Wordless Wednesday – Brand New Baby

My cousins wife had her baby yesterday.  This is their second child – both boys.  He weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and was born shortly before 6 am yesterday morning – December 29, 2009.

Me and the kids went up to visit and show some love to the baby and mama!  I forgot how small they are – and it’s only been 10 months.

Again, not so wordless….

 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

 The proud mama!

A tad fuzzy, but he was so cute.

Wiping away a little spit up.

Bella holding her new cousin.

Pretty smile!

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

 

“Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”

Elizabeth Stone

(this is one of my most favorite ‘baby’ quotes)

True Story Tuesday – Where Did These Come From?

After all, I couldn’t put the word underwear or panties (not too fond of this word anyway) in the title, right?  That could cause mayhem in the blogging world!  But, here we are for another True Story Tuesday and if you read MY LAST TST POST about my mom and the strange cell number my dad was calling – I told you I’d tell you about the time she found a pair of women’s underwear in my dad’s laundry!  Yep.  Here we go!

This was back in 2000 again – must have been a stressful, crazy – busy year for my mom for all these things to happen around the same time.  See, we were in the midst of planning my wedding.  I was getting married on November 4, 2000 and we had been planning since June 27, 1999 – the day after my sister was married and 11 days after Hubby proposed to me.

Anyhoodle, back to the underwear.

During the time my dad was working in a town about 4 hours away.  One of the couple he works for owns a cabin in Meeker, Colorado and they wanted a ton of work done – so they had my dad, a general contractor, do the work.  He would leave on Sunday afternoons and come home on Friday afternoons.

Well, one weekend that he was home he had his buddies over to play their guitars.  At our house we always called this ‘Practice’.  So, my dad, 2 of his friends that I’ve pretty much known my whole life, my bro.ski and my non-hubby hubby (we weren’t married yet) were all in the basement being guys and playing their guitars, drums and singing.

My mom was doing my dad’s laundry.

I was in my bedroom, which was also in the basement.

As I’m working on stuff in my room I hear my mom:

“ROGER!!!  Whose are these??????”

Silence.

“Where did these come from?????”

Nothing.

I thought I’d better go check this out.

I walk out of my room to see my mom standing next to the dryer holding up a pair of underwear.  Yes.  To an audience of all these men.  I could tell she was livid.  I looked at my dad and he was a tad shell shocked.  Not in a ‘oh no I’ve been caught’ kind of way, but rather a ‘where DID those come from’ way.  The guys were just looking back and forth between my dad and mom.

I look at my mom and softly say - ‘Mom, those look like mine.’  I didn’t want to draw too much attention to myself or my underwear that were being waved around by my own mother.

She glances my way, never once lowering the French bikini underwear, and then looks back at my dad.

“Roger!  Where did these come from?”

Obviously this could be an issue for any wife who is doing her husband’s laundry and a pair of women’s undergarments appear.  Don’t act all innocent.  I’d be IRRATE if those showed up in Hubby’s laundry.

So, I say again, “Mom, I did my laundry today and those look like mine.”

NOTHING FROM THE MOTHER PARENTAL UNIT.  NOTHING!

One more time. 

“ROGER…WHOSE ARE THESE????”

Okay, now I’m mad.  I walked over, grabbed MY pair of unmentionables that she had been waving overhead to the room full of male species and said very sternly:

“MOM, I TOLD YOU, THESE ARE MINE!!!”

“What?”

“I DID MY LAUNDRY TODAY AND THOSE MUST HAVE BEEN LEFT IN THE DRYER!!!”

I looked to our audience of men and saw so much relief from my dad.  He seriously had no clue what to make of the strange pair of women’s undies in his laundry.  The other guys started laughing, my mom started laughing and I turn around and stomp back into MY bedroom holding MY underwear that nobody had ever seen but me!  Well, not until that point at least.

So – strike 2 for my dad!  First the strange cell phone number (Could My Father Actually Be Having An Affair?) .  Now the women’s underwear. 

What would my mom do next?

Goodness.  I love my mom and have so much fun telling all her funny stories.  They still make us laugh to this day – hehe!  I think next week for TST I’ll post:

“The Strange Guy In The Picture”

You guessed it this is about my dear mother too!

   

Check out more True Stories at Once Upon a Miracle.

“Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects.” 

Arnold Glasow

The Joy of Bubble Wrap

I have so many photos from our Christmas celebrations, but today I’m only going to post about 7 of them.  These were taken on Christmas day.

