The Invisible Bridge

Today, I finished reading The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer.

What an incredible book.

It is definitely a saga - just over 750 pages - but very engaging and readable. 

It's the story of Andras Levi, a Hungarian Jew who travels to Paris to study architecture. While there, he falls in love with another Hungarian, but they have to flee Paris due to the rise of Hitler. 

In Hungary, they try and put their lives back together but that is increasingly difficult given the political situation. 

I had never read about Hungary before and so it was fascinating. I had especially never read about Hungarian Jews and their plight during the horrible time leading up to and during World War II. This book has it all, romance, heartache, history, hope. I highly recommend it.

(Circe - I kept thinking of you. Paris.... ballet.... I think you'd like it. Although ever since "Room", I'm nervous ;)

Christmas Part 3

We got to continue celebrating with family at 

Chris (Brad's younger brother) and Pam's home.

Here he is with Grammy Linda.

Auntie Jayne and Grammy Linda

The incredible yule log.

The 26th, we headed into the Boston Copley Marriott with my parents. 

We had a great view north to the Charles River and Cambridge.

We saw the 360 production of Peter Pan. They set up their 

theater-in-the-round on City Hall Plaza. Very good. 

Fun media that we hadn't seen before.

We got a doggie - Dexter. He is a chiweenie which is a

Chihuahua Daschund (weiner dog) mix. He is so good. 

He is a rescue from Alabama that we are really enjoying. 

My mom held him for about 30 seconds which is 

huge for her. 

I'm not convinced he knows he is a dog but he is doing really well 

with potty training.

Thank goodness. 

He is a snuggler. 

I'm not sure what is going to happen 

when the kiddos have to head back to 

school on Tuesday.

Christmas Part 2

We came home and my parents oversaw one of their famous

treasure hunts.

Below: Rare sight. 

Darnit.

Grammy got a Kindle Fire from Grandpa.

She returned it. 

We believe she has become a follower of 

Apple products. Don't look at me.

Christmas 2011 Part 1

Angry Birds hasn't taken over our lives. 

Nope, not us. Brad had an affinity for the piggy hat.

My parents brought a fabulous game - "Spot It." 

I highly recommend it for any age. Lots of varieties in one game.

We get gussied up for Christmas Eve at Cousin Steph's. 

Also known as the beginning of serious food consumption that 

lasts anywhere from 24-48 hours (days?)

We got to go to church for an hour at 9am. 

It was perfect, beautiful words, songs and the big picture

window in front of the chapel let us view the lightest of 

snowflakes falling. It was sublime.

But we DID have time before that to dig into our stockings. 

The Agony

Sadly, we had some things happen in December that we'd rather forget.

 As I was prepping a salad for our church Christmas party, I about took two fingers off. 

I love my sharp knives but I need to be more careful. 

(Sorry for the fuzzy photo.) 

Also, I got in a fender bender. 

My fault, blind spot. 

Worst part was that the driver of Car #2 was yelling at me like I was a

serial killer intentionally out to maim or kill her two children who were in the car.

She settled down and apologized later. 

Yikes.

And, the absolutely worst of it was that our house got broken into. 

While I was at the ortho with Ab getting her braces off. 

Our neighbor in back noticed our door open (I LOVE nosy neighbors!)

and called the cops. Someone had pried/kicked their way in and stole

some electronics and some sentimental jewelry. Stinker. 

We honestly feel lucky that a) they didn't take more and b) no one got hurt.

It is so disconcerting to know that someone has been in your home. 

And it truly makes me so sad that people have resorted to this. 

Too much dishonesty in the world.

Tip: Make sure your homeowners insurance covers theft.
KEEP RECEIPTS of stuff you want replaced. There is no way to
replace some of the stuff but we'll get some money.
(Good things I don't demand expensive jewels from my hubby.
Unless it's on my finger, fake is fine with me.)

The Ecstasy

December has been quite a month, to say the least. 

I'll try to fill you in.

Samantha had her first clarinet/jazz band concert. 

She was really thinking that she wanted to quit this gig but HARK! A chance to

PERFORM!?! Hello! Why would she pass up that opportunity. 

The pic below says it all.

Busy Grammy Linda was so nice to come.

Abby got her braces off. 

Look at those beautifully straight teeth!

Worth every penny, every pain.

