Photos from Christmas

We had a nice little Christmas at home this year, and then drove down to Klamath Falls to visit family. Here are a few pics....

The boys after the Christmas Eve Service- ready to open their gifts from each other.

Enjoying the little bit of snow in Klamath.

Noah was pointing at Eli (Bubba) riding in the Polaris.

Now we're all riding in it!

And lastly, Eli sleeping in the boys' new tent from Nana. His sleeping bag is in there, but he also moved his couch, pillow and several blankets in with him. :) In the five months we've lived in this house, Eli has slept all over the place. He has fallen asleep in his own bed, fallen asleep next to me on the couch while Jonny and I were watching T.V., fallen asleep in our bed, fallen asleep in what he calls his "cave" (the closet in the extra bedroom which is filled with blankets, pillows and a feather bed.), and now his tent. Bedtime seems to be one new adventure every month!

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

"For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Isa 9:6

Understanding God

Poor Eli. He's having a hard time understanding why God does or allows certain things. He's asking pretty big questions that a lot of adults struggle with. He's a pretty wise little three year old. :)

The first question he had was about friends of ours who lost their baby. The baby was born early- a still born. We're pretty open and real about things with Eli, so when we heard of this news we shared it with Eli as well. Eli asked why God wasn't watching this family. He knows, from his bible stories, that God is big on protecting His people; so the thought of something bad happening to God's people was hard for him to grasp. We basically had to talk to him about Rom. 8:28. We had to explain that we don't always understand why God allows us to go through certain things, but we have to trust Him because He is a good, wise God and He knows better than us. We told him that this isn't heaven- that here on earth there is sin and that is why there is bad and evil in the world. God sometimes allows us to go through hard things for our good and His glory. I told Eli that God also uses evil things for good- remember Joseph? We talked about why God may have allowed him to fall and scratch his face on the sidewalk. The talks all went pretty good...

Then he asked more questions... He knows that God is capable of healing. And he knows that we can ask God to heal us. So when he prayed that God would heal is scab and then opened his eyes to find it was still there, he didn't understand. "But I prayed! He didn't heal me!" This happened over and over. Pray, open eyes, no healing. Pray, open eyes, no healing. Pray, open eyes, no healing. :) "Why won't He heal me like the blind beggar?" Again, we explained that we don't always know why God chooses the things he does, be we have to trust Him because He's God and He knows best.

Now- no baby sister. Eli was almost in tears today. "I want a baby sister! I don't want two brothers. I only want ONE brother! Now God will never give me a baby sister!" Oh, boy. Again, I explained that same hard concept- Sometimes we don't understand why God does the things he does, but we have to trust that He knows better than we do, and He does things for our good, even when they seem hard. I told him that he gets to have TWO brothers to play soccer with, to go fishing with, to go camping with, to ride bikes with, to be his best friends forever. And I told him that some boys don't get any brothers, and that he is so blessed that God is giving him not one, but TWO! I also said, "God knows how much you want a baby sister, and He might decide to give you one later. Sometimes God wants to teach us to wait."

Man, I am sure learning and growing a lot in this mommy- hood journey. I remember a friend of mine, who has a whole house full of kids, telling me that "its not about me!" She explained that her take on having kids and the journey of raising them is sanctifying. It draws us closer to the Lord and makes us oh so much more dependent on Him. He uses our children to teach and humble us. I am so remembering those words today. I really do want a girl some day. I really want Eli to get his baby sister. But I am so happy and content with where God has us. I want to trust Him because He knows best. A house full of boys will sanctify me- I'm sure. It should have me down on my knees before Him every morning... and maybe that's where God wants me to be. :) I don't want anyone to feel sorry for us like its a bummer that we are having ANOTHER BOY! It's a blessing, especially when I think of barren women who so desperately want to have a child. I LOVE my boys. They are lots of energy and loud and always on the move- yes. But they are absolute sweet hearts. Little boys love their mama's and its so, so wonderful. Eli loves to cuddle with me. He's constantly telling me I'm pretty and how much he loves me and how great I am. I wouldn't trade that for the world. So, sure- I'll take another boy! :)

My three sons!

Yep, that's right. We found out today that we'll be having another very wiggly BOY!!! As soon as our little boy moved to show us his rear side, Jonny said, "That looks like a boy!" The ultrasound technician replied, "Yes, it sure does!" And I started laughing. Of course. And already he's acting like one of our boys. He would not sit still! The ultrasound took an hour and a half because the silly boy wouldn't sit still! He was bouncing, hopping, kicking, punching, rolling and flipping! The ultrasound technician was laughing that he found my bladder to be such fun; he kept hopping on it. By the time she was done getting all the pictures she needed, she told us she was sweating. :) I think this boy will fit right in with his brothers. And I think to keep everyone's houses from being destroyed by the Oelkers boys, I'll just say it now- you'll have to come see us! :) I'm just joking.. we'll sorta...

Anyway, we have no idea what his name will be. We have a list to start making. Oh, and Eli was a little disappointed. After I broke the news to him, he told me, "No, its a GRIL (girl) baby! My baby sister!" Later he told me, "I don't want another brother." But after I told him of all the fun the three of them will have together, and that maybe God will give us a girl next time, he said, "Okay. That might be a good idea."

After the appointment we went to pick up the boys at my friend, Grace's house. Last week Eli asked if we could get a pinata for Jesus' birthday, so we got one today and Grace got pizza and made cupcakes, and we had a birthday party for Jesus. Here are some pics and video...


