OUR CHRISTmas

Last Thursday we spent the evening with my parents and brother and his new girlfriend for CHRISTmas. WE had a great evening watching the kids open gifts from them and opening some amazingly cute clothes for the chubbiness.  We got Rachel Ray pots and pans and Kings Island season passes with FREE parking :) We are very excited.  And I always take delight in watching my parents open their gifts from us!

Friday morning I woke up sick as did 2 out of 4 children. I ran a fever...but still baked and cooked for my husbands parents and family to come over and spend CHRISTmas here. WE enjoyed some delicious food and opened gifts. The kids did not want to go to bed...making it hard for Santa to make his way to our house....because he knows when you are sleeping and he knows when your awake.

Saturday..CHRISTmas morning we woke up to a living room full of gifts...The boys must have been mighty good this year. They all enjoyed CHRISTmas morning. WE stayed in our jammies all day and played with toys and watched movies. It was a great day and it was Thatcher's very first CHRISTmas... here are a few pics...

Mr. Thatcher went after the ornaments....His tiny chubby hands couldn't keep away from them

It's MY FIRST CHRISTmas!!!!

 OUR little Elf TY

Daddy had to test out the BUZZ wings...although I think he enjoys them more than the children

 Another silly little ELF...

Quentin kept hiding from the camera but I managed to catch him :)

O MY that is one huge chocolate bar!!!

Poor Jack didn't feel Good but he still had a great CHRISTmas

He rode on Thatcher's new horse rocker (bullseye)

Merry CHRISTMAS Quentin!!

Our puffy morning faces

Thatcher enjoys playing with Jack's guitar

Thatcher's First CHRISTmas morning toys from SANTA

Santa brought the little people manger scene

Thatcher also got a new high chair from IKEA

MY poor Jack was so sick, he fell asleep sitting up :( My heart aches for my sick babies)

Ty....I LOVE your pretty blues!!!

We had a GREAT CHRISTmas!! We are just hoping our family gets to feeling better soon!!! We made Jesus a Birthday cake on his birthday and enjoyed each other completely on CHRISTmas!!

Too Cute...

 I must say these have become my favorite pajamas (thanks Target). On them they say " I ate Santa's cookies" and " I live with elves" and other sayings as well. He has the evidence written all over him!!    I have washed them over and over just to see them on the chubbiness.

 I feel Thatcher has gone from "baby" to "little man" in a matter of just a few weeks! He looks older and has all of a sudden found tons of little discoveries in our home. He LOVES the tree lights, the wooden CHRISTmas train and he plops his little butt right on top of the CHRISTmas gifts under the tree.

I am so excited to share in his very first CHRISTmas this week!! As we do our celebration, we will also be adding a new tradition to our CHRISTmas! We are baking a cake for Jesus, so that our children remember the reason behind this special day :) I am looking forward to this new tradition!

A tough week it has been

This week...kids have been sick, baby is teething BAD, I haven't had much sleep and now I am sick. I feel I have reached my breaking point several times this week...I have cried for no apparent reason...things have come across my mind that have burdened my heart with aches and pains but God's grace is enough to see me through. I have cleaned like crazy, only to have a mess follow right behind me, and I have been trying to pick out the perfect gifts for everyone which has me mentally exhausted. When I have reached the point of flooding tears...I have just held them back...until today...I let those tears fall like drops of rain and I am ashamed that I didn't turn to prayer this morning, instead I let anger take over my tears and turn into complete aggravation. This isn't what is suppose to happen....I am suppose to rely on God at all times..he is my rock. I hit a block, an emotional road block that seeped up into my heart and into my throat and out poured tears.. with my heart. It isn't one particular thing that has my heart aching...it's a million different things that I can't even explain. I am a very sensitive person, sensitive to hurtful words, sensitive to that homeless person out in the snow while we are warm and cozy in our homes, sensitive to the children in orphanages who haven't been taken in and feel abandoned, sensitive to people in need and to my friends and family who go through hard times. I feel overwhelmed lately, I feel useless in all of these areas, but so desperately want to just DO SOMETHING!! I feel God is definately putting orphans on my heart lately...I feel he is saying..just take the first step and I will guide you through the rest. I feel this is my calling. My LOVE for children and their heartache, but I just don't know what I can do for them..I don't know what I have to offer...Not that I am questioning God or his plan but just the fact that ...I want to know the full plan!! I am a nosey person, I have to know every full detail and I am a planner...I don't like surprises because I AM NOSEY! This has indeed been a struggling week for me for many reasons, but I will lay these burdens before God and seek his guidance because that's what I am suppose to do and more important only God knows all truth to all situations. He has a book that he has written and mapped out and he is using me in this book as part of his plan...So who am I to question him? He knows my next move before I make it, he and only he knows my heart and my intentions....So Lord I ask for your guidance in this!

