This Sweet Life of Ours

Luke's Birth

2011-09-08T13:39:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow, Luke will turn 5 months old. To be honest, I hope that I can remember all the specifics about his birth- it's a little fuzzy right now.

My due date was April 8th. My firstborn was 4 days late (I was induced) and my second was NINE days late. By the way, 9 days feels like an eternity! So I tried to prepare myself for a late baby. I went to the doctor and he kept telling me I was a 1. I went the last time on the 7th and he said I was a "one....maybe a two" (I think he was trying to encourage me.) So the next morning when I had some "signs" of labor...I thought of excuses for them. ONE of those signs was this incredible urgency to nest. I didn't have that with Ryan since I was induced, but I remember scrubbing the floor with Aaron. Same thing. I figured it was because I had been sick and useless for a couple days and since I was feeling better- I was just wanting to clean. I had some contractions, but I had been having those for a couple weeks! While eating dinner, the contractions got much harder. I told Josh that this really might be the real deal. (I was still wasn't convinced that I would actually got into labor on my due date).

Labor progressed and by 9pm I was in a lot of pain. Josh went to bed to try to get rested up. The contractions were probably about 10 minutes a part at this point but they were hard. I was getting frustrated because the contractions weren't being consistent. When I was standing up, they would be closer together. When I would lay down, they'd be further apart. I endured all I could and about 4am, I got Josh up. He put pressure on my back during the contractions and that made a huge difference. We kept trying to decide if we should go to the hospital. The contractions wouldn't get any closer than 5-8 minutes apart. My plan was to wait until they were 3-4 minutes apart. Finally, my hubby talked me into going. At 6am, my mother in law came over to stay with the boys while we went to the hospital.

Luke scratched his face right after he was born.

Ryan, Aaron, & Luke

I wanted a drug free birth with Aaron and that didn't go as planned. (I wrote about his birth in a previous post). I wanted to try again this time, but didn't feel like it would actually happen. With all the pain I was having, I told Josh there was no way... I got myself okay with getting an epidural.

When I got to the hospital, they checked me and said I was at a 6. They offered an epidural then. I told them I wasn't sure. I had read that after 6, things went quickly. If I had already gone that long, then surely I could keep it going. I got to a 9, and just like with Aaron-- it seemed like I was getting stuck. Up to this point, the contractions were still about 5 minutes apart. The contractions were extremely hard, but I was actually sleeping between them. I kept thinking how weird that was. Dr. Jay told me that I could wait, but he wanted to break my water. I was scared at how this would change labor. With Aaron, when they broke my water--- my contractions were right on top of another and without an epidural it was more than I could handle. Things were going smoothly til now, I didn't want to ruin it. But I was thinking about everyone in that waiting room....waiting. (Silly me, shouldn't have worried about that). So I told them they could break my water. The contractions got harder and closer together. It came time to push.

Up until now, I was a champ. The nurse kept telling me I needed to come to her childbirth classes to teach them pain management techniques. This made me feel good. Well, pushing time came, and all that went out the window. Remember, I've had NOTHING. I started pushing and told them "Nope, I can't do this" They kept putting my legs in the stirrups (TMI?) and I kept throwing them down. Josh told me at one point he was afraid I was going to kick the doctor. They finally talked me into pushing---and he was born after a few pushes.

Aaron had fun playing with my ipod or what he calls "po pod"

One of the things that I desperately wanted, and didn't have with my first two is to get to hold the baby immediately after they were born. I planned to ask him if I could. After Luke was born, my body was convulsing. The doctor actually asked me if I wanted to hold him and I told him no. I was so afraid I'd drop him! I asked the doctor, "Why am I doing this??" And he told me it was from all of the adrenaline pumping through my body. Finally they cleaned up Luke and my body calmed down. So I got to hold him. He was 9lbs. 6oz!!!!! No wonder pushing made me lose my mind! Ha!

I'm so thankful that I was able to have a drug free birth, like I had wanted. I'm very thankful for this new handsome little man in my life. My three sons. I wouldn't have it any other way! I'm so blessed!

Luke is 4 months old!

2011-08-10T11:27:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Luke was 4 months old. He's getting so big, I can't stand it! (I know, a typical parent thing to say... but it's true!)

He is...
-wearing some 3-6 month clothes, but yesterday I had to pull out our 6-9 month onesies.
-sleeping through the night (has been since 8 weeks old! I LOVE Babywise!)
-in a transition for daytime naps right now- but he mostly has 3 short naps in the day.
-ticklish right under his neck and will cackle so loudly!
-wanting to be held all the time! I have to tell him "You're #3, I can't hold you all day long!" lol But then I do...housework will wait, I've gotten use to mess in the last couple months anyway.
-gets in the entertainer some, with a pillow at his tummy holding him up. He likes it okay, but rather be on my hip!
-I can't eat dairy still, I tried drinking a small cup of milk with oreos while on vacation last week and his tummy hurt so badly the next day.

I have a new plan for writing down memories. I had been keeping a journal for each of them...well, except for Luke. I hadn't even bought his yet! And the other night my hubby and I pulled down my memory box from our dating days and I found a spiral bound planner. I had written tidbits about the beginnings of our relationship.. and it was fun to look through and see the date of our first date, etc. So I decided to buy a big planner and just write family things in it. I won't have a whole page that I feel like I have to fill up, just a sentence or two about the day. It's working so far. Then again...it's only been about a week.

Life Lately

2011-08-05T13:11:00.000-05:00

It's been months since I blogged. So much has happened since February it's hard to know where to begin. February 1st we put our house on the market. I was very pregnant at the time. We bought our place out in the country and closed on it the first week of March and moved out here-- only about 3/4 of the way. Our house in town had still not closed and we kept a lot of non-essentials there along with some furniture to try to "stage" it.

When our newest addition, Luke, decided to make his appearance we still weren't completely settled from the partial move. He was born April 9. I'll post a completely different post on his birth story, because that's something I like to look back on--- and I haven't written it down yet and I'm afraid I'll forget all the specifics.

We finally got an acceptable offer early May on our house in town and all the paperwork for that started. At Luke's 2 week check up, the doctor pointed out his misshapen head and told me that we were going to watch it. At his 2 month check up it seemed worse, so the doctor decided to do an Cat Scan. The results of the cat scan showed that on part of his head the sutures had closed prematurely. The doctor sent us to see a neurologist. While we waited to see him (about 2 weeks), we did some research and found out that the only way to fix this was surgery. I was terrified. I kept praying that when we went to see the neurologist that the sutures would open on their own. I felt silly praying this prayer. I felt like I should be praying for a more realistic prayer-- like he would make it out of surgery. Then it was finally time for our appointment. The neurologist felt around on his head and said he did not think the sutures were closed, but he would do an X-Ray to make sure. (They were not able to open the cat scan we had previously done because software issues) We had to wait until the next day to find out the results. When they called the next day, they told us that the sutures were NOT closed. I sat in shock. God had answered my prayer. We were told the first time that the sutures were for sure closed. Had they misread the cat scan? Or had a miracle happened? I don't know all the answers, I just know that my baby does not need surgery! Such a relief!! If his head doesn't on it's own shape up the way it should- we may have to put him in a helmet for a little while-- but that is just fine with me!

