Talking

Suddenly my baby girl is a chatter box - apparently she'll fit right in to our family! Now, if you want to be able to understand you'd have to come live with us for some total immersion style listening. Otherwise the word "baba" might sound the same for diaper as for baby as for ball-ball to your amateur ears!

Pretty soon she'll be able to say the most brilliant things, in fact today after kissing her big brother she said, "ilala" just like I love you. (He always got the biggest smiles when she was an infant and now he gets the first I love you! Hmmph ;) LOL)

On a day when I'm convinced that I have super smart kids one of them, who shall not be named, goes and says, "Mommy, I love candy canes, they are sorta like candy."

Sunday

But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.

Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little."

2 Corinthians 8:7-9,12-16 (NIV)

The emphasis in the above verses is mine. I have been reading and rereading these words since August and I was thrilled back then when I found these verses. They were just like water to quench my thirst. My desire to give is great it is just the direction the generosity takes that shifts.

When I first stumbled upon them, these words spoke to me as to what I want to do with my life - other than Mommy - I feel there is another purpose for me that has not yet become. One where I can use my deep feelings of giving and compassion on a daily basis, perhaps starting up a not for profit, for now my focus is my young children and if I still have a blog in the future we all may see how this plays out.

Now that this Christmas season is upon us I've decided to use my desire to give to those who are truly needy. Basically, I'm giving things that I would want to get which this year are not necessarily tangibles. Yeah, I'd love a new dishwasher, some really nice gloves for gardening and maybe a couple fruit trees for the backyard. But really, truly I LOVE giving and feel awkward receiving.

My husband on several Christmases has lavished me with gifts and while I do adore that he does this for me, honestly it makes me feel weird sitting there opening up gifts. It's just one of those uncomfortable moments all eyes watching and then at the end of it all a feeling of emptiness that lasts through a massive Christmas feast that would feed an entire village elsewhere in the world.

He does know this about me now, he asked before our wedding if I wanted a $5,000 ring or to go on a honeymoon for 10 days to Jamaica - ah, yeah I'd wear a bottle cap on my finger every day to go back to the warm water scuba diving fruit loving beautiful Jamaican people. But I've gotten off point slightly.

This Christmas season, I'm choosing NOT to get stressed out about the stuff and hoping that my plenty can provide for anothers need. How do you keep yourself charged and at peace this season? Care to share, leave me a comment or link up if you post.

Seriously!

I have no idea how these things happen to me, but they do. Today making our family tradition cinnamon rolls recipe a bit of an incident happened.

See, I was excited, finally getting into the mood for all the work of Thanksgiving, feeling the energy of all my fellow women and men that have gone before me preparing feasts. The boys were out running a couple last minute errands and it was just us girls.

One of us wasn't really feeling the whole wonderful mood thing and I just had a few cups of flour left to put in so I thought I would nurse her in a carrier. I've never been able to totally do this hands free, usually her head rests in the crook of my elbow. Anyway, to make a long story short, for the first time EVER I was able to hands free nurse my 15 month old - yeah we have a slow learning curve!

I was doing two things at once, slowly adding in a cup of flour and nursing my precious beauty when all of a sudden the measuring cup gets violently sucked into the mixer, my split second reaction time was not quite fast enough to stop it before a bunch of dough ended up all over us and the kitchen.

I did clean it off of us before taking the picture. But it was ALL over the place! In my defense, when I've made this recipe before I've done it by hand and I had already decided that I didn't like using my mixer as the bowl isn't big or deep enough. So, I won't be doing this again!

Nursing worked out great, she couldn't have cared less what I was doing, even with raw dough in her hair, she just kept right on plugging along.

Finger painting was fun too.

Vivid Imagination

Last night after watching the American Music Awards I had the most fabulous dreams! Now, there is some history here that you might need to know. Back in college, (when tapes were still not totally archaic) I taped my friend's CD of Sarah McLachlan's Fumbling Toward Ecstasy album. Over the course of the year I pretty much wore out the tape, not to mention my roommate's nerves, playing it over relentlessly. Since then, I've been hooked!

Anyway, in my dreams I was friends with her. Kick back, hanging around in our fuzzy pajama mama pants, drinking tea kind of friends. Her kids and mine were playing while we discussed kids, music, humanitarian aid, politics and whatever.

I would totally love to have those conversations with her in real life LOL! She rocks in my book. If you don't know why I love her so much the video for World On Fire is totally worth the few minutes it takes to watch. It's a few years old, I know, but still I LOVE the lyrics to this song. I could go on, but that might be fanatical!

"The more we take the less we become....."

On a side note Annie Lennox totally kicked booty last night singing Why on the AMA's, I don't think she's written a song that I don't like either!

iwantiwantiwantit!!!