This is all of the kiddos. Grace's four boys, my two boys and Erin's girl and baby boy. Poor little Brooke had to play with a bunch of boys tonight! (Sorry for the red-eye. I'm feeling too lazy to fix it.)

Baking

We've been doing a lot of baking lately. I tried this new recipe for Chicken Pesto Pizza on whole wheat pizza crust. It turned out way better than the picture. Yummy!

While I made the pizza, the boys munched on some olives. :)

Oh, and we made rice krispie treats but we gobbled up before I could get a picture. :)

Eli and I also made popcorn balls! (My mommy used to make these for me and the Beck-a-Roo!)

Then the boys' cousins, Rian & Ethan, came over to make and decorate sugar cookies! (A little chaotic, but between mine & Lacey's mad multi-tasking skills we had fun...)They turned out pretty good... and yummy, too!

Then, right after they left we had carolers come to our house! I haven't seen carolers since I went caroling in the 4th grade with the YMCA after school program. It was a little akward; we just stood there while they sang. (Lacey, you seriously just missed them!) The video is dark, but you'll get the idea through audio.

19 weeks

I am 19 weeks today, and I'm very happy to report that I am finally, finally, finally feeling back to normal. The morning sickness, or as I like to say- all day sickness, has been tapering, but its finally gone! I don't think I'll have any trouble keeping my Christmas dinner down, like I did my yummy Thanksgiving dinner. :( My belly is showing just a little bit, but with winter clothing nobody can really tell. Eli loves to look at my growing belly and he says, "Wow! It's so huge!" I keep thinking, if you think this is huge what are you going to be saying 4 1/2 months from now?! I am still more uncomfortable than I was with the first two. It feels like this little babe, which is about 6 1/2 inches long now, likes to stretch out all across my belly... like a lot! I'll be 20 weeks on Christmas day, and I scheduled my big 20 week ultrasound appointment for Christmas Eve Eve. So stay tuned, as I will be posting our news in blue or pink.

Twelve Days of Christmas

I found these cute little Christmas bags in the dollar section at Target. The boys just share one for now, and as we have more kids another two will share the other one. I was thinking of using them for a Twelve Days of Christmas thing for the boys. Last year at Thanksgiving, Becky gave the boys a book The Twelve Days of Christmas, and Eli loves reading/singing it multiple times every day. :) A friend of ours gave his wife a present each day for the twelve days leading up to Christmas one year, and I thought that was such a fun idea. For this year, I decided to put little notes in the bags telling the boys something 'special' we get to do that day. Some of these things are more geared toward Eli because, well, Noah doesn't really know what's going on most of the time. :) Tuesday's was to go to the library and check out a basket full of books. That isn't too out of the ordinary, but Eli really likes checking out new books and it was something to do for free. Yesterday's was making popcorn balls with Mama. I'm just making them up as I go, but I wanted to watch The Nativity with Eli, so one day I'll put a note in there that Eli gets to stay up a little late and watch a Christmas movie with Mama and Dada. He doesn't know that we're planning a trip to the Children's Museum on Monday, so that will be one, too. Anyway, it's just an easy way to make things exciting for Eli and give him more to look forward to. Also, there's the added benefit of practicing letter recognition when we read the notes! :) (Except he only knows capital letters, so I have to write in all caps!)

A little more on worrying...

I forgot to share this cute little diddy about worrying that Cindy taught us at Women's Bible Study a couple months ago. So here it is...

Why worry when you can pray,

Trust Jesus, He'll be your stay.

Don't be a doubting Thomas,

Just trust in His Promise.

Why worry, worry, worry, worry...

When you can pray!

The other thing she told us, that her dad used to tell her, was that worrying is like a rocking chair- you rock and rock and rock, but don't get anywhere. And that is so true. Worrying doesn't solve anything! Another good friend told me, "Worrying doesn't fix tomorrow, it only robs today of it's joy."

worry wart

I have a problem with worrying. I have since I was little. In middle school my mom would come home to find me in tears if she was even so much as 20 minutes late coming home from work. I'd worry so much and entertain all sorts of anxious thoughts, that by the time she was walking in the door my mind had me at her funeral. Horrible! Worrying is a really bad thing, and lately I've been thinking and wondering... is worrying a sin? I know God tells us not to worry, but I've never really thought of it as sin before. But isn't sin doing the opposite of what God tells us to do? Isn't sin disobeying Him? He sets the moral standards of right and wrong. Without His standard, what standard do we measure by? Why would it be okay to worry?

I've heard it said before, "Well, I'm a mom, I'm allowed to worry." And I totally and completely am guilty of being a worrying mom. But I don't think its right. I don't think our enormous responsibility and love for our children gives us permission to worry. I don't see any small print in Philippians Ch.4, where Paul writes that we should be anxious about nothing and pray about everything, except for moms.

I worry about everything. I worry about things that have already happened. I worry about things that haven't happened. I worry about Jonny driving to work. I worry about making the right choice for the boys' schooling. I worry about our finances. I worry about our extended family. I worry about what people think. I worry about WAY TOO MUCH! Which makes me conclude that I pray WAY TOO LITTLE!

I know the verse, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." -2 Tim. 1:7
I know the verse, "You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." -Isa 26:3

But am I living these verses out? Am I repeating them over and over when my mind wants to entertain anxious thoughts? I can't say that I am. I want to trust God completely. I want to be in constant conversation with Him. I want Him to be the Ruler of my mind.

conviction

Oh, conviction. It's so painful, but so good. Do you ever do or say something that you later completely regret, and in total embarrassment, think Why did I do/say that? I'm so stupid! Oh, Lord, I'm so sorry. My wretched, awful heart. I'm so embarrassed. Change me!