We were supposed to close on our house in town on the day of Luke's appointment, but then we were told that before closing could happen- we would have to replace the roof. Josh hired a man to help him and they did it themselves. It was a hassle, but closing finally happened and we got the rest of our stuff moved. Now I'm still trying to find a place to put it all! Trying to organize with a baby, 2 year old, and 4 year old is hectic!

One of my sister's is moving back here. Her husband is finishing up his notice at his job, so she's been here with her two girls by herself. She has been staying here for the past month and I've been having to keep her girls while she works. Five kids total: 6, 4, 2, 2, 3 months. I'm tired! Her girls are starting at a daycare today so I think that phase for me is over.

Life lately has been crazy. I don't see it settling down anytime soon. I guess I'm just going to have to embrace the crazy!

Here are some fairly recent family pictures. Luke was 6 weeks old. (Yes, I think I'm just going to start using their names!)

Peanut Butter Smoothie

2011-01-26T06:11:00.003-06:00

I went to my OB appointment about 2 weeks ago and in the last month I had a big weight jump. I talked with him about my concern over this and he said not to be too concerned. It happens. But he did ask me if I was a milk drinker. I said yes, knowing what was coming. He told this to me when I was pregnant with my first--- he told me to STOP DRINKING MILK!! I know, crazy right! HaHa! He said that it goes against what you normally think, but you get plenty of calcium from your daily vitamin and milk packs in so many calories (and I drink skim!) So I came home concerned with how to do this. I love milk. I ignored this advice with my first, but now I'm pregnant with my 3rd and I know that multiple pregnancies makes it even harder to lose the weight. Especially since this is so close to my 2nd pregnancy.

I did some research on milk and found some yucky facts about it. Apparently it's over processed, etc. I couldn't quite tell if this was just a bandwagon some people were on or if it were true. I did find something that I felt would help get me off milk---Almond milk. It's lactoce free, cholesterol free (a problem in my family), and fewer calories than my fat free milk. I found a coupon after the fact to use--- I'll use it next trip to the store.

The almond milk doesn't taste like regular milk, but I still thought it tasted pretty good. I decided to make a peanut butter smoothie with it to see how it was. Oooh, it was so good! Thought I'd share the recipe:

Peanut Butter Smoothie

1 cup milk
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 T Cocoa/Carob powder
1 1/2 to 2 T honey
2 frozen bananas

Combine in the order listed and blend until smooth. (Recipe makes TWO smoothies!)

*This was my first time to peel frozen bananas and I did not like it! My fingers were frozen afterward! If you know a better way to do this PLEASE SHARE!!

This tasted so good, and something happend for the first time this pregnancy----- I felt satisfied and had lots of energy for hours! Usually I have to make myself stop eating and watch the clock until I feel it's okay to eat again. I love this. It may be my daily breakfast! I really need to get some more real honey!

I looked up the calorie information after I ate it and at first I thought it was a high calorie meal but it has a lot of protein, which I need being pregnant and high in fiber. Here is the calorie/ protein/ fiber information:

1 cup almond milk: 60 calories ; 1g protein ; 1 g fiber

1/4 cup peanut butter: 380 calories; 14 g protein; 4 g fiber

1 T Cocoa powder: 15 calories; 1 g protein; 1 g fiber

2 T Honey: 128 calories; 0.1 g protein

2 frozen small/med bananas: 200 calories; 2 g protein

All that equals to 783 calories; 18 g protein; 12 g fiber

391.5 calories; 9 g protein; 6 g fiber per smoothie.

Yes it seems high in calorie, but let's compare that to my normal breakfast which does not leave me satisfied and full of energy:

1 waffle (store bought): 90 calories; 2g protein; 1g fiber

2 T Peanut butter: 190 calories; 7g protein; 2g fiber

2 T Syrup (store bought): 105 calories; 0g protein; 0g fiber **The number 1 ingredient is high fructoce corn syrup

1 cup milk (which is really like 1 1/2 c milk-- but I'll go low end to be safe): 86 calories; 8g protein; 0g fiber

All that equals to 471 calories; 17g protein; and 3g fiber

Let's compare the numbers side by side:

Calories: 471 vs. 391.5 (save 79.5 calories)

Protein: 9g vs. 17g (does have less protein)

Fiber: 6g vs. 3 g (Double fiber!)

And all the ingredients are natural!

According to my babyfit.com profile, my goal should be 1920-2220 calories per day. If I do 500 calories per meal with two snacks at 210 calories I'll be getting my needed nutrition. So I think this smoothie isn't as high calorie as I was thinking.

Whatever You Do

2011-01-20T19:47:00.001-06:00

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

This verse has resounded in my head all day today.
Is everything I do for the glory of God?
Does my food glorify him?
My drink?
Time-management?
How about my parenting?
And this blog- does it glorify HIM or me & my family?

Tough questions to deal with today. God really does care about the small stuff in our lives.

I'm praying God will guide me in all my actions, so that I will glorify him in all I do.

Homemade Waffles

2011-01-19T06:57:00.027-06:00

Whole Wheat Waffles

1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 T sugar
1 T baking powder
2 eggs
1 cup milk
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup apple sauce
1/4 cup canola oil

Mix together dry ingredients. In another bowl, lightly beat the other ingredients. Add the egg mixture to dry bowl and stir until moistened. Pour into lightly oiled waffle maker. *The first time I made these, I kept pouring in way too much batter and it was spilling out the sides and making a HUGE mess. Less is more.

This recipe made 18 waffles. After the waffles cooled, I put them in a Ziploc freezer bag with wax paper between them and froze them!

Bubba is 18 months old!

2011-01-18T11:26:00.000-06:00

Yesterday our little Bubba turned 18 months old.

(Taken today. Not the best picture of them, but it shows their personalities!)

Since I'm horrible at updating his journal or baby book I figured I would do a blog post.
Here are some of the things he's doing these days:

Practically running all over the place!
Is still all about his Daddy.
Just recently started saying "hi" to people. He wakes up every morning and looks at Little Man and says "Hi Bubby".
Still loves everything to do with balls
Just had his 2nd huge snow! (So abnormal for this area!)
Is NOT a morning person---just like his Daddy!
Eats everything in sight. He's a chunky monkey.
Words he says all the time: Mommy, Daddy, Bubby or Bubba, woo woo (waffles), dink (drink), pappy (paci), ball, night-night, luh u (love you), bite bite.
Signs: more, hungry, cup, sorry, thank you
Hits in the air at people when you tell him no.
Goes into time out all by himself when told to do so (and sometimes he puts himself in there!!)
Loves to play with my phone, putting it to his ear and saying "Hello"
Wants to help Little Man put away his dishes (and then proceeds to make a mess in the kids dish drawer!!)
Favorite game with me is for me to pick him up in the air, I say "One, two" and he says "THREE!!" as I throw him onto the couch.
"Bounces" on the couch just like big brother.

