Preparing the way

This weekend Nick and I were talking about how important it is to make sure our children know Jesus and how Christmas is not just for presents and Santa. We were working with Vivian to make sure she understands it is Jesus' birthday, and not simply a time for Frosty and Rudolph.

I love all the old children's cartoons and so does Nick, but I realized something this last week as I watched some of the new ones. These shows on TV have "Holiday Specials," and they usually pertain to something or someone 'saving Christmas.' Or it's about some little animated animal delivering presents or doing something 'magical.' I also saw a couple of instances where one show was teaching about the origins of Hannukah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas. They got the information about Hannukah and Kwanzaa correct, in that they are religious holidays, but for Christmas, all that was taught was that it was the time when Santa comes to deliver gifts, and it's about giving to others and decorating the tree.

This made me mad. Why is it offensive to tell children on secular shows about the goodness and true miracle of Christmas? It is something that is more often than not ignored or simply left out. Why is it ok to teach about the menorah, but not the simplicity and filth of our Great God humbling himself to be born into a cattle stall?

As a new mother once again, and now with two children, I can see the wonder and awe of Christ's birth in a whole new light. Mary was not expecting to give birth yet... she had nothing with her to even clothe her new child. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes... rags, and they laid him in a TROUGH!

I am always obsessing about what Henry will wear, and does he have spit-up on his shoulder? Is his diaper dry? Did I make sure to wash his clothes in Dreft? Are his nails trimmed?

Last night we had dinner out, and I took Henry to the restroom to change him. I had everything I needed except baby wipes. I had left them in the car. I had a brief freak-out moment... and then it came to me: Mary did not have these things. What did she wipe her baby's bottom with? The Lord of Lords, the King of Creation, the Almight God, the Prince of Peace didn't have any of these luxuries.

I am humbled to the point of pure shame, where I have realized all that I have, and all that I enjoy, and that my Lord, Jesus Christ, walked this earth in the most humble of bodies, in a time when comfort was not an everyday occurance.

I know I'm rambling, but to get to the point... this Christmas means more to me than ever, and I hope I can express this joy and love to my children so that they truly understand in their hearts the magnitude of this Awesome gift.

More beautiful than any earthly gift could ever be: this precious gift from our Father.

Post-Thanksgiving Update!

Sorry, everyone. It has been a while since I posted. But I have finally gotten a chance to download some pictures and get them on here.

We had a great Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa Deboy's. Nick is super busy right now with work. This is 'peak' for FedEx. Obviously everyone is sending packages and ordering all kinds of stuff. So my husband is sort-of Santa Claus for a whole month.... yaaaayyyy. (Which means we see him for about 15 minutes each evening and Sundays.)

Last weekend we all attended a Fashion Show at BSU that was produced by a class David is in. This has been their semester project to design, market, and advertise the entire event. We had a great time! David was in charge of picking out who was going to model. So of course, he excelled at that. Only BEAUTIFUL leggy women were on the catwalk. ;)

Dad was a little out of his element at the fashion show. Mom and I thought he should get up and strut his stuff since the show was titled "Made in the Midwest," and Dad is like, the epitome of Midwest essence. His steel-toed boots and wrangler jeans were quite the statement pieces. (haha)

Henry is quite the little colicky baby boy. We are doing ok, but it seems he has developed quite a set of lungs. I have been trying some soy formula with him, but really haven't seen much of a difference.

I've been back on WW officially (paying member) for the last week, and I weighed in this morning and found I have lost 7 pounds. So, I think I'm going to continue nursing Hanky Panky until the rest of this weight sheds. :)

Have a wonderful weekend! We are decorating our Christmas tree tomorrow!!!!

Dad and Henry at Thanksgiving.

Kaitlyn was able to pour water efficiently. So she gets to stay. :)

Vivian was pooped after we got home.

Our view of the stage at the Fashion Show. Pretty neat!

Backstage after the show. David introduced us to his friend Sarah. She was one of the models.

Mommy!

The boys...

Excited to go eat.

It's PEAK!

Haven't posted in a while- sorry. First, the kids have been sick, then Thanksgiving, then sick Vivian again. It was just great. :)

Thanksgiving was awesome this year. It's always good when someone else cooks, but when they cook excellent Thanksgiving dishes, it's even better. We brought some lemon squares and a cheese ball which seemed to go over well. Might have to make the cheese ball again for Christmas. I also found a yummy-looking recipe for a chocolate yule log that is low points plus that I think we will bring to Christmas dinner as well.

It was a lot of fun to see everyone for Thanksgiving, and even though Vivers wasn't feeling her best, she had fun staying at Mamaw Millie's house. Henry did pretty well considering he was out of his element and comfort zone.

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving Mom and Kaitlynn and I went wedding dress shopping. SO MUCH FUN! We watched her try on a ton of dresses, and there was one that was a definite favorite in style and class. It was a great day. We had some yummy lunch at O'Charley's, which was excellent. I haven't eaten there in at least a year. (We don't have one in Muncie.) Their cheddar-baked-potato soup is my favorite, and they have the best rolls. I could inhale about ten of them and still want more.

She will be a beautiful bride! :)

Anyway, dress shopping was great, and we hope Kaitlynn is able to pick her favorite and order it soon!

Vivian seems to be over her 2nd sickness finally. There for a couple of days she was just completely lethargic and feverish. I think she just had a touch of flu. She didn't want to eat, just drank, and took tylenol. We took her to the doctor again, but everything was clear, so there wasn't anything to treat. But now she seems back to her old self- loud, running around, eating, happy, etc. I was so relieved when she came out of her room wanting to wear her princess dress and eat some cookies. It's weird when she doesn't feel good.