It seems like this happens to me a lot. Just recently I was washing dishes while the boys were playing in the living room; we were listening to their Kids Bible Songs CD, when one of their songs had me so convicted over some, lets just say- unnecessary information I shared with a good friend. After tossing and turning that night, I decided to call her to apologize for poisoning her well with my speech. I think I've mentioned this song before, but here are the lyrics. Its so good for us 'grown ups' to hear, too. :)

O be careful little eyes what you see...

O be careful little ears what you hear...

O be careful little tongue what you say...

O be careful little hands what you do...

O be careful little feet where you go...

O be careful little heart whom you trust...

O be careful little mind what you think...

...For the Father up above is looking down in love,

So be careful little _____ what you _____.

This verse sums it up... "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer." -Ps. 19:14 I need to write that one down in nice big, bold print and tape it to my bathroom mirror, so every time I look at myself I will be reminded to take my thoughts and words captive unto Him.

Our Provider

I am just amazed at how good God is. He is the perfect Father. He takes such good care of us. He knows just what we can handle- allowing us to walk through rough waters to strengthen us and teach us, and then He gives us sweet seasons of peace and rest. He takes care of our every need. He sustains us. Oh, don't you just love him?! He's so worthy of praise, so worthy of our adoration- of us to bow face down before Him and cast our crowns at His nail pierced feet.

There have been lots of different examples in our married life of God guiding us through rough terrain. Just like a parent would hold their little baby's hand, keeping him sturdy as he learns to walk, He has done for us. Most recently one of the hurdles we've been trying to conquer is our finances- being good stewards of our money, living within our means, and just trying to keep up with the never ending bills. As I'm sure it is with so many other families, there is always something, some new bill or issue that needs to be taken care of.

We've always just scrapped by; and although there are low moments when it can be really frustrating to not even be able to buy the cute shoes that are on clearance, the good thing about making every dollar stretch is it keeps us dependant on God. It keeps our perspective in check with what is really important. Right after Jonny graduated from grad school, we were going to spend the summer living on what little savings we had, and my very tiny income from the childcare I did. Basically, we were in a desperate situation. But God provided- through someone else giving us a very generous gift, we were able to survive and pay all our bills until Jonny got his first paycheck. So many things like that have happened over the years. When a rough month closes in on us and we think, how are we going to make it, the Lord provides. Last month we were in that boat, and right as the month came to a close and we were down to the wire, God provided. We were literally checking the car, the junk drawer, the bottom of my purse for any loose change or extra cash to help us make it, when- SURPRISE! A very large automatic payment was deposited in our checking account. (Money we had overpaid on our home owners insurance was reimbursed to us at the absolute perfect time!) Then, this month we were thinking its going to be tight again, we've got to live as simply as we can, and SURPRISE! We received a generous Christmas gift in the mail. I just love it when that happens!

He just keeps us right where we're supposed to be- trusting Him.

My boys

A few things.
1.) We went out to the Dollar Store tonight to have the boys pick out Christmas gifts for each other. Jonny and Noah picked out Eli's gift, while Eli and I picked out Noah's. It was fun until we started leaving the store. Noah burst into tears when Jonny took the toy out of his little hands to pay for it. Eli began to stomp his feet and whine when he learned we were leaving without him knowing what his gift was. As we buckled him into his seat his whining escalated into a full on fit because he didn't get to have his gift right now. Poor boy. Noah was also still crying. The whole drive home we had very unhappy boys. And I thought gift giving would be fun.... I think next year I'll plan that better and have them get each other's gifts the day before Christmas, instead of two weeks before. :)

2.) Eli is my little buddy. I can't get enough of that kid. He is so fun to be around and the things he says.... what can I say, I just love my boy. Here are some Eli moments I want to 'get down on paper':

• Eli was standing up on the bench at our dinner table and getting too playful, so I told him to be careful so he doesn't fall. He said, "Then I will fall and get a big owie and die and go to heaven with Jesus?" Good grief! Where did that come from? The only time we've talked about dying from a bad owie is when he was learning to stay on the sidewalk and not to go in the street! I told him he'd probably just get a bump on his head if he fell. He replied, "Oh, and then Jesus will have to fix me?"
• We were out driving when Eli noticed some mountains. He pointed in the correct direction (southeast) and said, "Those are the mountains to Kwamaf (Klamath) Falls." What a smartie pants!
• A couple days ago Eli asked, "What color is the baby going to be? White? Yeah, I think super white." Probably. :)
• This one is so strange. When Eli gets upset at Jonny, Noah or I, he furrows his brow and sternly says, "You're not the truth of God!" But then a few times when he's been cuddling and giving me loves, he says, "Mommy, your the truth of God." I have no clue what he means by this, so I just kinda nod my head, "okay".
• And last night Eli was talking to the baby in my belly again and he pointed to our Christmas tree and said, "There's some Christmas lights for you to look at, Baby."

3.) Noah and Eli have been playing together more and more. I was saying that months ago, but their play keeps getting better. They actually play strange little games together now, and I'm sure as they get older they'll become closer and closer. It so blesses me to see them love and enjoy each other. However, with more playing comes more fighting. I am breaking up fights on a daily basis now. Noah, the cute little troublemaker- he likes to egg Eli on. And Eli, well, he tends to use his height and strength to his advantage and Noah's disadvantage. (However, Noah is more tough than Eli, so once they catch up in size, Eli better watch out!)

