Update---Via Friends

Merry Christmas to all my blog readers! We've been pretty busy around here getting ready for Christmas and getting ready for the Baby coming (only 6 1/2 weeks until my due date!!!). Seeing as at the moment I don't have time for a real post, never mind posting some pictures, I thought I'd be nice and direct your attention to this post at the Seven Sisters' blog, where you can see lots of fun pictures of Andrew from our recent trip to Indiana.

May you all have a blessed Christmas!

Christmas

Christmas has come and gone to some, although I still don't feel like Christmas is quite over. We had the best Christmas ever! I will start with the beginning of the week. On Monday I had a few friends over for a a couple hours just to chat. Three of them are in College and so we don't see each other very often. My "best friend" from 1st grade just loves Andrew and so I had to get a picture of her holding him.
I love Andrew's outfit in the above picture! It was sent to him from his friend Leah and has Pooh Bear on the bottom of his overalls. So cute! :)

We had a good week leading up to Christmas. We were so excited because being near family is SO much nicer than being 20 hours away. On Tuesday Andrew and I went shopping with my Dad and stopped at our favorite little restaurant that has the best milkshakes and onion rings. My Dad used to with his parents when he was little and then when he and I would go Christmas shopping, we'd stop there for lunch. We had lots of fun and had a successful trip. :)

On Wednesday Andrew and I went over my parents house while Scott was at work as my Uncle and his family had driven here from California for Christmas and was coming over to visit.

On Thursday Andrew and I went with my family to see Voyage of the Dawn Treader (the new Narnia movie) for the second time (went with Scott on Sunday). It is a very good movie, and we all had lots of fun! :)

As you can see, I'm REALLY enjoying being near my family for the Holidays! We made lots of cookies last week and watched some Christmas movies in between working on gifts and wrapping them.

On Friday I made my Mom's Cinnamon Rolls to bake on Christmas morning (they were DELICIOUS!), cleaned the kitchen, worked on gifts, and finished wrapping everything. We then went over to my parents' for a light dinner before going to the Christmas Eve service at our church. Since we were all dressed up, we took some pictures. I just LOVE how this picture of Mom and I turned out.

Mom's "Christmas shirt" has glitter on it and so needless to say, we all end up with glitter on us by the end of the day. :)

Rebekah is very patient in letting everyone else hold Andrew even though she herself is dying to hold him, so I make sure I try and get a picture of the two of them on the rare occasions that she is holding him (without anyone trying to "steal" him).

Christmas morning, I got up at 6am. The earliest I've gotten up and stayed up in a very long time! Well over 6 months, I'd say. But we did go to bed early (at 11:30) and we were very excited about Christmas! Here are our filled stockings. My Mom made the bear in Andrew's stocking. It has a little sheep's suit and is just adorable!!!! Scott is working on getting Christmas music playing.

And our tree, with gifts underneath it.

Before we opened our stockings, Scott read the Christmas story from Matthew. It was so nice. Andrew slept through everything, but he won't get away with missing it all next year! :)

I managed to snatch a picture of Scott starting to open his stocking, and that was all I got from all of our gift opening. Oh well, hopefully I'll do better next year! I'd better!

Here is Andrew, sleeping peacefully, with his stocking beside him. :)

We were at my parents' by 8 and had such a LOVELY time!!! We took our time opening the gazillion presents that were under the tree (okay, there weren't really that many, but there definitely was more than I've ever seen there). All seven of us "kids" had gifts for everyone, and those alone overflowed the tree, nevermind when Mom and Dad added their gifts for us! :) It was SO much fun and we just had the best time!!!!

Daddy and Andrew are "buddies". :) After seeing each other quite a bit over the past week, Andrew gets excited when he sees Grandpa!

There were several "large gifts" like the one pictured below. Colleen is helping Joe "unwrap" his gift from her and Will.

They made him a castle, and it is just the coolest thing!!!! I have no idea how they did such an incredible job with it. Joe loves it and has been having lots of fun with it!

My parents got me some new clothes (which I very much needed) and we got some really neat gifts from my siblings. Hopefully I can take some pictures of them and post them soon.

My parents and I surprised Scott with a Wacom Bamboo tablet for his laptop. I successfully sneaked his laptop into our car without him even getting suspicious. He had lots of fun "playing" with it and did his first full illustration.

About mid-afternoon we went over to Scott's parents' house and had a lovely afternoon and evening!

On Sunday we went back to my parents house (my cousins wanted to visit one last time before they left).

Here is Scott playing with his tablet and Andrew "hanging out".

