A Very Merry Christmas To You!

I know that New Year's Eve is the more appropriate time to look back over the year and reflect on life. However I am taking time now to look back over 2009. The biggest part of this year would, of course, be Gavin. Since I got pregnant in January and had him in late October he has filled the entire year in one form or another. This will be his first Christmas and to me he is my greatest gift.

The last six months have also been filled with Mark's unemployment. While it was extremely stressful and he has only been employed a month now it did give us time as a family. We spent almost every day in August at the beach. Our town has a beautiful beach and of course it was free entertainment. Since I was very pregnant during that time there was no way I would have been able to handle two toddlers and all our gear alone. The kids had so much fun playing in the water, digging holes, and rolling in the sand. I have a lot of great pictures from those days. At night after the kids were put to bed, Mark and I would sit on the couch and watch TV (I got him hooked on Madmen). I would usually get a foot rub and shoulder rub too. Almost every afternoon I would get a nap. What a joy when in the last trimester of pregnancy!

Henry started preschool this year. There were months when I did not think we'd be able to pay the tuition but my mother would go without in order to pay for him each month. He loves school and I am surprised at the joy it actually brings me. Not just the getting him out of the house for a bit but rather the songs he sings and the counting and letter recognition. He even knows some prayers and offers to pray for me.

Irene turned two this year and her vocabulary has exploded. I am amazed at her understanding and ability to put together thoughts. We had a fun birthday party for her at the Potter Park Zoo.

This year has also brought me some awesome friends. I've mentioned a couple of special ones in an earlier post but I forgot to mention Jennifer. She sent me tons of kind thoughts and prayers all summer and fall. I think she even left a gift for Gavin on my front door while I was in the hospital. There was a beautiful card with the gift but it was unsigned. I am thankful for her friendship as well as for Ann's and Shannon's. And while on the topic of friends, old and new...I have been fortunate enough to make the acquaintance of some wonderful women and men through the blogger world. What a blast I have each day reading all of your blogs! Plus some of you read my little blog and leave me such wonderful comments. Thank you all.

Yesterday my brother Pete told me that he would not be able to come here for Christmas. He got Saturday off of work and his wife wants him to join her in Virginia. She was planning to drive there to see her family. I would have loved for her to join us here. Without Pete coming my dad was left without a ride. My dad drives a little, sporty BMW that does not like freezing rain or snow. We are suppose to get both for Christmas. I was very disappointed. I wallowed in my disappointment for a bit before moving on. My dad called me tonight to say that he is going to drive his little car up here anyway and if it snows and blows he'll just stay longer. He is packing extra clothes just in case. I am happy!

As for our Christmas...I have been worried during the last six months that we might not have anything for the children. I handmade gifts for the rest of the family but I didn't know what I would do for the kids. Luckily we managed to scrap together a small amount of money and get the kids a couple of gifts that they really wanted. Henry is big into Transformers this year. Irene loves baby dolls. Even Gavin will be getting a few things. I even managed to get Mark a small gift.

Each night before I go to bed I read one passage out of the book A Cup of Comfort, Devotional for Mothers. It has a page for each day and is a short story from a mother about life, motherhood, and God. Tonight as I read December 24Th's it seemed to speak of our life currently and how even though we don't have a lot of gifts for the children we can still give them a happy, memorable day. So in closing I am sharing the passage with you.

Dec. 24Th

Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned to get along happily whether I have much or little.
-Philippians 4:11

The Surprise
Christmas was coming and it looked as though it was going to be a bit skimpy. We bought a few small gifts. Then the children and I baked, sewed, and drew pictures to give. Things were about ready when my mother, who was very creative with a small amount of money, arrived on Christmas Eve carrying a big box.
The children were up early the next morning, waiting with anticipation. It was time to open presents. To my great surprise, when we got to their Grandma's gift, nothing was in that big, beautiful box.
The children looked in it again, and Grandma smiled. "Invisible rabbits," she said. She stroked one of the pretend rabbits. "Oh, oh, there it goes," she exclaimed as she ran after it. Immediately the children were caught up in the excitement. It was all they needed.
I doubt they remember anything else they received-or didn't receive- that year.

