Thursday, December 30, 2010

Eight!?!


I know, I know...I am very late in posting this event, and so I’m going to post date this blog...because I just can’t stand for my posts to be out of order. I’ve come to discover that I often think about blogs I want to post. Many I even “write” in my head. But few ever actually make it to the WWW. So much to do and so little time...and quite honestly, by the time I have a moment to sit at the computer uninterrupted, my brain simply stops working. Seriously. I suddenly can’t think of one single thing I had “written” in my head all day! All my deep thoughts, ramblings, and processing are gone. Simply gone. But anyway...all of that is for another blog...that quite frankly will never get written! :)

This post is about my BOY! My first born. My EIGHT year old son. I simply can’t believe he’s eight. I very clearly remember preparing for his arrival. I very clearly remember the 18 or so hours of labor...unmedicated labor...yes, my choice.

I remember:
  • rocking him to sleep. 
  • wondering if he’d ever fall asleep for a nap. 
  • his sweet little hand patting my back as he rested on my shoulder.
  • watching him fearlessly explore and discover at the park. 
  • helping him process his frustration when the golf ball he was trying to hit wouldn’t go as far as he wanted it to...he was 2 1/2! 
  • him becoming a big brother and generously giving to his sister. He could make her smile and laugh like no other. 
  • watching him stack all his toys on the couch so he could “vacuum” with the pretend vacuum cleaner. The boy knew how to clean! 
  • his first year of pre-school. 
  • watching him fall in love with the idea of adoption and his second sister, though we didn’t even know who she was. 
  • watching him play organized sports for the first time. He almost cried when the first practice was over because he didn’t want it to end! 
  • him loving all things Buzz Lightyear! 
  • the excitement he experienced as we traveled to China to meet Abigail for the first time! (He’s a great world traveler!) 
  • him making breakfast for the girls while I was so sick with my third pregnancy. He was 4! The milk puddles and spilled cereal didn’t bother me one bit! I was so thankful for his help! 
  • him being thankful that Lilly was a girl so he could still do his special “boy” things with Dad without a baby boy tagging along. 
  • teaching him to ride his bike without training wheels. 
  • his first day of Kindergarten! Oh how I missed him! 
  • his generous and loving heart continuing to be revealed in so many ways...sweet notes/pictures, thoughtful gifts or actions, putting others before himself, the sweet, sweet prayers he prayed... 
  • 1st grade flying by.
  • his first spelling list and how I couldn’t believe he was old enough to take a spelling test!!! 
  • 2nd grade coming even quicker. 
  • him welcoming Joshua home with open arms and willingly sharing his space and his toys with his new little brother. 
I mean really...where does the time go? My sweet little cuddly baby boy has developed in to an energetic, passionate, silly, often disorganized and messy, Dallas Cowboy/football loving, super compassionate and giving boy...and did I mention he’s energetic! The boy is like an energizer bunny that never wears out!...although sometimes he wears me out!

I do love my Daniel! I can’t wait to see how the Lord uses his energy and passion coupled with his tender and generous heart. What a gift he is....I’m so very grateful to be his mommy!



Monday, December 27, 2010

Christmas in the Country


We always love spending time in Cut N Shoot. It’s a nice change from the hustle and bustle of the big city, and it’s pretty much the only place I get to spend time with my brothers and dad, and the kids get to spend time with the cousins on my side. When the weather is nice we get to enjoy exploring outside, feeding the goats, riding the 4 wheeler and little tykes jeep, fishing, canoeing, and on and on. Again...this is when the weather’s nice! Christmas day the weather was not so nice. So we spent our time playing our cousin’s new wii, lots of color wonder books (my dad should buy stock with all the color wonder products he buys each year!...the kids love it!), enjoying movies and hanging with family, taking naps, etc. Although we had a good time, we were excited when we woke the next morning to clear skies and a little bit warmer temperatures. Yes, good times in the country! I always love the pics taken out at my dad’s place. Such freedom to explore and discover...Enjoy!

























My Beautiful Snaggletooth!


My sweet Caroline! She’s growing up so fast! Look at that beautiful little girl...I just want to kiss her up! In the weeks leading up to Christmas her first loose tooth was getting oh so wiggly. We asked repeatedly if she wanted us to try to pull it, but she wanted nothing to do with it. (I don’t blame her!) But on Christmas night it was obviously beginning to drive her crazy. She kept moving it around, was nervous to eat, kept grabbing paper towels to try to muster up enough courage to give it one good pull, etc. David finally took her back and tried to convince her to pull it, but she still wan’t up for it. After whining again at the dinner table, I took her back to our room and convinced her to let me wiggle it a little. I gave it a little tug, but slipped...shoot! I knew I really only had one good chance at it because if it started to hurt at all she’d be done! About two seconds later it was out!!! Yea! She was so relieved! So proud. I was so shocked that I actually pulled it...my stomach is not near as strong as it used to be and even seeing her wiggle it had been turning my tummy. Her second tooth won’t be far behind.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Eve - Family Time


I thoroughly enjoyed the family traditions we started last year, our first Christmas at home since having kids. So this year I was looking forward to continuing them. Because we were headed to my dad’s for Christmas day, we decided to have our own family Christmas time on Christmas eve.

Our morning started out with an empty manger and the story of Christ’s birth. The kids enjoyed moving the figurines around as the story unfolded: Mary and Joseph traveling a long distance on their donkey, Christ’s birth, the angels and shepherds rejoicing, the wise men seeing the Christmas star and traveling to see the Christ child, etc. I have had this manger scene since college. My mom got it for me my freshman year. Most pieces are chipped and many have a layer of gorilla glue holding limbs and heads in place. I’ve considered swapping it out for a little people nativity set, but there’s something about the delicacy of the pieces that adds excitement to the fact that the kids actually get to touch the pieces and “play” with them. I think I will hold onto it until the pieces are unrecognizable! :)

After the Christmas story, the kids looked in their stockings to find many treats and trinkets that we acquired on our China trip. And then we headed to the front room for presents. I think my favorite part was seeing Caroline pass around presents that she had picked out and wrapped for each person...and when I say picked out, I really mean picked out from around the house! Some of the gifts technically already belonged to that person, but she still took such joy in figuring out what each person would enjoy and then taking care to package them up just right! And for my girl who is not naturally bent towards “giving”, it was a great joy to see her doing that...all on her own!

Later that afternoon we loaded up and headed to Cut N Shoot, TX to enjoy time with extended family.