Well, Andrew is ready to eat, so I must go. I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Thankfulness Part 8 (and other happenings)

Here, we are, the last day of November (although I'm doubting that anyone will read this before December comes seeing as that is 50 minutes away) and I'm sorry to say that I didn't do very good with my original intention of writing at least every day, adding to my "Thankfulness List." But 8 posts in four weeks isn't too bad, I think, considering that a 2 month old boy is keeping my hands quite busy.

Speaking of that 2 month old boy (11 weeks and 3 days to be exact), he is certainly growing. I just pulled out all the 6-9 month clothes (which is what he has on right now) as we are completely out of anything that resembles 0-3 month, and the 3-6 month are just barely fitting him. I'm really glad I haven't bought the onesies and outfit I plan on buying for his stocking yet! I would have bought the wrong size. Andrew was first born, I didn't know what to think of all the winter clothes we were getting that were size 6-9 month because I thought "he's not going to be 6 months old until March," and now I'm laughing at myself!

The last part of my Thankfulness list... I'm thankful:

• That I don't have to work a "9-5 job" and leave my cute little bundle of joy
• That God has given me an opportunity to earn enough money each week to pay for our groceries and a little left over (perfect timing with Christmas in a few weeks)
• For the lovely ladies I got to visit with this evening at my parents house while their girls were in Bright Lights
• That we had such a lovely, relaxing Thanksgiving!
• That even though Andrew has a bit of a cold, it hasn't been bad enough that he's been overly fussy (he's certainly not himself, but he still smiles on occasion). I know we will have very bad times in the future (all-nighters and everything), but for now, I'm thankful that the first cold isn't as bad as it could be.
• That I am already using cloth diapers because I didn't get stressed out today when I realized that I only have 7 disposable diapers left and no chance to get any before Friday :) It's great how God provides!
• For my time with the Lord this morning
• For two hands (it is so much easier typing with two rather than one) :)
• For eyes, to see and read
• For ears, to listen
• For all that God continues to bless me with

This past weekend we went to a Christmas party at Scott's aunt and uncle's house. They do this party every year, and every year Scott's uncle dresses up and Santa and hands out gifts to everyone. Now, just so you don't get me wrong, we don't believe in Santa and we are not going to make our kids believe in Santa. But that doesn't mean we can't enjoy Scott's family's traditions. We had a great time at the party (we missed last year's because of our trip), seeing and visiting with all the family and here is a picture of Andrew with Santa (a.k.a. Uncle R.).

Aside from Andrew's cold (which he caught from his Daddy and I caught a touch of as well), we are doing very well! We had a great Thanksgiving and got to see both families, and compare Andrew to my two new cousins (who are 5 1/2 and 6 1/2 weeks younger than him), as well as letting him "play" with his two cousins (Scott's nephews). We also learned that my Mom's brother and his family is coming for a visit over Christmas, and we are all SOOOO excited!!!!!

Speaking of Christmas, now that we are passed Thanksgiving, has anyone else started decorating for Christmas? I love the Christmas season (as I'm sure all my readers have figured out by now), the decorations, lights, music, movies (especially the old ones like Christmas in Connecticut and Holiday Inn), cookies, my Mom's cinnamon rolls, and most importantly, what Christmas is about -- the celebration of Christ's birth. I know Andrew can't fully understand yet, but many times already, I have taken him over to where our manger scene is set up and told him the story of Christ's birth and why Christ came.

Here are a couple pictures from my cousin's wedding a couple weeks ago. As you can see in the above picture, I did dress Andrew up and he looked so darling, but we did change him after a short while as it was a little uncomfortable for him with his shirt and vest rolling up under his arms.

Here is my cute little boy with my very handsome Man!

And one of my family and I. I'm so thankful for each person in my family and love them all so much!

Last but not least, a verse the Lord brought to my mind this morning, and I just had to look it up!

"Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Philippians 4:8

Christmas Day (Better Late, Than Never :) )

Here is the promised post about Christmas day! :) I'm sorry that it is later than I had hoped, but I was not around much on Saturday and Sunday, and the one time that I did have time to do it, my computer was acting up. Oh well, here it is now. :)

I woke up around 7am (a rare thing) and kept trying to go back to sleep until when I looked at the clock at 7:40. It just so happened that Scott stirred at that moment, so I said "are you ready to get up?" He said he was, but of course it takes him much longer to actually wake up. I rubbed his back vigorously trying to get his blood flowing so he would get up faster (can you tell that I was "a little excited"? :) ). At 7:51 I came downstairs and got the Cinnamon Rolls out of the Fridge so they could "come to room temperature".

