Christmas - LOTS of pictures

Christmas Eve

Christmas morning, just before the boys walked in.

They arrived and boy were they excited.

Nerf Gun War - very funny. Poppy and Daddy were very into it.

Wrestling at Momma Beth's house. Poor, sweet, husband.

Christian face planted each and every time he tried this, and still wanted to do it again. He had so much fun, but wasn't crazy about the cold snow on his face.

Not enough snow for a sled, or the lid of a garbage can, but we tried!

Ben, eating snow.

Ben, eating snow, again. He ate snow the whole time he was outside.

The handsome men in my life.

Aaron just pegged Christian in the back with a snowball. Such a fun Daddy.

Christian making a snow angel.

Finished product.

Ben making a snow angel



Finished Product

Just rolling around....

Daddy was trying to make a giant snowball out of them. They were all for it, but it didn't work out very well.

Patiently waiting for all of the presents to be passed out. Cute little Dinosaur undies!

I didn't get many pictures here- at this point I wasn't feeling too hot.

Christmas was a lot of fun this year. We all are so blessed to have received so much and thankful we were able to give. We followed our yearly tradition of the adults exchanging and spending time together on Christmas Eve after the kids go to sleep. When morning comes (very early) we can focus on the kids and enjoy watching them go absolutely crazy!

Mean Dragon Part 2

Mean Dragon died. Christian said he flew up in the air and died. (I was shamefully thrilled to pieces) I tried to act sorrowful, but not too sorrowful. "So, does this mean that there is no more Mean Dragon?" I asked. "Yes, he is dead" he replied in a very matter of fact tone. I was so thankful on the inside. The whole imaginary friend thing is still out of my realm of understanding. We dropped the subject, and finished breakfast. Then Ben pipes in "Well, I have a Mean Dragon!" (AHHHHHH NOOOOO - NOT YOU TOOO) "Really Ben? Are you sure about that?" And he replies with the same matter of fact tone as his brother "Yep!"

Mean Dragon just won't go away. Christian's mean dragon has made a miraculous recovery. I was quick to remind him that mean dragon did die last week. (Is that too harsh) Then he proceeded to tell me about how the doctors came and fixed him up and now he is "all better now" and I just couldn't argue. Great, so now both of my boys have a Mean Dragon.

They have started blaming their accidents on those stinking dragons. "So, tell me again how you broke this?" And of course it is always Mean Dragons fault. I have explained over and over again that neither of their Mean Dragons are capable of these acts because they are pretend and can't actually cause things to happen and how important it is for them to take responsibly for their actions, blah, blah, blah. They both agree that he is pretend but still insist that it wasn't their fault.

Yerning for it....

This was my contribution to Thanksgiving dinner. A new recipe and oh it was yum. I could only have a microscopic piece, so this is on the top of my list of things to make after the baby arrives. I didn't take ANY pictures of Thanksgiving dinner, family, food....zip. I only took this picture because I had to sit in the car and drool over it for the two hour drive to Beth's house. Don't worry, I wiped the drool off of it when we pulled into the drive.

On the way there Christian was staring at it and thinking awfully hard. I believe it was torture for him too.

Christian: Mom, is that MY cake? I want to eat all of it!

Me: It is yours, along with Mommy, Daddy, Ben, Big Poppa, Momma, Beth, Aunt Kari, Uncle Josh, Aunt Barb, and Cousins Bryson and Skylar. You have to share it, honey.

(I could tell by his expression that my answer was very disappointing to him and there was a pause)

Christian: Well. (huff and pause) I sure hope they don't like it....

(We all laughed, perhaps this would have been a good time to correct him but we just laughed instead)

Christian's Christmas Music

Us eating after the program - a little our of order.

Cilantro all over his face.

Ben loves guacamole - I'm so proud of his well rounded palate.

This is just before they started singing. He looks like a little man up there with his zip tie, sniffle sniffle. He is growing up on me.

This child is obsessed with singing. We have listened to his little choir CD at least 467 times! It is very cute to hear him sing it. He tries to add vibrato to his voice and it is totally hilarious. We have had to work on the words. He thinks "Jeshus Christ is Ord!"

This is him signing at church. (Horrible pictures. I'm going to have to sit closer to stage next time.) Not a shy bone in his body. Of course he gets to see Daddy sing on stage and his main goal in life is to be JUST like Daddy. He has started tucking in his shirts, like Daddy. Wanting to wear a belt, like Daddy (and it doesn't matter if there are no belt loops). Wanting to sleep in his underwear, like Daddy (too much information?). He mimics his movements at the table, and is by his side with any and all household projects. He even eats the same foods as Daddy (that is a very limited palate - sorry honey). He often expresses his desire to be just like Daddy.

