Happy New Year!!!!

The year 2010 comes to a close. What a year it has been! Like every year, filled with ups and downs, highs and lows. Life tends to go that way I think. You have to have a low so that you appreciate those highs.

We lost our friend Quincy to cancer in February. We lost grandpa Lyle in August. Molly broke her elbow. Josh got stitches, and then split his forehead open.

We celebrated TWO first birthdays! We celebrated TWO fifth birthdays! We saw first steps, heard first words, saw our first and second born start to read. New friendships were made, old friendships were reignited. Dan became the Spokane Indians Father of the Year. A very memorable camping trip.

We look forward to 2011. Our family moves into a new realm of living. Girls that will potty-train. Boys will go to Kindergarten. Soccer, ballet/tap, swimming, riding bikes. The glorious first days of spring when the world turns green again and 60 degrees feels like a sauna. The gorgeous days of fall when that same 60 degrees feels like snowsuit weather. The cycle goes on again. For those that we've lost. We enjoy those highs a little bit more as if we enjoy that moment a little bit for them. During the lows, we look to those we've lost and know they are looking out for us too.

Memorable moments of 2010:

The Last Pediatrician Visit of 2010

The pediatrician was nice enough to say, "It's the last time you'll see us this year!" As if that makes our Friday visits any better. Yes, I realize today's not Friday, but tomorrow is a holiday so we had to go a day early, right?

I should take a picture of Katie for you, but it seems mean. The girl is miserable. I had her double dosed (as in Motrin AND Tylenol) when we arrived at the doctor's office so her fever was gone. But her oxygen readings were low (read: dangerously low) and she has an ear infection. We were sent home with a prescription and instructions to use the nebulizer as needed. The girl came home, played, fell asleep nursing, and then woke up with a raging fever. She's currently stuck at 103 degrees. Her eyes are glassy, her face is sad, and she's just miserable. We dosed and then snuggled through the hours until bedtime finally came. Down she went without a fight.

Luckily the other kids seem to be doing fine, but that poor girl is a mess. At least we can take comfort in knowing it was our last visit of the year! ;)

Nevus Update 2010

Finally, our appointment with a pediatric dermatologist. Of course it had to come at a time when we are all sick. But we powered through anyway knowing that rescheduling would mean more months of waiting. The trip to Seattle was easy. The pass was a little snowy and crazy but we only had to stop once (a Domrese family record) and we made it there rather quickly. We stayed with Dan's cousin, whom the kids love. With all four kids sick I'm pretty sure I got less than an hour of total sleep and then spent the entire day sick and exhausted myself. AUGH!

As for the appointment, it went really well. Turns out that his nevus can be classified as intermediate in size. This is a big deal. It means his chances of cancer are actually one in 60. The same as the chance of you or I getting skin cancer. They said that as far as a nevus is concerned, his is about as uniform and consistent as one can hope for.

What questions did I ask? 1) Satellites (moles) on the brain? MRI to look? The doctor stated that usually this is recommended IF the nevus is large AND there are more than 20 satellites over the body. Joshua does have satellites but they are so small they are more like moles. And he does not have more than 20, so no need for an MRI. 2) Sweat glands? Many times there are not sweat glands attached to a nevus. I was concerned that we needed to watch for overheating, etc. Doctor said not true. Phew. 3) Strength of skin. Again, sometimes the skin is weaker. Not true again.

So, overall, the appointment was great. He would not give me direction as to whether or not to remove it, but with the knowledge that his chance of skin cancer is not any higher than a normal person, it seems rather absurd to go through a year-long painful process of removal. We stick to the wait and see method.

After the appointment, instead of meeting up with some family, we opted to get our sick little family home as quickly as possible. This proved to be a good choice. The ride home was miserable. The kids were miserable and fever-ish and exhausted. Did I say that they were miserable yet? We were all miserable! Here are a few snapshots of the drive home. The kids were either a) obsessed with the windmills (you'll see Molly studying them and drawing pictures) or b) sleeping. I chose not to take pictures of them crying. That would've been a novel!

We Live A Blessed Life

We might not have stacks of toys under the tree (each child got two gifts, one from a sibling and one from parents). We might not live in the best house, drive the best cars, or wear the best clothes. But we live a very blessed life. Our family is amazing. Our friends are amazing. Our life is amazing. It was all brought into perspective as Joshua said grace at breakfast this morning for the whole Domrese clan. It was short sweet and to the point thanking God for giving us Jesus and being thankful for Santa and Christmas.

The girls got pajamas from the Richards grandparents. Super cute. Molly loves Spongebob!

Although we all had fevers and no one felt real great we continued on through the celebrations with lots of rest times and tons of Tylenol. Christmas Eve we went to the Richards house (sans a sick sick daddy) and enjoyed a nice dinner, a visit from Santa Bob, and presents. When the children awoke Christmas morning (Katie at 5:30 and everyone else at 7:30) we opened our gifts from Santa and then opened gifts from each other.

Domrese Family Christmas 2010:

Christmas in front of the tree:



Christmas 2010

Because tomorrow will be crazy....

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! Please enjoy the small moments with your family this year. The moments that matter the most.

Santa...Again????

We went out to my parent's house for dinner last night. Lo and behold, we turn the corner to their court and we see a fire truck decorated with lights and playing Christmas music. Walking in front of the fire truck was no one other than SANTA! First we stopped and he opened the van door, chatted with the kids and gave them candy canes. By the time we pulled into my parents house and unloaded the kids, Santa was walking our way. I decided a photo opportunity was at hand. The girls thought it was crap.