Ah-CHoo!

Well, everyone seeeeeems to be pulling through this outbreak of colds at our house.

We took both kids to the doctor yesterday. Both have ear infections and colds. Both were prescribed antibiotics. Henry got the pink amoxicillin, and Vivian got augmenten. She was upset that her medicine wasn't pink like baby brother's.

Poor little kiddos have been sleepy and cranky. Today Henry went back for a double check, and our doctor said he is doing much better.

He's helping me in the kitchen while Vivi takes a nap.

Ewwwww.... Mommy has to check my temp the icky way. :(

Sickly Kids... all 3 of them!

Well, Vivian has had a cold for about 3 days, and Henry started showing signs of it last night. I was up with him quite a bit. Nick called yesterday on his way home to let me know that he wasn't feeling well either.

Soooooo... all day Mommy has been tending to her 3 babies. Henry seems pretty much fine, just a little conjested, so he has gotten some nasal drops. Vivian has been taking a homepathic remedy since she isn't old enough to take regular cold medicine yet. She is playing and acting just about normal, except for the runny nose.

Nick has been extra whiny, and has the headache and runny nose too. He took some alka seltzer and has been drinking some ginger ale all day. I made some homemade chicken noodle soup for us for dinner to help with the sickness...

It was a lot of fun actually to make. I like to cook when I'm not exhausted from work. So if it seems like I'm posting about food a lot, I'm sure it will stop when I go back to work. :) (And we go back to hot dogs and macaroni and cheese.)

This was my first attempt at making my own broth- I usually just buy it and go from there, but today I did it all from scratch. I also made my own noodles... so they are kind-of misshapen, but they tasted very yummy.

Nick paid the ultimate compliment to me. He said when I set the bowl of soup in front of him, he felt like he was 5 years old and at his Great Grandma's house, since she used to make her own chicken and noodle soup with her own noodles, too. That made me feel great! Maybe he'll get lucky and I'll make it again someday. :)

I know! It even looks good!



Mmm-mmm good. Nick had 3 bowls of it, and Vivian liked the noodles.




Henry has on his Notre Dame 'tie.' I'm sure he's wishing he could have some soup, too.



Vivian--- the girl with the chocolate smile. (She had some M&Ms after dinner.)

How Can I Keep From Singing?

Can't believe that the election is over and did not go as planned by myself and most of the people I know and love. We were extremely disappointed, however, life must go on. I did some thinking and praying, and asked God for wisdom and peace.

Even our Republican napkins couldn't pull out a victory.



Sorry, Mitt. :(


Let's not forget, we are not in charge- He has a plan for good in each and every circumstance, and if we have faith and hope and continue to do His work, this can be a positive thing. The following verses have helped me to give up this anxiety to the Lord. Every day is a gift from God, and He is the Lord of all creation. What is greater than Him? Nothing.

Ecclesiastes 7, 1-14 and Psalm 46, v. 10

We are not giving up in our house, because God will never give up on us. So, let's keep praying and working to keep our country. It is a gift from God as well, and I intend not to allow it to go down the tubes as long as I can keep working. :)


In other news, we have had a fun week! Vivian and I baked some delicious bread, and Daddy ate a whole loaf of it on Wednesday evening. (I thought we needed some comfort food, so what better than freshly baked bread?) It came out beautifully, and we picked up more yeast at the store yesterday in case we decide to make more.

Day-after depression calls for something with yeast. :)

Uncle David came over the visit on Tuesday, and even though he was majorly disappointed too with the election results, he still had a good time playing with Vivian. He helped her get her bath and into her jammies,too. He is a good uncle, and Bisky loves it when he plays his music for her.

Henry is growing like a serious weed. He was 12.4 lbs about 2 weeks ago, and goes for his 2 week appt. on Nov. 16. I'm excited to see how much more he has grown. He is a chunk! We think he looks like a little butterball turkey.

Mom came over yesterday to hang out and visit. We had a good time shopping together. Found some sweet little outfits for Henry since he is growing out of everything.

Trick or Treat!

Halloween finally arrived for little Miss Vivian. She has been excited to go trick or treating for about a month. She was Princess Rapunzel, but she took her crown off because it was hurting her head. :(

Nick took her around the block to our neighbors' to trick or treat for a little bit last night. It was colder out last night, so she was layered with two pairs of pants and 2 shirts under her princess dress. I made her wear a coat, too. She was upset because she couldn't see her bee-yoo-ti-ful dress completely, but oh well. Nothing worse than a sick kid, and we are trying to keep everyone as healthy as possible.

Before all the excitement began, Vivi and I made some pumpkin cupcakes with pumpkin spice frosting. They are only 3 Points Plus per cupcake with frosting, and 2 pp without! They are delicious. I found the recipe on a website and it uses a cake mix and canned pumpkin. They are very moist and dense. Hard to describe, but actually better than a regular dry cupcake.

 Here's the webpage where I found the recipe: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/09/pumpkin-cupcakes-with-pumpkin-spiced.html

The webpage itself is wonderful. Lots of yummy stuff, and all the points are calculated. (I'm back on WW again!)  http://www.skinnytaste.com

We hope everyone had a happy and safe Halloween. Now we just have to convince Vivian not to eat every piece of candy she got last night! :)

Happy Halloween! :)