Children's Table

The other day I came across some tags that had my niece's and nephew's writing on them. It was what they were grateful for  - many, many years ago. One theme they shared was to mention their family. They loved their Mom and Dad and they were smart enough to be grateful for them. They must have known, even back then, how lucky they were to have such devoted and loving parents.

This year they are all making the pilgramage from Atlanta to spend a week in Denver with us. I cannot tell you how excited I am to have them all here. While they have grown up a lot since that last shared Thanksgiving (a tradition I miss so much), I still fret over the "children's table" and how to make it special for my children and our guests.

I came across this idea in Country Living and again on Odeedoh, and it was just too cute not to share. Butcher paper and markers is all it takes to make a cute impression. And look - name tags. It's our craft project this week (and then sugar cookies for sure!).

Have a wonderful weekend. We are going to be busy getting the house ready for guests - so that I can be in the moment at not fret each and every moment about: cleaning, food, entertaining ...
This time around - I am thankful just to be able to enjoy my brother and his family.

More Monday ...

Catching a Break

How ironic the last title post has come to be. Shortly after I took some pictures of the kids, Claire fell off the red chair and landed in the grass. The fall looked soft, and while she cried hard, I thought she was scared and not too hurt.

All through the night baby Claire cried. And cried. I took her to bed with me (something I haven't done since she was 4 months old) and snuggled her close. We stayed up together until 4 am when we both fell asleep completely exhausted.

The next morning, she nursed her arm and was unable to crawl. I called her pediatrician in Rapid City and took in for an XRay.

Claire has 2 fractures in her left arm and is in a cast. :(

I can't bring myself to post a picture as it just breaks my heart that I did not immediately take her to the ER the night it happened.

She is scooting around on her bum, unable to walk or crawl. She is mostly on my hip (even as I painted a wall and desk this morning) through out the day and seems to be doing OK.

Dang it anyway. It is always something around here.