Wednesday, December 23, 2009

The REAL reason for the season...

So, Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."


Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.


Have a Blessed Christmas!!!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

A big update...

Well, so much has happened since the last post. Where to start--let's start with a sick child. I always thought I had a pretty strong stomach--after all I always wanted to be a nurse. Well, let's just say, I learned that I don't have as strong of a stomach than I thought. It all started with Bug on Monday (the 14th) afternoon. The worst case of the "runs" I have ever seen. It was so bad, I had to put Bubby in his highchair for a good 40 minutes to clean it up. Ugh. Later that night, she was writhing in pain. I seriously thought she may have appendicitis--it hurt her to stand up, and her poor belly was SO distended. I was about five minutes from taking her to the ER...when....she projectile vomited ALL over. After two hours of cleaning up, and giving Bug her second bath in four hours, we were able to rest a bit.

It gets better--with 4 loads of yucky laundry, we realize our drains in the laundry room are clogged. SERIOUSLY?! So, at 10pm, I am calling 24hr plumbers to see if anyone could help us. We ended up just waiting till the early morning on the 15th to have them come and clear our pipes. After scrubbing the kitchen floors two more times (cleaning up after the plumber's equipment), I was tired and it was 11am. Luckily, this sickness that Bug had was only a 24hr bug....Thank You Lord. I am not sure how much more puke/poop I could handle.


Next up was Bug's preschool party. Santa made a visit, the kids sang to the parents, and we had cookies and punch. It was a good time, and I managed to take a few pictures, while I was trying to keep Bubby from attacking Santa (he LOVES Santa).
The next night, we made some Christmas cookies. We had fun--Bug made cookies for about an hour, then wanted to watch a Christmas kids show on tv. We let Bubby have his way with some sugar and sprinkles...that was fun. I ended up making the cookies by myself while Daddy watched a VeggieTales show with the kids...which was ok. I turned up the Christmas music, and made about four dozen cookies.
She liked playing with the sugar and sprinkles, more than actually decorating! Goofy girl...
Daddy had to help...otherwise Bubby would have probably just put his face in the bowl of sugar!
Just wonderin' if you would like some cookie dough along with that pile of green sugar??Uff-Da! THAT is alot of sugar and sprinkles!!!

Now that Bug is done with preschool till the first week in January, we had to fill some time with indoor projects:

For fear of Bubby throwing the paint plate all over, I had to use heavy duty tape to secure the plate....

"Show me your hands, Bubby!"

The next night (the 19th) we made the trip to have our Christmas celebration with Bubby's birth family. We had a big pizza party, and just had lots of fun.

(L-R) "H", Bubby's birthmom, and "K", Bubby's birth-grandma
(L-R) "J" ("H's" cousin), 'F' (H's Grandpa), and 'G' (H's cousin) having some pizza!

Playing after dinner (H and Bubby)

Saturday, Bug sang in her first Christmas program at church. Brought happy tears to my eyes. So many years, we dreamed of a day that we would see a child of ours up there singing "Away in a Manger"....and finally, that day had come. I said many silent Thank-You's to God, for our precious little Bug. This is the only half-way decent picture I was able to get...bummer.Beautiful

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Loving the snow...

Well, a few days ago, we got a bit of snow. Ten inches of snow. We actually got off pretty easy--about 30 minutes west of us, got sixteen inches of snow. I will take ten inches of snow, versus sixteen--thank you very much. This was the first measurable snowfall of the season, so we took the kids outside to play. It was fun to see Bubby--HE LOVES THE SNOW!! He would run to a snow pile, turn around, and fall backwards and look to the sky. It was the funnies thing! Bug still loves the snow too, and I am sure they can't wait to go back outside. Putting him to work already...
I took this picture the other day. I was trying to keep him up so I could feed him lunch first then put him down for a nap..but he beat me to it. I was typing out a couple of emails. I checked on him, and he was awake. Literally, two minutes later, I looked back and this is what I saw. So cute...

Our Fodder...


A nightly prayer by our little girl, who we call "Bug".



Our Fodder, who are in heaven

hollow be dye name. (yawn)



Our Fodder, who are in heaven

hollow be dye name.

Dye kingdom come,

Dye will be done,

on Earf as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our...



"Mom, I have a boogie in this nose..."



(insert pep talk about how important it is to finish the prayers, then blow our nose)



Our Fodder, who are in heaven

hollow be dye name.

Dye kingdom come,

Dye will be done,

on Earf as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil,

for mine is the kingdom,

the power, and the glory,

forever and ever....AMEN.



"Mommy, is Gramma Polly and Jesus proud that I said Our Fodder all by myself??"

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Before and After...