The boys were super thrilled!

Nutcracker

For Christmas this year, Auntie Kim (Ba) decided to take the boys to events, giving them each an experience rather than a gift. Great idea! Thomas' experience was going to a Chiefs hockey game last week. The kid had a blast. He talked about it nonstop and even got a hockey puck to bring home! Joshua's experience was the Nutcracker Ballet. He's there right now! He went with Auntie Kim, Auntie Angie, and cousin Kierra (who he is doing ballet/tap dance with). Here's the picture from right before they left.

Preschool Christmas Concert

As seasoned veterans the boys were awesome at the Christmas concert this year. You would think that I would have planned ahead and learned how to change the setting on my new camera so I could take better pictures. But apparently getting all four kids dressed and pretty took priority. So these are the pictures and video you get. It was super super cute! And the girls totally lit up when the song "Twinkle Twinkle Christmas Star" came up.

 

Ugly Sweater 2010

Tonight was the annual Ugly Sweater Party with our mommy friends. So much fun! We all met through a local Mommy & Me group and have continued to be a part of each other's lives even though we've moved on to other things. I love this gathering and seeing all the kids play and getting a chance to catch up with friends!

Kids 2009 Ugly Sweaters:

Kids 2010 Ugly Sweaters:

Family 2009 Ugly Sweaters-

 Family 2010 Ugly Sweaters.

Dan 2010. Best. Sweater. Ever.

Santa #3

Proof that if you traumatize your children over and over, they will eventually concede. Katie, although crying with Santa, gave him a  ****HUG**** when we left. Progress!!!

Santa #2

Second verse, same as the first...

Yesterday we went to "Breakfast with Santa" at Dan's alma mater, Gonz.aga Prep. The kids LOVE this annual event. We show up, have breakfast, do great crafts, and then see Santa. It's a well-done event. Nothing changed for the girls in terms of their love for Santa. Luckily, no one seems to care that my girls are screaming, and most find it amusing. :) It DID help that after we picked up the girls off of Santa's lap, he gave them candy canes. I'm hoping it warmed them up enough because tonight is another round of Santa pics with the Domrese family (another annual event). Wish us luck!

See You Next Friday!

I recently took a moment to reflect on how my life has changed. You know what hit me? I still find myself saying this, "See you next Friday!" Who do I say that to? The pediatrician of course. Since the time the girls were six-months old, we were at the pediatrician's office every single Friday. I always joke we have a standing appointment. I just realized this week that we haven't been in for an unscheduled check for at least a couple of months. WOW!!!!! Guess maybe we really are moving on to the next phase of life!

**Although, as I'm writing this, Joshua is upstairs with a 102.3 degree fever and a sore throat and aching body. Maybe I'll be saying, "See you on Monday!"

What? You Don't Dine with Spiderman?

Tonight was Dan's military Christmas party at Old Spaghetti Factory. I was meeting Dan from work, so the task of getting out the door takes longer. Luckily my mom had stopped by to lend a hand and visit, but what transpired could not have been anticipated. Problems always arise, so giving myself a full hour to get ready seemed a good idea.

Kid #1- Joshua- Ready in 5 minutes. Perfect. 55 minutes left for 3 kids, making good time!

Kid #2- Molly- Ready in 10 minutes. Good enough! Not a big fan of being unable to see her shoes light up, but she'll deal. Still another 45 minutes for two kids...on a roll here!
Kid #3- Katie- She really likes to screw with me. Diaper? Must be specific. She went through the entire bin of diapers looking for the best one. (It's a toss-up between Elmo and Cookie Monster so I think she was looking for a diaper with both). Finally the diaper was good. Pants? Cords to match Molly? I think NOT! Yes, black stretch pants, those are key (and do not go with the outfits at all, but whatever). Well, that only took 20 minutes. No problem, 25 minutes for the last kid and he's already dressed!

Kid #4- Thomas- Always my straggler. Always. But since he was already dressed, all we had to do was add some socks and shoes and we were golden! BUT...Thomas decided he wanted his soccer socks. Oh well, not worth a battle, go for it kid. I left him to get on shoes and a jacket. When I came back 10 minutes later, I was shocked at what I found. Thomas had disappeared! And in his place? Spiderman!! He had put on his Spiderman costume. I shrugged my shoulders and decided that leaving on time with happy kids was more important than kids that were properly dressed.

So...we left 5 minutes earlier than expected and all kids were happy enough! I'll take it! What? You don't dine with Spiderman? You should...he's a cutie!

Santa #1

Yesterday was Dan's Guard Family Christmas party. It's one of our most favorite Christmas parties to go to. We have a potluck with all Dan's coworkers and then head to the hangar for the party. This year the kids got to explore a KC-135.

Climb a rock wall...

Play Bingo (Thomas won an airplane toy), do a cakewalk (Thomas and Molly both won cakes), eat snacks, play in two jumpy houses, and other fun stuff! It's such a good time for kids (and adults!).

This is our first Santa visit this year. It did NOT go well...

After sitting on Santa's lap, each kid got a stocking full of toys. On the way home, Joshua exclaimed, "He's not real! That Santa was not real!" I asked him why he said that. He remarked, "I just opened my stocking and there's a toy gun in there! Real Santa would know you don't like toy guns. He wasn't a real Santa." Good logic. Couldn't really argue with him.

Right after we got in the car, still on base, we looked over and there were three deer by our van! We, obviously, were noisy in pointing them out and they ran, but we chased and took pictures. The kids were in heaven!

Molly the Engineer

Molly began doing this during dinner this week. She ws really getting good at it and so proud of herself!