Then, there is my little Ben, who wants to be like Mommy. He He. I'm afraid that soon Ben will follow suite and be in Daddy world....and then Jack. I realize that this is a good thing. The whole development for manhood or whatever, but I would like to have a little girl aspiring after me too!!! Hmmm, that sounds a little like a tantrum....darn those hormones.

Glenn Miller Concert

Whoa!!! Who is that huge pregnant lady with my family???!!!!!

We made a last minute decision to go to a concert about 1 hour away and take the kiddos. Spontaneity is hard with kids BUT we did it anyway! It was really great, and we were REALLY under dressed. We sat in the very top seats with some friends and there was hardly anyone around so the children got to dance and play during the concert. The performance was by the Airmen of Note band and they were so awesome. I'm not a huge fan of Glenn Miller music but I understands and appreciate it's history. I think we need to make this a traditional outing. One exception, next time we will be dressed to the hilt too! Every girl loves to put on a gown, right?

(The pictures didn't turn out very well at all, but you get the idea.)

Toothpaste

One for the baby book:

Different stuff is going on with my taste buds this pregnancy. I am highly addicted to toothpaste. I mean -LOVE IT! I was just telling Aaron the other night (while brushing) how wonderful it tastes and that I truly believe that I could eat it. I have only refrained because of certain health issues that may arise from doing so, but man that stuff is good. So good that when I wake up in the middle of the night, as I often do, then I just go ahead and brush my teethe - very strange, I know.

One more thing; thank you so much Kari for leaving your body wash last time you were here for a visit. No, I will not mail it back to you. Actually, I will never give it back. Sorry, but no. I just can't. It smells soooooo good. I hope you understand. The aroma fills the shower and I just can't get out. I hold the puff up to my nose and just breath deep meditating breaths over this stuff. Again, this may not be healthy and I'm thankful that the ultra sound doesn't show an arm coming out of Jack's head. All of you may be wanting to know what brand it is and where to find it: you don't have to go far. Check out your local DOLLAR GENERAL and look for Zest. Not the bar of soap, but the body wash. Not a single organic thing about it, but it is GREAT!!!!

And yes, I realize how strange it is that I just posted passionately about toothpaste and body wash, but I don't want to forget these little quirks after all is said and done.

Goodbye Santa

Convection is a powerful thing. As parents, we have looked at why we even do "Santa." For us it was because it's fun for them. Why is it okay to think it's fun to lie to our children and watch our children so trustingly believe that there is a man in a red suit who gives gifts according to behavior. Santa knows if they have been naughty or nice.

We teach them that he is the spirit of giving, love, and good will. He has become the face of what Christmas is all about. The world exalts him. We have feed this lie to our children and tell them not to lie. Doesn't this strike you as odd? Proverbs 12:22 states that the "Lord detests lying lips, but delights in people that are trustworthy." (one of many scriptures on lying) Why do we embrace this and justify it as harmless, fun, and innocent?

Convection is powerful and as Christian parents we have decided to no longer teach our children this Santa myth. They need to know and understand that ONLY GOD is all knowing. ONLY GOD sees our hearts and deeds. Love, giving, and good will are taught through His word.

Christmas is not about how much will Santa bring me. Good behavior is not meant to be encouraged by what you will receive. Isn't it "better to give than receive?" Shouldn't we be motivate by the Biblical examples we have and what God has revealed to us through his word?

We ask our children to believe in Jesus whom they can't see, and then ask them to believe in Santa whom they can't see either. When they find out that Santa isn't real will they begin to question if Jesus is real and if their parents are trustworthy? Why should we share the celebration of our Saviors birth with anything else? He deserve the full spotlight.

I really feel like God finds it is displeasing to continue to embrace "Santa" as a part of Christmas. He continually blesses our family even though we fall so terribly short. One of the most important parts of our faith, Christs birth and time here on earth, needs to be emphasized.

I'm sure that some may read all of this and find it offensive. Before you get upset with us, just take a moment to pray and examine Christmas, it's intent, and how you celebrate it. Also, know that we are so very far from being Christlike and raising our children as these perfect little Christians leaders, but we are trying. We take one step at a time and are thankful that God reveals our sins to us and grants us wisdom generously when we ask.

Goodbye Santa and Hello to Christs Birth!

What's in a NAME!!!!

Okay, so I think we finally chose a name. Jackson. But don't you ever call him that! He will go by the name Jack, until he chooses otherwise. Basically, we were going to just name him Jack, but then he would always just be Jack without options. What if when he grows up into this strong handsome man he decides he would rather be Jackson. Options are good. His brothers have options so we have to keep it even. Aaron really doesn't like Jackson and so I promised not to call him that.