Good Grief!!!

Monday, our school had a 90 minute delay. Ty stayed home sick Monday and Tuesday, Jack had no preschool Monday and Thatcher is teething and in much pain. Tuesday, as Ty stayed home...Quentin also called home and asked for me to come pick him up because he wasn't feeling well. Tuesday morning I was on a mission to clean all bathrooms and floors, dust, put away laundry, do laundry, clean and vacuum. I accomplished that mission just in time to recieve Quentin's phone call, which I had an amazing person come through for me and pick him up, so I wouldn't have to drag 3 kids out. This morning...I had reached teary eyed exhaustion...being up all hours of the night with my teething baby, taking care of sick kids and trying to finish up Christmas and keep the house in order...has me crying out for a break. Well.....
This morning after waking, I learned Ty had woken up Jack ( Never wake a sleeping child ). Jack was in full crying meltdown disaster mode this morning...As I tried to give cough syrup to Quentin he gagged and threw it up all over my "just cleaned" kitchen floors..not once but twice. I had to wake the baby (YES I woke a sleeping child :( ) I bundled all 4 boys up to get them off to school ( THEY ALL WENT BACK TODAY). I started my van 10 minutes before leaving..to do the "warm your car up thing". Well, My windshield wipers were stuck, my brake light wouldn't quit flashing and beeping, my interior light couldn't decide if it would rather be on or off and my passenger sliding door was stuck between open and closed!!! Ahhhh....So, after dropping all of them off to school...I went home and devoted my morning to God. I prayed about my car...( silly I know but...rely on God in ALL times is what God is working on in me)...Guess what?!?

At 11 a.m. Thatcher and I bundled up after starting the car again...and my windshield wipers were now unstuck. After I picked Jack up...my brake light and interior light went off...and as I opened the "stuck" door...It came open with a little tug. God is good....ALL the time!! Jack said "mommy you got it" I said "No honey, Jesus did it" and he said "I didn't see him."  :) That made my struggles this morning...SO WORTH IT!!! Ok...done venting! On with..hopefully a better day!

I feel like Betty Crocker!

Saturday from 12 noon until 10 p.m. my mom and I baked cookies and we icing them. Everything was made from scratch and I literally ache from baking. My back aches, my hands hurt and my house was a crisco mess Sunday morning. Even the sink was as slick as could be! But I must say the cookies are delicious and and I gathered several tins to fill for friends that have been so kind to us through this past year. We have had people help take our kids to school when it has been too cold for the baby and people that made us meals when we came home from the hospital with our newborn boy.
Mom and I had fun baking in the kitchen while the boys carried on with icing in the dining room...little did we know Ty dumped food coloring on a cookie thinking it was squeezable icing and Jack had a mound of icing that he kept adding to on one tiny sugar cookie. I still have sprinkles in my carpet that I just can't get up with the vaccuum. After the boys drifted off to sleep, mom and I enjoyed a little quiet time as we finished with the icing and sprinkles. I always enjoy having these moments with my mom...as a little girl your mom starts off as the lady who takes care of you, rocks you to sleep, and calms your fears...as you grow up, your relationship grows..she becomes your very best friend, the one you trust with your hardest moments and the one you share your most exciting news with. Whether you are 2 or 102, a mother daughter relationship is one that you cherish with your whole entire heart.
Sunday I ached from head to toe and felt like someone ran me over with a truck....10 hours of baking Saturday and another hour and a half on Sunday!! Betty Crocker, I think I got you beat girl!! I was so proud of the cookies mom and I made and the cuteness that the boys added to the cookies. Every person that I gave cookies to LOVED them. It feels so good to give to people that have been so generous with their time for us. I guess living in a small town has it's advantages and this small town has become a great big family!