4.) Lately, Noah says this word- "BaNauw!" I have no idea what it is supposed to be. I think its just a random word he formed on his own, but Eli hates this word... which makes Noah like it even more. He will go up to Eli and shout, "BaNauw!" over and over until Eli is in tears screaming for him to stop. Can you ban a word that isn't even a word? :)

These boys certainly make life joyful and interesting!

Christmas Lights

This post is for you, Becky. I can already hear you laughing... maybe because I already told you a bit about this.
........................
Okay, so this post isn't what you think its about. I'm letting you into my strange little world and admitting to embarrassing details of my life. You see, when I was little I grew this strange enjoyment of looking at myself in the mirror. My mom has pictures of me as a toddler, just learning to walk, standing in front of a mirror staring at myself. Somewhere around the age of four I started talking to my reflection. Its one of my earliest memories. I made a fun game of it. I'd bring all my dolls and stuffed animals into the bathroom, line them up on the counter and we'd all talk to my reflection. I even managed to drag my sister into this strange game with me. Becky would join us with her dolls and stuffed animals and talk to her reflection, while I'd talk to mine. Then, somewhere along the line I began to dislike my reflection. I started arguing with her about everything. "You dressed the same as me!" or "Oh, my gosh! You did your hair just like mine!" I'd even yell, "Stop coping me!!!" My dolls started hating her dolls as well. Becky and I would spend all morning in the bathroom, with all our dolls and stuffed animals, yelling and arguing at our reflections in the mirror. Strange, I know... but it gets worse. I decided to name my reflection. I wanted her to have the ugliest, worst name I could think of. So I thought and I thought and I thought. Finally, I came up with the perfect worst name- Christmas Lights. Yes, her name was Christmas Lights. I thought it was perfect. Only a horrible person would have a name like Christmas Lights, right? :)

Okay, so I bring this up because my son has been reminding me of how strange I was. In the last several days, I've caught him talking to his reflection in the mirror. A couple of times he was even arguing with it! It cracks me up! A couple nights ago he had the following conversation with his reflection:
"Hi."
"Hi."
"Do you like popcorn?"
The reflection nods.
"Oh, you do!? Me too!"
"I'm gonna do a puzzle now, okay?"
The reflection nods and waves.
"Bye." Eli waves goodbye.

I know, I know... we're bad... shame on us...

Alright, okay. So we got a new Christmas tree. Isn't that horrible!? Corvallis was voted one of the most Eco friendly small towns in America, and we are totally letting the town down. I guess its good we technically live in Albany... that makes it okay. :)

After a week of looking at our sad little tree, we decided to get a prettier one. And I love it! Jonny surprised Eli and I the other night. He worked late, and came home with a new tree! It was $15- so that puts us at $20 total for two Christmas trees. Maybe next year we'll still take the trip into the mountains to play in the snow, but then we'll get our tree from one of those farms where they grow pretty trees and you pick the one you want them to cut down for you. (For $20- that's not bad.) That's what we did when I was younger and lived in southern CA. I'm feeling kinda lazy with the decorating this year. I'm just lazy in general lately, and now that my belly is poking out a bit I feel even more lazy and tired from being up and about. I think I'll just put a few of our favorite ornaments up high on the tree where Noah can't reach them. :)

In other Christmas news... we've been having some fun... look and see!

We made a Christmas chain!

Also, I have to mention our Advent calendar. I picked one that has the numbers all out of order, which has been so cool (and more fun) for Eli to learn his numbers by searching for them. We really haven't spent much time on numbers, so this is awesome! Then, we break the chocolate in half for each boy... gotta be fair and I'm too cheap to buy two. ;)

Aw, my little Noey. He's sleeping with his Elmo ornament. (He sleeps with the weirdest things. He REALLY likes to go to bed with his tooth brush.) We were trying to find a Lightening McQeen ornament for Eli but we couldn't find one. I knew if we found an Elmo ornament, that would be perfect for Noah because Noah's been really excited about Elmo lately. Cookie Monster was right next to Elmo, so Eli chose that one.

This is an ornament that a family friend gave to us the year we were married. I have no idea what happened to the husband's head! I promise it wasn't me! But I have two guesses of what could have happened...

more talking

Most of everything this kid says is so funny, but its hard to remember it all. So I'm sharing just a little more. Eli has been talking to his 'baby sister' in my belly in the last few days- which we totally feel moving all around now! (Lately, I'm just hoping for a girl so Eli isn't disappointed. No matter how many times I tell him, we don't actually know if its a girl yet, he insists that it is.) So here is what Eli said to his baby last night...

"Hi, Baby. This is your big brother, Eli. I will take care of you and hold you. We have lots of toys, too. Lots and lots of toys. You have another brother, too. His name is Noah. But he might poke you in the eye. But then I'll tell Mama."

Then just now he said, "Hi, Baby." Then kissed my belly and asked me what kinds of baby songs he could sing to the baby. I said a few, but he didn't like any of them. He said, "I could sing Jesus Loves Me." I said that that was a good idea and he could tell her bible stories and teach her about God, too. Then he leaned in and said, "Baby. There is only ONE God. Jesus is God." Whoa, Eli! Preach it big brother!

talking

Yesterday evening we were driving home from Corvallis and the moon was beautiful. It was huge and orange. The boys were looking at it and then turned towards each other and had the funniest conversation:

Noah: gibberish babbles
Eli: "What, Noah?"
Noah: gibberish babbles
Eli: "What?"
Noah: Points out the window with more gibberish babbles
Eli: "What? Noah! I don't know what you're saying!!"
Noah: gibberish babbles
Eli: "Noah! I don't know what you're talking about!"
Noah: Points out the window again.
Eli: "Oh, yeah. You're right, Noah. There's the moon."
Noah: "Dere"
Eli: "Yeah, right there."
Noah: gibberish babbles
Eli: "Yeah, it's really big."
Noah: gibberish babbles
Eli: Nods in agreement and laughs.