Okay, and for a middle name.....can I get a drum roll please......Floyd! This is my maiden name and a little something in there to honor my Dad. Your welcome, Daddy. So, Jackson Floyd-sort of resembles Jackson Five, but we won't go there, because he is JACK, just Jack. Jack, the little one that seems to know exactly where my sciatic nerve is located-just a sweet little reminder that he is there and growing and kicking and making me cry hard, laugh hard, throw up, pee every 5 seconds...well, you get the picture.

Whew, I'm glad that's out of the way. Boy, names are stressful (or maybe it's just hormones).

Finally

Our hallway-there is one more picture at the end, but I couldn't get a good angle for it....

Living Room - Is it just me, or does the picture on the right seem a little high? Empty shelves-still working on that.

I didn't think I'd ever get around to it....as I have said in a previous post, we print these at the shop, but for some reason it has taken me forever to print some for ourselves. Here they are: nice big canvases of our sweet little boys. Yippee!!

Sunday

We miss a lot of Sundays at our home church, because we are out of town A LOT on the weekends. Sometimes for family functions and other times because Aaron has Singings with his group. We have been in town for the last two Sundays, HOWEVER, last Sunday we had to stay home and try to keep our basement from flooding with sewage water. It was so gross, and you wouldnl't believe how hard it is to get a plumber to come out on a Sunday to fix an emergency problem. I believe one plumber literally told us he was just too tired to help us, because he had been plowing his garden all morning. Another plumber acted like I dialed the wrong number and fed me a line of being busy at the casinos that afternoon, then later told me that he just wasn't able to help us because he doesn't work on Sundays. Seriously, it was unbelievable. We had no choice but to work on Sundays ourselves - our ox was in the ditch!!!!

Finally, we found a plumber who was willing. He used his Roto Rooter to fix our clog and we had indoor plumbing again!!!! Whooo Hooo!!!!

The next Sunday rolls around, we are all happily getting ready to go to church and Ta Da- clogged again. I will spare you the gross details of what overflowed out of the toilet......you can use your imagination. The only viable solution to the problem was to replace the sewage pipe from our house to the road. Thankfully, my parents were visiting and my Dad was able to help Aaron, all morning, all afernoon, and all night. Two men and a shovel. I took a picture of what they did. Can you believe the trench they had to dig. Oh, I felt so bad for them. We are using our indoor plumbing again, but the process is not complete.

I'm not going to lie and tell you that I'm not a little gun shy every time I flush the toilet, take a shower, run the dishwasher.....etc. I really hope and pray that this will work. The grossness of it all is almost more than I can bare as a big prego!!!! Next Sunday, we are going to Church, even if he house is sinking in doo doo.

Ben is 3

Ben is three!!!! Obsessed with Spider Man and Diego, we combined the two for an inflatable fun party. We let him wear his much loved Spider Man costume and his favorite hairdo -a seriously stiff mow hawk. He really had a lot of fun, and played/jumped his little heart out. It was so stress free. The workers did all the setting up and all the cleaning when we left. How nice. There wasn't an age limit for the inflatables so the adults enjoyed themselves as much as the kids.

On his real Birthday,once he realized it was HIS day, he sang "Happy Birthday to Me" allllll day long. He got birthday candles in his breakfast, lunch, and dinner. At lunch we gave him his gift, a Spider Man bike, and at dinner his got to eat his Spider Man cake. He definitely enjoyed all the special treatment.

Gestational Diabetes

Gestational Diabetes - yuck. I just got a phone call from the nurse and she told me that I failed my glucose intolerance test today. The diabetes center should be contacting me shortly to set up an appointment. Drats, and I thought for shore I would get away with a perfectly healthy pregnancy.

I will say that my two little boys were most well behaved at the doctors office this morning. We were there for 3 HOURS, and they were so good. I am very proud of them. I had to wake them up at 5:30 this morning, and they persevered so well. Better than me.

I will defiantly have to find a sitter for my next appointment. The nurse told me it would be a 4 hour ordeal and from what I can tell it's a class explaining my condition and what I can do/eat to ensure a healthy baby/birth/mommy....etc.

Halloween

Funny, funny, funny. So Christian and Ben have these Super Hero names for my Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad decided to dress up as their characters - Tinkerbell and Superman, as if it's not obvious. The boys thought it was GREAT! What was even better is that my parents were stopped a time or two by complete strangers asking to get their pictures.

