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The BEST Christmas Cards Ever

We have already received well over 50 Christmas cards this year. They are all beautiful and I cherish them all. However, this year, I’ll admit that there is one that blew them all out of the water. It will be hard to top it. EVER.

Thomas came home from school the other day and was looking glum. I asked him how he was. “Mom, I made you a Christmas card, but it didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to. I wanted you to think it was from Heaven, not from me. I’ll just show you.” He pulled the following card out of his backpack.

 

That was just the cover. I opened it to read the inside:

He said there was a coat he had drawn and stuck in the card but it fell out.

Just look at all the thought he put into that. Look at all the FAITH. Look at all the COMPASSION. Can’t you just feel it? It is  from Heaven.

Today I was cleaning off the table and I found this little gem Veronica had written:

Look at the sentiment. Look at all the LOVE. Look at all the UNITY.

Every week for school Mass, they have to fill out their offering envelopes. If they don’t give money, they are supposed to offer a good deed. I guess they forgot to take theirs this week. I was tickled to find them today:

Life isn’t always flowers and butterflies, but when you take a moment to have faith like a child – to at least listen to what faith is for a child – then even amidst the struggles, life is full of beauty. I don’t bring up Julianne and David very often. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t need to. On their own, these two make the thread between this life and the next, between earth and Heaven, between every member of our family strong, tangible and comfortable.

Infinity–Turned on It’s Side.

EIGHT. 8. Yes, that’s the symbol for infinity (∞) turned on it’s side.

Not quite infinity ago, but an 8 year old’s lifetime ago that we welcomed and said earthly good-byes to our Julianne and David. 8 years ago that their life became ∞ in Heaven.

Another infinity of nights (exaggerated for literary purposes here) on a magnesium sulfate drip in the hospital. Another infinity of nights with a man who loves me infinitely sleeping next to that hospital bed in a chair. That symbol loops around and gives brings us back around to the infinite love of our children – our hellos to their siblings. One in an infinity chance that we would have a second set of boy girl twins. One in an infinity chance that they would look so much like their older brother and sister. An infinite amount of love and respect these children show for two siblings they have never crossed paths with, at least not on this finite earth.

This year we celebrated a little differently. After stopping by my mother’s house, who shares her birthday with Julianne and David, we went to Madison to celebrate with Judson’s parents. I'm so glad we did.

Veronica and Thomas prepared their “notes” to be sent those infinite miles to Heaven, via balloons.

Thomas drew hearts…

Veronica drew angels: a boy and a girl (gril).

Daddy Gayle let the balloons go with us…

…while Mama, in all her strength, cheered us on.

Before we left, we thanked them for sharing in our celebration. (We made them sing ‘Happy Birthday,’ for goodness sake!) Daddy Gayle welled up a little and thanked US. I guess it should not surprise me. It is their infinitely flowing love that brings smiles to Veronica and Thomas’s face, that can make my husband laugh from his gut, that can make me forget I once was not a part of this family. Daddy Gayle thanked us for the opportunity to hold our babies. There are a finite number – a very small number of people who held my firstborn children. An even smaller number who held them while they were living. I’m so blessed that this man and woman who have experienced, seen, and loved many things in their 90 and 86 years would still cherish that experience.

When we left, we went to the cemetery on the way home. We had our second round of birthday cupcakes and balloon releases.

Veronica and Thomas are unabashed about correcting people who mention I have two children. They are proud to tell people about their brother(s) and sister(s). So of course, really knew how to party with cartwheels and dancing!

And so, just a few days later, Thomas was asked to write a personal statement for his reading class. He shared this:

(Funny thing is that he didn’t have title or the last sentence. He was a little distraught over needing another sentence. I said, “you may want a sentence about who “they” are. I don’t think the reading teacher knows you have a brother and sister in Heaven.” He looked at me like I was crazy, but heeded the advice anyhow.)

Just love the closeness of my family. Even if we all can’t physically touch. But, it’s nice when we can…

Veronica’s phrase sums up the infinite intimacy of it all: “I love you permanent.”

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

Well, inside our house it is, anyway. Today it was in the 60s! Tomorrow is supposed to hit 71.
At church this morning, Thomas went out of his way – leaving our pew to go to a different section of the church – to give the sign of peace to a lady in a wheelchair. After the service, he went to tell the cantor (who has sung with him twice at church now) that she did a good job. He even left on his own after the service to ask the priest a question.
Veronica was EXTRA snuggly at church this morning. She found her preschool teacher from last year after the service and went in an all-out sprint to hug her after the service. She followed along with the words to some of the songs with me today too!
Later in the afternoon, Pa came by for a visit while Uncle Danny had a meeting in town. We got the tree up!
Thomas collected several ornaments he made and those he felt were special to him. He put them all very close to each other in the same space on the tree.

Danny snuck in after a meeting he had in town to visit as well. Veronica was so excited about having visitors for dinner that she took the initiative to set the table. She found a decoration for the middle – and even put a special towel under it. She worked very hard make place cards for everyone as well!

Cells, Circulations, and the Circle

What a beautiful day in the mid 60’s… in DECEMBER!

We went to a program at the Central Library about the body. Thomas got to dress as a surgeon. (See the middle guy in the shorts!) After the program, they asked the kids to fill out an evaluation form. Veronica took hers very seriously. She filled in every blank on her own. The last question was, “What did you learn that was new?” I named several things, like how many feet of nerves were in a square inch of skin, bones are alive, etc. She insisted she already knew all of that. Finally, something I said was new to her today: “Bacteria stinks.” And that is what she wrote.

After the program, Thomas  and Daddy spent an hour searching through books. Veronica and I snuggled up in a cozy chair.