I always like when all the gift opening is over and your house looks like a war zone of some sort – stuff everywhere, paper covering the floor, gifts piled up all over – because it’s so clear to me how blessed we are.  But don’t get me wrong – after a while I have to clean it up (it stayed until the next morning)!!!  If you know me at ALL, you know I don’t like disorganization (you’ve seen my basement) – though on Christmas morning I can handle it longer than most days :o)

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

The tree before all the gifts were torn open.
Bella opening her doll house.

Posing with her new doll house.  Scout is fascinated with the purple couch that came with it. 

Of course, after opening all her cool gifts including a huge Lincoln log set and her new doll house – she spent an hour popping bubble wrap!

And Scout went over to the Dinosaur Ball toy that we’ve had since Bella was 6 months old and proceeded to play with that.

 Bella, Me and Scout Christmas night after all the festivities were over and we were back home!
Scout, Hubby, Bella and Baby Jesus…
 

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

 

Next year I’m thinking we’ll box up bubble wrap and some of their toys and give those to them since that’s what they were more interested in.  That will save us some BUCKS next year on gifts – I can’t wait!

I hope you all had a great Christmas and enjoyed your time with family and friends.  And I sure hope you made awesome MEMORIES and took many photos!  I have many to go through and see which ones I want to post.  You see, the ones from Christmas morning I am not wearing any make up.  Unlike TV shows and movies, I don’t wake up looking like I spent 2 hours in a make up chair.  Nope.  I look like my brother with long hair.  So – I need to weed through those and see if any are ‘showable’ – which I doubt any are :o)

It will be nice to have some of my free time back.  I over -scheduled myself this year and felt rushed everyday.  Not the point of Christmas – but it was my first year with 2 kids and things don’t always go as planned.  Next year will be D.I.F.F.E.R.E.N.T.  I wonder how many of you will still be visiting me a year from now?  That will be fun to see.

Have a great day!  I’ll be back to posting my daily posts again – yay!  Well, if I can stop playing with my new iPhone that I got last week (it was a birthday present from Hubby – my birthday is in May but my cell contract wasn’t up until this month, so….) Woohoo!  It’s awesome. It totally rocks – hehe!  So unnecessary, but so cool!

“He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.” 

Roy L. Smith

“Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.” 

Author unknown, attributed to a 7-year-old named Bobby

 

Thank You!

Thank you for your donation!!!

We appreciate your generosity during this time to help the families of the Ronald McDonald Houses of Denver, Colorado!

Merry Christmas!

Sincerely,

Kari Newsom

Joy.Love Outreach

www.joyloveoutreach.org

Merry Christmas!

What a beautiful day to celebrate Christmas!  What a beautiful day to celebrate Jesus!

I wish you all a memory filled day with lots of laughter, tears of joy and happiness!

From my house to yours!

Merry Christmas!

(this is the main photo we used on our Christmas cards this year) 

the gifts have all been open at our house, the floor is piled with wrapping paper and tissue & toys, clothes and books scattered all over BUT you will find Scout playing with a toy that has been around our house for almost 5 years and Bella is busy popping bubble wrap!  beautiful!

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid"

John 14:17

So, What About Santa?

I knew it would happen and that the time was coming close.  Over the past few weeks family, friends, mom’s at Bella’s school and even strangers have started asking Bella the question.  You know, “So, is Santa coming to your house this year?”

Silence.

“Well, were you a good girl this year?”

“Yes.”

“Did you tell Santa what you want for Christmas?”

Silence.

“Does Santa know what to bring you?”

Silence.

Then the look.  That ‘there must be something terribly wrong with your child’ look.  The ‘what kind of mother are you’ look.

Then I have to give my little 3 minute speech.  A speech that shocks many and has even brought about some argument from some – pointing to the fact that I’m ‘ruining’ my child’s childhood.

Yes.  I’m one of those.  Don’t hate me.  Don’t even be mad at me.  And don’t you even dare judge me – not yet!

My daughter knows who Santa Claus is.  Are you kidding?  You’d have to be living in a hole not to.  She knows about the reindeer, the sleigh, jingle bells, and all that jazz.  She likes movies about Santa Claus.  She likes songs about Santa Claus.  She likes to see Santa at the mall, though she has never once asked to go sit on his lap (*sigh* of relief).  We’ve had Santa (Santa Randy aka my hubby’s step dad) at our house before so Bella and kid’s of our friends could have their picture taken with Santa.

So what’s the big difference between her and most kids?