He is so funny and will do anything to get someone to laugh! He's going to be the one we'll have to watch so carefully! He's such a mess.

A Thousand Chore Charts

2011-01-07T05:02:00.003-06:00

I feel like I've made a thousand chore charts. Really, it's been three. I keep trying to find a better solution. I figured I'd do a post on all the chore charts I've done to give ideas to those who are just starting out.

Traditional Chore Chart:

I printed this one from Chart Jungle. There were a couple things I wanted to add to the chart in place of one they had--like eat breakfast (who needs to remind MY child to eat?? He's remembers all on his own!!) So I attempted to draw a picture of what I wanted and then put it over the square. This worked great, but the problem was the whole week of slots. Little Man was 3 when we did this and it was hard for him to grasp where to go next. So I had to be right on top of him the entire chore time. Plus, there was no way of changing the order and sometimes that was necessary.

Two Charts I've made:

I thought about this two column graph pocket chart that I had on hand and decided to make my own. I went through and found the clip art I needed for all his chores. I also wanted to reinforce the condition of his heart during these tasks, so I made smile cards and sad face cards. This was a really good solution. He could do it on his own. It only went for that day, not a whole week of charts. I could change the order if need be. (Like if the dishes weren't ready for him to unload.) Really the only down fall was that I didn't like where it was hanging and it took up some space.

This is my current chore chart. We're new at using it, so I'm not really sure if there are any kinks to work out or not. So far, so good.

I just took the pictures I was already using, added them to flash cards so they'd be the size I needed. I put two pockets on a piece of construction paper. One is "To Do" and one is "Done". He simply transfers one from another after he's done it. I can also change the order if needed. I love that it doesn't take up a bunch of space.

I have surrendered this one wall by our kitchen table to school stuff already, so it doesn't bother me it being on there. I'm able to put it low so he can do it all on his own. The only down fall I can see is that it doesn't address behavior-- but so far that hasn't been necessary. I think we've worked through doing chores with a happy heart. I am sure now that I say this, it will change.

Little Man's chores:

Bible Verses (I quiz him on 3 of his old verses, and he tells me what they are)
Brush Teeth
Wash Face
Get Dressed
Make Bed (I'm not a perfectionist at all about this, just so he gets practice. He's getting good though!)
Put away the shoes that are at the front door
Sweep up under the kitchen table with the small broom and pan.
Pick up his dirty clothes on the floor
Help with laundry (I do 1 load a day, and he is assigned a part of each load. Like on towel day, he does the wash rags. On whites, he is to put away his underwear & socks.)
Clean up his toys
Feed the cat
Help unload the dishwasher: he does the kid dishes and silverware

He rarely does all of these at once, but even when he does it only takes about 30 minutes. What typically happens is he does about half in the morning and then does the other half in the afternoon before Dad gets home.

If you want to upload the picture cards go here and here. If you want the smiles & frowns, go here and here.

Linking to: Homeschool Creations

My Goals for 2011 (with a plan!)

2011-01-01T05:09:00.003-06:00

After writing the "One Word" Series, I woke up feeling so very raw and vulnerable. I can't wait to getting back into the groove of homeschooling my pre-k son again to get back to much lighter posts!! Maybe this one will be light enough.

Every year, just like everyone else I think about my desires for the coming year. I have already discussed that my desire is to have more grace towards others this coming year, but there is so much more I want to change and be better in the coming year. I always set some goals on New Year's Eve, but usually thats it. Or even if I do some follow through, it doesn't last long.

See, I'm an all-or-nothing person. When I say I want to be healtheir in the new year, usually I will really focus on that for a week or so, change everything possible, and then I'm done- burn out already. This year I want to baby step it! Hopefully this will make the difference in some real changes. As I go about these baby steps, I may be posting on them-- so you can see some progress (hopefully!)

My GENERAL goals for 2011: (I will be breaking them down to much smaller steps than listed here)

1. Become a better student of the bible.
I've felt God urging me to dig a little deeper into some certain topics, such as fear.

2. Become Healthier
Again, baby steps. I am going to break it down into small goals like:

I want to start eating out less (I'm a tightwad, but I have a weakness for the dollar menu at Taco Bell, McD's, Sonic, etc!!),
Cook more from scratch (less frozen foods such as waffles, chicken nuggets, etc.)
Start running again (after baby is here and sleeping through the night!!),
Use less chemicals. I already do this to some degree, but I want to go further. And I'm setting monthly goals in this area.

3. Spend more time PLAYING with the boys.
I do play with them, but I really want to be intentional in this area---- this parenting gig is a one time opportunity!!

4. Get more organized.

Before kids, I was big on organization. Then I had Little Man and got a little more relaxed, then Bubba came and even more so, with a third on the way I'm only sure it would get worse unless I really try to stay on top of it! Quite frankly, with a third on the way-- I'm going to need to be more organized just to have time to do all I need to do!!

One of the small goals of being more organized is doing menu planning, simplifying life (more minimalist living), etc.

My PLAN:

So since I'm doing this in a baby step fashion, I have a plan to help keep me accountable & motivated. I am going to type up these goals and put the print out on the front cover (outside) of my personal homemaking-type binder. I've gotten used to carrying this "brain" wherever I go (but it usually stays in the car). But before I bring something into my home, it's going to need to answer these questions:

Does this help me become a better student of the bible and will I use it (or read it!)?
Does this help me and my family to be better stewards of our health?
Will this cause me to spend more or less time with my kids (and family!)?
Will this add to organization or clutter?

Hopefully evaluating every purchase, etc. with these questions will help me reach the goals for 2011.

I hope everyone has a wonderfully blessed New Year!

One Word: Looking Ahead

2010-12-31T05:42:00.009-06:00

I am looking forward to growing more in 2011. I have been praying for what word should sum up the next year. And it came to me...

Grace.

I now have compassion for those who hurt due to things out of their control. But I want to be like Jesus. I want to give grace to those who hurt due to their own decisions. To help them. To see them as Jesus does. To love them.

You see, my judgemental attitude has caused some relationships to fail. There are people in my life who have chosen a path that I absolutely do not agree with. These people I love very, very much-- but their choices cause me to completely lose it and lash out at them. This coming year, I am praying for restoration in these relationships. I'm praying for grace. I'm praying to love as I have been loved.

