It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

I have such fond childhood memories of Christmas…the Christmas story we used to read on Christmas Eve, the wonderful Christmas songs, time with each other, and (let’s face it) the presents.  I remember not being able to sleep the night before Christmas because I was so excited for Christmas morning!  As I became an adult, I still loved Christmas, but it was somehow not as exciting as it used to be.  I don’t know why.  Maybe it is because I needed a fresh perspective, maybe it is because it wasn’t how it used to be, or maybe that is just part of growing up.  But I am happy to say that ever since I have had my own child, Christmas has become a new and exciting holiday for me again.  Judah is not old enough to really understand anything about Christmas yet, but I find myself getting so excited about starting our own family traditions.  I look forward to singing Christmas carols with my child(ren), baking cookies with them (and I am not a baker), sharing the Good News about what Christmas is really means and why we celebrate, watching the excitement and joy on their faces as they open the gifts that God has been so gracious to bless us with, and just being together as a family.   

So this year, we put up our Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving, as we typically do.  This usually amounts to Eric bringing everything in from the garage and putting up the tree, and then I actually decorate the tree and put everything else around the house.  This works for us as Eric has no desire to do any type of “decorating”, and I actually prefer to do it on my own.  Hopefully, as Judah gets older, he will be able to help decorate the tree with me.  He was not interested in the least this year, and just kept saying “ball” every time he saw a round ornament.  It is just as well as I know that he would most likely do more damage than actually help.  

Judah checking out the almost put-together tree

Yeah for Christmas!

Even little sister has a present under the tree!

So, the tree is up and presents are already under it.  I love to sit on the couch at night and enjoy the feel of our living room lit up with Christmas lights.  But most of all, I love that Christmas reminds us that God gave us His most precious gift, His Son.  And that means that Christmas is more than gifts, cookies, songs, and even family time.  Christmas is a celebration of God’s incredible act of love, and it is because of that love that we have the hope of heaven.                 



Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is such a wonderful holiday.  I just love it.  It is a time to get together with people you care about, eat great food, and reflect on all the things we have to be thankful for.  This year, we got together at my parents house with some family members from out of town.  Of course, my mom made a turkey (which was delicious).

And Eric carved his very first turkey this year!

He had a little help, but did a wonderful job! 

After a large meal, we just hung out at the house which is always a nice time for conversation and interacting with one another.  Judah had fun playing with his cousins, and some of us (me not included) played a friendly game of scrabble.

It is so hard to believe that another year has gone by since last Thanksgiving!  I can't even list all the things that we have been blessed with in the past year.  It seems like so much has happened and we have so many things to be grateful for!  But this year, I am most grateful for my sweet little boy who blesses me each and every day.  

This was Judah last Thanksgiving...

and here he is this year.

 

 So, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  May we never forget all the blessings God has given us!

100 Percent Wrong

After our failed attempt to find out the gender earlier in the week, I called one of those independent ultrasound places to see if we could get in for another try.  To my surprise, they had an opening two days later, so I took it.  Well, I am 100 percent happy to announce that I was 100 percent wrong!  The results are in and Baby Rowe is a girl!  To say that I am surprised is an understatement, but it is the best surprise in the world.  I was so convinced that we were having a boy that I think I had to ask the ultrasound lady three times if she was sure!

After my appointment, I think it really took some time to sink in for me.  And, for a while, I wasn’t sure why.  I mean, there was always a 50 percent chance that it would be a girl, so why was this so surprising to me?  After my appointment, I visited my parents for the afternoon and shared the good news with them.  I put a “little sister” shirt in a bag and had them open it which was really cute. 

On the way home, I stopped by a children’s clothing store because I had a coupon to use and some Christmas shopping to do for family.  As I entered the store, the reality hit me that I would be able to shop on the “other” side of the store for my little girl.  The other side of the store that I had always looked at from a distance and admired the variety of cute outfits and the sea of pink and purple.  I just stood there and stared.  And then I realized why the reality of having a girl was hard for me to grasp.  For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted a little girl…someday.  It’s something that I always hoped to experience…down the road.  It is a prayer I have secretly uttered to God, asking him to give me the desire of my heart…eventually.  And I realized that God was answering my prayer, but not “down the road”, He was answering my prayer now.  I realized that secretly, deep down, I had feared that God would never answer that prayer. 

In this area of my life, I believed that God would discard my wants and desires. 

I had doubted God’s goodness.  

Somewhere along the way, I started to believe that my desires were irrelevant to God. 