Then, last night at the end of Eli's long prayer, he prayed, "... and thank you for the outside water park and the indoor water park and the slide at the water park and the water at the water park......and...... and... and for Noah. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen."

Traditions

Yep! That's right, Eli and I built a gingerbread house for the first time. Instead of freaking out about following the suggested design and taking all of the fun out of it, I decided to let Eli have at it. He worked on his half of the house, while I worked on mine. His side looked better than it does in this picture, but I glopped on the icing too heavy and it wouldn't stop dripping and taking out all his candies.

Making gingerbread houses is harder than I thought. You have to get the icing just right so it doesn't drip and slide right off the house, and you have to have the right kinds of candies- ones with a sticky grip so they stay put. On my side I was pushing the candy on so hard, trying to get it to stick, that my wall just snapped right in half! Oh, well. :)

So with all this hype about it being the Christmas season, I've been thinking about traditions. When I was little we always went to my grandpa's house on Christmas Eve night. He'd always have a new pair of pajama's for us. We'd do the usual things like look at Christmas lights, bake treats, and that sort of thing. On Christmas day my grandma would always come over for the afternoon with a big bag full of gifts. One of my favorite Christmas memories was the year my grandma got us a VCR. It was a year or two after my mom and dad divorced, and we didn't have much of anything. When we rented movies, we'd rent a VCR, too. That VCR was the best gift ever! We were so, so excited! I wish I had a scanner, so I could scan in the picture of us opening it- classic!

I love hearing people's Christmas traditions. I just heard one person share their Thanksgiving/Christmas tradition. Their family has a Christmas ornament gift exchange/white elephant gift exchange every year after their Thanksgiving meal. I thought that was a pretty cool idea. It won't work for us, since we always do something different each Thanksgiving, but I liked hearing the idea. Do you have any traditions? What do you do every year at Christmas?

For us, it seems like there are things we do, just because it's Christmas. I never really thought of them as a traditions. Here's what we do....

• My mom gets our babies their 'Baby's First Christmas' ornament, and then for the following years, I take the boys out to pick out a new Christmas ornament.
• Listen to lots of Christmas music. Becky and I grew up listening to the Chipmunks Christmas, so of course we've got that one!
• Make a gingerbread house- okay, we just did that this year, but maybe we could do it every year...
• My mom sends us a new building for our Christmas village. She found this year's chapel at a yard sale!
• Drink lots of Hot Coco and Apple Cider.
• Talk with the kids (this year it was just Eli) about gift giving- the wise men bringing gifts for Jesus' birth. St. Nick. And the best gift of all- salvation- and since that is the greatest gift, we give gifts to others when we celebrate His birthday. Then we pick out some animals for missionaries in the Gospel for Asia Christmas catalog. (Eli picked out all the animals this year.)
• Take the boys to the $ store to get a gift for each other. I was thinking as we have more kids, they could draw names each year for getting gifts.
• Since our kids are blessed with lots of relatives who send gifts, and they don't really need much of anything, and our budget is tight AND because we'll have a larger family, we get just one big gift for our kids plus their stockings. Last year the boys got a basketball hoop + stocking gifts. This year they are getting a guitar and a fluffy Spiderman chair + stocking gifts.
• One year when Becky and I were in middle school (when my grandma still lived in Santa Barbara & we had moved to Klamath) we had Christmas at my grandma's house and she did the Christmas stockings. She put cool things in our stockings besides lotions, chap sticks, gum, hair ties etc. (even though those things were still cool and appreciated, Mom!) But my grandma put C.D.'s in our stockings! And the really cool thing about our stockings that year was that Grandma wrapped each and every thing in the stocking. So I do that with the boys now. I wrap everything, and I try to incorporate some 'cooler' stocking stuffers.
• Advent calendar. This will be a new one this year, but my mom always got one for us when we were little.
• Bake yummy treats.
• Watch Christmas movies.
• On Christmas Eve night we eat cup cakes in celebration of Jesus' birthday. Then the boys get to open their gifts from each other. Then we go look at Christmas lights before the Christmas Eve service.
• We read the story of Jesus' birth throughout the month.
• Send cards to friends/family. I always save all of the photo cards I get from families each year, and I heard of this great idea to make Christmas scrapbooks out of them. Then you can put them out and look back and see old cards throughout the years. Doesn't that sound cool? Now its just a matter of finding the time to make it....
• We sing along to Christmas carols while JOnny plays his guitar.
• On Christmas morning we have a healthy serving of biscuits and gravy for breakfast! Yum!
• We drive to Klamath on Christmas Day. This year we're thinking of stopping somewhere on HWY 58 to go sledding for a bit.

Tis the Season!

I love the holidays! We had a fun Thanksgiving at some friends' house down in Eugene. Julia totally out-did herself, making the Thanksgiving feast and even helping Eli make a turkey hat. Thanks JuJu! The morning of Thanksgiving Jonny ran in a 5K in Springfield- called the Turkey Stuffer. There were about 1200 people racing! There were serious runners, families walking together, moms walking with babies in front-packs, dads running with kids in joggers... it was quite the Thanksgiving family fun. The race was by a indoor aquatic center, and all runners and their families got to go in for free. There was a wave pool, water slide, fountain, toddler pool, and lap-swim pool. It was lots of fun- we're already trying to talk my sister, Becky, into coming up next year and running with us. Well, she and Jonny can run- I'll walk with the kiddos. :) Here's some pics...

