All I want for Christmas.......is what I already have.

I got my gift early this year. His name was Andrew and I think he's going to stay a while. He came in at 8lbs 14 oz. He likes to visit at night and I can't get enough of how his little breath smells. Is there a way to bottle that smell? I would pay a fortune for it. He cries sometimes but it's only because he wants to be snuggled. He is already four weeks old and I can't believe how fast the time has flown by. No matter what I've tried I can't slow down time and keep this little one fresh and new. As I stay up and hold him I can't believe how trusting he is. His little body is clumsy and he can't do anything for himself. He is totally dependant upon us for his care. He has come with the faith that we will take care of him until he can take care of himself. As I get the privilege of doing that for him for this short season of time I am stuck with the reality of how much I am like my tiny son. I too am clumsy in my body, I make mistakes all of the time and I am also totally dependant upon another for what I need. I am grateful to have a savior who agreed to take care of me. My very breath is borrowed, my health, my mind, my family, my life, they are all gifts that I am grateful for. What a wonderful time of year to remember the gifts that we have all been given and to know that we have all been given the best gifts there are.

A typical crazy day. Elli went to soccer practise at 8am. Lacey went to work with Dan & I went on a walk for 2 hours. When I got home everyone was watching TV and nothing was done. I shut off the TV, everyone got their jobs done and then they were are lost outside playing. I was worn out and had a quick nap. When I got up I went and picked up friends and took some to friends. I worked on office work, re-did files, cleaned house and just tried to keep things in order between shuttling children around, (Braxton to soccer, crowd control diaper changer, boo boo fixer, phone calls, violin practise motivator, room police, job police, dinner preparer). I was worn out and my pregnancy distemper was taking over my tired body and mind. I could see a crazy, unkind lady going bezerk. It wasn't a pretty mental picture. I took a break, blew some bubbles for the little ones on the porch, breathed deep, finished dinner, served dinner, heard complaints about dinner, kept breathing and then called everyone to the laundry room to share with them once again the secret of where clean and dirty clothes go. All the while trying my best to keep the mental woman at bay. About this time my little Ben came in and asked me how to spell love. A while later he returned carrying a hand made letter with the words "love mom". With his large innocent grin he said, " I love you mom" gave me a hug and was off. That was all it took to get rid of the crazy lady. I was back, sane and able to finish the evening without another flare-up. I love you too Ben and thank-you.

If you can't read the writing on the pictures just click on them to make them bigger. I decided I would up-load my scrapbook pages to kill two birds with one stone. Then when I am done with a years worth of blogging I will have a nice scrapbook to show for it. We'll see how it works.

Reunion

Have you ever wondered if miracles still happen and if they do if they ever happen to you? I believe that miracles happen everyday and we just don't look for them. This past weekend was the weekend of miracles for me. We hosted a family reunion where there were more than 100 people who came. Not only did everyone arrive safely but the weekend of activities we were blessed with safety as well. Between farm equipment, trampolines, motorcycles cars and little kids, animals and all the other unseen dangers some how everyone was safe. Then when it was over everyone made it back home unharmed. Talk about a miracle.

OK. After viewing and reading my cleaver cousins and sisters blogs, I decided to get on board. (I hope I don't make anyone bored). But, what a great way to keep up with everyone and keep a family journal at the same time. So here goes. Our life has been in transition for the past year. At least more then normal transition. We are always in transition it seems, this year though besides the normal adjustments that are made from growing children, we moved. It wasn't a normal move but a move to a barn. Our house wasn't finished, and the school year was starting so we thought rather than move the children from schools we would just begin where we were going to end up. So we moved. Every child got a Rubbermaid tote and that was all they were allowed to bring. We moved into a garage barn that had a bathroom (barely) and no kitchen, but a kitchen sink. Slowly after about two weeks we were able to get things so that we had what we needed, including warm water. We were off on an adventure. We thought it would only last about four weeks but instead it lasted four months. I'm glad when we started we didn't know for how long it would be or I think I might have given up before we began. The children were great sports. There was one room for the girls. (Dad's shop we tried to hide the table saw and drills). The main room was the great room/mudroom/entry/kitchen/laundry room/boys bedroom. We had some cheap hide-a-bed couches out there for them. There was one real bedroom that was off the bathroom where Dan,Lisa and the baby slept. It worked great when we started out because it was August and it was warm, but as the temperatures changed so did our sleeping arrangement, because Dan's shop had no heat. So, by the end every night we would roll out the roll aways for the girl and our great room turned into wall to wall beds. It was cozy to say the least. Finally one week before Christmas we were able to move into our new home. Now there is a room for everything. I miss that barn though. When I go down there now it seems so lonely. It was so full of life and people before. Now, its just empty feeling. Isn't it crazy that it doesn't matter where we live just who we are with, that's what makes someplace a home. Even an over crowded barn.