As God showed me what was really in my heart, tears came to my eyes.  It’s as if He whispered to me, “Why wouldn’t I be good to you?”  I realized that this was not about having a boy or a girl at all; it was about learning who God is.  He is not good “someday” or “in the future”; He is good now.  He is not unaware of or uncaring about the good desires of our heart.  He cares about even the smallest prayers we whisper.  He is not far off, and He loves us more than we know. 

So, it is with great joy that we will welcome this little girl into our lives, but it is with greater joy that I serve a good, caring, and personal God. 

I am 100 percent happy to say that I was 100 percent wrong.      

Pink or Blue?

Well, today was our big ultrasound appointment!  Eric and I were so excited to see our baby for the first time (well, for the first time since he/she was the size of a bean).  We were equally as excited to find out the gender of the baby!  After all the measurements were taken, the ultrasound tech turned the screen around and showed us our baby’s legs, arms, and head.  What a wonder it is so see all those tiny, precious body parts.  When it came to seeing the gender, the tech showed us that the baby was sitting with his/her legs crossed which was making it difficult to really see anything.  For as much as the baby was moving around, he/she was not budging those legs!  So, after trying again and again, we were told that she was not able to get a good look at the gender.  The tech said that if she had to “guess”, she would say it was a girl, but also stated that the boy parts could just be hiding at the moment (due to the legs being crossed).  I think if I am being honest, I felt a bit disappointed that we couldn’t find out the gender.  I know that this is certainly not the most important part of the ultrasound appointment, but it is something that we were looking forward to.  I kind of felt a little like I had gone to a birthday party, but never got to have any cake.  Yes, the whole point of a birthday party is to celebrate the person whose birthday it is (and that is certainly the most important part), but everyone looks forward to the cake!  So, I have to keep things in perspective-our baby is healthy.  We were still blessed by seeing those sweet baby parts that are already so dear to us.  I am so thankful for these things!  So, for now, we don’t know if we are having a boy or girl, but we are so grateful for what God is doing in our lives as we wait for this precious life to grow.  And in case anyone is wondering, we aren’t giving up on the whole gender thing just yet…we plan to get another ultrasound in the very near future.  You know what “they” say…if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!

Halfway There

I can't believe that I am halfway through my pregnancy already!  These first 20 weeks have really really flown by.  Maybe it's because I am taking care of a toddler all day long-who knows, but days and weeks really seem to fly by.  This is both exciting and sad for me at the same time.  I am really looking forward to having another baby, but I know my days with Judah as the only child are numbered.  Oh, I am sure he will adjust just fine, but sometimes I think I am going to be the one who has a more difficult adjustment.  On a developmental note,  I read that the baby is now 10 inches from head to heel which is about the length of a banana!

 I think that is so neat!  I first started to feel baby "taps" (as I call them) around week 17, but I am definately able to feel the baby move more and more these days.  As a matter of fact, he/she kicked just as I wrote that!  What a wonderful feeling that is...   

Less Than A Week

So, it is less than a week until we find out the gender of the baby!  To say that I am excited is an understatement.  I had often wondered if I would be as excited to find out the gender with a second child as I was with the first one…and now I know that the answer is a resounding YES.  I have been open in saying that I think we are having another boy, which would be wonderful, but I would not be disappointed in the least if I was wrong.  I really think both genders offer different blessings and challenges all of which I will gladly accept!  I think having another boy at this stage would be great for Judah as well as easy for us since we have all boy things and this baby is due to arrive at the same time Judah was born.  That being said, I think having a girl would be a wonderful gift as we don’t have one yet and would hope to have a girl at some point.  I know that there are many people who don’t prefer to find out the sex and say that they feel it is better that way.  They may be totally right, and since I have never tried that, I can’t say that I have an unbiased perspective.  But I have found that knowing the sex does help me to connect with the baby.  I do feel that there is a part of me that needs or wants to physically and emotionally prepare for the baby’s arrival, and part of that (for me) involves knowing the sex of the baby.  When I journal during my pregnancy, it helps to know who I am talking to.  When I have the “itch” to buy something for the baby, I can pick pink or blue.  And now that I have an “older” child, I can tell him about his baby brother or sister and even call the baby by his/her name.  Eric and I both also feel that we have so many “unknowns” in life as it is that the more we can be prepared for, the better we feel.  So, in less than a week we will (hopefully) be able to find out whether baby Rowe is a girl or boy.  Now, the question becomes will we keep it a secret?  Just kidding….    