Thatcher got his 2 front teeth for CHRISTmas :)

For the past few weeks, we have had a cranky, non sleeping very clingy baby boy on our hands. First he got the two bottom front teeth....Now the two top front teeth have made their way past the gums..He got his two front teeth for CHRISTmas :)  He has 4 more to go that I can see making their way to the surface..He is in very much pain and as a breastfeeding momma.....I can tell you this stage is very painful for both momma and baby! Here are some symptoms of a teething baby that we have been working through....

• blowouts (more laundry and new pajamas ruined)
• very cranky
• lack of eating solids but more frequent breastfeeding (OUCH!!!)
• lack of sleep ( Momma has bags under the eyes these days)
• Very clingy ( just attach some velcro and we will be just fine)
• The grinding gums to alleviate pain ( these faces are quite cute if I do say so)
• I suggest keeping tylenol, motrin and oragel on hand!!! We have been using a dose of tylenol at naptime, motrin before bed and oragel during the day....never before bed ( horror stories of oragel numbing the throat terrify me)
• Good Luck mommas!!! These little white chompers can totally take your baby from angel to out of control "in pain" monster baby! But LOTS of LOVE is the BEST you can give at any given moment ;)

CHRISTmas

As the snow has been falling, CHRISTmas decorations are up and people are getting there trees up.....I feel the meaning of CHRISTmas has been completely overlooked. Instead we celebrate this holiday with one thing on our minds " How will we fit everyone's gift into our budget and make them smile with what we pick for them?" I feel we worry so much about the "appearance of CHRISTmas" and we have forgotten why this day is so very special! An amazing gift was given to us on this day....The gift of Jesus. His birth was the beginning of our reconnection with our creator..Our God. This gift is what we should be celebrating...We should be having a birthday party....we celebrate our children's birthdays, our parents and grandparents, our husbands and wives.....WHY NOT JESUS?? Instead we gather around the CHRISTmas tree excited about presents ...(they are simply "things" that we cannot take with us). We have forgotten....the story of Jesus.
We now have the signs that say "happy holidays" where is the "Merry CHRISTmas" or "Happy Birthday Jesus"??  I LOVE to give....but when it gets to the point that what you give is just not good enough or that "it is special because it was chosen especially from one person and given to someone because they thought of them" has been forgotten....I believe it is time to renew our minds and go back to the basics!
Someone told me recently that they were thinking of making a birthday cake for Jesus on his birthday and having family over to celebrate....I immediately felt joy and thought... that is just awesome.
I recently started a devotion that is fully focused on getting to know Jesus...I waited until December to start it, thinking how appropriate to learn about him around the time of his birth. I am amazed at each day's devotion and yearn for more knowledge of him. I feel that my time with him is precious each day.
This CHRISTmas.....I am going to LOVE more, Give a helping hand to those in need, and give with all of my heart not my wallet. I honestly feel my calling is to help orphans in need....So, I plan soon on reaching out to an orphanage near home, until I feel fully comfortable and have my family's blessing to go on a mission trip.
On CHRISTmas day when my children open their gifts by the tree...I will enjoy their beautiful smiling faces...and I will enjoy my husband and boys on this day...BUT most of all I will be celebrating and remembering that this is Jesus' day and I will praise him on his very special day!!