The day after Thanksgiving marks the first day of the Christmas season, at least in my mind it does. Some people call it Black Friday, and spend the whole day bargain shopping, trying to find all the good deals, and waiting in lines. We spent the day out in the woods looking for our $5 Christmas tree- talk about a good deal. Jonny grew up with the tradition of going out in the woods to find a Christmas tree. And my family started doing it, too, once we moved to Klamath Falls. It seems to be what our family's tradition will be, too. I always think it will be great fun- playing in the snow, walking around together as the snow falls, finding the perfect tree and decorating it when we get home. And although that is all true to some extent... its not exactly reality. Walking through the snow was a little bit challenging with one baby in my belly, a wobbler strapped to the outside of my belly, my arm stretched out pulling my three year old along as we followed our fearless leader, with saw in hand, into the woods. Finding a decent tree is actually pretty difficult, so we decided that I would stay back and let the boys play in the snow while Jonny searched for our tree. The boys really liked the snow, and they boys were great in the car, but when we get home and stand our tree up, I always kinda sigh like, Really? That's our Christmas tree? It looks like a Charlie Brown tee and I'm not sure if its branches are even strong enough to hold ornaments. Every year I say maybe we should go to a tree lot the next year. But now that its all up and the lights are on it, its not bad. Plus, the boys had a great time. Anyway, here are some pictures of our adventure.

Happy Thanksgiving

George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789

Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Proclamation of Thanksgiving

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful years and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the Source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the field of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than theretofore. Population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.

In testimony wherof I have herunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

[Signed]
A. Lincoln

Embarrassed

Oh my goodness! I need a long, deep breath of fresh air. First of all- sorry for all the posts lately. I've become quite the hermit over the last couple months and I think blogging has sorta become my social outlet, given what my friend, Patty, calls my delicate state. That said... here we go... I want to vent about my morning.

The boys were driving me absolutely bonkers this morning! I had a few errands to run and I thought it would be fun to go to story time since we haven't been in a really, really long time. Lately, its very rare for me to even feel motivated to do anything, let alone get us all ready and out the door in the morning. And of course the morning I decide to be daring and adventurous, the boys do everything and anything to make it a fight to get dressed and ready to head out the door. I should have just called the whole thing off since I could feel myself getting more and more irritated. Today was not their normal routine and I should have been more flexible to their needs. However, Eli was really excited to go to story time, so off we went.

Once we were in story time Noah decided he didn't want me to hold him, but I knew if I let him down he'd run around like a wild animal bothering and distracting people while the librarian was reading stories. And the thing about Noah is that when he doesn't get his way he SCREAMS! He also has this very annoying move where he thrusts his whole body back, making a rainbow-like arch in his back and throws his arms straight up in the air making it almost impossible to hold him. He basically slips through your fingers like a slippery piece of ice. On top of that, I was trying to keep my purse on my shoulder while holding three library books. Oh, and as I bent down to keep Noah from making a terrible fall out of my arms, I got a stinky whiff of something nasty coming from the boy's britches. Yeah- of course!

In the midst of me struggling with this child, I look up to see what my other child is up to. He had been sitting quietly with all the other kids listening to a story. Between stories, the librarian gets up and sings songs or tells funny stories- does something to get the kids' wiggles out before reading another story. He was asking if anyone in the room was three. He also asked if anyone liked pizza. Eli started shouting, "I'm three! I'm three! I like pizza!" All the other kids were talking and shouting, too. However, the librarian didn't specifically recognize Eli, so Eli persisted in his shouting and waving his arms about. When everyone sat down, Eli came over to me to tell me he is three and he likes pizza, too. I acknowledged him as best I could with Noah freaking out, and told him to sit back down. Instead, he goes over to the librarian, who is now reading another story, and starts- loudly- saying "I'm three. Hey, hey! I'm three and I like pizza!" The librarian just puts his hand up in Eli's face and tells him to sit down. (The librarian has sorta bugged me with other things he's done, but that's another story.) And that is when I decided to leave. I was so embarrassed and mad and offended and annoyed all at the same time. As we trudged to the van, Eli took a detour through the dirt after I asked him not to. Once we were in the van, I struggled to keep Noah still so I could change his icky diaper, without getting any poop on myself, while Eli shoved googly eyes in the air vents. Then, per Eli's request, we went back in to watch the puppet show. The boys were angles. Go figure??

When we got back in the van to run errands I saw that Jonny's mom had called. I got ahold of her while we were in Target with a ton of other people. It was past nap time and Noah was whining and upset- understandably-so. I, again, was irritated and annoyed. Jonny's mom was telling me how she had seen the videos of the boys on our blog and how cute they were. I thought, yeah, well you should have seen a video of how wonderful and cute they've been today! Now that I am home, and everything is settled down, I realize that that call from Jonny's mom came at such a good time. I needed to hear how cute my boys are. Nothing they did this morning was out of the ordinary for a 3yr old & 18mo. old. I'm mad at myself for being so irritable. It's the day before Thanksgiving and I was being totally selfish and absolutely NOT thankful for these wonderful -yes, challenging at times- but wonderful gifts from God. Pregnant or not pregnant- I need to be more patient. So I'm praying for patience today. I think if I could see a video clip of my parenting today, I'd be more embarrassed of my attitude and behavior than theirs. Ugh!

Hardship

I just heard some heart breaking news, and wanted to spread the news to pray! A sweet family we know just lost their baby at 31 weeks. They have one little girl who is Eli's age. I can't imagine the depth of their grief right now, so if this family comes to mind please pray for them.

