As we got the girls ready for bed Monday night, Mary informed us that her tooth got hit while at the park earlier in the day. My first reaction was frustration that she didn’t tell us right away that she was injured. My second reaction (stronger than the first) was fear… I casually asked if I could check her tooth. To my sadness it was indeed loose. One of my baby’s two front teeth is loose! I immediately burst into tears. Jef didn’t know who to comfort me or Mary, being alarmed by my own emotions.
I’m sure this is normal 
She will be 6 years old in 2 months. We had a little talk about baby teeth, but she seems adamant that no, her teeth will not fall out. I have my work cut out for me (reversing the bad vibes I showed her when bursting into tears).
Yesterday, I decided I should check all her teeth. Ugh. 2 of her teeth are loose!
It’s all coming at the same time.
Evelyn is sporting a new hair cut. I am so pleased with my work. I, like Nephi, did not work under my own understanding. She is a blessed girl. Well, I am carrying on about this new do - I think it is cute.
We rang in the new season with the slip-n-slide this afternoon. The girls were super excited. Photos are on our forgotten Picassa WebAlbum.
In no particular order these were some of the events of the day:
We are house hunting and I have not been on my best manners at home (it is quite exhausting). I think Mary, age 5 1/2, really took some of her Primary and FHE lessons to heart today when I found her in the kitchen PUTTING AWAY items that had been left on the counters then scrubbing them CLEAN. She excitedly opened the refrigerator and pointed out how she had arranged everything in the fridge. I should add that she did this COMPLETELY on her own! When I came upon her I was humbled to help and asked what I could do. She assigned me to sweep the floor.
This morning was eventful when shortly after Jef left for the ER I discovered Louisa COVERED in hives. I was somewhat alarmed. We have never dealt with anything likes this, hardly even a rash to speak of. A part of me wasn’t too concerned as I did feel like Lu would be alright and I also thought that since she has food allergies/intolerances/sensitivities I shouldn’t be overly surprised that she should break out in hives at some point. I was able to take some quick photos to show the Dr. My biggest concern was how to treat it. Followed very closely by what caused her reaction? Acutely she was pretty grumpy but she nursed and fell asleep for a little. When she got up she was pretty well back to normal. So, it resolved on it’s own. However, I am left to ponder the cause and this did prompt me to schedule a follow-up with Dr Cheryl. So, we begin allergy reversal on Mon! I don’t know why it took me this long to schedule something… If I could pick what 80% of her allergy list to remedy what would it be?
Embarrassing to post this but… a few hours after my child broke out in hives she waltzes into the living room (where I am intensely searching for rentals and so distracted) with a food item in her hand. I was frustrated. What is that!?! I was very puzzled. Seriously, is that a left over apple from the girls lunch? (Apples are on her naughty list). No, not an apple. Is that a raw POTATO? Oh, great, she going to get botulism! No… What is it?!? A sweet ONION! Left on the counter. She was going to it like candy. She actually enjoys sauteed onion quite a bit but this was raw. She put up a fight when I tried to take it from her. So, deciding it wasn’t that big of a deal I let her have it this time. When she woke up this morning and was snuggling up to me I noticed she stinks of onion and all I could think of was “This one smells like the cow got into an onion patch.”
For Christmas the girls got a 7 pack of Disney Princess Barbies including: Cinderella, Snow White, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, Mulan and Ariel… Much to my happiness I am gearing the girls up for American Girl Dolls! We have been subscribing to the AG magazine for about a year. It is really fun to watch the girls salivate over the dolls and accessories much the same way I did. I anticipated that the girls would choose a favorite doll. Below are Evelyn’s. Did I miss something?
All Aboard the Polar Express
As I contemplated what to share in this year’s letter I thought of dear Thumper from Walt Disney’s Bambi; “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say nothin’ at all”. Well, I suppose it hasn’t been that bad. We are indeed trying to find our silver lining.
June was our most eventful month this year. Bringing the long awaited, well earned graduation day from University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. We now have a very capable doctor in the house! Following graduation we promptly relocated to Cleveland, Ohio for additional medical training where Jef was accepting to a 3 year Family Medicine Residency Program.
Since our move we have cherished our time together as a family. Finding strength from each other and together finding additional strength from the Lord. This year has been one of those learning experiences. Why did I think we were perfected already?
Our girls are growing and helping us stay happy and positive. Mary Leigh turned 5 in September. She learned to ride a bike with “two big wheels and not the little ones” and managed a broken arm after a sloppy dismount. She’s become a BIG help at home. She enjoys sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor and vacuuming.
Princess Evelyn celebrated her 3rd birthday in June with some new friends at our new park. She is looking forward to joining Sunbeams in January. Evelyn loves her sister, Mary, and is often the Prince, or more recently, Joseph, in their play together. She likes helping Dad make pizza and tasting this or that in the kitchen.