Christian's super hero name has been "Super Dog" for the longest, and Ben was "Chigger." I was really excited to be able to create their unique costumes for this event, I had lots of ideas, and had to make one more trip to the store to get the final touches. Unfortunately, on the way to the store that night they both decided that they were no longer the Super Dog and Chigger pair but instead they were Iron Man and Spider Man. Ugh, REALLY! I am not a fan of novelty stuff. The only novelty stuff the boys get to wear is their underwear. So, I tried to talk them out of this generic getup and encourage the creative characters that were not longer cool to them. They wouldn't have it.....Iron Man and Spider Man it is. It's not about what Mom wants, right? They had a lot of fun, and were very excited to play the part of their costume characters. They still dress up in their costumes and run around the house. We even let Ben dress up as Spider Man for his birthday party - I will post pictures of that later.

Mean Dragon

Mean Dragon is Christian's "imaginary friend." Hmmm. I'm not really sure what to think about that. Even as an only child, I never had an imaginary friend. I know a lot of people have, and it is very normal, but it's still a little strange for me. My friend told me not to worry unless Mean Dragon starts telling him to do things. So far, he has been quite harmless. Sometimes Christian holds him by the tail when walking through the parking lot. Daddy acted like he beat Mean Dragon up one time and Christian had a heart attach. Mean Daddy. I think that this may have spurned off a movie he use to watch, Pete's Dragon. It's a great classic. Hear are some things that Christian says to describe his Mean Dragon.

-"He is 4 years old"
-"When its sun shinny he is mean, and when it dark time he is nice. Those are the rules, Mommy" (a little nontraditional)
-"He is black"
-"He has claws that scratch."
-"He is tall, but he can pick you up because he is REAL strong."
-"He can do fire out of his mouth"
-"Hey Momma, Mean Dragon eats ducks, bugs, and mud"
-"He doesn't like bugs, he opens his mouth and eats them"
-"He has no hair"

He also tells lots of stories that involve Mean Dragon. Very creative.

So, that's Mean Dragon, in a nutshell.

Biscuit

Biscuit, that's his name for now. We don't have a name for our newest addition, but Poppy and the boys seem to think he is a "Biscuit." It works. I found myself telling Aaron the other day that "I bought a nice warm hat for Biscuit at Old Navy." .....baby biscuit...cute

Cravings:

Pickles. Very generic, right? My first pregnancy of craving pickles. I also LOVE double cheeseburgers from McDonalds. Even more strange, because I am definitely not a fan of fast food. Since we are on the subject of high cholesterol and saturated fat, I have also been loving Chick Fil A waffle fries with MAYONNAISE!!!! Gross, I know, but it's just soooo good. (Natalie, I just know you are gagging at the thought of this) Yes, I have been gaining a little more weight than usual. Big surprise there. I have a dusty treadmill in my basement. I'm sure I will use it soon, maybe. Okay, probably not. In my defense, I have a contraction every time I exert energy. I have read that this is normal for a women with multiple pregnancies and I have discussed it with my Doc. Surprisingly, she didn't have a heart attach and assured me that it was normal as long as I don't have too many in an hour and as long as they are consistent with "over doing it."

SO, many people have been asking me how I feel and I just know to describe myself as "heavy." I just feel heavy. It's a little awkward to move in certain positions and Biscuit is incredibly active. Much more active than even Ben. It amazes me that I don't pee on myself at times when he give me a swift kick to the bladder. He seems so much lower than normal, and sort of towards my back. He still isn't easy to feel on the outside just yet.

I am nervous about delivery this time around. Christian was a breeze, but Ben proved that there is always a possibility of complications. I think what makes me most nervous is the 1 HOUR drive to the hospital! I have made Aaron promise me to research how to deliver a baby on the side of the road if necessary. It seems like I remember something tricky about cutting the umbilical cord.... He promises, with a dreaded look, that he will be prepared.

I will continue to keep posting the progress, my hormonal silliness, and everything else. Please pray that God will calm me down. I am so nervous about it all......

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Phil 4:6

Car Conversation

Scenario: Driving, everyone is quite, enjoying the peace, and the Christian speaks

Christian: Mom, did you know that there are A LOT of people older than me?

Me: (laughing) Yes, sweetie. There are a lot of people older than you.

Christian: Some kids are this many (he holds up 8 little fingers).

Me: (laughing even louder) That's pretty old, buddy. Pretty old indeed.

I love his little mind, and these simple epiphanies. Always cracking me up....

Baby Shower

My dear friend Jackie is expecting her first baby - a precious little girl named Hannah. These are some snapshops of her shower and her very non pregnant looking self. Seriously, she wears an 8 month pregnant belly VERY well! Just a little jealous.... :) Congratulations Jackie Chan! May your next year be blessed with vomit, breast milk, and explosive diapers. Ya know I love ya!