Max's surgery

Max survived his triple surgery this past weekend. All minor things, but scary for him. The worst recovery has been from the tonsillectomy. He wasn't able to eat much at Thanksgiving. He didn't talk much for several days, either. He was brave for the surgery though, he was cracking jokes for the nurses, and said it made him feel better to laugh. The worst part for him, I think was getting in the IV. He has been really quiet this week, which in a way has been very nice.
We had a fun Thanksgiving at Tutu and Papasan's house. Nice to just relax with the family and play silly games, etc.

The next couple of weeks are going to be crazy. Tons of concerts both for me and my kids. We'll have to take it one day at a time.

Also, I will mention that max's two reflections projects were both chosen to go on to the district competition. Emily will be doing her school spelling bee next week.
Max got to perform the song he wrote on the awards night with two other boys from his "band." I think he felt pretty cool performing on his guitar for the first time.

Vote Today!

I'm voting today. Even though my vote won't count in Utah, I'm still glad to exercise my American privilege to vote. Go Obama!
(My neighbors wouldn't like to hear me say that!)

Emily

I've written something about each of the other kids, so I'll take a moment to comment on Emily. I know she has just barely stepped into the teenage years, but truly, she is a lovely teenager. I've been waiting for the storm to begin, but so far so good. Don't get me wrong, we all have our moments of grumpiness (hers are mostly hair-related), but I am feeling grateful to have such a thoughtful, responsible, and generally kind-hearted daughter. (Can you hear me knocking on wood even as I am typing this?) I watched her play on the floor with Ginny and her new birthday toys last week--lovely. She will frequently tuck her little sister into bed, or read to Sam and Ginny. Her teachers all rave about how responsible she is, and her friends' parents all tell me that Emily is just the best, and most creative and fun friend. She is even starting to do her chores without complaining. So far, I think thirteen is pretty great. Of course, fourteen is coming, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Sam, the reader

Sam proudly announced after school yesterday, "Mom, we have another reader in the family!" He was feeling very proud of himself because he was able to read all of the directions on his math homework without help. And what better title is there than "reader" ? Welcome, Sam, to the world of books!

Ginny's Birthday

Our little princess is now 5 years old! It was celebrated in grand style, of course, with an impromptu birthday party on Saturday, her grandparents came over for cake and presents on Sunday, and we opened family presents on her actual birthday. Whew! She had quite a bit of attention for a whole week, but then yesterday she said, "Mommy, how come I don't get any letters or packages anymore?" Ahhh, to be queen for the day...or week... or month....year?

Max the poet

Max has written a couple of cute poems recently. One is for the school reflections contest, and that is below. The other one, I'm trying to find to post, because I really liked it. But, it has gone missing. So, here is his Reflections entry. (He also wrote a cute blues tune called, "Wow is in my mind.")

Wow! What a Pumpkin!
by Max Teuscher

We were walking down the path
On a pretty autumn day.
Wow! We saw a giant pumpkin
UP and yonder where it lay.
We took it home to carve,
And although we did it beautifully,
It was for the pumpkin seeds we starved.

When we tried to roll it home
on that pretty autumn day,
we lost our grip on the pumpkin,
and we watched it roll away.
It was rolling through the woods,
and we thought that it was gone,
so we chased it through the woods,
and found it in the pond.

We went back home and pulled out our canoe
And we were very glad we had it, wouldn't you be too?
So we rode into the pond in our little red canoe,
and we couldn't get it out, so we thought what to do.
We found a 10 foot rope and a sharpened hook,
so then we took, we took, we took the pumpkin through the water.

We reeled it home and we left ourselves a trail
of pumpkin tracks.
And then when we got home we enjoyed our pumpkin seed snacks!