You must let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only what is beneficial for the building up of the one in need, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Ephesians 4: 29-30

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

Do I need to just condone their sin? No-- but rather than lashing out, as I have been, I want to remember Galatians 6:1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. I am praying that my tongue will be controlled and I will speak with gentleness and love in all circumstances. I also want to realize that only GOD can change them, I cannot. I can only love them and pray for them.

For it is by HIS grace that I have been saved, through faith—and this is not from myself or anything I have done or haven't done, it is a gift from God — I pray I remember HIS grace when I need to GIVE grace this coming year.

I love this song by JJ Heller:

One Word: Looking Back {and The Yuckiness of My Heart} Part 2

2010-12-30T05:38:00.003-06:00

Compassion.

God still has so much work to do in my heart to be compassionate towards others.

This past year God has caused me to truly have compassion for those hurting, grieving, the lost, hungry, lost jobs, etc. All those things, the people can't help. They can't help that they live in an area with a corrupt government that allows for their mistreatment, because of the economy they have lost their jobs, or because of a fire they have lost their home. Whereas before 2010, I would have said "Oh that's so sad" and kept right on--- now it's different. I hurt for them. I pray for them. I try to make a difference if I can.

But what about those that choose their circumstances? They hurt because of choices they've made? Well, that's when the black and white thinker I talked about yesterday comes to play. You didn't do right, so you get what you deserve. Justice. I know what you're thinking, how judgemental!

You're exactly right. I'm judgemental. I somehow put my sins on a rating scale. I compare myself to others, and think my sins aren't as bad as theirs. I think: " I am active in church, I read my bible everyday, I pray, I don't have affairs on my husband, saved myself for marriage, made all the right choices a "good girl" should make. See how noble I am?" Judgmental. And be sure to know that I always compare myself to those doing worse than me.

Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. Romans 14:13

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." Matthew 7: 1-5

The truth?

If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else,for each one should carry their own load. Galatians 6:3-5

My comparison shouldn't be on other human beings. I am a sinner. I'm impatient. I'm selfish. Oh boy, do I eat way more than I should. I could keep going--but I won't. I'm supposed to be like Jesus. God sees my sin as equal to murder, adultery, homosexuality, etc. Even though I know these things, it's so easy for me to pat myself on the back for doing good in the eyes of the world.

So God has so much more work to do on this sinner's heart in 2011. More on that tomorrow....

One Word: Looking Back

2010-12-29T07:59:00.001-06:00

A friend of mine posted that she sums up her year with one word and looks ahead at the next year and chooses a word to describe her desire for it. My initial thought was, "I can't begin to sum up 2010 in just one word!" and closed her post. The thoughts about what my word would be kept coming back to me all day long and finally a word came to mind that I believe truly represents 2010 for me: compassion.

Why compassion?

It was a few years ago, and I don't remember the situation-- but one of my sister's and I were having a conversation and she made the comment to me "you're not a very compassionate person." I remember her saying that, and me thinking "I'm not? Oh, hmm... I guess I'm not" and then going on. Really, she was right. I've realized over the last couple years that I'm a black and white thinker. I believe that THIS is the right way to go and if you don't do that-- you're wrong. If you're doing it wrong, you get what you get. Justice.

What changed?

It was late in 2009, that I felt a pressing need to pray for God to take control of my heart. I really wanted him to break my heart for what breaks his. I don't know why I felt compelled to pray this prayer, but I did. It was one year ago today that I felt like I had a life change. Before this past year, I had two people I knew and loved pass away: both of my grandfather's. Yes, I loved them-- but their deaths were kind of easy to take. (I know that sounds horrible, but it's the truth) I cried and was sad, but I felt like--- they were my grandfather's, they were old, it was time.

And then that day in December came. Josh & I had just celebrated our 8th anniversary the night before. I had to take Bubba to the doctor for one of his well baby check ups. I get to the doctor's office and they inform me that the doctor couldn't be there today and needed to reschedule. I get in the car to call my hubby to let him know we didn't get to go to the doctor, but I was going to run some errands. He told me I needed to come home. He asked me if I was still parked, and I knew he was about to tell me something bad. I believe I said "Just tell me, now!"

He informed me that a very dear friend and mentor had passed away in the wee hours of the morning. At that moment, my heart broke. I felt it. I felt compassion over take me for his wife, his children, for all of us who were now left without someone who had been such a faithful person in our lives.

God has taught me a lot this year. Through his death, I have learned to pray for other people in a way I never knew before. I knew prayer was what they needed most, and that I could do for them. It's strange to say, but seeing their hurt and hurting for them--- helped open my eyes to others around me who were hurting.

Since then, God has introduced me to blogs that talk about the terrible living conditions in Haiti, the mistreatment of orphans in Eastern Europe, terrible things I never knew existed. Compassion. It's taken over my heart. I find myself seeing someone and without knowing anything about them-- feeling an urgency to pray for them right then and there. I can't say I ever felt that before 2010.

I sit here one year later and can't help but be thankful. Thankful that God has helped me to be compassionate for other people. Thankful that he has urged my family to make a difference to those hurting, even if only in prayer.

I also know that I am totally not where God wants me to be yet when it comes to compassion. And that is what I look forward to in the next year. I look forward to growing.

More on my desires for 2011 later...

Our Christmas Day in Pictures

2010-12-27T05:09:00.002-06:00

Our family had the best Christmas ever!! I hope that you did too. We went about things a little differently this year, and I'm so glad we did! Every other year my grandmother does Christmas Eve and every other year Christmas day. Reguardless of what she does, we always go--and if she does Eve, we go to my Dad's side of the family on Christmas Day. So we ALWAYS have somewhere to go at lunch time on Christmas Day. Every year, my husband says "I just want Christmas Day to be about our family and be at home, enjoying our kids" and this year, I said ok--we won't go to Dad's side on Christmas day (we had already done Christmas with my Dad). My grandmother ended up changing the day on us and had Christmas Day. So I didn't get to go there either. This was a difficult decision, but I had to think about what was best for OUR family. I can't tell you how glad I am.

We started our day off with breakfast. On Christmas Eve I had made sausage gravy and biscuits, so we had left over gravy and I made another batch of biscuits, pigs in a blanket, cinnamon rolls, egg and bacon casserole, and orange juice. (Did I say that this WAS just for us 2 adults and a 4 yr old and a 17month old? lol) My plan was for us to eat on it all day- so thats why I made a lot.

Here is Bubba in his Christmas jammies they opened the night before. He's sick, so a smile wasn't seen too often that day.

Little Man in his matching jammies.

After breakfast, Daddy read the story of Jesus birth in Luke.

