a warm day

Winters here in North Dakota can get pretty chilly and we all get a little stir crazy.  We try to stay as active as we can but nothing beats getting the opportunity to go outside to play.  We took advantage of the "warm" weather last week and headed to the back yard to play!

The kids were a little unsure of the bulky clothes and trying to walk in boots but quickly adjusted and had fun playing.

The dogs even joined us and loved that the kids were playing with them outside!

We are looking forward to our next day around 30 degrees so we can play outside again!

.katherine.

creative mom

Over the last few months I have been taking time to get creative, both for myself and for others.

For Christmas this year I made busy books and actually finished two of the four in time.  (I am still finishing the ones for Bryce and Zoey but they will have them soon.)  Matt and I started making patterns while we were watching the summer olympics!  The books did take a while but I loved every second of making them!  They are very interactive: the owl wings lift to show bugs and another owl, the ribbons can be braided, the numbers have snaps so can be taken off and put back on, the shoe laces can be tied or untied, the mailbox opens and the flag moves, the suitcase is full of clothes that can dress the person, the beads can move and be counted, the clock hands move, the glove can be put on, and the car can drive on the roads.  Since most of us travel a lot to visit our families, I am hoping they will help keep the kids busy in the car/train/plane over the summer.  Here are photos of one of the books!

For Christmas, I also made a car/crayon holder.  I loved making it and it was a huge hit!  One side had a spot to hold five cars with roads for the cars to drive on.  In the middle section there is a space to hold six extension road pieces.  The other side holds crayons and three coloring books.

After we took down the Christmas decorations we moved one of our storage units upstairs and rearranged our living room.  I had been wanting to do a painting for the room for a while so I spend a little free time the last two days making a new piece of art work.  Here is the finished product.

I am enjoying being creative and am glad I am taking some time to do so!
.katherine.

2012 recap

One of my personal New Years Resolutions for this year is to keep up with our blog.  I know it has been a year since I last posted so here is a recap of 2012 in the McPherson house!

January 21: Our close friends had their second son: Theodor William Ehn was born.

February 14-23: Mimi came out to visit us for ten days.  We mostly hung out while she was here but also spent some time sewing.  

March 17: We did the Minot March of Dimes Walk with several of our friends.

March 18 and 20: I went to the ER for temporary memory loss and loss of feeling on my left side.

March 21-April 4: My mom came back to Minot to help with the kids and the house while I wasn't feeling well and having tests done to find out what is going on.

April 3-19: Janet had a trip planned to visit for Easter before I got sick.  She extended her original trip to help us out with everything going on!

April 4: Oscar died after running out of the house and getting hit by a car.

April 8-10: On Easter sunday, I went to the ER with a return of symptoms.  I was admitted to the hospital to have a spinal tap and to start IV steroids.

April 12: I was diagnosed with relapsing and remitting Multiple Sclerosis.  I began medication a month later and have had several follow-up appointments with a specialist and my neurologist since then.

May 5: We drove as a family to South Dakota for a weekend to get our new puppy, Jameson.

May 12: We did the MS Walk in Minot.  We had several friends join us and even more donate and support us!

June 8-22: We flew from Minot to Charleston, SC to spend a week at Edisto with both my and Matt's families.  On the 15th, we drove to Virginia for another week.  It was a great trip to celebrate Bryce and Zoey's first birthday!

July 1: We had a one year birthday party for Quinn, Bryce, and Zoey in Minot.

July 24: We went to the North Dakota State Fair here in Minot.  The kids loved the animals and the farm equipment.

August 30-September 4: Emily came to visit.  We went to a lot of the local sites and really just hung out at the house.

September 4-October 2: Mom came out to visit.  While she was here she gave a lecture and class to the local quilt guild, helped us while we went to Fargo to see the MS specialist, and watched the kids so Matt and I could take a trip.

September 16-20: Katherine and Matt went on our first vacation with no kids... to Vegas.

September 29: We all went to the Norsk Hostfest.  We even took advantage of the concerts this year: Matt and I went to Jeff Foxworthy and Mom and I went to Vince Gill.

October 12-19: Lauren came out to visit us.  While she was here we went to the pumpkin patch, took the kids to the park, and played around the house.

October 17: Bryce and Zoey began art classes at the local art museum.  They will be taking classes until May every other Wednesday.

November 22: Zoey went to the Emergency Room for trouble breathing.  She had croup, this is the second time it happened, and is now on an inhaler when she gets sick.

November 22-30: Syd and Janet came out to visit us for Thanksgiving and to help while Matt and I went back to see the specialist and neuropsychologist in Fargo.

December 3-13: Matt went TDY to Wyoming for the advanced instructors course.

December 7: Bryce had febrile seizure and was hospitalized the next night.  He had a high fever and was dehydrated.  There are no ongoing problems from the seizure and only has a small chance of having another one.

December 16-27: We had the opportunity to go home to Virginia for Christmas.  It was a much needed trip to relax and spend time with our families.  Matt even got the opportunity to go to Vermont with his parents to visit his grandparents and extended family.

You should now be mostly caught up on our last year.  As I mentioned at the beginning, this is one of my New Years Resolutions so I will do a much better job of updating our blog and I promise it won't be a year before my next post.  Good luck with your New Years Resolutions!!!
.katherine.