By 8:00 we were sitting down, getting ready to open our stockings together. :) After that we got out Scott's Bible and took turns reading the Christmas Story from Luke. Here is a picture of the tree (with our gifts under it) before we started unwrapping. :)

Here is a picture from just after we finished reading the Bible:

After opening our gifts:

Here is Scott unwrapping one of his Soundtrack

Here is me with my "loot" :)

Here is all of Scott's gifts:

Notice the book "Relic Quest"

The day we were leaving our good friends at www.homeschoolblogger.com/sevensisters Scott discovered this book on one of the shelves and picked it up. In the short time that was left before we had to leave, he was really enjoying the book, so I thought it would be a good Christmas gift for him. I was so delighted that I totally stumped as to what the "package" was. :) And he was even more surprised to open it and see that it was the book that he had been telling everyone about since he had first looked at it! :)

Here is the rest of my gifts:

I also got 2 books (not shown in picture): "Only Angels Have Wings" and "In The President's Secret Service". I have started both (what can I say, when I get more than one new book I want to read them all so badly, I just start them all at the same time! :) ), and am so far enjoying both very much! :)

Here is Scott enjoying one of his new gifts

Can anyone guess what "gift" this is?

Here is the breakfast table, after most of us had already sampled the Cinnamon Rolls (which came out PERFECT!). The Hashbrown casserole took longer to cook than I had anticipated, but it still came out perfect! Scott and I ate leftovers throughout the rest of the day!

One of the best parts of the entire day was that we got to talk to my family (and Scott's brother) "face-to-face" on Skype. For some reason it took us forever to set up Skype (should have done it a month ago), but we are so glad we finally did it! It made our Christmas! My sister and I got it figured out the night before, and my eyes welled up with tears when I first got to see them.

Although some aspects of todays technology, I don't believe are that great for us, I am very thankful that even though we are thousands of miles apart, we can still see and talk to our families. It's not as good as being in person, but it's better than nothing! :)

I hope that you all had a lovely Christmas as well!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas

Christmas Eve is tomorrow and I am delighted to say that all my gifts are wrapped (some even under the tree as pictured above), I've helped frost LOTS of cookies, and I can't wait for tomorrow. The family we are staying with open their gifts on Christmas Eve, so we're doing that tomorrow night, and then Scott and I are exchanging gifts (and opening gifts from my family) and doing Stockings on Christmas morning. So, we get 2 days of Christmas! :) I am very excited for Scott to open his gifts, and after Christmas I'll have to do a post about our gifts! :) (As well as pictures! :) )

I know this is a short post, but I need to go do a little grocery shopping. In addition to the Cinnamon Rolls I'm making for Christmas morning, I'm going to make my own version of a Hashrown Casserole. :) I'm sure it will at least be eatable! :) I'll let you know how it turns out!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Presents

There are only 4 days left till Christmas!!!! Here is a picture as a result of my wrapping the other day. It's not all that I wrapped that day, and there are more done now, but it gives you an idea. :)

How is everyone else doing with there gifts? Any baking yet? I got my Mom's recipe for Cinnamon Rolls today which I will take up her tradition and be making them on Christmas Eve, for Christmas morning! Perhaps, if I remember to take a picture, I can post about them! :)

7 DAYS

Can you believe it? Christmas is only 7 days away! I can't wait! The Lord is teaching me much, as always (see previous post here). Along with not eating from the bread of idleness God has been working in my heart on not just thinking about not being idle, but also on looking to see how I can put that into action, and specific ways. Yesterday morning I exercised for the first time in probably 6-8 weeks. It felt great to exercise (when has anyone ever been sorry that they exercised?) and it started me off on the right track for the rest of the day. You see, I started the morning with a great time with the Lord, and during that time, the Lord laid on my heart that I should exercise. So I did. Then, in the afternoon I had some time before we had to leave for a book signing, so I decided that instead of wasting my time on the computer or reading a book (reading is not a waste of time, but when you have other things that need to be done, you should do them), I would go up to our room and work on some organizing and straightening, which was much needed. I got the entire room in very good order just in time for us to leave! It always so rewarding when I do something worthwhile, get it done, and know that I used my time much better than I originally was going to! :)

So, this morning, I had my quiet time, exercised, am writing this post, and today's plans are to wrap Christmas gifts, possibly make some cookies, and watch a Christmas movie tonight. Oh, and if there's time, practice my guitar! :)

Note: The above picture is from Christmas morning, last year (2008)

Christmas is Coming

Christmas is in 11 DAYS! Can you believe it? I can't wait! I love Christmas so much! Christmas trully is my favorite time of the year! I love the music, the baking, the movies, the attitude of giving that although is not present in everyone, is in most! I love thinking of good gifts to give to my family. I love the decorations! I could probably go on and on..... :) But I won't.