Then we opened stockings. Daddy had found this glove and had to get it for Little man, so we had to squeeze it in the stocking! Before we had kids, I had read online somewhere about a family that did 3 gifts for their children on Christmas to emphasize thats what Jesus got. I loved that idea, and decided I wanted to do that too when we had kids. After telling some people about what I read, it turns out---quite a few people do that too. This year we got the boys a big present. We decided we didn't want to spend a bunch on the other gifts because the trampoline was IT. So all 3 presents were for them to share! Daddy didn't like that they would only open 1 gift each, because the trampoline was of course not wrapped. So I individually wrapped each stocking stuffer....fun, fun. Little Man liked his glove!

Bubba, our ball boy, loved it too. He kept pointing to it saying "ball, ball".

Little Man unwrapping the Little People Nativity Set:

Wow, don't buy it now---it's almost doubled on Amazon since I bought it! The boys did enjoy it, and I hope they will for many Christmas' to come.

Here is Bubba playing with the nativity:

Here is Bubba opening The Jesus Movie:

After opening those two presents and their stocking stuffers we let them play and enjoy those.

Here is Little man playing with an alligator balloon: (it popped about 30 minutes later! lol)

Bubba playing with a balloon too:

He loved this thing! Thankfully Dad reminded him that balloons pop BEFORE it did and so he had a good attitude when it did. He was prepared.

Then Daddy and Little man "grew" farm animals from these little capsules that were in his stocking.

Little Man loved this. Daddy is good at buying stocking stuffers, I would have never bought these.

They also grew crystals (and they are still growing):

Then it was time for Bubba to take his nap, so we watched the new Veggie Tales Love movie my grandmother had bought him.

When Bubba woke up, we took them outside to "play with his glove" and when he walked out the door--- there was the trampoline. Now let me back track a couple hours--- Little Man had just woken up, but Dad and Bubba were still sleeping. We were talking, and all of a sudden Little Man says "OH WOW---What is THAT? Is that a trampoline?" I realized that I had checked to make sure he couldn't see the safety top for the trampoline from the kitchen out the window, but back up into the living room where he was--- you could! I didn't answer him, I just went straight back to Dad and freaked out a bit. I got Little Man to come help me clean up the playroom while Daddy put a sheet over the kitchen window. So when it came time to go outside, and he saw the trampoline----his response was "I KNEW it was a trampoline!!" SO the biggest thing we ever got the boys and probably ever will---he saw before opening! Oh well. He LOOOOVED it!

Trampoline pictures:

After jumping their hearts out, (for AWHILE) we came in from the cold and had a pizza picnic in our living room and watched The Jesus Movie.

Bubba with pizza all over him, still wanting more food---so we gave him some Ritz.

Little Man was engrossed in the movie.

Let me just say that if you do not have this movie, and you have cartoon-aged children YOU NEED TO GET THIS MOVIE!!! It was SO good! It goes from Jesus birth to his resurrection. Because we don't do Santa, and people keep asking him what Santa is going to bring him---so all month long we have been talking about what is real and what is pretend.... Little man has asked "Is Hermie real? Is Max (Lucado) real? Is Word World real?" I kept hearing him during this movie saying, "This IS real, this IS real" When the movie was over, I did explain to him that all he saw in the movie REALLY happend, because it was in the bible--and everything in the bible is the truth. However I did want him to know that the movie was a cartoon and that he wasn't really looking at THE Jesus, etc. But that all he saw did really happen. He really learned about some new things through this movie he hadn't known before. To be honest, I loved it myself! There was a time in the movie that I looked at my husband and said "I know this is silly, but I feel like I'm about to cry!"

After the pizza, during the movie we ate some cookies and milk:

Here is Bubba watching the movie:

After that movie, the boys went down for a nap. It was a LONG one (I think this was their gift to ME!) so when they woke up, they went to jump on the trampoline with Daddy. Bubba couldn't last long being sick, but he didn't understand going inside. He threw himself a big fit wanting to be back on that trampoline. I did manage to capture some pictures of Little man and Daddy jumping. Not many turned out because it was night and my camera kept wanting to focus on the net. I finally wisened up and just opened up the net to take a picture.

After they jumped until Little Man tired out, we watched our THIRD movie!! We watched Polar Express, just like last year. I'm pulled at what to do here, this may be our last year to watch this. I guess because Santa wasn't a big issue last year, I didn't notice--- but this year as we sat and watched this movie I realized that the whole point of this movie isn't just an adventure on the train---but to convince this little boy that Santa is real. I really don't want this to be a confusing movie to our sons. Two nights before I overheard him telling his friend about how "last year we watched the polar express and then when it came time for bed, there was tickets in our bed--and Daddy took those tickets and put holes in them and we went to look at Christmas lights" So he loved it well enough to remember it, when we started the movie he said "Are there tickets in my bed??" It's just the message of the movie I'm not sure I like.

This year to be different, I hid the tickets since he knew they might exist and he had to find them to get on "The Honda Express". He found them and gave them to the "conducter", Daddy. Daddy told him that if he lost his ticket, he was going to throw him off the train! lol. The entire time we were driving around looking at Christmas lights, Little Man kept saying "Umm...condoctor, do you see the deer?" I loved how he was saying that word! Too funny. He drank up his hot chocolate fast too!

Christmas morning for my bible time, I decided to read the story of Jesus birth in both Matthew and Luke in my study bible and read the footnotes along with it. The verse that stood out the most to me was "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. " Luke 2:19 When we were riding around, I thought about that verse and how wonderful our day had been with the boys and how little time we truly have with them. I couldn't help but tear up as I thought of a dear friend who was having their first Christmas without her husband. I kept thinking how in a day everything could change and how I really need to cherish these moments in my heart forever. They really are fleeting.

After we got home, it was time for the boys to go to bed. Then I did something wonderful. I took a bath! Little Man had gotten me a candle for Christmas because I "like to have fire while I take a bath", so I told him I would be sure to enjoy it THAT night. So I lit my new candle, put in some baby bath I had on hand in lavendar scent, and put on some praise and worship Christmas music I bought this year: Behold The Lamb of God. This music is amazing! Doesn't it just look peaceful?? Soaking in the bath with this music on, really was worship and the PERFECT ending to a WONDERFUL day!

I hope that your Christmas was as enjoyable as ours!

Advent: Day 23 & 24 {Christmas Caroling Fun!}

2010-12-26T12:04:00.000-06:00

On Day 23, our Sunday School Class had our Christmas get-together where we went over to one of the couples house and ate some yummy BBQ pork sandwiches, beans, etc. and then we went out doing some Christmas caroling. Now let me tell you, I love to sing--but can't! So I wasn't too sure about this, but it was SO FUN! We piled up in our 2 church vans and went driving around to different people we knew to sing to them and deliver some carmel popcorn. The most fun stop was the last one: our preacher's house. He and some of his 5 kids were home and their reaction was just great. We piled back into the vans and headed back to the couples house to have some homemade hot chocolate and desserts. We had a blast. We always do. These people, in our class, have been such a blessing to Josh & I. We are so very thankful God put us in this class. Josh is one of the 3 teachers for our class, and they gave us an extremely generous gift card! I can't believe they did that!