Then, we shared a plate of noodles and hiked around the Circle, taking in the Christmas lights and people. (Oh, and of course getting a treat at the chocolate shop!) It was a beautiful day, spent with the most beautiful people I know!

HUKD ON FONX (HOOKED ON PHONICS)

Last week I saw the following picture on the table. I was surprised that Thomas didn’t know how to spell his middle name. I was also surprised that after all the writing Thomas has been doing, I couldn’t figure out what he was spelling. I asked him about it and he told me he didn’t draw the picture or write the caption. Veronica did.
This little superstar has been sneaking in more and more words into her repertoire of reading. I didn’t realize she was starting to spell. It’s only natural as she “teaches” her stuffed animals – reading to them, instructing them.
Then, tonight, I looked through her school folder to find what she’s been writing during her free time at school.

“Instructor is Thomas Kring. R is for Riley.”

“My Number Book

My favorite number

2 rows of yellow

3 rows of blue altogether

1 rows of pink”

“Circle the big one”

What’s in a Name?

This week’s religion homework is to talk about where the children’s names came from. We’ve been discussing it most of the week. I even typed up a paper for them to remember this information. They have proudly taped these to their walls and made binders (all of their own idea) with these sheets (below).

Tonight as I picked the kids up from school, we talked again about their meanings. We talked about the history of St. Veronica. Thomas insisted, "When I'm married and I have a wife who has a baby, we'll name her Veronica. And when she's 5 she can tell her teacher that we named her after her Daddy's sister who is a special girl."

 

THOMAS

RILEY

 

THOMAS

• My brother’s name is David Thomas. He was named after
• Thomas Riley: Mama ‘s (Daddy’s mother) brother. He was very special and helped take care of Mama when her mother died when she was 5.
• David Riley: This was Thomas Riley’s son. He was Daddy’s favorite cousin.
• Thomas means “twin.” Jesus’s apostle Thomas was a twin.
• Daddy’s Confirmation name is Thomas, after St. Thomas Aquinas.
  

RILEY

• This was Daddy’s mom’s last name before she got married.
• Daddy’s middle name is Riley.

Daddy’s name is Judson Riley. He is named after his Grandfather, Judson Riley.
Mommy’s name is Christen Marie. She was born very close to Christmas, so she was named after Jesus Christ and Mary.

VERONICA

JANE

 

VERONICA

• St. Veronica was a very special girl who was kind to Jesus when the soldiers were being mean to him. She was very brave and wiped the sweat and blood from Jesus’s face while he was carrying his cross. She was rewarded by Jesus. He put an image of his face on the veil she used.
• Veronica means “true image.” I look a lot like my sister Julianne. My parents also hope to teach me to show others the love of Jesus. They hope to make me show his image.
• Mommy & Daddy are big fans of Elvis Costello. One of their favorite songs of his is "Veronica."

JANE

• My sister’s name is Julianne Jane.  She was named after
• Julianne: Grandma’s sister was very close to Grandma’s age and her best friend. She died before Mommy was born.
• Jane: My brother and sister, David Thomas and Julianne Jane, were born on Grandma’s birthday!

Daddy’s name is Judson Riley. He is named after his Grandfather, Judson Riley.
Mommy’s name is Christen Marie. She was born very close to Christmas, so she was named after Jesus Christ and Mary.

Thomas’s Camping Journal

This weekend we went camping at Clifty Falls State Park. The kids were extremely excited. Thomas made a journal of things to do when camping. I hope to post pictures of us actually doing these things later, but I wanted to share this first…

We set up the tent.

This is Thomas looking for sticks.

Thomas looking for leaves.

Catching lightning bugs. (We didn’t actually do this one… maybe next time.)

Toasting marshmallows.

Brushing his hair. (I think this symbolizes getting ready for bed, although he never brushes his hair!)

Mommy reading stories to lots (!?) of people.

Looking at stars through the tent window.

Sleeping in the tent. (Thomas in his sleeping bag – his head on pillow with his teddy bear.)

Sally

We’ve known for about a month that we were going to have a 3 night, 4 day guest in September. This guest was so exciting that I started a calendar for the kids – specifically so they could check (three times a day or more) how long it would be before we were hosting and what we’d do in the meantime. And then, they day came. She came…

 

SALLY

She received a very warm welcome,

top notch care,

and she had a great time. The kids had a great time too. They were more than willing to share with anyone who would listen that “we have a dog.” Veronica would use a very commanding tone with “Sal” and give her treats to show she was proud of Sally for obeying this tone.

Because Sally didn’t care to sleep in the twins’ room, the twins had a campout each night on the living room floor with her. For three nights in a row, a four year old did not end up in our room overnight!

As much fun as Sally had, she was, however, ecstatic to see Peggy at the end of the four days.

A Decade

Today we celebrated a decade of Madeline! And, we were so happy to do it!

We got the cousins together. You can see the excitement in Thomas’s face.

Jayden was more than happy to party.

Special guest, Kahanna, showed up the two days before her first college classes!

We love celebrating this family… for decades to come.

First Overnight Retreat for the CCC

CCC… Cousins’ Club. That’s what the kids have been calling it for months. Each time we get together and they have their standard incredible time. Well, we made it happen – that sleep-over the four of them have been talking about. Amy and Brad’s anniversary was approaching, and well, that is one of my FAVORITE DAYS! (Judson and I met at their wedding!) So, as I owe all the glory that is the Kring-a-lings to this union, we thought we’d celebrate by letting Amy and Brad have the evening to themselves.

These kids all get along so well. Even little Emma was given a role in the CCC. They all had official titles, you see. (treasurer, president, secretary, etc.) Each person had an ‘office’ in which they carried out their duties.

We had a lot of good, clean fun…

We snuggled up for a movie…

And of course you know a good time’s been had when we see chalk outlines on the sidewalk…