My daughter knows that Santa is not ‘real’.  Now, now – I can see the claws coming out and the hair on your back standing up.  Stop hissing – just let me explain.  And realize this is about me and my children.  I don’t look down on anyone who has taught their kids that Santa is real.  Seriously, that would be immature, but I wanted to share with you all WHY we choose to raise our kids this way since so many people don’t understand.

Bella is at peace with all of this.  Hubby and I, as her parents, are too.  Before we even had kids we had both discussed this ‘issue’.  Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny – all those childhood emblems that shape our celebrated holidays and seem to be the focus of the world in general on these holidays or events in our life.

We didn’t want to teach our kids that Santa, the Tooth Fairy or the Easter Bunny were in fact, real.  And if you think about it my lovely peeps – they’re not.  Now, we have never taught that liking Santa was bad or wrong.  We just taught that he isn’t real.  It’s simple, really, reindeer can’t really fly and Santa can’t fit down our chimney. 

I have told my dear daughter about St. Nickolas and the Samaritan that he was and how he would leave bags on money on peoples door step in ‘secret’ and how the story of St. Nickolas over the years has morphed into Santa Claus.  I’ve taught her the wonderful spirit that St. Nick had and have tried to convey to her how important that is.

I grew up believing in Santa.  We left food for Santa.  We looked for gifts from Santa under the tree.  We sat on Santa’s lap. I wrote the North Pole.  I did it all.  I was disappointed at times because I didn’t get what I asked for.  But as I grew older and we were informed that Santa wasn’t real and how my parents had lied to me for 9 years and that was somehow okay it was all made up – we still left food for my dad Santa.  We still sat on Santa’s lap and got our picture taken.  And I was still disappointed some years – but didn’t have to blame Santa or my good/bad behavior that year for it.  Point being – I still enjoyed Santa even though I knew he wasn’t real.

Even after I learned Santa wasn’t real – I still enjoyed the Christmas season and even enjoyed the ‘story’ of Santa.  But I learned a few things from my own experience.

I don’t want my kid thinking that Santa is their source.  A little overboard?  Not in my eyes.  I know some kids who cried when Santa didn’t bring them the toy they wanted.  They get so upset.  They write Santa.  They go sit on Santa’s lap.  They tell Santa the desires of their heart.  And then us parents manipulate them around the Christmas season with ‘If you’re not a good kid Santa’s not coming to our house this year.’  This devastates the child.  Then kids will begin being good ONLY in order for Santa to come and give them gifts (and then we have the audacity to get mad at them when all they focus on is getting gifts, although WE have trained them to be this way).  Then when Christmas morning arrives and they didn’t get what they wanted, they are now disappointed in this man who they’ve poured their entire soul out to.  They’ve been let down.  We tell them we’re sorry, but maybe Santa wasn’t able to get the gift this year or that Santa had other kids that needed toys more.  This icon we have created in our child’s eye has now become a heart breaker.  OR the other scenrio is that they do get their heart’s desire AND they were extra good JUST so Santa would come and he did and now the child is thinking that Santa is the most amazing and coolest thing around.  Santa can do anything.  Santa is THE.BOMB.  I’m sorry, but isn’t that a  little backwards?

I want my children to enjoy the Christmas season.  Santa. Reindeer. Silly Christmas songs. Photo ops with Santa. ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas stories. Elves. The whole kit and kaboodle.

BUT I want my children to KNOW first and foremost why we celebrate Christmas and that is we are celebrating the birth of Jesus.  His birth.  His life.  The gift He was to the people of this earth.  I want them to KNOW how much HE loves us.  I want the to KNOW how blessed we are to have Him in our life.  I want the to KNOW that HE is their source – not a jolly old fat man.  I want them to KNOW that we, as Christians, should demonstrate HIS love to all that we meet each and EVERY DAY.  The spirit of Christmas.  Selflessness.  Giving.  Loving. 

I want my kids to have a desire to give to people.  To bless people – to have the heart of Jesus.  It is truly ‘more blessed to give then to receive’.  Don’t get me wrong.  I want them to be good receivers too.  I want them to be grateful for every gift given to them.  To have a thankful heart.  To graciously receive.  That is an art.

I just don’t feel that it’s right for US to lie to them for 9 or 10 years then tell them we lied and then they have to process all of that .  That’s weird FOR ME.  I know some of you think lying is a harsh word – but that’s what it is.  It’s not honest.  It’s not truth.  It’s lying.

So, that’s how we handle it at our house.  I love that Bella likes Santa Claus, but when you ask her about Christmas she goes into this monologue of how Jesus was born in a manger with Mary and Joseph by Him and that the shepherds knelt down and worshipped him and how the wise men saw the star in the sky and came to find him – hand motions, facial expressions and all.  I.LOVE.THAT.