Our orthodontist is fabulous. And by that, I mean their office staff, the assistants and their office. Which makes a big difference. They gave Ab a bag of "Foods you shouldn't have eaten over the last two years." Somehow, besides taffy, she found a way to consume some of these.

Brad and I acknowledged our 14th wedding anniversary. 

That's all we had time for this month. I adore this guy. He had to speak in one of the Spanish branches for our church. They have translators but he chose to write the talk, have my mama-sita translate it and send him the voice memos for pronunciation and he delivered it in Espanol. The kids and I surprised him by attending (I usually am napping after church) and he did such a great job. I was so proud of him. Didn't understand 99% of what he said but he can roll his "R"s like a pro.

My parents came for a visit. They are such good sports to want to 

be part of our crazy life even for a short time. Grandpa is a double

good sport for playing Mario Kart on the Wii with Max.

Polar Express 2011

Instead of trying to get a Gingerbread House to actually stand up, sometimes

(not consistently, of course) we make what we call the Polar Express. We haul 

out LOADS of candy and royal icing, some floral cones and

cake boards covered in tinfoil and go to town. 

It's actually surprising that anybody gets out without

frosting from head to toe. 

We invited our friends the Johnsons over this year and had a blast. 

Above, Abby prepping the candy canes. 

Below, Sam, Millie and Holly focusing on their trees.

Above, Brock, Abby and Sam without much damage (yet).

Below, Max and Brock

Below is cute little Ada. She surprised me by not being interested
in the frosting. Just hand over the chocolate and you'll be fine.

Look at Brock - getting into it.

Evan (the dad) and Brandon are trying to figure out what else to add.

Holly got her tree just right.

Here is our finished product.

And the Johnsons.

Look at that mess! 

Two keys: make sure each kid has a frosting bag = less fighting. 

Put a disposable covering on your table (I had a shower curtain) and then just roll it up and toss it. 

Worth hours of clean up.

We had so much fun and our kids even got a little bit

of sleep last night despite all of the sugar in their systems.

Reading for Sanity

These books have kept me "sane" recently. 

Just Promise Me is a book by a friend of mine, Simeen Brown. 

She decided she could write a book and so she did. 

Because that is the kind of woman she is. 

Really good book about friendship. 

I don't agree with all of the relationships going down (I've got too much jealousy in my bones) but some really good perspective. A quick, gripping read and a good trip down memory lane. 

You have to get it on blurb.com because that is where she published it. Good young adult read. It's also been really fun to be able to talk to the author and see where the characters and even some of the story lines.

The Horse Boy by Rupert Isaacson is another really incredible book. It's the true story of a father whose son is diagnosed with autism. The father is a horse rider and desperately wanted his son to ride horses. He didn't see how this would be possible with his condition. But it was possible - and it was extremely therapeutic for the boy (Rowan). The father had some experience with some shamans in Africa. Shamans are ancient, natural healers from very old times. Rupert (the dad) decided to take his wife and son to Mongolia to find some of the oldest shamans around in hopes that they could heal his son. 

You'll have to read it to see what happens. I really wasn't prepared to like this book as much as I did. Although I personally don't believe in the shaman's powers so to speak, these parents put their faith in something that they were completely open to. Rupert gets my vote for father-of-the-year. Really incredible. And it shows how parents will do anything in their power to help their children. 

I would highly recommend this book for a book club read because it is incredibly discussable.

7th/8th Grade Christmas Dance 2011

Abby decided to go to the Christmas dance at the Middle School. It surprised me a bit because she was completely disinterested in the Halloween Dance. But she and a group of her friends decided to get together and prep. And wow - prep we did. Nails (how do you choose?)  - don't forget the windmills to get them dry.

Dresses to be worn.

Abby and her friend Eleni. All ready to go.

The damage. Wow.

Thanks to Alissa for being such a gracious hostess.

Tara is in cosmetology school and was the resident expert. 

She helped Abby with some touch ups.

Emily, Abby, Mackenzie and Eleni

Alexis, Samantha, Emily, Abby, Mackenzie and Eleni. 

Abby and her man of the night - Max.

This guy is a trooper with all of the estrogen flying around that room.

It took us 2.5 hours to get ready. 

The dance was 2.5 hours. 

Which 2.5 hours was more fun? 

Guess. 

Abby came home and said most of the kids there were

ON DATES.

U-G-H.