Miss Louisa is our baby but such a big girl. We celebrated her 1st birthday in Nov. She entertains us with her laughing eyes, clapping hands, climbing arms and legs and running feet. A favorite busy activity is helping to throw away - whether it is trash or not.
Jef is really happy with work, except when he is in the hospital. He continues to fine-tune his bread baking accomplishments and rarely has a bad loaf. We enjoy homemade pizza regularly and other good treats like Chunky Monkey Waffles. He continues to find time for running and does a pretty good job supporting his stressed out wife. Oh, that’s me…
Sarah is still grateful to be a Mama, grateful to have a really awesome husband, and grateful for family and friends to support us. I’m learning more about Jesus and being a wife and mother. Learning patience, patience, (oh, I already said that?) happiness and the miracles of the Gospel.
Thanks to each of you for adding light to our lives! Merry Christmas and peace on earth.
Love,
The Groesbecks
This morning (why does it always happen when I am doing something good?) while reviewing my lesson for tomorrow, Mary got jiggy with the scissors. She had a nice feathered look on her right side. sigh. So as I held back the tears (sometimes not doing a very good job of it) I “fixed” Mary’s hair. She now dons a short bob. She thinks she is so cute and wants to go to all her friends’ homes to show off her new do!
Jef and I are as sad as can be. It is a bit severe.
Of course Evelyn wanted to join in the fun and so as to not encourage another display of independence at a later time, I trimmed her bags much to the disappointment of her father.
Pictures to come…
Things I’m happy about:
*Looking through loads of homeschool supplies and finding the best ones for my girls.
*Getting a new sling (THANK YOU Heather!!) It’s called the Sling Set. and it is the BESTEST. It is made of a perfectly stretchy material that kind of wraps around the baby.
*cleaning out the fist tank! (yes, it was short lived - Swimella and Memo didn’t live to see their post on the blog - Memo lived 3 days and Swimella made it 12). I am done with fish. I’d really like an OUTDOOR cat to take care of the rats, mice, chipmonks, ect.
*We found a doctor who does OMM and takes our insurance and is taking new patients and is a family doc. phew. covered.
Things I’m looking forward to:
*Jef’s birthday on Sat. and attending an Indian’s game with the family in his honor… I wonder how I can put his name up on the jumbo tron… humm. (ok, just looked into it - $50 for a personal message. Must be submitted 3 hr prior to game start time).
*Homeschooling the girls this year. Call me crazy but I think it will be fun.
*Setting up the kiddie pool - ours got left in Maine and I have been waiting for them to go on end of the season clearance - today was the day so I can’t wait to go “swim” tomorrow (and using Evelyn’s super cute new swimsuit - thanks Grandpa Larry!).
I have failed to keep this updated properly. I am so overwhelmed with the loss of my husband, moving to a new state/ward/house, ect, keeping up with the girls that this has fallen to the wayside.
We are keeping very busy. We love Ohio and the best part is how close we are to family. We really missed everyone during our years in Maine and love building relationships with our dear ones. We feel so at home in our new ward and that is so nice. We have all met good friends to love and support us.
Jef is so busy. Even during this “light” month we are finding it difficult to find meaningful time together as a family. There is just not enough time in the day or week to accomplish all that needs to be done. Rest assured we are all happy.
Mary is our sensitive girl. Jef was just remarking on her keen sense. Just look at how sweet she is.
Daddy came home so tired. He went up to change out of his doctor clothes and after a good several minutes I couldn’t place Mary. She is so sweet. I just love her little hand.
While I was down taking care of some laundry in the basement I started to hear the squeals of a child. At first I didn’t recognize that it was one of my own children. Then, I could tell it was Louisa. Since she cries all the time when I’m not holding her I was not alarmed. I guess when I didn’t recognize her cry I should have known something was different. I got upstairs (mind you I wasn’t gone for more than 5-6-7 minutes) and found that Evelyn was armed with kiddie scissors and Louisa had a scratch on her head. Yes, Mary promptly informed me who gave Louisa a hair cut.
Poor thing. I was annoyed. Evelyn had some thinking time and then Louisa, Mary and I ate breakfast. (Don’t worry Evelyn got to eat after she had a chance to think about cutting her sister’s hair). The scissors are now in thinking time until “school” starts next month.
Tragic. For the sake of those involved I did not take pictures.
Ok, I actually did take this one a few days following the event. Sorry for the not so good image. She is not that cooperative in general. 
While lamenting the loss of our “home” and contemplating our next steps (ok, ok I was feeling a little depressed - sheesh, twist my arm) I actually got off the computer and look into the Family Room where the girls are all playing (not together). My eyes rest upon Louisa who is now 6 months. She was doing the pre-crawl pushing off on her toes and actually propelling forward! Life goes on. It makes me happy. I love my family. We are so blessed.