Ok, well the drugs are working, and my bronchitis is SLOWING going away. However, the sicknesses are still making their way around our family. Bubby now has a fever and "gastric issues" (if you know what I mean). I have a feeling we will be making our way BACK to the pediatrician on Monday, if he doesn't improve. If we do, that will make it three visits in three weeks to the pediatrician. Now I totally understand what my mom meant, when we were growing up, when she told us kids..."I feel like I live at the Dr's office!!" And there were four of us, not just two--so I guess I am getting off easy!! I just want us to be well for Christmas...and for our "snowbird" vacation in January.


Here are a few "Before and After" pictures of Bubby and some chocolate pudding:
BEFORE: Mmmm, good pudding! He just kept looking at me, as if to ask..."Are you sure I can put my hands in this???"
His artwork--he put much more pudding on the tray than is his mouth....AFTER: Here he is saying "cheeeeee" to the camera....too cute!

We had a pretty full day today. This morning, we visited with Santa. Then we headed home, had lunch, and finished putting up the Christmas tree. Lots of fun!I can't believe my babies are getting so big...time sure flies!!!

I think this is a cute picture--don't get me wrong. It's just that I feel bad for Bubby, because the only words he will now hear are: "No.", "No touching.", "Leave the ornaments alone.", "No eating--out of your mouth!" (repeat a million times!). We do have a pretty sad looking tree this year though, because I couldn't put up anything of any value, for fear "destructo" would/will have his way with it. I have a feeling, it will get to be a long December with him and that tree...

Friday, December 4, 2009

Christmas is coming...

This is the Baby Jesus from my nativity. Bug likes to hold him alot. Bubby has learned to say, "Hi, baby!". We have three nativities up--Mine, the kids' nativity (a Little People nativity), and my Grandma's nativity. My Mom said that Grandma's nativity is pretty old--her and my Uncle John remember sliding baby Jesus down the top of the stable, when they were small kids. That poor baby Jesus...
The first snow of the year...Christmas is coming.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Joke's on me...

Here are some fun pictures from the last few weeks:The kiddos with Grandpa. Grammy and Grandpa came for a short visit the weekend before Thanksgiving. The kids couldn't get enough of them...good thing we saw them five days later!So, our rule for ear piercing with Bug is that she has to be at least five--so she can learn to take care of cleaning them herself. Well, one night her and I went shopping, and found some "fake earrings" (stickers). We were going to play a joke on Daddy, and say we got her ears pierced. I coached her in the car the entire ride home to say..."Daddy, I got my ears pierced!". When we got in the door, she said..."Daddy, I have sticker earrings on my ears!!!" I guess the joke was on me. My kiddos starting to feel under the weather... I love this picture!! Baby RK is looking up to her Uncle... Our niece, E, at her dance practice. Grammy and three of her grandkids tickling the ivories.... Sorry to spoil for most of you...this will be December 2010 on your calendars! Can you believe taking this picture took less time than getting them dressed??

We had a great Thanksgiving, making "the loop" this year....first to my family, then to DH's family. We were gone 5 days...it was a nice break. The kids started to have runny noses, and just generally felt yucky a few days prior, but we went anyway. I held out getting sick till Saturday. I had no voice, and could tell that this round of bronchitis that I was going to get would be a doozie. Monday and Tuesday, I had a total of six hours of sleep, because I couldn't sleep laying down. I took the kids to the doctor on Tuesday--and for the most part, they are doing well. After that, it was off to my doctor, where I was told.."Girl, you are about a hop, skip and a jump from going to the hospital". Ok. Great. I guess my oxygen level was a tad low. I had a horrendously bad case of bronchitis (surprise, surprise.), so they made me do a breathing treatment in the office. The rule was if my oxygen level wasn't up after that, and my lungs weren't clearer, then I was going to the hospital. WHAT? Like I have time for that. Well, the treatment worked, and they sent me home with FIVE different medications. I am feeling much better, and last night was the first night of semi-normal sleep (6hrs) that I have had all week.
We put up most of our Christmas decorations last night. I am dreading Bubby and our Christmas tree this year. I just think I am going to buy some junk ornaments and use those, instead of the real ones for fear he will destroy them. I love him dearly, but he can destroy something in seconds if he really wants to. I guess we will see...
This weekend, we are heading to visit with Santa and just relax. Can't wait to just relax....

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

A missing peace...

This picture was taken July 14th, 2004. This picture signifies a kind of peace for me.

We had just suffered the loss of our first child (we later found it was our first son). We were devastated. After wanting a child for so long, I felt a piece of my heart was lost forever. A friend came over to offer a meal, and brought a card. On the front of the card was a daisy. It was a beautiful card.