Our needs and others' needs are not always what we think they are.

-Hilah C. Wagner

Merry Christmas to you all and may God bless you!

The 12 Pains of Christmas

When I was younger my parents had a tape of twisted Christmas carols. My favorite was the 12 pains of Christmas. Found this version on youtube. Enjoy!

Christmas...Straight No Chaser

Anyone that has been on Iowa Grassland's blog recently will recognise this video of the group Straight No Chaser. Enjoy!

Today I did not make it to MOPS. I still have not gotten the whole time management with three kids down. I will make it to the group's cookie exchange tonight though. I have lots of cookies packaged up!

My dad and my younger brother Pete will be coming for Christmas. I am thrilled. I just wish Pete's wife Ashley was coming too. I haven't seen her since the week Gavin was born. She and Pete surprised me with a visit when I was feeling all post-partum depressed. I even cried a bit while they were here...embarrassing! I am happy to report that I am feeling better now :) I did invite another person to Christmas this year. He is related to us through marriage and actually sees my mom the most but we've kept in touch a bit. He recently lost his parents and when talking with him the other day I invited him to join our group on Christmas if he had nothing else to do. Growing up we used to have a big family gathering and I miss that so much. My grandma (mom's mom) would have us at her house. We'd go to church Christmas Eve then to grandma's for dinner and opening gifts from the family. The next day in the afternoon we'd be back there for leftovers. I think our family group would be around 14 people, sometimes more, sometimes less. Of course that was when we all got along (more or less) and we all lived in one town. Now I wish my kids could have the same type of family gathering for holidays. That is why I loved Thanksgiving this year... lots of family together! So I am pleased to have my dad and Pete joining us and if anyone else can come then great, the more the merrier!!
Has anyone ever heard of an Elf on a Shelf? I heard mention of it the other day and I think it might be some way of getting your children to behave around Christmas. He sits on your shelf and reports any bad doings to Santa. Am I right? I really think we could use one in this house!

Edited to add...I need an Elf for dogs too. My lab has eaten four Christmas ornaments this year. She picked my favorite ones too. Last year she never touched the tree. What's up with this?

You Tube Videos That Gave Me A Laugh

Was feeling rather cranky today when I came across these two videos on the Life With Cocktail blog. These are meant in fun...please enjoy!

8 Weeks!

Gavin is 8 weeks old today! I can't believe he has been here so long. He has gotten big and can really hold up his head. He smiles now too and likes to stick his tongue out when I stick my tongue out at him. He also loves bath time and coos while in it. Unfortunately he is still not sleeping well. The longest he sleeps for is about 4 hours. I miss my sleep!

Gavin has a rash on his face and neck. It's almost like extreme dry skin. It doesn't seem to bother him too much though. He is a cutie though and I'm so pleased that he is mine.

I have to admit that there are times when I miss my easier life...however "easy" a life can be with two toddlers. It was a lot easier to grocery shop or just get in the car and go somewhere or even just to do the simple things like cook, clean, do laundry. The hardest part now is getting Henry to preschool. It has snowed here a lot and it takes us so long to get ready and into the car. Then at school I have to lug everyone out of the car and into the building. There is another mother there that is the sister to a very lovely friend of mine, if we time it right and get there at the same time she'll take Henry in and bring him out for me. Of course it is hard to get there at the same time.

Since having Gavin I have made some new friends and one friend I knew from high school has actually become a HUGE help and support since Gavin's birth. For this I have to thank Facebook since that is how we got in touch. In fact Facebook has brought another friend back into my life and she was a huge help while Mark was out of work.