Now, does Bella still focus on getting gifts.  Of course she’s interested in that – she’s 4.5.  She gets so excited to unwrap stuff and see what’s inside.  And it’s so much fun watching her excitement.  She also loves giving people gifts and she gets just as excited watching them open them.  She’ll explain the gift to them.  Where we got it or how we made it.  She’s totally INTO it.

So – my friends – if you even made it this far – KUDOS to you.  I may have lost a handful of you  after I told you that Bella knows that Santa isn’t real.  I’m wondering if my followers will decrease at this new knowledge you have of me.  That’s okay.  I’m at peace with that!

Well, tomorrow is Christmas and we are excited in this house for the day to finally be here!  I’m sure I’ll have an uncanny amount of photos to share next week.  It’s so fun celebrating Christmas with little kiddos.  Their excitement and joy is ADDICTING. 

I hope you all have a Merry, Merry Christmas.  I hope that your hearts are open to receive love from those around you and to receive the Love of Jesus into your heart if you never have invited Him in.  My life will never be the same since the day I personally realized I wanted to live my life for Him.  It makes Christmas so much more special and meaningful.  Not to mention all the cool gifts I receive :o)  I do love me some gifts too – I get all excited like a little child.  It’s so fun to see the world reaching out and giving and sharing at this time of year!  It’s a beautiful thing.

Love on someone today!  It could change their life forever!

ps….BTW – the tooth fairy will not be leaving our kids any money for teeth…mommy and daddy will be leaving the money. And as for the Easter Bunny?  Seriously? That’s even more far off then Santa.  At least Santa is a giver like Jesus.  The Easter Bunny lays chocolate eggs – what does that have to do with the resurrection of Jesus?  Um, nada!  Mommy and daddy also leave the Easter baskets at our house.  This has never bothered Bella one bit!

The Birth of Jesus – our greatest Gift!

⁶ And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.

⁷ She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

⁸ That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.

⁹ Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified,

¹⁰ but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.

¹¹ The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!

¹² And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in highest heaven,
      and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

Luke 2:6-14

WW – Christmas Card ‘Outtakes’

I admit it, I can’t really have a ‘wordless’ post.  But I can make it less wordy then usual.  Here are some pics from our little photo shoot for our Christmas Cards.  I’ll post the final one we chose on Christmas Day!  So I could post these today, I’ve pushed my “What About Santa” post to tomorrow!

I’ve been pulling really late nights.  Like 1am and 2am trying to get stuff done.  I don’t get much of a chance to work on stuff during the day, so this is the only option!  Tad T.I.R.E.D.  I’m at the point of ‘They BETTER like these things I’m making!!!’  Haha. 

 

Last night Hubby, Bella, Scout, Jerry Bean and I delivered 76 Christmas stockings to 2 different Ronald McDonald Houses here in Colorado!  One house will hand them out today when Santa visits and the other on Christmas Eve!  I will post some photos of those next week!

 

Have a great day!  We’re getting lots of snow here – a true Colorado Christmas!

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

(He was watching a football game.) 
(See what I have to live with????)

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

Silent night, holy night,
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and child.
Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace.
Sleep in heavenly peace.
Silent night, holy night,
Shepherds quake at the sight,
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing alleluia;
Christ the Savior, is born!
Christ the Savior, is born!
Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.

Silent Night

December 21, 2005 – A Look Back

So I have another busy day today so I thought I’d do a photo post again.  Tomorrow I want to post, ‘So, What About Santa?’  Hopefully I’ll get that done.

Pretty close to being done with stuff – just need to do a few more things.  It’s just not as easy with the little ones as it use to be.  Distractions happen.  Plans change.  Schedules get messed up.  Not always easy for someone like me, but I’m learning how to handle it better without getting frustrated.  Organization is big for me!

Anyhoodle….The photos below were taken exactly 4 years ago TODAY.  It was Bella’s first Christmas – she was 5 months old.  So much has changed.  Her, for one.  Our house, us, the tree, my figure….but we won’t go there, right ladies?!?

Bella looks so much like Scout to me sometimes.  She was a cute little thing.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

 

Hubby, Me and Bella – 12.21.05

Bella - 12.21.05

Bella next to an ornament that says ‘Izzy’.  We called her that for the longest time.  It just fit her.  12.21.05

Bella exhausted from her busy day. 12.21.05

ALSO… I received a wonderful Blog Award from Nicolosa at Low Expectations.  The Happy 101 award!  She’s so sweet and I enjoy her blog.  She makes me laugh – and she is so honest.  I know some people don’t like that too much – but I think HONESTY IS wonderful!  So, thank you my friend!