Anyway, here is our night in pictures:

Little Man & two of my friends' sons playing a game.

The driver of the "kids van": (pretending to drive--he's a nut!)

Everyone minus me in the kids van....(kids ARE in car seats, just so you know!)

The two front people in the other van:

And the rest of the crew in the other van. These 5 adults were smart!! Let's have ALL the kids drive us few adults in one van while the other van has a peaceful ride.

Once we got back to the friends' house, we all gathered around to pretend to be caroling with our candles for a picture. I love that my pregnant self was the one to bring the camera, so I'm not in any of the pictures :) It's nice how that turned out, huh?

Day 24: I cooked sausage gravy & biscuits for breakfast. We ate and finished up all of our gift wrapping, etc. and then headed to my Mom's house for her Christmas. We stayed there awhile. I wish I had pictures. I took my camera, but it doesn't do much good sitting in the car--does it?

When we came home, the boys opened up their Christmas jammies and then went to bed.

Advent: Day 22 {Cookie Time!}

2010-12-22T14:34:00.003-06:00

Today's gift to Jesus was to bake cookies to deliver to our neighbors and tomorrow we'll be giving some to the mail carrier. The plan was to make cookies yesterday and deliver today.
Because of behavior issues, we chose an easier route: break a part cookies. Little Man broke them apart and put them on the baking sheet.

He painted the bags just like the ornament bags, but with stars.

We printed these tags to add to the bags. Ours were personalized, but I took off our name before uploading them so you could use them too if you wanted. You can download this here.

The finished cookie bags:
The front: The back:

We'll be delivering these this evening!!

Advent: Day ??? Is Christmas over yet??

2010-12-21T07:32:00.003-06:00

So the plan was to do 25 gifts to Jesus as we were anticipating the birth of Jesus. We messed up on Days 3 and 4 by not getting the number to the food bank. Now we have the number, but they are only open at certain times (we don't know what the hours are) so we keep calling at random times....with no answer.

Then we failed to help Daddy in the yard the next weekend. This past weekend family came in, and therefore we didn't do one gift to Jesus that was planned. We're leaving the gifts on the Advent Calendar when we don't do it, so we can double up on a day that is slow or continue until they are finished after Christmas.

I'm realizing that maybe next year weekends aren't good days to do a gift that requires too much-- we just aren't as disciplined on the weekends since Daddy's home.

Yesterday was a fun parenting day-- (sarcasm). My children took turns throwing tantrums-- my favorite was when we went to the mall to try to finish up the last little bit of my Christmas shopping, and my oldest gets completely upset in JCPenney's. He starts screaming and hollering oblivious to other people around us and starts pulling at my back pants pockets. My jeans are a little loose, and I just KNOW my pants are going to be at my ankles before all of this is done. I take him to the bathroom to handle the situation, and it's full of people. So, we walk across the entire mall (because I'm parked on the other side of the mall from where JCPenney's is--of course!) and I'm just praying my pants don't go all the way down and I'm boiling mad. I get to see a few people I know (hello, pride!) on the way to the car. I handle the situation, take him home, and put him to bed. I sat there and wondered HOW all of this could be. I realized, due to the Christmas "break" from our regular schedule--- and the lack of sleep from visiting family-- my child is on a roller coaster of emotions!! To be honest, I'm ready to join him!

I feel better on a schedule, and obviously my child is the same. So I can not wait to be back to business as usual. I'm going to re-think Advent next year---still focus on giving gifts to Jesus, but maybe not be so relaxed on the schedule. I don't know, I have a year to pray about it and see how it goes.

Today is a new day, and thats what I'm trying to focus on. We have something fun planned, but it will be at home-- I also plan on being more on our regular schedule today and pray these two things will help!

Target=Love

2010-12-15T13:03:00.000-06:00

Advent Day 15: Shop for the teen mom's bathroom.

I LOVE Target! Really. I'm so thankful the closest one is 30 minutes away, because otherwise- I might be there too often!! Today's trip was really fun. We got the privilege to shop for the pink bathroom for the Teen Mom Home.

So I emailed to request pictures of the pink bathroom and to find out exactly what color they are painting the walls.

Here are the before pictures: (Walls are primed, but not painted. They are supposed to be a pale pink)

I was told that the coordinating bedroom was going to be pink & green. I tried to get into the mindset of a teenage girl to shop for a FUN bathroom. Then I headed off to the store I love so much...

Here are my happy little shoppers:

The official shopping list:
-Cabinet knobs (can buy in Haiti or the US)
-6 Towel hooks to screw into wall (can buy in US)
-Shower curtain and two plastic liners (can buy in US)
-Over toilet rack (can buy in US)
-Towels (can buy in US)
-Shower curtain hooks/rings (can buy in US)
-Trash Bin (can buy in US)
-Toilet Brush (Can donate to pay pal, and we can buy these in Haiti)
-Soap Dishes for the girls (can donate to pay pal and we can buy these in Haiti)

Decorating inspiration: The shower curtain! I knew that's where I needed to start. I just knew that it needed to have pink and green in it. Here is what I got:

A close up picture on the box so you can see all the colors: pink, green, blue, yellow, orange...

In our home, we use our towels more than once (gasp!). Therefore I like each of us to have a different color so we know which one is our towel. They wanted 1 towel per mom (5). My list only said towels, but I assumed they meant hand towels and washrags too. So I got one towel, one hand towel, and 2 wash rags per mom. (the other set of washrags are for the babies--they happen to match the bath towels I bought them too and were cheaper that way).

Babies needed towels, and I couldn't help but get them hooded towels (grin). I wanted each baby to have a different towel too. I realize I bought 6, but one of them said "Mom and Dad love me" and these are teenage mom's and I assume no Dad's are involved...so I got an extra one. Heartline can do as they wish with the one that says Dad on there.

Over the toilet rack, trash can, and toilet brush, hooks for the towels:

I went to Home Depot for the cabinet knobs. After seeing the picture of them, I wasn't sure if they were painting them, and if so...what color. So I picked up knobs that are to be painted, this way it didn't matter.

I couldn't help myself but to add a couple bath toys. I didn't want to buy too many since it really wasn't on the list. I didn't want to do something they wouldn't like, but these are my boys' favorites.

I can't wait for the house to be finished and them to post pictures of the finished bathroom!!!

Advent Days: 12-14 {Quick Wrap up}

2010-12-15T12:39:00.000-06:00

Quick Wrap up of our Advent "Gifts to Jesus" for Days 12-14

Day 12: Sharpen pencils in Sanctuary

I've been wanting to do this for awhile now, on the backs of the pews there is a holder for the bibles, hymnals, and pencils (for the row behind to use, of course). Anyway, the pencils have been broken or dull for so long. So we went up to the church on Sunday an hour before his choir and sharpened as many pencils as we could. We managed to sharpen the whole balcony! Hopefully later we can gradually sharpen the downstairs.