I am going to preface this by saying: I am grateful for my husband, children and the many, many blessings we are given daily including the fact that my husband's Bell's Palsy is over 60% improved!!! Despite the gimmes, today was a fabulous gift of a day! More times than I can count out of the blue my son said, "Mommy, I love you." While coming over arms stretched out, he kept my bulging heart melting all day long.

I am trying - really trying here to give my children a spirit of giving. Maybe I'm trying too hard and not doing enough. Maybe we just went to too many stores today for all of our tolerance level, whatever the case I am tired of I want. For the record we bought nothing.

Maybe the fact that since Adam works at the mall and since we sold my car this week (bye bye car payment!) I drop him off in the mornings. Today I wanted to see if there was anything on my Christmas lists that I could have him buy on black Friday, you know since he'll have to go there to work and I can stay home by the fire with Grandma and the kids watching Wall*E or something!

We walked through plenty of stores this morning (carrying the baby in arms - hello - the carrier was in the car this time but I thought I would be quick!) including the Disney store which was the downfall for all of us. The baby girl quickly found phones just like Mommy's to play with and chew on and my wonderful boy having just seen the movie was ALL over everything Wall*E not to mention beloved Tow Mater.

I want this one and this one and this one... in utter desperation I told him to just calm down and that he didn't need every toy! He did mention however pleading his case that Wally and Eve (he says Eva) love each other very much and are best friends. I (this is where I get desperate) say, "Well maybe if you want them you can ask Santa for them." Now he's wanting to go talk to Santa today. I may have lied when I said he wasn't at the mall yet, I don't really know for sure but I was not going to lug the kids all the way down to find out. Huh, this from a boy who last week at the mention of Santa immediately stated he was not going to sit on his lap this year.

I know I'm planting seeds for giving, last year we started the tradition of giving away three of his toys to someone who needs them more. We will do this again after Thanksgiving and this year we've collected a shoebox full of things for a boy his age through Operation Christmas Child. We are dropping it off tomorrow but you have until Monday if you meant to do it! He's really enjoyed picking out toys for that little boy so I know that the seeds are there.

My frustration is also at our "material world" because really possessions are not what it is about.

Christmas after all is about Jesus, a baby in a manger, born to set us free!

A theme for the upcoming holiday season...

Happiness is not so much in having as sharing. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. -- Norman MacEwan

Why do I wear my babies?

International Babywearing Week starts in a couple of days and Babywearing Steph is asking for our favorite babywearing photos. (Could I have fit in the word babywearing one more time into that sentance?!) Go link up your favorite pictures too and you can be entered to win a sling from Nonny and Boo. I have a couple from there already but can you really have too many slings?

I love my babies and I love having them close by me but really, really the main reason that I carry them on me is that kissable little head. I could (and do) kiss the little head many, many, many times a day. Oh, and that little baby head smell is just about the best thing ever to keep me happy!

My favorite pictures of my kids in various carriers!

Last November at the San Diego Zoo.

Last Fall!

This past Spring.

This past summer at Auntie's wedding!

Gone in 10.3 seconds...

The sweet precious moment that is.

I'm getting kids ready for bed when I leave my son's room to hang up towels and tidy the bathroom a bit. "Here, let me read you that book," I hear my son say to his sister.

I peek to see them getting settled in on his little chair and run down the stairs to grab the camera. I smartly turned on the flash and camera as I ran, removing the lens cap right as I reached the top of the stairs. I was bringing the lens up to my eye as I rounded the corner at the top and seriously if it took 10.3 seconds I'd be amazed as I was quite out of breath!

I found not quite the moment I expected. In fact just the opposite, but for some reason it was just what we all needed and looking at the picture still makes me chuckle. I just clicked the picture - seriously I couldn't come up with the stuff these two do! Truly, it was a good end to a crazy week full of difficult decisions, elections, emotions, and a stressful morning in charge of serving a big potluck today at church (luckily I had a TON of help with it).

I love these crazy kids!

Through Their Eyes

The TV's been on all morning (generally not something that happens around here) and my son was asking what is going on. We took the kids with us to vote yesterday and I explained the best I could that our country (America) picked a new president.

A bit later I opened the paper and it of course has Obama on the front page. My four year old gets all excited and says, "Mommy, he's the same as the one on TV, both presents are the same."

Loving Fall

Apparently once I lose my small chunks of writing time it is really hard to get it back!

A couple weeks ago we went to a local park and took some Fall pictures...here are some of my favorites. (I know there are still some people out there reading. right?!

You can tell I had a hard time picking my favorites!

They both were not very interested in looking at us - ducks are apparently more fascinating! It turns out this is one of my favorites even though they aren't looking, it brings back the relaxed feeling of our stroll through the park and gazing at ponds and leaves!

