses her cousins who moved from Springboro to Columbus (1.5 hrs away) last year. While mother is getting used to the idea, Nicole has found a hankerin’ for things “pink.”

Brenda, 30-something, has scaled back on her projects this year; I repeat—scaled back on her projects this year. A child in May certainly has played a role in this. Nevertheless, she has found some time to refinish an old armoire, create a storage space above the garage (with pull out ceiling ladder for access), and made some final finishing touches on the master bathroom (replaced sinks and countertop, rewired some lights, and added wood trim to the mirror). Released from Primary in the spring (she works with little kids enough already, right?), Brenda now teaches the 12 and 13 year-old young women. She faithfully hosts a book club every month. Somehow, Brenda strives diligently to maintain her sanity despite 5 children in the home.

Matt, 30-something +, has been well-versed in baseball and college football current events this year. He does find time in between watching games to keep the dishwasher loaded and unloaded which is a big help to Brenda. The kids love to greet daddy with hugs and kisses when he comes home and Nicole is his favorite book reading partner. He enters his 4rd year in a four doctor private family practice in Middletown (15 minutes SW of Springboro). He works 4 ½ days per week and every 4th weekend. Matt still hasn’t gotten used to daily rounds in the local hospital. He wakes up between 5-6 am most mornings (that’s bad) and doesn’t get home until 7ish (that’s also bad). Matt discovered a magic phrase somewhere (was it “elders are overrated” or “Go Utes”) and got released as the Elder’s Quorum president in November—he currently awaits sentencing in another calling.

The Vernon’s took a much-needed vacation in July to Idaho. The drive was long (5000+ miles), but enjoyable. The kids did really well—but, man they have a lot of stuff to haul. Believe it or not, we did not visit any National Parks along the way—but we did have chocolate milk in Iowa and the UP of Michigan to bring the tally to 29 different states. Fear not, Matt and Brenda were able to add Virgin Islands National Park to the list in November as part of a romantic 5-day get-away. For those keeping score, that’s 30 of 59.

The Vernon’s feel blessed this Holiday Season—despite the loss of Matt’s mother, Helen, 1 week before Christmas in ’07 to ovarian cancer and Matt’s grandmother in September to colon cancer. Both of our father’s are well and our extended families too. Knowing God has a definite purpose for our lives—in this life and beyond—has granted great peace throughout this year. We pray the Lord finds each of you and yours well in the Christmas season and in 2009.

ER Snowmen Quiz

A few years ago somewhat of a tradition started in our house. We were decorating Christmas cookies and Matt and his brother Mike being the creative souls that they are, decided to make the snowmen more interesting. They proceeded to decorate the snowmen with different ailments that you might see in the ER.

Well the ER snowmen are back and better than ever. To make things interesting we thought it would be fun to see how many of the injuries or ailments that you can identify. If you want to participate, just leave your answers in the comments. I will post the answers after Christmas and the winner may even receive one of the cookies for a prize. There are 14 snowmen with injuries and ailments from dog bites to appendicitis. Good luck!

1 and 2

3, 4,

5, 6

7, 8,
9, 10

11, 12,

13, 14

Maris

Here are some recent pictures of Maris. She is growing so fast, she is already 7 months old. She has two teeth and is rolling all over the place. She loves jumping up and down in her exersaucer and laughing at her brothers and sister. I know that she is getting tired when she tilts her head to the side and starts whining (Parker still rolls his head back and forth when he's tired, has since he was a baby). It is amazing how the all have their different signals. Maris' left tear duct does not drain, so she will probably have to have surgery at nine months. Nicole had the same problem but they made us wait until she was 18 months before they would correct it. I am all for getting it fixed as soon as possible because most mornings Maris wakes up with her eye glued shut and she hates having me wash it out so that she can see.

I just love this goofy hat on her.

Maris' expression while she watched me take a picture of Matt and Nicole.

Polar Express

The kids have a new favorite movie. Last Friday night we watched Polar express for the first time. Matt has been wanting to have a camp out in the family room with the kids, so we put up the small tent and threw in an air mattress, some blankets and some pillows to watch Polar Express. They all loved the tent idea and while Nolan and Parker crawled in and out of the tent, Nicole, Mom and Dad tried to watch the movie. Once the boys settled down, they enjoyed the movie too. In fact for the last week that has been the only movie that they have watched and unfortunately it starts itself over automatically. So if I don't get to it right when it ends, then I hear boos and hisses from the crowed when I try to turn it off. The original idea for the camp out was for all of us to sleep in the tent but it is only a three man tent I threw that idea out and went upstairs to my bed. Matt decided that he wasn't sleeping in there either so the kids enjoyed a night in the tent by themselves, which they didn't mind one bit.

