my sweet boys

All three on Christmas Eve (I played around with the color a little bit):


During Monkey's first bath:


He was screaming when I put him in the water. Then, he calmed down and maybe even fell asleep during the bath. He loved it!

He's one week old in this picture (he still has bruises from delivery on his eyes and nose):

That's all for now. We're in the midst of moving to a four bedroom house!

Homemade Christmas

I had such fun this year making lots of Christmas presents. Between these gifts and Monkey's quilt, my sewing machine needs to be serviced now!
A knitting needle case for my mom from this pattern:

This buttercup bag

and a Mama's Bag from Amanda Soule's book Handmade Home for my sister:

This Mama's Bag for a dear friend:

"Millie's hot pads" for a number of different people, also from Handmade Home using quilting scraps:

Crowns for my nieces and our god-children from Amanda Soule's Creative Family:

These jingle bell fabric balls/cubes for all the new babies in our family (beach ball pattern, pentagon ball pattern using quilting scraps, and cube pattern from Creative Family using wool felt from here):

Portrait bookmarks from Handmade Home (Gator drew the picture, I stitched, and Bull helped assemble):

We also made some ornaments and a mug using the kits that you can get at just about any craft store:

I have truly enjoyed crafting these gifts for those that we love. I hope that the recipients are enjoying them as well!

Merry Christmas!

From our house to yours, we pray God's blessings on you and your family during this season. May you seek Him with all your heart and know the depth and breadth of His love for you as a result.
"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14

Home for Christmas

We welcomed our little Monkey into the world on December 22nd at 2:23 AM. He came fast and furious with no meds. He weighs 9 lbs 8.9 oz and is 22 in long, with light brown hair and blue eyes (so no one won the contest). After spending a couple of days at the hospital, we arrived home today, just before the snow started and just in time for Christmas! Monkey is nursing well and is a very laid back, easy-going baby so far.

With all of our children, we have chosen Biblical first names based on the meaning of the name, and family names for their middle names. Monkey's first name means "all heart" or "whole-hearted," and his middle name is my Daddy's first name.

We are so thrilled to have him here. He is precious to us. We can't wait to see how he adds to our family!

Warning!!!! Birth Story follows:

I've been having contractions for a couple of weeks now. They would start, hang around for a couple of hours and then mysteriously disappear. The contractions were accomplishing something though. On Monday morning at my doctor's appointment, I was almost 5 cm. I had contractions Monday afternoon and evening, all between 4 and 6 minutes apart, but not consistent in intensity. I went to bed around 11 PM. At 1:19 AM, I was awakened by a very hard contraction, followed by others about 2-3 minutes apart. I woke up Hubs and we headed to the hospital. We signed in at 1:49 AM and the nurse checked me. The quote of the night at 1:55 AM: "Delivery is not imminent" because I was still 5 cm. My water broke while I was in the exam room, so I was moved to a Labor and Delivery room. Once I got in the L&D room, things progressed at an incredible speed. I remember saying "Something's happening!" I pushed twice and he was here at 2:23 AM. The nurses hustled him off to make sure he was alright. He was a little bit blue due to the bruising from such a fast delivery. Also, the fluid was a little greenish, so they wanted to be sure that he was ok. Within 30 minutes of his birth, he was latched on and nursing like a pro already. So this kiddo has his own dramatic entry story, just like his big brothers!

waiting

waiting, longing, anticipating

skin stretched taut over growing womb, itching

riding a donkey, walking, at least three days

hilly terrain, rocks, desert sand, dusty trails well-worn by others

approaching the City of David from Nazareth

singing, aching, breathing, contracting

stopping, stretching, resting

swelling, contracting, breathing, pushing

He comes in the night

stench of animals, voices of shepherds, songs of angels

the Gift

nursing, swaddling, cuddling

God with flesh

pondering, rejoicing, praising

small babe sent to save the world

for now crying, suckling, sleeping

waiting, longing, anticipating

labor pains, signs, rumors

twinkling, a thief, rapture

in the clouds

witnesses, Antithesis, remnant

alert, sober, searching, preparing

His return

sons of light, of the day

faith, love, hope

set all things right, Faithful, True

establishing, justice, wrath

saved, redeemed, alive

praising, worshiping, eternity

King of Kings, Prince of Peace

Christmas Tour of Homes

The Christmas Tour of Homes (formerly at BooMama) is now hosted by The Nester.
Welcome to my home!

Our outdoor decorations:

We didn't get all of the decorations up before it started snowing, so this, along with a wreath on the door, is all we've got outside. The reindeer were made for us by some dear friends of ours.

This is my console/sewing table just as you enter the door:

I was so excited to finally finish all of my sewing projects so that I could dress this table. That's our first Jesse Tree on the left. The small Nativity was a gift from Bull's preschool teachers last year.