Day 13: We started the Just 25 Days 'til Christmas devotional that I picked up late!! So we're doubling up til Christmas.

Day 14: Make something for the Sunday School Teachers

I don't have a picture, but we got a package of 4 wodden ornaments for him to color with marker (the markers came with them). I'm writing a message to the teacher on the back. It's taking a little while to finish them--I'll post a picture when we're done. Hopefully before Sunday!!

Advent: Days 9-11

2010-12-14T07:55:00.001-06:00

These Advent activities have me so busy---too busy to blog about them!! So here it goes with another quick wrap up.

Day 9: Go through toys to give away.

I have to tell you that I was so proud of my son and the heart he had going through his toys. I told him that we were going to see what we could give away of his toys (and some of Mommy & Daddy's things too) to help someone out who truly needed it. He was on board, and truly wanted to bless someone else. (Thank you, God!)

Day 10: Sell Our Stuff for Haiti!

I wrestled with what to do with our stuff we collected: donate, etc. There are two places to donate stuff in our town and the last time I went to both (recently) they were so full of stuff. I didn't feel like we would really make a difference that way. Then the idea came to me, have a garage sale for Heartline in Haiti. There is a blog I love to read that talks about Heartline and I've fallen in love with that place!

So I put up a few flyers that said "All proceeds go to help women & infants in Haiti through Heartline Ministires". I also printed a flyer to handout to those who bought on more information on Heartline with their website on it, in hopes that it would peek their curiosity to go check it out and for them to fall in love with it like I have!

On Saturday (Day 11) we were supposed to help Daddy in the yard, but we chose to have the sale go through Saturday instead so we'll be doubling our gift this coming weekend when Daddy is home.

On Saturday evening, I was trying to figure out where to donate the money on the Heartline website (there were a few options to choose from) and then the Aggie Missionaries posted about Heartline's Teen Mom Home and the needs there. I just knew that this is what we needed to do with the money.

So it gave a contact email if you wanted to adopt a room. I emailed the person and said I'd like to adopt one of the bathrooms. I just knew that the bathrooms were going to be already taken, and I just prayed that if that was where God wanted me to use the money at Heartline then he would make it happen. If not, I knew he wanted it in their general fund. It took a two days for them to get back with me, but we got the pink bathroom!! I can't tell you how excited I was. I showed our 4 year old the pictures of the teen mom's and their babies that the money we collected would be helping. He said "Oh Mom, I'm so excited to help them!" He said it was "so sad" that they were living on the porch of the house right now.

I wasn't planning on sharing that we were adopting a room, but they put my name on their website by it and in another post asked for us to share with others about this so more people can help. So this is why I decided to go ahead and share this.

I can't wait to go shopping!!! When it comes to me wanting baby #3 to be a girl or a boy..... I wanted it to be a girl so I could dress her, but I so didn't want to raise a girl---I promise they scare me!! I much rather raise a boy. So I love any excuse to buy pink----and they gave me the pink bathroom! Couldn't be more excited! Please go check out that information and do anything you feel led to do.

Advent Day 8: Dancing for the Lord!

2010-12-09T06:49:00.001-06:00

Our 8th day of Advent went very well. It's funny how the ones that I think won't be as much of a big deal really are.

First he worked on a couple pages of "school work".

These came from Musings of Me, where she has created a lot of really cute Christmas printables. We'll be using a lot of her stuff this month.

We had our Missions Organization classes tonight at church, so we didn't start everything until around 8:15 (past the boys' bedtime). This has become a norm on Wednesday nights. We did everything in the complete wrong order and next time, I'll know better! (Why in the world I didn't already know better, I don't know!)

We started off letting the boys open up our Christmas book for the night. They are LOVING this! I borrowed from our church library The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado. It was a really sweet book about a lamb who is crippled and can't do the things the others do and gets left behind, but because he got left behind he was in the stable when Jesus was born. Again, sweet book. I love Max Lucado's children's books.

Then we did our gift to Jesus...

Advent Day 8: Dance to a praise song. We talked about dancing for the Lord and praising him and doing everything to the glory of God. Here is a verse on dancing for the Lord...

Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the LORD with all his might. Samuel 6:14

Then we put on the Christian station on our DirecTV and danced, danced, danced.....to more than one song. Here are some pictures of our really fun time...

Here are the boys having a fun time. I'm sure Josh would love that I put this picture of him on here.... but since he doesn't read my blog, I'm safe! ;) Do you see our Little Man's face?? He's having too much fun.

And here is Bubba with pure delight.

I hate pictures of me right now, since I'm pregnant....but had to have proof that I did join in on the fun.

Some how the dancing turned into brother peek-a-boo fun on the couch...

And then as it always does in a house full of boys, peek-a-boo fun turned into wrestling...

**I'm relooking at this picture, and feel the need to clarify that our Little Man is NOT upset here....he's laughing so hard. He looked at the picture and said "It looks like I'm eating Daddy's foot!"**

Now can you tell me after all of this why it was hard for Little Man to get to sleep last night?? Hmmm... maybe we should have ENDED with the reading of the book! Thankfully he went down with a good attitude, it just took him awhile to get to sleep.

Advent: Day 7 {Ornament Project}

2010-12-08T13:45:00.000-06:00

Advent Day 7: Make something for your grandparents.

When we first made the plans for advent and I knew we were going to make something for grandparents-- I started researching ideas. I found several links to Snowman Ornaments and thought they were so cute and had to make them for the grandparents (and one for US too!)

Materials needed:

Large shatterproof ornament balls
White acrylic craft paint
Black acrylic craft paint or Sharpie marker
Orange acrylic craft paint
Small paint brushes (or a toothpick or pen)
Wet rags or babywipes

Slather paint on hand:

Get child to hold out their hand and then place it in their hand. Press their fingers a bit onto the ornament to get a good print.

I added noses on the first one, and then had difficulty making the mouth not look too far down, so I changed it up on the others and did the eyes and mouth first...then the nose. I used a sharpie instead of black paint for the eyes and mouth. I dipped a pen in orange paint for the nose. OH and I also used my pen dipped in white paint to make "snow" coming down.

The ones I saw online had top hats, so I did this on one of the ornaments and wasn't impressed.... at all. My drawing of a top hat is sad as you can see...

So I decided to do colorful tobogans and scarves. I thought this looked cute--even though I still didn't do that great of a job on painting.