I've been Tagged

99 fun little facts....
1. Started your own blog - Obviously...

2. Slept under the stars – Many times

3. Played in a band –Jr High, Trumpet

4. Visited Hawaii - Went to school there, one of my favorite places!!

5. Watched a meteor shower - Not that I recall

6. Given more than you can afford to charity-How much is more than you can afford?

7. Been to Disneyland – No

8. Climbed a mountain – Many

9. Held a praying mantis –No, I don't particularly like bugs

10. Sang a solo – Several times in church, I think they just picked me because I was loud

11. Bungee jumped-No and I don't plan to unless I am on the Amazing Race. My sense of mortality has certainly kicked in since having kids.

12. Visited Paris -Yes, while 7 months pregnant and having contractions, not recomended

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea - No

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch -Wood working

15. Adopted a child-no

16. Had food poisoning - Yes, I don't like sausage pizza to this day because of it.

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty-Yes, interesting

18. Grown your own vegetables-Yes, but not for a while

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France - Yes, did I mention the contractions.

20. Slept on an overnight train -No

21. Had a pillow fight – of course

22. Hitch hiked - Yes, after running out of gas in the middle of Oklahoma. Scary van with three men, not recommended

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - I call them mental health days

24. Built a snow fort - Oh ya, tunnels and all, we could even stand up in it!

25. Held a lamb - Yes

26. Gone skinny dipping - No

27. Run a marathon- No, but I would like too

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice -no, but I have ridden in one in Utah

29. Seen a total eclipse- No

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset - Both.

31. Hit a home run - Yes

32. Been on a cruise - NO

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person-Yes, very beautiful

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors-No

35. Seen an Amish community- No

36. Taught yourself a new language- No, unless interpeting toddlers counts.

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied-Ya

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person - No

39. Gone rock climbing – Yes, gotta love it.

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David - Yes

41. Sung karaoke – No

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt - Yes

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant -Yes

44. Visited Africa-No

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight – Yes

46. Been transported in an ambulance-Yes, see questions 99 and 77

47. Had your portrait painted - No

48. Gone deep sea fishing- No

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person - No

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris -Yes

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling – Yes and I love it...

52. Kissed in the rain – yes

53. Played in the mud – Oh yes, I've been covered in it.

54. Gone to a drive-in theater - yes

55. Been in a movie-does a home video count?

56. Visited the Great Wall of China -no

57. Started a business - No

58. Taken a martial arts class-no

59. Visited Russia-no

60. Served at a soup kitchen-Yes

61. Sold Girl Scout cookies-No, but I love eating them

62.Gone whale watching- yes

63. Got flowers for no reason - Yes from my husband!

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma - blood and plasma

65. Gone sky diving-no

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp -no

67. Bounced a check- yes, oops!

68. Flown in a helicopter- no

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy – no

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial-Yes

71. Eaten Caviar-No, but I have had escargot and I loved it.

72. Pieced a quilt-Yes and I love quilting

73. Stood in Times Square -Yes

74. Toured the Everglades-No

75. Been fired from a job- not really

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London- No

77. Broken a bone -yes, both legs at the same time, skiing accident

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle- Yes

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person-yes

80. Published a book- no

81. Visited the Vatican - no

82. Bought a brand new car - No

83. Walked in Jerusalem - no

84. Had your picture in the newspaper –all the time in high school

85. Read the entire Bible - Most of it, the entire New Testament and most of the Old Testament

86. Visited the White House – No

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating- If fish count then yes...

88. Had chickenpox – Yes

89. Saved someone’s life-No

90.Sat on a jury- No

91. Met someone famous -Cuba Gooding Jr.

92. Joined a book club -I host one each month

93. Lost a loved one - Yes

94. Had a baby - How about 4

95. Seen the Alamo in person- Yes and once was plenty

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake - Yes

97. Been involved in a law suit- No

98. Owned a cell phone – Yes

99. Been stung by a bee – Yes -thus the ambulance ride (Matt pulled up as the ambulance was pulling away).

I tag anyone who hasn't done this yet.

Holiday Weekend

I'm sure like many of you this holiday weekend was a busy one.

Thanksgiving day started out with Matt joining some men from church for a game of football. He has been hobbling around ever since, maybe the doc needs to follow the advice that he gives his patients and get a little more exercise. Regardless of the sore muscles, he had a good time. Meanwhile back at home I started prepping for the dinner we would host later in the day. We had my brother and his family, Matt's dad and brother-in-law and a family from church for total of 20 people. I love having a lot of people around during the holidays. We enjoyed spending the day with friends and family.

Friday we stayed at home and spent a good portion of the day putting up lights and decorating our tree. Matt had fun stringing over 2000 lights on our fence in the backyard. Grandpa said that it looks like a landing pad for Santa's sleigh. Hopefully we don't attract any other flying objects.

