Year at a Glance

As Tori Amos would say, it's been a "Pretty Good Year." We've had lots of milestones, plenty of miracles, a few scares, and loads of fun and laughter. It's hard to believe another year has passed, yet it really becomes evident when I look at how much the kids have grown. They change so quickly, and are constantly surprising me with their wit and wisdom. They are what keeps me going each day--even if they have me sometimes wondering "Will this day ever end?" I love my life--and my kids--to bits, though. I wouldn't change a thing!

Surprise!

Since I was the only one interested in being surprised on the gender of this baby, I compromised and had the doctor write down the gender at my ultrasound two months ago. He put it in a sealed envelope, and I wrapped it up and hid it in the Christmas tree. On Christmas morning, after all the presents were opened, I pulled it out, and everyone gathered around to read the doctor's words........

......."It's definitely a boy!" I'm not surprised, as I've pretty much felt like it was a boy all along. But remember Keaton's prediction? ("I know it's a girl. I just know it!") He cried for five minutes when he heard it was a boy. He was just so certain it was a girl! I think he's finally adjusting to the idea. So, now if we could just come up with a decent boy's name...ideas anyone?

Santa Found Us!

Even though we changed things up a bit by giving each other homemade gifts this year, Santa still managed to find his way down our chimney to fill up our stockings and bring the kids each a really fun present.

Somehow, Santa knew that Delaney wanted a new Polly Pocket more than anything. But instead of bringing her a new Polly, he brought her a Polly Pocket board game that came with two new Pollys and four new outfits--hours of girlie fun! Santa brought Keaton a grown-up tool box with a real tape measure--just like Dad's! Addy got a super fun Princess coloring kit (how did Santa know that she is still obsessed with Disney princesses--especially Sleeping Beauty?) And for Mason, Santa brought a walker to help him along in his belated efforts at learning to walk. He'll be cruising around the place in no time!

Santa's presents were a hit, but the real treasures this year were the gifts we made from the heart. Here's a quick run-down on what everyone made:

Dad drew a beautiful portrait of Delaney, based on one of his favorite pictures of her after her ballet recital. He made Keaton and Addy a super fun bean bag set. Mason got a fun shape page for his quiet book.

Mom made Delaney and Addy each two outfits for their favorite dolls, Babe and Lily. Keaton got a toolbelt/apron made out a pair of denim overalls (he is thrilled to have a sufficiently masculine option for when he helps out in the kitchen and the girls don their cutesie aprons!). Mom made the cover page for Mason's quiet book.

Delaney made Keaton a Peter Pan hat (a real hit, given his obsession ever since Halloween). She made Addy a beautiful "grown-up" necklace using beads she chose in all Addy's favorite colors--mostly pink, of course! And she made a flower and butterfly page for Mason's book.

Keaton made Addy a super fun, frilly fairy wand since she too is still attached to her Halloween costume of Tinkerbell. For Delaney, he made a special bookmark since she loves to read. And he made Mason an A-B-C page for his book.

Addison made Delaney a special bookmark, and Keaton a fun felt-covered elephant pen that she chose from some projects we found online. She made Mason a 1-2-3 page for his quiet book.

Mason made each of the kids (with a little help from Mom) a treasure box for their seashell collections.

All of the kids colored a custom picture to serve as the artwork for CD covers that we burned for Dad, as he has been wanting some music for the car now that we have a CD player.

It was so fun to see how excited the kids got over giving their special gifts to each other. And even though the gifts were simple, we were amazed at how enthusiastically they responded to receiving them. We were slightly worried that the kids might feel somehow deprived since they got less than usual, but the exact opposite was true. This year's gifts had more meaning than ever, and were the cause of more excitement than anything we could have bought in the store. It really made us consider why we give gifts to each other, and put more thought into the gifts we choose to give. Far from feeling deprived, we have felt so deeply blessed this holiday season. In Delaney's words, "This was the best Christmas EVER!"

Christmas Eve Jammies

We carried on the usual tradition of opening one present on Christmas Eve--that present invariably being new PJs, but this year there was a slight twist. This year I was crazy enough to make the kids their jammies!

I was pretty self-conscious of my inept attempt, until I realized that, considering the fact that I am a self-taught seamstress of limited ability (that is an understatement!), I used no pattern, and I had only left-over fabric to work with, I did a pretty darn good job! (Sorry, boys--shirts were a little beyond me, so bottoms will have to do!)

Mischievious Mason

Here is Mason's favorite spot to hang out lately. He especially loves to unload the dishes and silverware faster than we can load them. He's quite the helper, I assure you. (Now, if only he'd stop eating the dishwasher detergent! Fortunately, he's only done that once, but I feel fairly certain that he'd do it again if given the opportunity!)

Don't worry, that is not detergent causing him to foam at the mouth in the picture below. It's actually whipped cream! We can thank Grandma Kathy for getting Mason (and all the kids) hooked on having whipped cream squirted straight into their mouth whenever they see a can of it appear!

Because We Have Been Given Much

Several weeks ago, we asked the kids if they had any ideas on how we could make this Christmas extra special, without spending a lot of money. We talked about how we weren't the only ones whose Daddy had lost his job, and that some people had even lost their homes and barely had enough money to buy food to eat. The kids decided that we were blessed to have so many fun toys, and they thought they would like to share some of their toys with kids who didn't have as much. We spent the next Saturday going through our playroom. Each of the kids filled up a giant trash bag with toys that they thought other kids would be glad to have. The amazing part is, they didn't choose their worn-out, broken toys, they chose some of their very best toys.

