The Rest of the Twelve Days of Christmas

On the ninth day...
My mom spent 6 months learning all these hymns on the piano and 3 days recording them for us. I know it wasn't easy for her, but I'm so glad she took the time to do it.

On the tenth day...

On the eleventh day...




And on the twelfth day of Christmas....

This gift wasn't originally part of the gifts, but my parents went to Israel a few weeks before Christmas and sent this nativity back. This picture doesn't show the beauty of it very well, but it really is very beautiful. They were all carved from olive wood.

Thanks mom, for this, and for all the gifts. I appreciate all the hard work you put into doing this. It was nice to have a reminder every day leading up to Christmas of the true meaning of the day.

On the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Day of Christmas...

On the Fourth and Fifth Day of Christmas

On the Second and Third Day of Christmas

On the First Day of Christams

My mom did the 12 days of Christmas for us again this year. Thanks mom! I know this was a ton of work. I don't know how you came up with all these little poems.
The kids are so excited about opening something every day.
Here's the theme for this year:


Present #1 :

Winter

I hate it. I say it every day. Probably every hour. I hate winter. And I could create a very long list of the reasons why. However, I'm determined to look on the bright side...well, at least until after Christmas. Because winter is useless after Christmas and I'm not making any promises that I'm going to try and enjoy it after Christmas is over. But I was able to come up with a few (because there really aren't more than a few) positive things. Here goes-
Snow. There are plenty of negative things I could say about snow, but because I'm looking at the bright side, I'll just say-it looks really pretty when it snows.

Fire. If it has to be cold and snowy, then there's nothing better than a fire in the fireplace to cuddle up next to. But it takes wood to make fires. Lots of it. And when one guy cuts down, loads, and unloads a huge trailer of wood all by himself, that can lead to back injuries. But that's another story.

Sweaters. Again, if it has to be cold, then sweaters are the best thing to wear. Here is another one of the many cute sweaters my mom has knitted for us.

Sugar. There's never a shortage of sugar around the holidays. Cookies, pies, fudge, candy. There's always enough to keep even me satisfied.

Weston enjoyed the Christmas cookies almost as much as I did.

Winter sports. I do, on occasion, enjoy getting out and going cross country skiing or sledding. Only, these things are a little more difficult to do when I've got babies, and I've had babies for a while now. So, I'm looking forward to getting out again now that Weston in approaching his second birthday.

Christmas Music. And the spirit that comes with it. As soon as the weather turns cold, I turn on the Messiah, my favorite Christmas music. It helps me focus on the true spirit of Christmas, which is the most important thing of all. It is the one thing about winter that I'd like to keep with me all year long.

More Sick Stories

When Weston woke up yesterday with a fever-for the third time this week-I decided to bring him to the doctor. While getting the kids ready to go, Ben went from slightly swollen eyes to almost non existent eyes. His face swelled. His arms and hands swelled. He developed huge welts all over his body. All of this in a matter of minutes. I couldn't figure out why he would be having an allergic reaction. Good thing we were already on the way to the Instacare. I really hate going to the doctor. I feel like they always over-treat the kids, and who knows what else they'll pick up while being there. Oh well, what do you do? 'Tis the season, I suppose. One more reason for me to HATE winter. Looks like the 100+ (yes really, 100+) gummy vitamins that Ben and Weston consumed last week didn't do much to keep them healthy.
As it turned out, Ben was most likely having a reaction to some sort of virus, which evidently is not uncommon in children. She said it would probably last 3 or 4 days, and wrote a prescription for some kind of steroid treatment, to which I had no intention of filling. I'll stick with Benadryl for a few days, if he needs it.
Weston had an ear infection. For him, a prescription of Amoxicillin, which will also end up in the garbage. Not that I tell the doctor this. Just smile and nod.
I'm not totally against antibiotics or other medications, but I do think they're over prescribed. Most things they get over on their own. I would do a few things differently if I could go back. But, live and learn.

I took these pictures several hours after the Benadryl, and the swelling had gone down.

I can hardly look at these without wanting to scratch them for him. I used to get hives quite frequently as a child. They never could figure out why. This sure brought back memories of my own hive days.

Poor Wes, just not himself.

On a more positive note, the one good thing about winter-Christmas. We got a tree cut down and decorated. Christmas lights are up. Christmas decorations are up. Most the Christmas cards are on the way. Neighbor gifts are almost done. Shopping is almost done. Now, if I can just keep the kids healthy....

Regan's 10th Birthday

Regan's Birthday was yesterday. Once again he chose to have a mom and dad party instead of a friend party. I made him the dinner of his choice, steak and Potato Boats. And the cake of his choice, Molten Chocolate Cake (excellent choice, plus it was way easier than decorating a cake).

Not sure what the pose in the top picture is all about. I think he was trying to look as if he were blowing out the candles.

Next he opened presents. He got an Erector set from my parents and a lava lamp from us. He told me a few weeks ago that those were the two things he wanted. Luckily, my mom had already gotten him the Erector set so I only had to get the lava lamp, which was cheap. Nice. And he's still got something coming from Jason's parents.

Then, it was off to the movies. Kacy came over to watch the other boys, so it was just the 3 of us. We went to see the new Christmas Carol. We wanted to see the 3D version, but apparently the 3D projector was not working and they didn't have time to fix it (probably because of all those crazy Twilight fans lined up outside), so we saw the regular version. We had a good time anyway... well, except for the part that Regan got a bloody nose, gagged on the blood, and then threw up a puddle of blood on the floor. I know. Disgusting. Luckily there were only 2 other people in the theater.

It's hard to believe he's been with us for ten years. He's been such a blessing in our lives and we're very grateful to have him in our home. Happy Birthday Regan, we love you!

Halloween 09

Weston was NOT a happy frog!

Decorating Halloween cookies.

Family Pictures 2009

We get together every year with our friends, the Jorgensons, and take each other's family pictures. Luckily, the weather was beautiful and we were able to do outdoor shots this time. And luckily, this time, no one had pink eye and no one was screaming. All in all, not too bad.