sledding

Samantha has been begging, demanding, harassing me to take her sledding. The fact that she has horrible pneumonia a few weeks ago and is just getting over a nasty cold has no bearing in what she wants and she refuses to admit that I might have a point not letting her go out in the cold. She made hot chocolate this morning for me and Joshua after we came in from walking Ella. She did it almost all by herself, hot stove, boiling syrup and all. Pretty amazing girl. It was delicious. We did go sledding for about an hour. Sam was playing with two other girls there who were great about including more kids. Sam is fun. Josh met up with an old playmate, Shane, and goofed a bit. He went down the long hill on the sled with Sam. My heart was in my throat watching them. It is steep and there is no control over the sled. They loved it. Even Josh! We didn't stay long, but it was enough to make Sam happy. I am hoping Samantha is well enough to go skiiing this week.

Love to you all. I hope you are having a nice Christmas.

Restaurant with a three year old

Joshua stands up and says "Chill everyone!" then he pulls up his shirt and pulls down his pants, laughing hysterically. I get his clothes on very quickly. It wouldn't have been a big deal except he absolutely refuses to wear underwear and I think a waving penis, no matter the size, does not belong at the dinner table. Call me a stuffed shirt, but that is how I feel.

Samantha had her Stratton Winter Concert today. It is so fun to see everyone. I know some of the older kids, and they have gotten so big! I know some of the kindergarteners since they were little, and I was so proud of them to stand up there singing their heart out. They were so beautiful. Samantha hasn't been feeling well and didn't want to sing, but we asked her to keep going. She sang very well, I think. They sang a Hawaiian song about a bird and a frog. It was great! There was a fun feeling of community and holiday spirit. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Blowing her own horn

Or rather, mine.

You see, today my sister, who has a talent for thinking up the most extraordinary gifts, gave me an early Chanukkah present -- a beautiful and rather large Shofar. If you're not familiar with this item, a Shofar is a ram's horn, traditionally blown during the Jewish High Holy Days at various points during the services. Blowing the Shofar and getting the right sound out of it isn't trivial. It can take years of practice to become an expert. I can't do it myself, at least not yet.

So you can imagine our surprise when Samantha picked it up and, on her second try, sounded a long, clear, beautiful note. We (me, my sister, Amy, my niece) were all flabbergasted. We just sat there staring at her. So she did it again, and again.

Her later attempts (when I had the presence of mind to shoot a quick video in our messy basement at home) weren't quite as good. But this is still darn impressive for a seven year old.