Here is the kids' bookcase:

There used to be a whole lot of chocolate in that sleigh. Alas, it is right at eye level for the kiddos. We've been finding lots of empty candy wrappers around the house!

My dining room (with my olivewood Nativity given to me by my grandparents):

I also have a Precious Moments Nativity from my childhood (forgot to take a picture) on top of our TV armoire.

Our Christmas tree and stockings:

We don't have a mantle in this house, so the stockings are hung by the window with care. My mom is bringing Monkey's stocking when she comes. Do you see the blanket of snow still on the ground outside the window?

This nativity is in the boys' room. I let them set it up. When I saw it the first time, I was struck by the statement that my children had made in the way they did it. Look closely at all of the figures...each of them is looking at Baby Jesus, gathered as closely as possible.

What a poignant reminder of the reason for all of the celebration.

...but [Jesus] made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Philippians 2:7

Playing in the Snow - Day Two

On Wednesday, we woke up to drifts of snow that were 3-4 feet high. Blizzard conditions overnight helped with that. So, playing was a little bit different on this day - still a lot of fun though!

Jumping into the biggest drift in our yard (my biggest kid included):

Snowball fight! (Gator and Hubs had a blast):

Trudging in the snow isn't easy when you sink up to your knees! This was Bull's favorite thing to do though (that and eat the snow):

Not a great picture, but I had to prove that Monkey and I were there too!

My poor outdoor decorations:

Peeling off the layers upon layers (notice the piles surrounding him):

For those interested, this is how I dressed the boys.

For the bottom half:

1 pair of my nylon trouser socks against skin, then a pair of my regular socks over the trouser socks;

pajama bottoms with another layer of my regular socks pulled up to the knees;

pair of sweatpants over all the above.

For the top half:

pajama top tucked into pajama bottom;

turtleneck;

sweatshirt;

two pairs of gloves (we only have knit ones);

hat.

On top of all that:

heavy winter coats;

Gator has snow pants and Bull has a snow bib. Snow bibs are where it's at! The pants were a hand-me-down, so I'm not complaining. But Gator's midsection was soaked from snow getting under the hem of his jacket. Bull was completely dry though! Next year, Gator will have a snow bib.

Playing in the Snow - Day One

Day One of playing in the snow was great! I managed to dress the kids such that their fingers and toes were still warm once they came in after an hour+ of playing. (Thanks for the tips, Jennifer!)

Shoveling snow for the first time (at least at our house):

As it came down:

Two very unhappy dogs:

Sledding for the first time (we have awesome hills right behind our house!):

Just before a snowball fight:

Warming up afterward:

Thanks to grandparents for the snow clothes and boots and the sleds (all birthday presents). We had a great time using them!

SNOW!

Today, I am celebrating the gift of snow. Yes, it's cold. But it is so pretty! My boys got to play in it for a little while yesterday (until they got too cold). They are home from school today and might even be able to go sledding! Since this is our first winter in the Midwest, their wonder is contagious! Perhaps one day we will be sick of the snow and the cold. But for right now we are enjoying it and the fact that we have a warm house to retreat into once our fingers, noses and cheeks are bright red! Do you have a gift that you'd like to unwrap? Head over to Emily's blog and link up!

Things I've learned...

1. It takes at least 7 minutes per child to get a hat, gloves and a winter coat on my kids in the morning, and approximately 15 minutes for the van to get warm.

2. I don't think that it's fair that women who begin their pregnancies in sundresses and flip flops have to end their pregnancies in sweaters, jeans and boots. Can we get a 5 pound deduction from our weight for the clothes factor?

3. Monkey must be growing because he is slowing down in his movements...please, Lord, let him come early!

4. Winter time in a cold climate produces a great deal of dirty laundry.

5. I am deeply disturbed by the way Ruby treats her younger brother Max (Max and Ruby). I'd like to publicly apologize to my younger sister if I ever treated her that way (and I'm fairly certain that I did). Love you, sis!

6. I am also deeply disturbed by Paw Pilot (the floating purple head) on Special Agent Oso. My kids don't watch either of these shows anymore.

7. Even though he acts tough sometimes, I still have a sweet little boy in Gator. He recently asked me for four kisses (he meant Hershey's). So, I held him down and gave him four real kisses and he still giggled!


8. I am really enjoying sewing lately. It's a lot of fun to create Christmas presents instead of just going to a store and buying them (though there's something to be said for that too!).

9. Bull is still a great daytime hanging out buddy, even if he has started referring to himself in the third person. I'm not sure where that is coming from.

10. There are few things more beautiful than watching snow fall by the glow of the Christmas tree with a cup of hot chocolate.