We made little giftbags to put them in:

And on the giftbag, attached a little poem:

These aren't just 5 snowmen
as anyone can see...
I made them with my hand
which is a part of me.
Now every year at Christmastime
when you deck your halls,
you can look back and remember
Christmas 2010
when my hand was just this small!
Merry Christmas!
Love, (Name)

These were a fun project....but since we have 3 sets of grandparents AND ours....Eight ornaments (4 each) wore me out!! They turned out so cute, they were the effort though.

Quick wrap up of advent: Days 3 through 6 {and plans that fail}

2010-12-08T06:44:00.004-06:00

We're still enjoying Advent here. There just hasn't been much post worthy. So here is a small wrap up of what we've done so far:

Advent Day 3: Call our local food bank and ask for their needs.
Advent Day 4: Deliver the goods to the foodbank.

Do you know how hard it is to do this when you can't find a number to the local food bank?? Our church does something every 5th Sunday for the foodbank, so we're going to give them a call to see if they have the number....but remembering when someone is there is difficult. Yesterday, I finally remembered to call... I called and it rang and rang...I realized it was their lunch hour. Did I remember in an hour to call? Umm..no. So days 3 & 4 were uneventful. Disappointingly enough.

Advent Day 5: Pick up an angel from the angel tree to buy a gift for.

Every year our church has done this for foster kids. We read the "gift" that morning and I asked our little man to help me remember before we left church to get an angel. When we got there, our Sunday School Class was talking, and the foster care system is doing Christmas a different way this year and there is no angel tree! WHAT?? That's what we were going to do? And next Sunday was supposed to deliver the gift. This was messing up everything! So we came home and I explained to him that they aren't doing it this year, but we were going to think of something to do instead. During their naptime I really thought and prayed about it and we decided as a family to sponsor a child through Compassion. I've been researching for awhile now, really wanting to do it---but wanting to make sure exactly what our money went to, etc. I still don't have all the answers I want, but we decided that from what we knew it would be a great cause for us to be apart. So I narrowed down the search to a 4 year old (same as little man) who had been waiting for more than 6 months for a sponsor and out of those 6, let our little guy pick the one he wanted to help. Every night he's been praying for this boy, and it is Oh-SO-sweet! I'm glad this is what we did instead. Not sure WHAT we'll do on the 12th now that we're not delivering a present. I guess we'll figure it out then.

Advent Day 6: Meditate and Pray on Matthew 25: 39-41. Josh read to us at the kitchen table and then we talked about it in terms our little man could understand.

Are your Advent plans coming through? Finding any problems like WE have?

Advent- Day 2

2010-12-03T05:11:00.004-06:00

Prayer Box:
Our second day of Advent was quite fun! We read our gift to Jesus for the day and it was: Make a prayer box to put our Christmas cards in. So I got the outdoor Christmas lights box, covered it with wrapping paper, and let him put the word "PRAY" on it (so he felt involved). Every night at dinner we will pull a card from the box and pray for that person/family.

Finished box: We maybe should have waited a couple more days to do this because we've recieved no cards yet---but oh well it's ready for when we do!!

Yesterday, we were discussing as a family what to do with the gift tags we take off our Advent Calendar. I really wanted to put them in a stocking for Jesus. This way we could put them in the stocking everyday and then on Christmas day read them. Daddy said he thought they should go on the tree, so we let Little Man decide....tree it is. I was really hoping for the stocking--less work for me! oh well. Hanging it on the tree:

It's on the tree:

Handprint Christmas Wreath:
Supplies needed: red & green paint, foil (to put the paint on), paper, and brush.
Not pictured: paper plate, fuzzy stick

Make about 10 different handprints:

Cut the center out of the paper plate:

Glue on the handprints, hole punch at the top, and then use the fuzzy stick as the hanger.

Here it is hanging:

Ornament Painting:

While I was cutting the handprints out, I decided to let him paint a paper plate as an ornament. I just gave him more red and green paint and told him to paint the circle into an ornament...

Then we added glitter (this was the first time I've ever let him do this....glitter has scared me! lol) It actually went well. We'll do glitter again :)

Let it dry and then hole punch at the top, use fuzzy stick as the hanger. He's quite proud of this project, and it looks a lot prettier in person (the glitter really stands out)

Those were our projects for the day!

Linking to:

Advent- Day 1

2010-12-02T06:26:00.001-06:00

We started today with our calendar time like normal, I took our "gift" off the day and read it: Say a sincere, kind word to everyone you run across today. I told our Little Man that when we do things for other people, we do them for Jesus. When he saw the gifts on the calendar the night before, he asked about them and I told him we were going to give gifts to Jesus for his birthday--so he already had that concept down. We went over ways we could say kind things to people today. I told him to say something kind to his brother, because he was with him and he said "Bubba, you are my very best brother ever." He looked at me and said "Momma, I love you!" We went to town later and he saw two kids fighting in a buggy. He told me on his own, "They are fighting and not saying nice things to each other.....that is not a gift to Jesus." :) He also went to Mission Friends tonight and he told me later that he told his teacher thank you for teaching him. During supper, he was telling his Daddy about his gift to Jesus and ways he did it. Honestly, I wasn't sure how THIS activity would work for a 4 year old---but it was great! Today went better than expected.

Then tonight we got to open our first book.... here is the basket that holds the wrapped books:

The book he opened....I couldn't believe how excited he was... he loves books! This book, "The Town That Forgot about Christmas" This book was really, really good! Like his orange, kool-aid mustache from Mission Friends?? Cute kid.

I love the picture my hubby took of me reading it to him....but why can I not see anything but the shoes that we had just taken off from church? Or the bible he was reading when it came time to open the book? Or the wrapping paper or book jacket from what we were JUST doing? WHY oh WHY does this bother me? Typical woman, I'm sure.

Well I hope all 25 days of Advent are as good as today was!

I hope your family is having a blessed Advent as well!

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Whew! Advent Calendar....Done!!

2010-11-30T16:34:00.003-06:00

I finished the Advent Calendar....and it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be! I tried to figure out something that would be cutier than post-it's but as easy as post-it's and came up with this:

What do you think (activity written on the back--we'll take it off, read during calendar time, and then put the days number in place of the gift)? No, it's not as cute as some of the other homemade ones I've seen....by far! But it's what *I* could do. I tried to think of what kind of graphic I would want once I thought about printing a picture to use--- and I figured a present was perfect! I want to REALLY emphasize to our Little Man that these acts of service we are doing, are truly our GIFT to Jesus.

I'm not going through the trouble to upload this to 4shared if no one wants the gift graphics, but if you happen to want to do this and use a calendar like mine, I will be happy to upload it....let me know in the comments section. I'm figuring that anyone doing this would already have theirs done and probably not using the same format as me...but just in case, I'm offering.

Tonight after the boys are in bed, I get to wrap our books!! I have 10 so far.... I still need to go by our church library and then maybe the public library.

Want more advent ideas? Check out ABC and 123's link up or Tot Tuesday.

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