Speaking of hardship, I forgot to post this earlier. Two weeks ago we had a guest speaker at church whose story was amazing. Talk about Rom. 8:28!!! Do we really know what 'for our good' means?!? Please watch if you have some free time.

Thankful Can

This is our new and improved Thankful Can. It used to just be green with the words 'Thankful Can' written on it. Pretty boring. I was feeling like trying to be crafty and since Eli loves to do projects, I looked up how to do tissue paper collages. It seemed pretty easy, so I got different colors of tissue papers and made the glue mixture and let Eli have at it. He did a pretty good job. I had to monitor the glue painting because he liked to glop a lot on, making the nice pink colors change to a muddy brown color... whatever- brown is more fall and Thanksgiving-ish, I suppose. I placed the letters on, and made sure Eli had tissue paper covering the whole can, but other than that, this is Eli's creation!

I got the idea of a Thankful Can back in college from our College Pastor. He said his family had one and they wrote down various things they were thankful for throughout the year, put them in the can and opened them on Thanksgiving Day. I thought it sounded like a good idea, especially a good way to remember things that happened over the year that you wouldn't otherwise think to remember and be thankful for on Thanksgiving Day. Well, we were kinda slackers this year. Our can was empty on Nov. 1st. :) I guess this year its just a November thing.

I spent some time writing down some of the things Eli said he was thankful for. It was pretty sweet, but also pretty funny. He totally reminds me of my sister, Becky, when it comes to praying about all that he is thankful for. When we were little, Becky used to go on and on and on saying everything she could think of, "Thank you for the trees and the flowers and the mountains and the grass and the rocks and the sun..." Eli does the same thing. The other night I had to tell him, "Okay, three more things." And these were his three more things. "And thank you for my pajamas and my other pajamas and Noah's pajamas. In Jesus' name we pray, AMEN!" I'm so thankful for his sweet, thankful heart.

My Man

I am so thankful for my husband. I totally recommend every gal get herself a guy. (Lord willing, of course... you want the right guy.) I'm all for women getting out in the yard and getting dirty and working hard. I've taken the trash out plenty of times. I've shoveled dirt, rocks, and dog poop with the best of em'. Believe me, if you know my mother at all and how she raised me, I'm all about women learning how to do the 'guy' things and working hard. But it just seems to come easier to men. They can do the dirty jobs and the hard jobs so much faster! Jonny can fix things, he can reach things, he can open the jelly or pickle jar when its stuck, he can shovel dirt twice as fast as me, he knows WAY, WAY MORE about cars... the list goes on and on. He's just so good at the dirty, handy man type things. He does all of those things way better than me. Here are some pictures of my handy man working hard over the last four months...

Jonny using the trencher to dig trenches for the sprinkler system.

The boys learning and observing their strong daddy operate heavy machinery.

Jonny used a compactor to compact the dirt before he and Eli laid gravel.

And look how it turned out!
This was our back yard after we had the hydro- seed sprayed.

Yay! The grass grew in!

And now Eli and Noah (he's in the window) are learning how to care for the lawn.

I've got myself a houseful of hard working boys! And they're all so cute!

illness and silliness

Gosh! I was so hopeful I was going to kick this thing called 'morning sickness' two weeks ago! I'm 15 weeks today, and I'm still feeling queasy. Ugh! With Eli and Noah I got sick at six weeks and felt back to normal by 13 weeks. I guess I expected this pregnancy to be about the same, but this time I got sick at 8 weeks and I'm still sick! It doesn't seem as horrible, but its still bad and I'm so exhausted! Okay, okay enough complaining... it will all be worth it when another precious little newborn is placed on my chest. Oh, I just can't wait for that moment!

Here's some sillies for you...

See that little space between the boys- that's my spot. ;) Jonny wasn't going to be home until after 10 on Monday, so I decided to catch up on some sleep and go to bed at 8:30. I brought my boys in with me... aren't they cute?

This snowman used to make Noah scream and cry, but I think he's sorta getting used to it.

They love to dance!

Lindsey, Russell and Baby Laney came to Corvallis for the week. This picture makes me laugh because Eli is kissing Laney, Russell is fascinated with his foot, and Noah is making is famous cheese face.

Eli's T.V. shows

My sister, Amy, wrote about her kids watching t.v. over on her blog awhile back, and I've been meaning to write about some of our favorite PBS shows, too. She wrote about the new ideas and words her kids are learning in some of the more educational t.v programs. We are in the same spot, too! I've heard great things about The Backyardigans, but we don't get that channel in our cable package. Also, I've only watched a few episodes of Diego, but what I've liked with this show is all the Spanish speaking.

Curious George and Sesame Street have been favorites for awhile now, but the newest show Eli is really into is Sid the Science Kid. So far I am really liking this show, too. Eli learns something new every episode. With Eli's curious mind, I've always called him a little scientist, and this show seems to fit his little scientific personality so well. And the cool thing we've got going with our cheap $20/mo. cable is the DVR. DVR is AWESOME! It makes Eli's t.v. time so easy and convenient. He can watch a show any time because they're already recorded. I usually like to watch a show with him in case there is a little something PBS sneaks in there that is in direct conflict with our family's values. For example, I've heard (not seen, but heard) about a Sesame Street episode about families. The episode showed all kinds of different families- including families with two mommies and two daddies. I DO like how Sesame Street has embraced diversity in it's episodes, but when it comes to teaching our three year old about single parent families (divorce) or same-sex marriages, we want to be the ones educating him on those topics. That is where the DVR comes in so handy. When I watch and approve of an episode of Curious George, Sid the Science Kid, Sesame Street, Clifford, or whatever- I save it in our DVR. Right now we have a ton of recorded shows that have already been saved and approved, so if Eli wants to watch something, and I want to take a shower, clean the bathroom, cook dinner or type a post I know what he's watching is okay. Technology today... pretty cool.