Even the baby girl walked with us!

Loves for Daddy!

Embrace

To give myself some time to more fully appreciate real life I'm taking a small blogging break. It's been a weird week as my husband was in the ER last week.We are glad it's nothing serious, it's Bell's Palsy. Which means the right side of his face is paralyzed - temporarily! It should resolve in a few weeks but I'm on over load for some reason.

Happy, no. Thrilled, no. Ecstatic, no. There isn't a positive enough word for what I am that he didn't have a stroke, doesn't have a tumor or MS or any other life altering/threatening issue. Just adjusting to what this is and praying it too shall pass...

In the mean time I'm just embracing my laugh lines, (and family a bit tighter) and making more! More laugh lines that is - not making more family members or anything ;)

Guess What???

My daughter took her very first unassisted steps while the two of us were away last weekend! It was fun.

I honestly missed her very first steps but a bunch of my very good friends saw them!

The beautiful fall days seem to by flying by lately between yard work, trips to orchards and curling up by the fire drinking tea. I just love fall!!!

Pumpkins, pumpkins!

Pumpkins

In between smiles!

The chickens!

The cutie pumpkins!

And she goes on and on...

After some wheat-free yummy peanut butter cookies (low sugar and honey sweetened) were baked and the sun shone in it was up to about 68 inside but now I'm cold again! We just might have to turn the heat on tonight.

Tried two new recipes for dinner Sesame Chicken Bites (but I left out the sugar - of course!) and Quinoa Pilaf and they both turned out very good. I do need to try not to plan two new recipes on the same night, it's hard to get the timing down. It all worked out though.

Thanks so much for all of your game suggestions I want them ALL! For now we got Sequence For Kids and Boggle Jr. and I have about 9 more on my wish list, maybe for Christmas! It's been fun to have other games to play!!

I totally think October is going by faster than September did! I must have learned something from those 30 days, because I'm still menu planning, using or freezing leftovers and budgeting better! Imagine that behaving like a grown up and everything - 'bout time!

Well wasn't this just a bit of randomness...hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I'll be up in the mountains at a retreat with a bunch of gals from my church. I'm taking the baby, but the boys are on their own!

61 and 28

That's what our indoor and outdoor temps were when I got out of bed this morning. I am cold.

Do butterflies hibernate? I'm thinking it would be nice to. Now, if only I could convince my kids it's heavenly to stay in bed on cold mornings instead of being so hungry at 7:18am. ;0)

I think it's a good morning to go bake some cookies!

Grab your parachute!

The other day in the car my son kept saying...

Mommy I really, really want to eat some jump food!

All you need is...

Love, love, love is all you neeeeeeeeeeeed!!! A sleeping baby never hurts either! Funny, I ended up taking this on the last official night I put her to sleep in our bed - it took forever too!

Last Thursday we started putting my daughter to sleep in her crib instead of our bed. While it has been a transition, night number three was the worst and it seems to be smoothing out. I'm always hesitant to say for sure though because they change their routines so quickly, once I get used to it I'll have to adjust.

For me to stay sane and get enough sleep with a new born co-sleeping is the only way, but there becomes a time when I need an evening with my husband without having to nurse my daughter every hour or two (thirteen and a half months seems to be the mark.) So down she's been going. We still care for her - I'm not a big fan of cry it out - so we go in and lay her down.

Yes, she starts to do the Stevie Wonder (as my husband calls it) she sits leaning against the side of the crib bobbing her head around like you or I would dozing on an airplane. At least she lets us lay her down and then settles in to sleep.

Following after her brother who used to fall asleep with his arms and legs hanging out the front of the crib with his forehead resting on the jail crib slats, but he was older and a much lighter sleeper so he would wake up at anything. I have no idea where my kids get their stubbornness from!

Oddly enough, she seems to sleep better, initially, in the crib. She sleeps for 4-5 hours in her initial stretch each night so it seems to be the right time to begin this transition.

Now, as soon as I'm in bed all bets are off, if she fusses it's back to our bed so that I can nurse her back to sleep and get some myself. Seems to be working for now, we'll see how it goes.

Game Craziness

I'm curious what your favorite board games are? I am SO very sick of Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders (pulling my hair our with boredom) that I've decided with some of the money my kids got for their birthdays in August I'm going to buy a couple new board games. What should I get???

My son likes to play his "big games" (board games) everyday. The card games, uno, go fish and old maid, he enjoys almost as much. I just saw on the uno box that it's 7+ but he does fairly well (kicks my butt!) He is only 4 but most of the games for that age group are so dreary for me! I'd really like your opinions, what games do your kids like best??

9 Quart or 2 Kid Canner.

If I could really bottle them up I would!

Not really them but you know, everything about the stages where they are right now. Mmmm I just love them SO much!