Saturday and Sunday we went up to Columbus and stayed with my brother Michael and his family. We spent almost the whole weekend playing Dr. Mario on the Nintendo. So much for those projects that Michael wanted to work on. The cousins have found a new addiction.

St. John Virgin Island

Sadly our trip to St. John is over. Our quick four night stay in the tropical paradise was much needed rest and relaxation on some very beautiful beaches. We visited some famous beaches, including Trunk Bay, Cinnamon Bay, and Magens Bay. We did some snorkeling in Trunk Bay which was fun but we have to say that the snorkeling in Hawaii was much better.

We flew into St. Thomas where we rented a Jeep and took the ferry over to St. John. There isn't an airport on St. John because there is not enough flat ground for a runway. We stayed three nights on St. John where we spent our days laying on the beach, snorkeling and doings a couple of hikes. The roads were a lot of fun to drive on, narrow, winding and very steep in places. Not to mention that we had to drive on the left side of the road but the speed limit was only 20 miles a hour on the whole island, so even if we had hit someone we wouldn't have done much damage. The island itself is not very big, 10 miles east to west and 4 miles north to south. So we had little problem seeing the whole island during the three days that we were there. For our last night stayed on St. Thomas so we could catch our flight early Sunday morning. Of the two islands we liked St. John better, it was not as populated and didn't seem like such a tourist trap.

We didn't get a ton of pictures because we were having camera issues. But that may not be such a bad thing because I am not liking pictures of myself in a swimming suit right now. The residual baby pounds and flab have got to go.

Family Night

For family night last night we made some fall wreaths with all of the leaves and sticks that the kids helped me pick up last week on our nature walk. Grandpa was saying that he needed some color for his door, so we made two so that he could take one home as well. Nicole was very excited about the project and she became the official hot glue specialist. The boys however did not show that much interest.

Peacock

If you have been to our house you have probably seen the peacock that likes to frequently visits our front step. Well, I have to report that the peacock which has been wandering the neighborhood for 17 years died the other day. I have to say that I am not all together sad about his passing because he was becoming increasingly aggressive and I had to chase him away from the kids on numerous occasions. However, he was quite beautiful and very much an icon for our street. I could often give directions based on the street with the peacock.

Project Completed

I bought this armoire about two months ago off of Craig's list. It had just what I wanted as far as storage but I hated the doors and bottom drawers (which I had already removed when I took this picture) they were a kick back to the seventies with very rounded corners. So me being someone who can make a project out of anything, I set out to make new doors and drawers. After two months and a few small mistakes it's done and now I have a place to store my sewing stuff (so that I can work on more projects).

Nature Walk

Yesterday may have been our last nice day before winter sets in. It was a beautiful fall day that reached about 70 degrees. With such a nice day I decided to take everyone out for a nature walk. We have a creek bed about a hundred yards behind our house that we walked along and explored. I was surprised with how well everyone did, even Maris was quite the trooper with me carrying her in the front carrier. We picked up leaves and sticks that I plan to have the kids use in a craft next week. I just love the fall. It is kind of sad to watch the rain fall today taking with it the last of the leaves.


About a minute before I took this picture, Nolan and Parker fell backwards off the log as Nolan tried to get situated. They recovered quickly.

Dirty Kids

We have a pretty steep hill in our backyard and for the last few weeks every time the kids go out to play they come in filthy. They have decided that the hill is great for slidding down. I don't know why the hill is better than the perfectly good slid that is ten feet away but for some reason they can't stay away. So for now I am stuck with a little more laundry and more baths.

















Parker at the top slidding down.

Nolan getting ready to climb up.

Trick or Treat

It is fun to watch Nicole get excited about every little thing especially because her excitement tends to rub off on her brothers. Nicole and Nolan went trick or treating last night (they won't do Halloween on Friday around here because they don't want to conflict with Friday night football) and had a blast. Mom stayed home with Parker (who wouldn't put his costume on) and Maris to hand out candy. Nicole was an angel (her idea), Nolan was superman (Nicole's idea) and Maris was a horse (a leftover costume from Parker). All in all we had a fun night and by having Halloween yesterday we were able to host a small party for some neighbors tonight.

About seven or eight families joined us for roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. It was a beautiful night for a party. After the sun went down the temperature dropped to about 55 degrees, perfect for a fire. All of the kids played on our play set but their favorite activity was climbing our dirt hill and sliding back down. It is amazing how dirt can be so attractive to kids.

