Sunday, December 27, 2009

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.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

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 :




Monday, December 14, 2009

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.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

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....