I thought I would try something. I'm going to share one of my favorite Christmas traditions, and then I'd love to hear all of your favorite traditions. How many of my blog visitors love Christmas as much as I do? Why? Or if you don't care for Christmas so much, why?

Okay, so me first: Two of my favorite Christmas traditions.....
1 ~ My Mom's Cinnamon Rolls (which I will unfortunately not get this year :( )
2 ~ Getting up in the morning, opening stockings, and presents, and just spending the day hanging out with family!
Okay, so maybe I'll do a third one ~ Singing Christmas carols/songs with my sisters!

Now it's your turn! Leave a comment and tell me what your favorite Christmas traditions are. Or just what your favorite thing about Christmas is.... :)

Busy

I know, I know. I haven't posted in 6 days, "where have I been?" Well, if you follow my Husband's blog then you know that we have had book signings and are very pleased to announce that Flaming Pen Press will be publishing another author Jacob Parker.

Most of the above I don't have much part in, but I have been very busy too. Along with babysitting and working, I have been getting serious about going through things in our apartment and starting to pack. In exactly 2 weeks we will no loner be at our apartment. I'll still have a few more days left to clean (2 weeks from now) but we will no longer be sleeping there and most everything should be packed up and moved out of there.

Over the last several months I have been collecting Christmas gifts here and there, mostly as we've been at different malls doing book signings. While Scott has been signing books, I've been walking the malls for exercise (anything is better than nothing :) ) and going through clearance racks/shelves at different stores. Some stores don't have much of anything nice, but I have found some really good "steals" in my shopping. I didn't intentionally set out to do that. In June I had done some shopping and got a bunch of nice stuff that I decided to save for Christmas gifts. But then I didn't think a whole lot more about Christmas until July or the beginning of August when I was just strolling through a store and found 2 gifts that were perfect for 2 of my sisters. The best part was that they were on clearance. I bought them and then later that week I was thinking about it, and I thought..... "hmm, I should keep my eyes open for anything else I might come across." Since we're at bookstores every weekend and at least one or all of those bookstores are in malls, I have doing lots of browsing. I am so thankful how the Lord has worked everything out. Getting ready to head out on national book tour means that I don't have a whole lot of money to spare. But by being strategic and setting myself a goal of NOT paying full-price for ANYTHING I have just about finished up my Christmas shopping and although I haven't (and probably won't) tallied everything up, I know I've spent a fraction of what I spent last year (I did sort of go over the top last year, but it was fun! :) I love giving gifts!).

When it comes to Christmas some people get stuck on making sure they spend the same amount of money on everyone in their family, or all of their friends, or co-workers, and the majority of people end up with LOTS of extra credit debt on their hands once Christmas is over. But that is NOT what Christmas is about. It wasn't until the last 2 years that I have had more than $20-$50 to spend on Christmas gifts (and that $20-$50 I had saved up over the course of SEVERAL months!). But even that was only the couple years before that. When giving or receiving a gift, it doesn't matter how much it cost or how much trouble you had to go through to get it. All that matters is what's in the heart. Sometimes the best gifts are the "messy" colored pictures from your kids or little brothers and sisters. Yes, they may have even "drawn" you this picture on a piece of scrap paper that they found in the garbage, but when they come up to you and say "I made this for you," your heart just melts, and you can't help but feel special.

In giving gifts, whether it's a birthday, Christmas, or some other special occasion (or maybe "just because"), it doesn't matter how much we spend, or if we even spend anything at all. What matters, is that it comes from our hearts.

On another note, if you're wondering what to do about stocking "stuffers" this year, check out what this mom had to say about it here.

So I have been working on going through my Christmas gifts, wrapping, labeling, organizing them, along with trying to go through things to ELIMINATE!!!!!! Just about every time that I see my Mom, I'm giving her a bag or two of items that I don't need/don't want anymore, or that I just don't know why I still have it since I haven't touched it in at least 3 years (I know, can you believe that I found stuff even after moving when I got married? :)). I hope she doesn't mind me passing things on to her. :) Of course there are some things that my other siblings could use, so she probably doesn't mind those things. :)

May you all have a blessed day!