A Healthier and Happier Existence

Another weekend has passed and even though it was crazy and loud and the house is a mess, it was a good weekend. Our friends E and K got a taste of what it's gong to be like in this house for the next 5 months while its cold and snowy outside. The kids were definitely cooped up and it was loud and rowdy. One of the best things about this house is the huge backyard and the amazing jungle gym and playhouse. My incredible father in law knew that if he built it the grandchildren would come and it worked. I am so grateful to him for giving us a home to live in. Now that it is snowy we can't just send the kids outside and the house feels like it got 2 x smaller. It will be an interesting winter to say the least. I am going to start planning activities for the kids now so that Christmas break doesn't drive us all crazy! School has been good for most of the kids. Claire and Ivan both love their teachers. Nora is having a very hard time with kindergarten and we are strongly considering taking her out and homeschooling her this year. She has been the one to take Matt's stroke the hardest. She doesn't want to be away from home and its really been hard on her. I've sought out advice from different sources and its kind of split opinions. Some say keep trying and some say take her out. Ultimately I feel deep down that we should take her out and let her do her kindergarten year online at home. Our family is finally getting back to stable. We are moving out of crisis mode and she wants to go back to spending her days at home with me. Tomorrow I am going to go to the school and see what we need to do to take her out.
This weekend I was able to spend some time alone with my beautiful Claire Bear. She will be turning 9 next month! She is turning into a young woman so quickly! She went with me to Walmart on Friday and we had a good time. She helped me pick out a case for my new phone and then we hit the toy isle and the makeup isle! Afterward we went to Rue 21 to get her a bracelet that I saw several weeks ago. Her favorite song is "Call Me Maybe" and Rue 21 had a bright pink bracelet that had those words on it. She was in heaven. That night after we came home the two of us watched "Breaking Dawn" together. She was so cute. She is such a beautiful girl.
Ivan was able to go to the dollar store with Matt and picked out a couple of toys. It has become super important for Ivan to get some boy time with daddy. He is a good boy. He is so social, he's always running the neighborhood and he comes home with new friends in tow.
I am so thankful for what we have. I am thankful for this home. I have been spending time trying to fix it up a little so that my father-in-law will see how much we value what he has given us. I am thankful for E and K and their son for becoming such a wonderful part of our family. I am thankful for good friends and good times that have helped us begin to move past this horrible year and into a healthier and happier existence.