The Candy Basket

At one point when I was young, I started “collecting” candy, and would keep it in a basket in my room.  I would grab pieces of candy from any random place that it was available to me-the bank, a doctor’s office, or a friend who offered me some.  But I wouldn’t eat it.  I would save it for the basket in my room.  Until one day, the basket was full.  I realized that I had reached my goal of having a full basket of candy, and I was very proud of it!  I would eagerly show this basket to friends who came by or I would taunt my brother with it, but I would never let anyone have any of the candy.  No one was allowed to even have one piece from the basket.  When my friends would ask for a piece, I would say something like, “No, I want to keep the basket full.”   On occasion, I would allow myself to have a piece, but I wouldn’t eat too much because I didn’t want to diminish the supply of candy that I had worked so hard to collect.  Weeks went by and the proud feeling that I had about my accomplishment slowly diminished.  One day I realized that no one really cared about my basket of candy.  And the reality was that there was no way I would be able to eat it all, so a lot of it would probably go to waste.  I had no one to share it with.  I realized the pleasure that I thought I would have by saving all this candy for myself was only temporary.  I have no idea what ended up happening to all that candy.  I am sure that I ate some, but most of it probably ended up in the garbage. 

God reminded me of this story recently.  He reminded me of the many blessings He has poured into my life.  How He has given me more than I need.  How He has been so gracious to fill up my “basket” with all of His sweet abundance.  But what am I doing with it?  Am I keeping it to myself or am I sharing His blessings with others?  Am I content to just receive His goodness or do I look for opportunities to pass it on?  He reminded me that sometimes I still act like that little girl, happy to take all the goodness that He is willing to give me, but reluctant to share with others.  And I am reminded that, not much unlike my full candy basket, His goodness is MEANT to be shared.  It’s not just for me.  If I keep it to myself, I’m the one who misses out.  The joy that He intends for me to experience is diminished.  So, as I think about this silly little story, I am reminded to empty my “basket” as often as I can, with an eager attitude, knowing that my basket will never really be empty.  I am reminded that God wants me to give to others like He has given to me.  I am reminded that sharing God’s abundance and blessings with others means that I can experience true joy, and He can be glorified.  

    



What A Frenzy It Was

A couple friends and I decided to plan and host a fall-themed party this past weekend for the two playgroups that we are a part of.  We decided to call it “Fall Frenzy”.  We wanted to have a fun party where we could all get together, eat a yummy meal, and have fall activities for the kids to do.  We had chili, cornbread, hotdogs, and desserts to eat, and activities such as painting pumpkins, hand/face painting, coloring, and a craft for the kids to enjoy.  We even made “Fall Frenzy” t-shirts for the kids!  We also had a “theme” verse: Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He has made everything beautiful in its time.”  It was so wonderful to spend time with friends and watch our little ones have fun and play together.  Judah was a little young to really appreciate the activities, but we tried to get him involved.  Eric ended up doing one craft project all by himself.  Judah’s two favorite activities were running around and playing with crayons (but not actually coloring with them).  Here are some pictures of our day!

                                          The Details

No party is complete without a themed banner!

Our yummy spread of food...

The cute signs that Meghan made for the kid "stations"

Fall Frenzy t-shirts designed by Lisa

The Activities

Eating, of course...

Judah in his favorite spot, playing with crayons.

Our attempt at getting Judah to sit and do an activity with daddy.

The very nice craft...made by daddy.

Judah's first experience getting his face painted. 

Judah kept wanting to eat the paintbrush at first, but he eventually got the hang of it...

Finished product-good job Meghan!

Daddy teaching Judah how to sign his name...I guess it's never too early. :)

The Kids

This is most of our playgroup kids.  They are too cute! 

It was a full afternoon of fun and “frenzy”, but at the end of the day I am most grateful for how blessed we are to have such wonderful friends to do life with!     

Sometimes It's The Small Moments

I didn’t go to church today because I was sick.  So, Eric got Judah up, fed him breakfast, and got him ready for church while I rested.  As he was getting Judah ready, I overheard him talking to Judah downstairs.   I heard him say, “No, Judah, it’s not time to read a book now, it’s Sunday and we are going to church.”, and “We bring our Bible to church”, and “We go to church for Jesus”.   Sometimes it is in these small moments that I am blessed the most.  How grateful I am to have a husband who shares what is so important to me and wants to share that with our son.  How grateful I am that Judah has a daddy who loves him so much.  How grateful I am that I don’t have to parent by myself.  How grateful I am for the positive impact that Eric has on our family.  Thank you Jesus for being so good to me.   

My boys!