Since having Gavin, Ann has been very supportive. She also has three kids and can understand what I am going through. She also shares some stories about her experiences with the wacky things kids do. This makes me feel unbelievably better about life! It's nice to know that this stuff doesn't just happen to me. I've found a lot of mothers only tell people about the great things their kids do. Meanwhile I am asking myself why I am the only one with a child who tries to break her nose at the doctor. I guess what I am trying to say is I like to hear about what other mothers are really going through and Ann has so helped with that. Plus she invited me to join MOPS. It is a group called Mothers of Preschoolers. Through this group I have met more mothers. They meet twice a month and have childcare so I can bring the kids. At the last meeting a nurse from the health department was the speaker and she talked about H1N1. She answered a lot of questions. Not long after that the kids and I got the H1N1 vaccine. Gavin is too young to get it so it is important that the rest of us get the shot in order to protect him.

MOPS is having a cookie exchange this week. I have decided to go even though Ann cannot be there. Normally I would not go if I wasn't sure I knew someone there but I think it'll be good for me to get out of the house without the kids. Of course this means baking 90 cookies before Thursday night. And I have to make cupcakes for Friday which is Henry's school party. Gonna be a busy week in my kitchen!

My other dear friend is Shannon. She has been a huge help and support while Mark was out of work. She helped keep me sane while bringing diapers and formula for the baby. I am happy to say she is pregnant! She and her husband are coming over Sunday for cookies and coffee. I have a small little gift for them but I can't say what it is since she reads my blog ;) The kids love her and her husband.

For Thanksgiving this year we were invited to join my brother Matt and his in-laws. Peter and Ashley came as well. I think the group totalled around 25 people. It was so much fun though. My brother has been so lucky with his in-laws. His wife has two brothers and they have 7 kids between them. We drove down to Lansing on Thanksgiving and picked Mark up in Grand Rapids on the way. There was a ton of food and lots of toys and kids for Henry and Irene to play with. Gavin was rarely with me since everyone wanted to hold him. I think I only got him for diaper changes.

My dad is coming for Christmas. He helped my mom take care of my kids while I was in the hospital. He came back the next week and helped me during my first week home. The he came for a long weekend the first weekend of December. The kids love having him visit and so do I. He wants to start coming to visit more frequently now that Mark is back at work. He thought he'd be able to help during the weekends Mark is gone. I am really hoping that we'll be seeing him more often. As for Christmas, my brother Pete is driving up with him the night of the 24th. They'll stay for most of Christmas day before heading back home. Pete works Christmas Eve and the 26th so they can't stay longer. Pete's wife Ashley is not going to be able to come up this year. They were both going to go to Virginia to spend Christmas with her family but with Pete's work schedule he can't. But he told her to go since she really misses her family. Granted it's their first Christmas together being married but Pete was just promoted to a manager at Hyundai and there is no way he could get the time off.

Well that was a condensed version of our life the last 8 weeks! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

Knitting

This is the sweater, hat, and booties set that I knitted for Gavin. I am rather proud of this. I get lots of compliments on it too.

This one piece outfit I actually knitted for Henry but he never got to use it. Now it is waiting for Gavin to go into it.

Our Christmas stockings, knitted by me. Gavin's is in the middle still needing the bells put onto the strings. And yes, the dogs each have a stocking too. Oh and please excuse the toys and blankets on the floor...darn kids;)

Santa Time!

Last night we took Henry and Irene to the Santa Train. It was very cold so we had Gavin stay at home with Grandma. Santa came in on the caboose, waving to the crowd. Mrs. Claus and some elves passed out candy canes and mini flashlights (which the kids love). From the top of the caboose they handed out frisbees...I caught one with my head ;) There was a Christmas tree in a car of the train. It was decorated with lights. The caboose and engine were decorated as well.

Santa was very patient and talked to each child and took pictures. Henry said he wanted Transformers. I am not sure what Irene asked for. After we talked to Santa we got free hot chocolate and cookies from the Boyer Agency. It was very much needed since we were all cold. It was a great time though and I hope they do it again next year!