"I Want Some Bananas"

On Fridays Nolan does not go to preschool, so I normally stay at home and do laundry because I try to avoid taking three or more kids to the store unless absolutely necessary. Yesterday Nicole got on the bus at noon and Nolan started asking to go shopping with me. Of course that wasn't in my plan. Unfortunately when Nolan wants something he doesn't let up until we distract him or he gets what he wants. After about an hour I was able to redirect his attention away from a shopping expedition. Shortly after that he came to find me in my room to ask for a banana, which I thought was a reasonable request considering that the only food items that he ever asks for are milk and chocolate. Wouldn't you know it, we were all out of bananas. I may have given in and went to the store right then but by then Maris and Parker were both down for naps which they needed desperately (Maris had had an explosive diaper at 1 am and Parker was throwing up at 3 am). I tried to reason with Nolan that we would go get bananas when Matt got home. So for the rest of the day I had to keep telling him that we would get bananas when daddy got home. Finally at 6:45 Matt got home. After eating dinner Nolan, Parker and I went to Walmart to get some banana's. Parker had to come because he saw us getting our shoes on. After all the we finally got Nolan his banana's which he ate on the way home.

I have to say that Nolan's interest in shopping is a new thing. Normally anytime I pull into a parking lot to go into a store he is in tears. However that last time I took him with me to Home Depot (one of my favorite stores) he was intrigued by the Christmas decorations so I let him pick one out (a snow man that hangs over a door handle). It is good that he is getting over his fear of shopping, but I hope that he doesn't think that he gets a Christmas decoration every time we go to the store.

Picture Time

Just thought that I would share some pictures.

Nicole with Maris. Nicole makes a great second mom to her brothers and sister.

Nolan, not sure if he wants to smile.

Parker, with his first tie. Believe it or not, the tie actually stayed on until we got home from church.


Maris is now 5 1/2 months old. She loves sitting in her exersaucer. She grabs everything and puts it in her mouth. She is slowly starting to eat some baby food. Her favorite so far is rice cereal with peaches. She has a great smile and is typically a very happy baby.

I left Matt with the kids today while I went and did a little shopping. He spent the afternoon helping the kids set up their Geotrax train and they played with it almost the entire time that I was gone.

Pumpkin Time

Last week we went to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins for Halloween. Nicole has been very excited about decorating and planning her costume for the big day. I still don't know exactly what she wants to be, she started with an angel and then it was a ladybug and now she is saying that she wants to be a princes. I think that I will give her another week before the final decision. I am voting for the ladybug because grandma gave us that costume two years ago. I have to say that I don't get really excited about Halloween but I just love the Fall. All of the fall colors and that brisk feeling in the air are just magic to me.





Maris was more interested in the passing cars.

National Parks

As most of you know, Matt and I have a goal to visit all of the National Parks. So far we have visited 29 of 57. Here are some pictures of the parks that we have visited (since we got a digital camera in 2003). We will be adding one more park this year when Matt and I visit Virgin Islands NP in November. We try to take the kids with us when we can but they will not be accompanying us on the trip.

Getting Started 9/30/2008

I feel that it is time for me to enter the blogging world. I can't promise that I will be great but I will try to post a few things here and there so that you can follow the progress of our family.

It has been a crazy couple of weeks. Matt's Grandma passed away three weeks ago at the age of 88. Grandma Fluffy was diagnosed with colon cancer two years ago.

With the help of Helen's cousin Lynn and Matt's sister Rachel, we are trying to clean out her house. I have spent two of the last three weekends at her house in Pittsburgh sorting and cleaning. Grandma Fluffy was quite the photographer and also quite a saver of pretty much anything that came through the door. So there are thousands of pictures to be sorted. We have taken about six van loads of paper to recycling and by van loads, I'm not talking filling the seats, I mean floor to ceiling, no seats in the van. There is still a lot do, but we are making progress. Lynn has been doing a lot of the sorting on her own, spending countless hours on the process.

Meanwhile, two weeks ago after spending the weekend in Pittsburgh I came home to find that Hurricane Ike had decided to strike most of Ohio and especially the Southwestern corner where we live. Ike took down many trees, blew off siding and roof shingles, and knocked out power to over a million people in our area. We were without power for four days, the kids missed school for three days and Matt had two days out of the office. We actually enjoyed our time without power and spent the days outside helping neighbors clean up the trees that fell in their yards. I never miss a chance to use my chain saw. Matt's office had to be re-roofed after loosing many shingles. We were very lucky and had no damage to our property. After spending another week without phone, cable or internet our lives have pretty much returned to normal.

I have also been able to complete a couple of projects during the last couple weeks. I have slowly been redoing our master bathroom since last fall when I found a leak that had destroyed the subfloor. Since then I have tiled the floor and the bathtub surround, refinished cabinets, had a counter top installed, fixed plumbing, installed new light fixtures, put on new hardware and painted.

Before Pictures:

After Pictures:

Last week I helped a friend rebuild a firepit in her back yard.