End of Year 2015

Well! Here we are at the end of 2015! If our Christmas card led you here, Merry Christmas, and thank you for taking the time to learn a little more about our year! Here are some highlights from our year, as well as more photos from throughout our busy 2015. Do not feel compelled to read the entire thing, as I use this page primarily to keep some form of log of the happenings in our lives and this particular post is long! We had so many things happen in this year. To see much of it written out and in pictures will be wonderful for me a year or more from now. I love looking back on all the memories we've made. I know that others like to keep up with us as well, and we are fortunate to have people who care! We hope you have a wonderful holiday season and a safe and happy 2016!

ERIC:

Eric turned five just a few days ago, December 7th. Here's something I wrote down as I contemplated him entering a whole new year, which pretty well sums up how he's doing:

This kid. This singer and drummer and soccer player and runner and reader who hates picking up toys, but loves getting them out. This silly goose who asks to be tickled, but then screeches like a banshee when you actually tickle him. This family man who cries at the thought of leaving his family to go to college (yep. he already did that.) This friendly boy who will make friends with ALL the children on the playground and their parents and grandparents. This beautiful boy with a heart ten sizes bigger than any. This empathetic child who hugs a little girl at the Christmas tree farm, saying "I see that you are sad that you spilled your hot chocolate. That would make me sad, too. Maybe you can get some more." This careful to a fault worrier who also worries for everyone within a ten block radius as well as the people he sees on tv (even kid shows). He worries so for his mama when pain takes over, and his worry transforms to comfort and sweetness. This inquisitive boy who wants to know everything before his time, and not only wants to know *it*, but know *why* and *how*.

He loves when Daddy's home (the sound of the garage often sends him and his brother into hysterics), still loves trains...like, a lot...being silly to his grandparents on facetime and getting mail. He and his brother make a great pair as often as they struggle to balance each other out...but the love between them is real and tenable...and often hilarious and sweet. He's figuring out his love of the Cubs and Hawkeyes, but right now, just likes having a team to cheer for. (He'll get there...) He counts rhythms and wants to know how to clap out beats to music he hears. He starts piano lessons tomorrow and already admitted to me that he's worried he won't be perfect right away (sigh). I've assured him that, bless his heart, the point is not perfection, but enjoyment of music and learning something new. I'm told that he often has trouble letting other kids answer questions in class, as his eagerness overtakes him. He's bad with scissors, but great with communication, though he is often a tad too literal.

Eric is five today. Five years ago, I heard his cry and my heart knew he was mine. Today, the look in eyes and the ringing tone of his voice tell me everything I need to know about how he's feeling and where he wants to take a conversation. We read each other well.

I've been (unsurprisingly -- this is me we're talking about) emotional all day. I'm so so so so so happy this kid is mine. I get him! Every day I get to talk to and hug and teach and learn from him! He is my boy and I am his mama and all is well.

SAMUEL:

Sam is...well...he's friggin' hilarious. He brings us SO MUCH LAUGHTER and JOY! The things his mind comes up with constantly crack us up and it's a good thing, too, because he's also a big stinker, God love him. This boy has not changed in his very early detected strong willed, hard headed nature. I would not ask for him to be any other way. Were he any other way, he would not be my Sam, and I could not have any other kind of Sam. :-) He tells funny stories right after doing something he knows he's not supposed to...I suppose he thinks he's defusing a situation, and well - he is.

Sam still loves to eat, as he always has. I think I'm told he's hungry about 4,326 times a day, and he's always down for a snack. He wants to do everything his brother does, and sometimes wants his brother to do everything he does, even if Eric's not in the mood. Eric just began taking piano lessons. When Eric sits at the piano, Sam is fond of going to the piano as well and announcing he's going to "play jazz" as he begins to play the same two notes over and over for ten minutes. I've heard worse jazz, I guess. He likes trains and trucks and cars. He likes building things and LOVES tearing things down. He's the family wrecking ball - anytime there's a tower of some sort within his reach (regardless of whether he built it), within seconds, there is no longer a tower standing. I get it, though...that's part of the fun of building a tower in the first place, right? ;-)

Naturally a very physical kid, Sam's been pretty excited to swing a baseball bat and actively play in the back yard. He's right handed, but for batting, (and built just like daddy, it's pretty fun for us to see him hitting lefty). He's got a good swing for a two year old. It will be fun to watch that develop as he gets bigger and bigger. He's a real natural athlete.