We put a lot of thought into what we should do with the toys. We didn't want to donate them to D.I. or Good Will, because then someone would have to buy them. We wanted them to go straight to someone who couldn't afford them. However, because they were not brand new, we couldn't donate them to Toys for Tots. I finally decided that I would put an ad on Craig's List, saying they'd be available for pickup at a certain time. A couple weeks went by, and I still had not got around to posting the ad. The kids had even scattered quite a few of the toys that we had organized, making it tempting to just give up on the whole idea.

Pretty soon it was the Saturday before Christmas. I woke up feeling obsessed with giving those toys away. I spent the morning reorganizing the toys, getting ready to take pictures so I could post the ad. When I went to get my camera, my batteries were dead--and so were my backup batteries! I was pretty discouraged, thinking that I really blew it by waiting too long. I feared that it was probably too late to do anyone any good.

It was almost noon by the time I got the ad posted. I stated that we had some gently used toys in excellent condition looking for a new home for Christmas, and that they would be available until 4PM. I felt sure that I had waited too long; this would not be nearly enough notice for people to stop by. (I had intended, after all, to place the ad at least a week in advance!) But I had to at least try. No sooner had I walked away from the computer after posting the ad, then the phone started to ring. Minutes later someone arrived: a father of seven children who had just lost his job. He was filled with gratitude as he told us that these toys would be his kids' Christmas. Others who came had similar stories: one family member had just been diagnosed with caner and undergone extreme radiation treatment, making him unable to even hold his children; one family had recently moved from Michigan, and were forced to leave most of their children's toys behind. Within less than an hour and a half, everything was gone, and I had to remove the ad because the phone was ringing off the hook! We were left wishing we had more toys to give away, because we felt so good inside for being able to help in such a small and simple way. We realized that when you are focused on giving, you are a whole lot less worried about getting. It suddenly didn't matter that we wouldn't be able to buy as much for our kids this year, for we had been blessed beyond measure.

Four Year Old Princess

My baby girl turned four today. In fact, she informed me that I cannot call her "baby girl" any more, I have to call her "big girl." How did she get so grown up all of the sudden? We celebrated with a Princess party. The kids had fun decorating crowns, then the girls got to pamper themselves with nail polish and a makeover. I thought Keaton would high-tail it, by this point, opting to go do something more boyish, since he is, after all, definitely all-boy. But instead, he insisted on painting Addy's nails for her! She's showing off her beautiful manicure below.

After the make overs, the girls got dressed in fancy princess dresses and danced around at "the ball." The whole day was simple, fun, and surprisingly enjoyed by all the kids (even Keaton, amazingly. I think secretly he's just happy that he's old enough now to resist being dressed up like a princess by Delaney--which used to happen quite often, mind you. But now that Keaton is old enough to assert himself, he'll have none of that. Good sport that he is, though, he'll gladly dress up as a prince if it means he can join in on the fun!)

After a special birthday dinner, we ended the day by opening presents and eating a princess cake. (I had to think of some way to use the pink sugary-sparkles that Addy chose for her cake! A mouthful of crunchy sugar is not my idea of a mouth-watering cake, but apparently it's every four year old's dream!) I think the day was a success. Addy felt like a princess, and literally had a ball. And one of her favorite parts was being spoiled by everyone since it's a rule in our family that no one has to do any chores on their birthday!

The Blessings of Unemployment

We had seen the writing on the wall for quite some time: Brent's company was headed under. Sure enough, in the beginning of November they declared cChapter 11 Bankruptcy. At that point, Brent had survived three layoffs. Confused as to why he still had a job, but grateful nonetheless, Brent continued to work there, even while madly looking for another job. He was hoping to have a new one lined up before being let go. Unfortunately, that was not the case, and he was laid off the week before Thanksgiving. Surprisingly, rather than feeling overwhelmed with stress, we have both had a peaceful feeling about the whole thing. And we have been miraculously blessed in so many ways. Below are just a few of the blessings that we have enjoyed:

*Time! It has been an amazing blessing to have Brent home over the holidays. There are no other circumstances where we would be able to enjoy so much time together as a family. We even took a fun trip to McCall, where we had a blast playing games, swimming, and just hanging out. We also trekked through the woods to cut down a Christmas Tree! (The picture above, while totally unrelated to unemployment, still just warms my heart. It's the boys snuggled up for a Sunday afternoon nap!)

*Shifting Priorities. As we have tried to cut back our expenses and reflect on what is really important, we have realized that it's not things that matter so much, after all. Much of what we used to think about doesn't seem to matter now, and we're aware of blessings all around us that we never even stopped to consider.

*Medical Insurance. We are lucky that my pregnancy will continue to be covered.

*A Back-up Mommy. Brent has been so helpful with the house and kids. That has been a tremendous blessing, especially when it comes to lifting Mason. Brent has almost completely taken over caring for him, as my back has bothered me so much that even lifting him in and out of his crib or high chair has not been fun. It has been a real relief to me to have Brent here to help with that.

*Opportunities out of the Ordinary. Having Brent home has allowed he and I both to spend lots of time volunteering in the kids' classrooms, visiting grandparents--even grocery shopping alone--all things that were never quite as easy to fit in before.