RULES FOR HAPPY 101 AWARD

List 10 things that make you happy, try to do at least one of them today, and tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day. For those bloggers who get the award, you then link back to my blog and create your "makes you happy" list.

10 Things That Make Me Happy(In no particular order)

1. When my kids giggle.
2. Watching my pug, Jerry, sleep with his huge stuffed hamburger in his mouth.
3. Blogging.
4. Coffee with a friend.
5. Watching a movie with my hubby.
6. Playing ‘movie lines’ with my family.
7. Baking.
8. Not cooking.
9. Watching Missy the pig get her ‘mohawk’ when you scratch her.
10. After having 2 kids I’m able to wear clothes that I had before I ever got pregnant the first time!

5 Bloggers  ( I know it’s less then what is mentioned above, but I have a time limit today – there names are Bella and Scout :o)  that make me Happy!(In no particular order).  You know you all make me so happy – all my beautiful bloggy friends!  I’m going to try to pick some that have never received an award from me yet, so here we go….

Heather at Oswald Cuties

Kelly at Joyful Adorations

Mimi at He & Me + 3

Nicolosa at Low Expectations

Mrs. Nurse Boy at Poop on Jelly

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Only 2 more days until Christmas.  I hope you all enjoy your family, friends and gifts, but above all remember that we are celebrating the most precious gift every given, Jesus Christ!  Christ–mas – a gathering for Christ, the Anointed One!

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

I’m Late, I’m Late For A Very Important Date

Two, actually. 

Scout’s 10 month update & my bro.ski’s 31st birthday.

Ooops.

First, as much as I don’t want to admit it – I forgot to do a post for Scout turning 10 months old!  WHAT????  Yes.  Monday, December 14, 2009 – Scout turned 10 months and I didn’t so much as say a word in the bloggy world!  I’m sorry Bubba!  So, it’s a little belated, but happy 10 months!

Since I’m short on time today I just want to say that the biggest change I have seen in Scout in the last month is his sleeping patterns.  Around 3-4 months he started sleeping good through the night and was taking good daytime naps.  Then after that it all went down hill.  When his teeth started popping through around 7 months – he was getting up every 2-3 hours throughout the night and he wouldn’t take naps.  Are you kidding me??? This went on for 2 months.  Not an easy period of time for mama here!

 

BUT…two Fridays ago – our night life changed around here.  He went to bed around 8pm, like usual, but he didn’t wake up until 4:30 a.m. – AHHHHHH!  8 1/2 HOURS STRAIGHT!  Woohoo!  I nursed him and then he fell asleep until 7:30 a.m.  And it has only gotten better since then.  It’s beautiful.  It’s strange.  It’s a wonderful break for me – although I still get up a couple times during the night out of habit!

He also says mama, dada and baba.  He bites.  He’s made me bleed.  Not while nursing – just on the neck and shoulder.  You know – a tad vampire-ish.  He can occupy himself really well.  He’s GLUED to me like nobody’s business.  Like I say, he’s my saran wrap.  He has 3 more teeth cutting in, which will give him a total of 5 teeth.  He LOVES ice cream.  That’s my boy!  He still has the sweetest smile and the best baby kisses.  Hard to imagine he’ll be year old in February!  Love you, Bubba!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

And I also missed announcing my bro.ski’s 31st birthday.  Granted, he acts more like he’s 13 then 31 – but aren’t all little brothers like that?  We saw him and my SIL, Cassia, on Friday night when they came to watch Bella while Hubby, Scout and I headed out to Hubby’s work Christmas party.  We exchanged Christmas presents that night with them as well!  I have a few photos from that night that I’ll post later!

So, Happy Birthday, Danny.  Digger. Digger Dan.  Digger Dan the Garbage Man. Subway. Marty.  And all the other nicknames you have!

(me, my younger bro.ski, my older sister at my bro’s wedding June 2008)

Are you all ready for Christmas?  Me?  Not so much – but I’m getting there :o)  Some have asked what projects I’m doing, but I can’t post that just yet since my gift receivers read my blog!  When Christmas is over, I’ll post a couple of the cool things I did!

(ps…my True Story Tuesday stories will start up again next week.  First, the ‘Strange Women’s Underwear In My Dad’s Laundry’ then I also have the ‘Strange Man In The Photo.’  Yes, these both will also be about my mom.  Tellin’ on mom!!!)

“Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you've got to start young.” 

Fred Astaire