Sam is also a storyteller. He'll say, "Mama, I'm going to tell you a story, but I have to think of it first, okay? Okay, here it comes! *looks around at what he sees around him* Once upon a time...there was a car! The car got eaten up by tree monsters and the tree monster got sick because a squirrel ran by and the tree monsters threw up the car and everyone was okay! The end!" He loves books and being read to and will often just sit and look at books for a really long time, making up new stories about the pictures in the books. His vocabulary has just exploded and he's so, so fun to talk to.

Sam readily and often tells us he loves us and when Eric was upset recently, he gave his brother his truck to play with to make him feel better. He is LOADED with cuddling and love, (as long as it's his idea) and - for some reason - takes extreme pleasure "squeaking" our ears...a process by which he pinches our earlobes on repeat until we become annoyed with it, at which time he moves on to the next person. You're expecting a hug? Just kidding, I'm coming in for a squeak!! Look out!! Still, I could kiss those cheeks all day...and that's been true since day one. We love our Sam.

PETER AND ELIZABETH:

Peter is working very hard at Koley Jessen and has hit a groove now, having been there for almost a full two years. We can't believe it's been that long! Last winter, we joined several other members of the firm at the American Heart Association's Heart and Stroke Ball. It was probably the fanciest event we'd been to since our wedding, and we had a really great time getting dressed up for the occasion. I had a great time getting to know some of Peter's colleagues and ended up as a singer in the firm band (this was in February and we've been able to get together twice...but it's still fun!) after learning there are several musicians among those in the firm. :-)

Peter's enjoyed as much outside time with the boys as he can get, and loved having Eric in soccer and working on baseball skills with both of them. We got to go to the College World Series together this year, too, and had a blast!

Obviously, we've both enjoyed the Cubs' and Hawkeyes' seasons this year. We REALLY look forward to the bowl game, and next baseball season should be very exciting!

I have had a rough year, but once we got past the first quarter, things eased up on me a bit. First, I was in the hospital with a slipped disc in my back. Once we got that under control, my trigeminal neuralgia decided to flare up worse than it ever has. After finally meeting with a neurologist and increasing my medication, it got the pain relatively well under control. It is still a part of my daily life, as it affects how I do most things face-related, but I'm just grateful for each day and that I have the support of so many loved ones as I try to forget I have this. I don't worry about what's next, but just live and hope for the best.

I've had so much fun singing in our church's choir and participating in various activities with the church. I sang in our church's musical, "Chozen" the story of Esther, set to the music of Frozen and Lesley Gore (it totally worked, believe me). I played Honey from Haman, a would-be wife to the king, who loses out at the top spot after proving how overly confident she is ("I'm just to good to be true....I'd be a great queen for you...I am like Heaven to touch...you'd wanna hold me so much...at long last I have arrived...I'll make you glad you're alive...I'm just too good to be true...I'd be a great queen for you).

Our nephew, John Francis Mello joined the family on September 12th, missing his uncle Peter's birthday by just one day! We are so excited to have another little boy in the family! The boys love him, as do we, but somehow I have failed to get a single picture with him! We'll rectify that shortly! Sam's been the surprising one here. He absolutely LOVES him and wants to hold, stroke his head, and kiss him whenever we're around him. It's very sweet.