Anyway, here are a few of the words he's learned...
*lean to (Today instead of building a fort, Eli built a lean to.)
*dissolve
*exercise
*pulley
*lever
*coral reef
*flu virus
*vaccination
*antibodies
*incisors - that one is so funny. He says, "Mommy, I'm chewing wif my cisors."

He's also informed me at random times in the day (which means he's digesting what he's learned) "Mommy, worm poop is good for plants." or "Rain comes from the clouds in the sky."

Hip, Hip, Hooray for the 2nd Trimester!!!

Some people say 13 weeks is the official welcome into the 2nd trimester, other people say its 14 weeks. Which ever it is- I'm there! I'm 14 weeks today and I think, think, I may be feeling better. Man, that 1st trimester is killer! One of the strangest things for me during this particular 1st 14 weeks was that I craved coffee. I'm not a coffee drinker. I've never made a pot of coffee in my life. But we ended up buying a box of those Starbucks frappaccino coffee drinks from Costco. Now, I understand that may not be real coffee to some people like my mom who can just drink straight black coffee, but to me,- it's coffee. And I love it. It totally settles my sensitive stomach.

One of the reasons I think I might be over the morning sickness stage is that yesterday was one of the first days in a long time that I actually felt like cooking. I actually wanted to cook and didn't feel like I was going to get horribly sick from any smells. I got out my Rachel Ray 30-minute meals cookbook and was so excited to try out some new recipes. (By the way she has a new book out of her best recipes- called "The book of 10"- I really want to get that book.)

Eli is still cracking me up with questions about the baby. He wanted to know how the baby goes poopy in my belly and what happens to it. I told him the baby won't go poopy until he/she is born, and his response was, "Yeah, because the baby wont' get a diaper on until she's born." (He always calls the baby a girl and when we try to tell him we don't actually know yet, he insists it's a girl.) Also he always asks me how the baby is doing and if we can feel her move yet. I say no, but he still likes to put his hands on my belly just in case he feels the first kick. I really should say 'move' instead of 'kick' because Eli got confused by that the other day. He said, "Oh, is she playing with a soccer ball?" When I explained that 'she' wasn't, he thought it was a real injustice that she didn't have toys in there with her. "What does she do all day?" :)

Marriage

Yesterday Jonny and I had what our frined Rory would call 'intense fellowship'. AKA- heated disscussion/debate/differences of opinion/squabble. I am able to write about this because it was nothing serious and like always, we made up. It just got me thinking how different men and women are. It's like night and day. Women are emotional, personal and senstive. Men, especially scientific-minded men, are factual, logical, and thick skinned. Women (at least women like me) tend to take things personally, will get their feelings hurt and the result comes out in tears. Men like my husband think critically-they look at the evidence, weigh the facts, make a decsion and move on. In my defense, I think I can be logical- it just comes out in a emotional delivery rather than a science report. :)

After our 'intense fellowship' yesterday, I've been thinking about marriage and the different ways the enemy tries to sneak in and create tension and destroy what God has put together. I think it often starts with the silliest, smallest little offenses. That it why it is so important to keep short accounts with each other and communicate.

It's an interesting design God had in mind- pairing a man with a women. As challenging as it can be, we actually fit together very well. We compliment each other. What the other person lacks, the other person makes up for. Like that quote from the movie, Guess Who, when Ashton Kutcher says, "You're everything I'm not." In my very short journey of 5 1/2 years down this marriage raod I'm learning more and more. Jonny and I were only 20 when we got marred, and we had very little pre-marital counseling through a church in Klamath Falls. I will say that a helpful thing that came from our 'counseling' was reading The Five Love Languages. That knowlege has been helpful in knowing that people give and recieve love in different ways. However, I do wish we had learned some other helpful tools. Our church is blessed to have a marraige pastor and very rich pre-marital classes. We definetly could have benefitted from that wealth of wisdom. BUT it is what it is, and a lot of the 'marriage issues' people deal with are things we learn and work through along the way. And its not like that wealth of wisdom isn't available to us now- 5 1/2 years in.

When I was in college I had to take a Family Development class. Yes, imagine learning the healthy development of a family through the eyes of the world.... it clashes just a tad with what God has in mind for a healthy family. However, one of the things I remember learning from this class was the top five reasons people divorce.

With those 'top five reasons' in mind, I came across this cool site that has all kinds of helpful marriage articles. Here are some interesting articles I found relating to those specific issues.

1. Money-
2. Sex issues-
>>>I couldn't find a specific article on either of these topics, but I think both can be found under the umbrella of different topics like marriage goals or conflict resolution. Oh, and that hefty little book called the bible might have some wise words of advice... maybe even some commands. :)
3. Infidelity- Safeguarding your marriage from immorality. Re-establishing trust. Rebuilding your relationship after infidelity.
4. Differences in opinion over having/raising children.- Biblical goals for parenting.
5. Problems with in-laws.- Dealing with in-laws.

There are so many different relevant marriage topics to read through. I'm loving this! Here are a few more that caught my eye. Issues to consider before choosing a mate. What is the purpose and ultimate goal of marriage? What is God's design and calling for you as a wife. What is God's design and calling for you as a husband. The spark plug of your marriage. How to resolve conflicts in a biblical way.

So those are my thoughts for today. Have a happy day!