Intentional

We are trying to be very intentional with our time this Christmas season.  We want to take time and do some fun things with the kids.  It is so neat to watch them get caught up in the excitement of the season. 

Grandma Cheri took Calvin for a day at her house and he made cut out cookies.  He frosted a few there, but brought back a dozen or so for all of the kids to frost at our house.  They loved it.  Asher only frosted one because he realized how great it tasted and he couldn't get past eating the frosting. 

There is a place in town called Christmas Town and it has lots of different kid activities.  There is an upfront fee to get in, but once in everything except the food and gifts is free.  We went there on Saturday and the kids had a blast.  They got to sit on Santa and Mrs. Claus's lap.  When asked what they wanted for Christmas, Calvin wanted a frog that jumps and Mia wanted a fox.  I love that they haven't been consumed by the materialism of the holiday yet. 

There were several bouncy houses, most like your typical birthday bouncy house rental, but one huge one that was a snowman.  It was super windy at the entrance and Calvin just couldn't get the courage to go in by himself and the others weren't going in with him, so they settled on bouncing in the birthday style ones for awhile. 

There was a hayride to look at the lights and face painting, along with ice skating.  The kids loved the ice skating, although it wasn't truly ice skating as it was more wax than ice, but you could get going a bit with the skates. 

There were plenty of lights and overall the kids had a blast.  It was worth the time and effort to go out there.  At the end there was a huge slide that Daddy took them on.  They loved it. 

The kids would definitely go again.

Juggling

I feel like I am in a circus most days.  I am a juggler trying to keep all the balls in motion and it seems like the balls keep flying in during December.  If I look at the whole month, it makes me want to crawl into a hole and hibernate until summer.  Then I have to take a step back, breathe, and take it moment by moment.

The one thing I have learned being a mom is that moment by moment is doable.  The whole picture, not so much.  Take today for example.  I had to make the kids breakfast, get them dressed, do schoolwork with Mia, take Mia to vision therapy, make lunch, empty the dishwasher, load the dishwasher, wash the clothes, dry the clothes, fold the clothes, put away the clothes, exercise (myself), do Mia's daily medical stuff, get Asher down for a nap, make dinner, and so on and so on.  I could easily get overwhelmed just thinking about my day, but I take it in chunks.  First we work on breakfast, then we work on the next task.  And amazingly, God takes me through each moment graciously.

Asher didn't want to take a nap today and since he has a new found freedom of being able to climb out of his crib at will, it makes naptime and nighttime more difficult.  I know naps are important, I don't want cranky babies and yet I can't force the kid to sleep (although if I could, I would).  So, realizing the impending doom that it wasn't going to happen at the usual time, much to my dismay...I rearranged our schedule a bit and tried a little later.  Thankfully, by the grace of God...and this is where He is so gracious, Asher did go to sleep.  Thank you Lord!

It's just a constant juggle to me and I know that I would fall flat on my face if I didn't have my God walking right beside me.  If it was me, by myself, the game would be over.  But, somehow the Lord has taken me through 7 years of being a mother.  Looking back, it is only with His help, that I have managed to get here. 

What just boggles my mind the most, is that God loves me so much, that He wants to be part of my mundane, ordinary day.  And not just mine, but every single one of yours too.  He wants to help me with my juggling and walk beside me moment by moment, I just need to ask Him to be with me and He will.  And He does that for anyone.  Anyone who calls on His name.  Isn't that amazing!  I can't keep three balls up in the air without help and He juggles an infinite number with ease.  I'm so glad He's on my side.  I really couldn't imagine life without Him. 

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family.  We celebrated with Brad's parents on the actual day and then with my mom and family on the day after.  We ate way too much turkey and pie...as always, right?  The kids really enjoyed all the festivities, they especially liked playing Thanksgiving BINGO (nothing fancy, just with Thanksgiving pictures instead of numbers) at Nana and Grampapa's.  Mia especially liked playing cards with my side of the family, it might be in her blood to play cards.  Just fun family games, no betting. 

We also ended up taking some family pictures, here are a few from our photo shoot. 

LA Check Ups

Mia and I were in LA last week for her annual echo on her heart.  It looks fabulous. It is hard to believe that 6 years ago we were getting ready for heart surgery over Thanksgiving week.  I remember that day vividly.  Waiting in the waiting room, getting updates and then a final positive report.

I love that her cardiologist tells us every time that we should just think of Mia as having a normal heart.  She's doing that well, which is so awesome!  Praise God! 

We've had quite a journey over the past few years and we are so grateful for God's healing power in her little life.  She is quite the testimony to our God.  We are just so grateful for how far He has taken her.  Thank you to all who continue to pray and have faithfully prayed for her! 

Tomorrow we are off to LA again for an annual visit with the orthopaedist.  Mia has some mild scoliosis that they continue to monitor, along with her hips.  Her ball and sockets have never completely come into a tight position because of her muscle weakness.  But all of these things are minor and we just continue to watch them with annual check ups. 

Pumpkins, part 2!

We finished the pumpkins tonight.  The kids and I braved Walmart to get some candles.  Note to self, don't go to Walmart the day before or the day of a holiday...it was a nightmare.  But we got back home safe and the kids were so excited to see their pumpkins lit. 

Calvin's pumpkin is on the far left, a traditional jack o' lantern face.  Mia's is in the middle...any guesses?  Of course, a fox for the fox lover.  And Asher's is on the right...what they call a silly face.  Daddy gets the credit, he carved 90% of the pumpkins, the kids just told him what they wanted.  I did a few minor details on the fox face.  Aren't they fun!