TRIPS:

CEDAR RAPIDS AND DES MOINES:

In March, my mom and I took a road trip to Cedar Rapids to see our favorite Irish-American group, Solas play. It was mother-daughter time we had not had since before my children were born, and it was emotional for us, as we'd seen this band multiple times with Eric the Elder when I was young. The CD I brought home kicked off a HUGE fascination with Solas for the boys. They also developed a passionate interest in mining that continues to this day thanks to the subject matter of the entire album (a mining community in Butte, Montana which was home to several Irish immigrants). I am SO excited to tell Eric shortly that as a gift, we will be going to see Solas live in Lincoln in February. I've spoken with the fiddle player in the group and she was so touched by all of our interest that they are inviting us to be guests of the band for the show! It is going to be amazing to share this with Eric, and I can't wait!! Here's a picture of us right before the concert and a picture of me with their banjo, guitar, and flutes/whistles player, Seamus Egan, whom we've had a crush on since I was 13. Mom was too chicken to take a picture with him. There's a video of "The Mining Song" (read: "Tell God and the Devil" - We have it memorized...) on their website. I encourage everyone to check out their music and if you're in Omaha, go see them in Lincoln in February. They always put on a wonderful show! solasmusic.com ;-)

We took multiple trips to Des Moines and one big trip to Cedar Rapids this spring and summer. The boys loved helping in gardens, playing in backyards, visiting friends, eating ice cream, staying up late, going to the VFW, miniature golfing, playing at parks, and going to the Iowa State Fair and Living History Farms. Time with grandparents is so, so very important and special. We're very excited that both Peter's parents retired this year, as we've already been able to see more of them, and they've been able to spend so much more time with the boys.

COLORADO:

We went to Colorado for a family trip in June and July. We visited my dad and Trina and were there for Sophie's 9th birthday. My grandparents joined us for part of the trip, too, so it was nice to have a lot of us there together. It was beautiful, and once we got the boys semi-used to the mosquito killing machines, they had a blast outside. (I'm kidding...they never actually got used to the machine. Even after we named it. They managed to have fun, while giving the machines the side-eye the whole time.) There are SO many pictures from the trip, but here are just a few of my favorites.

SEATTLE:

I was so lucky to be able to attend my dear friend Laura's wedding in Seattle this summer. I traveled alone and got to spend quality time with both her and her family. I didn't actually take a lot of pictures, because I was just too busy enjoying myself, but suffice it to say the entire long weekend was beautiful. I was so happy to be a part of her wedding, and I was VERY excited to see Seattle, as I'd never been!

CHICAGO:

We were FINALLY able to travel to Chicago to visit our good friends from Grinnell, Kevin and Lauren and their little girls, Natalie and Claire. We had been wanting to get the kids together for so long, and they did not disappoint. It was great to watch them playing and talking with each other. It's amazing what one little liberal arts college in the middle of Iowa can end up producing. :) Kevin and Peter got to spend some good time together, and Lauren and I got to go out to a movie and chat, too! It was really wonderful, and I hope we can see them again much sooner than later!!

WASHINGTON, D.C.:

Peter surprised me with a trip to Washington, D.C. as a kind of combined birthdays/anniversaries we haven't celebrated trip. We were able to stay with his Aunt Teresa and Uncle Ted in the area and it was SO wonderful to spend time talking with them and really getting to know them better! We had a huge bucket list of things we wanted to see while we were there, and we managed to get a lot of them done! We were even able to get together twice with good friends Chad and Gaby! My highlights of the trip: 1. Getting bikes to finish the National Mall on a beautiful day; 2. our personal guided tour of the U.S. Capitol; and 3. Gettysburg. It was wonderful to get away, see family and friends, see sights we've wanted to see together for a long time, and have lots of one on one time together.

If you actually read all of that, you're a trouper (trooper?) and thank you. :-) We've done so much this year; it's no wonder it went so fast! I will sign off for now, but am adding some pictures that are random and didn't fit into the above. I wanted to add them to the blog, though, so will toss them in at the end here, in complete random order. Merry Christmas, and we'll see you again next year!! ~ Elizabeth/Liz/Libby