The next morning I woke up, went out to sit on the deck to pray and reflect on the short time that our baby and me had together. I looked down, and a daisy had popped up overnight in a place there had never been flowers. We had never planted daisies there. We had been living in the house for five years already, and have never seen any daisies there. I knew this was from God. A sign that peace is coming...everything will be ok. It may not be immediate, but peace is coming. God brought a beautiful thing to a place it had never been before to show me PEACE. That is how I feel right now.

A new chapter is beginning...

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

The toilet is fun...

So, I am going to REALLY try to be a good blogger--since that's what my five readers deserve! Well, the first week of November was a busy week. Bug had another appointment with her immunologist--just a follow-up, and she was fine (although, currently we are battling another asthma/allergy reaction)--and the doctor gave us one year's worth of Nasonex samples. Bless his heart--that helped the pocketbook! My Mom arrived later that afternoon to help with the kids while I was recovering from knee surgery. Surgery was on November 5th at noon. It lasted only about 30 minutes, and I finally woke up from the anesthetic at 2:30pm. I love the "cocktails" they put in your IV. Ahhhhhhh. I got home around 3:30, and got to eat dinner. I was famished--I was pretty sure I could eat a horse. Instead, I had some beef roast, potatoes and cooked carrots. Now onto recovery... My Mom, Me and Bug playing a game of CandyLand. This was the first time my Mom allowed me to get up (except for going to the bathroom). It felt so good to sit in a upright position...and it had only been 24hrs.This picture was taken the day before my stitches were out.

My Mom left on Sunday to head home. It was nice to have her here--next time, though, we would rather be shopping and having fun! The beginning of the week, DH stayed and worked form home to help me with the kids. Sometime during those days, when I was hobbling around, not able to get to Bubby in time this happened:

Geez...as much as he loves his blankie...I am surprised he put it in the toilet! I guess it is fun to put the wireless computer mouse in the toilet to see the red light blink-blink-blink-blink....Toilets are fun.

On Thursday (11/12, if you are following along), Bubby and Daddy were participating in a 3 minute segment on the local Fox affiliate to promote the agency we used in Bubby's adoption, and November being "National Adoption Month". Bubby got lots of "screen time", and Bug actually got to help out with the weather man during the forecast. Pretty cool!!

Waiting for the segment to start--watching the live news cast
The best picture I have of them before the segment started
Bug got called up by the meteorologist during his forecast...totally cool! We, of course, recorded the segment at home while we were there, totally not expecting to have Bug "help" with the weather. Since this day, Bug has asked to watch "me on tv!" like a kazillion times....ok really like a hundred times--but it seems like a kazillion times!!So bummed that this picture turned out fuzzy...it was such a good picture. The lady holding Bubby is the anchorwoman, Kim.

The next day, I had my stitches taken out--which was a relief. They were itchin' like crazy. The doctor was amazed at my recovery. I was/am on a mission to get back on the treadmill and just to be more healthy, and I can't do that with a bum knee. Later that night, DH's parents came for a short overnight visit...and will be back next weekend to finish their visit.

Saturday, we attended the adoption fundraiser. We were quite surprised when we walked in the door and saw this:BUBBY!!

I guess I just didn't realize they were going to use his picture (this was his 3 month picture) for the welcome sign. We agreed to let them use his picture for their brochures, but they didn't mention this. It was fun! I asked what they were going to do with the poster after the fundraiser, because I would love to have it, but they said they are going to use it for future fundraisers. It will be fun in five years to see his little baby face still on the welcome sign. We had a great time at the fundraiser--good lunch, meeting new friends, and a silent auction. I actually won something--$50 worth of adoption scrapbooking supplies for $20! Yay for me!

Yesterday, Bug had a little program at her preschool for Thanksgiving. Her class sang some songs, then we had a "fruit feast" (fruit salad). It was a fun time, even though we had a choking scare with Bubby. THAT was scary. My Bug with her fruit saladThe best picture I could get of the kiddos together

Here are a few pictures of us goofin' around yesterday:

Fighting over a pair of sunglasses

My happy baby girl....

THERE!! I AM OFFICIALLY CAUGHT UP WITH MY BLOG!!! YAY FOR ME! We will see how long that lasts...Have a wonderful week!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

October pictures batch # 3

...and one last batch of pictures from October. Enjoy!

The best picture of Bubby I could get...he moves so fast!
A good picture from a 3yr old who listens and smiles when you ask...
Again, the best picture I could get of the two of them...
The best picture of all of us with our pumpkins
A picture of Bug on a day she dressed herself--a pink tutu, a halloween shirt, and pink/black leggings...could be worse, I guess...
Heading out to a few neighbors' houses for some halloween candy...
Having a picnic in the family room...