The Reason for the Season...

"And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Ceasar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2:1-7


I don't know about you but this story has been such a big part of my whole life, I don't remember the first time I heard about Mary and Joseph going to Bethlehem and Mary having baby Jesus and laying him in a manger. I don't know about you but sometimes when I hear of something so often you forget that it actually really happened and that these were real people who really lived through these things, and then there are the times when something would strike me about the story that I had never really thought about before, some part of it would just come alive and it would be so real to me. This year being pregnant has been bringing a whole new area of the story of Jesus' life alive for me, as I feel my baby move inside of me and the thrill that goes through me every single time it happens, I think about Mary and what she must have been feeling, and the fact that at some point in time she first felt Jesus move inside of her.
Have you ever tried to think of Jesus as a baby? One that wets his pants, cries because he is hungry and spits up after eating? Have you ever wondered what a perfect baby would be like? We all know what the perfect adult would be like, the Bible tells us that when we read about Jesus and what he did or didn't do while he was alive on this earth. But what was he like as a newborn? Can you imagine the absolute thrill that must have gone through Mary and Joseph the first time that he smiled? How about when he said his first word? Have you thought about that? the son of God, the maker of the universe, the one who said "Let there be light" had to learn how to talk. That just amazes me.

Let me encourage you to really think about what you are celebrating this December 25th,
Jesus, the son of God, creator of the universe and my (and I pray yours also) own personal savior came to this world as a little newborn baby.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas trees and tummies

On Friday Curtiss and I were able to go and get our very first Christmas tree (last year we used my in-laws artificial tree that we set up before they left for Romania) Because it is just the two of us this year we wanted a small tree that could sit on top of a chest that sits in our living room, but we have come to find that places that sell trees around here are rather scarce so we went to the only place we were able to find that sells them any where close to near by. We got the smallest one they had and then Curtiss took the saw to it and trimmed it down to size :)



Here it is waiting patiently for the lights and such to be put on it, it had to wait 24 hours to get it's trimmings due to the fact that Curtiss started work yesterday, so after getting it into it's stand on Friday night the rest of our time was spent getting things ready for him to go the next morning.



We found "mini" bulbs and bells at Big Lots that we both really like, and we had fun putting them all in just the right place (I am married to a perfectionist after all:)




The finished product, I have always loved looking at a lighted tree and this one is no exception :)



And I had to post a picture of the ornament that my sister Bethany sent to us this year, she found it last year but when she went to buy it they were all sold out so she got it this year and some of those of you out there will really appreciate it...



... and as promised here is a picture of me and baby, we are both getting bigger :)

The day my hair turned gray...

Yesterday my hair turned gray,

For a day.

I was over with the boys cleaning the house and the vacuum was not working quite right, so I decided to check and see if the vacuum was full. It was not full, that was not the problem, but the filter looked like it had about 10 lbs. of sheet rock dust ingrained into it. So I promptly took it outside to shake it out. And as everyone knows this little town that we live in is prone to windy days especially in the winter... and yesterday was no exception. The wind was blowing and blowing and blowing, and I even made sure it was blowing away from me. But the next time the boys saw me, they asked what happened, as it looked as if the vacuum had blown up and then sucked everything including me inside it. As I was sitting at the supper table last night, the boys were commenting on how dirty I was, and we were talking about how I had taken the filter out to shake it and that the vacuum was working much better now, and Dad made the comment, "Three accidents happened today on Main St. in O- because of low visibility." For a second I looked at him in shock half believing him, until I remembered what we had been talking about and that the wind had been blowing towards the road, and that there probably were people wondering what in the world the white dusty stuff was pouring out from behind that house.

That was the day my hair turned a whitish sort of gray.

Yesterday was also Dad's birthday, and I would just like to say,

"Happy Birthday Dad! I love you!"

Another Update

Phew! Back to blogging and back to the people who faithfully check it to see if anyone has posted anything "new." As you all probably know we have been keeping extremely busy working on completing the house. We also have had Thanksgiving and a couple of birthdays and now, ready or not...
Christmas is coming!

Nathanael and Claire both celebrated their birthdays in the last couple of months. Nathanael turned 9 and Claire turned one... How time flies!

One of "my projects" in the house was painting a medieval looking shield display on Isaiah and Nathanael's bedroom wall. It turned out pretty good, and it didn't take as long as I thought it was going to. The boys like it anyway, and that is what counts.

And this final picture is the first box that made its way over to the house today, it even managed to get unpacked onto the bookshelf it is sitting on. Exciting! This bookshelf is actually the foot board on my bed, and hopefully I will soon be able to post and show you the whole bed.

I have been taking pictures for the whole house project, and I really want to do some "before and after" posts on different rooms, it will just be a matter of when I will have the time to do it. But for now this post will have to do.

An Update

Yes, you may all be surprised but I am still alive, just haven't felt much like blogging :)
Over the last month or so since I last posted I have gone from being exhausted all the time and kinda nauseous to having my stomach be all right most of the time (although it doesn't feel like it used to:) and having more energy for the most part, for which I am very grateful.

As you can see (in the bad quality photo) I am well cared for by my wonderful husband, who has been using his cooking skills in the kitchen from time to time so that we both don't go hungry :)

I am very thankful that he like to create in the kitchen, that means that he opens the fridge, freezer and cupboards and pulls things out adds them together and adds spices to taste and voila we have a wonderful tasting dinner at a time when I go to the microwave and can't remember which button I need to push to start it :)

Over the last few weeks we have had the chance to be at my Mom and Dads house for a couple of weeks while Curtiss helped do some work in the house project, we have finished our Christmas shopping had a wonderful Thanksgiving and as of tomorrow will have reached the 16th week mark of pregnancy. Not bad huh???

I shall try to not have it be as long before I post again, sometime I shall have to post a picture of my expanding belly for all of you :)