:tuned in: December 2009

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Christmas (part 2)

So, I love Christmas parties...and we definitely had our share of them this year! But, to be honest I did not anticipate just how much work it is once you have a baby. I had this Norman Rockwell picture in my head of bringing Kensie to her first family Christmas celebration. Everyone would ooo and awww at her. We would be the smiling, happy, new family excited to bring this newest little member along with us. And well, it would be perfect.

What I forgot was that Kensie still needs to nap at certain times and eat at certain times. Well, with a bazillion aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins around...it was pretty much impossible. I found myself annoyed at others for not understanding Kensie's need to sleep. I wanted control of the schedule and it just never worked out right.

After several parties that went the same way, you can imagine how excited I was to have Christmas Eve and Christmas morning all to ourselves! Just the 3 of us. We were a VERY tired bunch, but here's some cozy, real-life, at-home pics Christmas morn...

Some of the other craziness these days....

Greg's brother #3 (Curtis) was married Monday night! It sure made for a busy weekend after Christmas, but so fun....I love weddings! I love dressing up. I love seeing family and friends all at one time. I love reminiscing about our wedding day nearly 5 years ago now (wow..that long??). And I LOVE seeing my hubby in a tux....grrrrrrrrr. :)

5 good lookin' brothers....

I'm particularly fond of the last one on the right though :)

Welcome to the family Alicia...another girl to add to the clan! :)

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Christmas (part 1)

What a whirlwind it has been lately. Christmas has never been so busy for us! So fun, but extremely exhausting! Here's a quick recap...

We were blessed this year to get a fresh perspective on the birth of Jesus. We volunteered (or I should say we were roped in...and later showed excitement) to play the role of Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. Thankfully there were no speaking parts! Our church did a first-ever live nativity scene. It was really cool how it turned out. People entered the church, where there were live animals and shepherds who led visitors on a short walk to get to the manger scene. On the way, they told the story how an angel appeared and told them the news that Jesus was born. Greg and I were to simply act like typical new parents. We offered scraps of food to our visitors and chatted about what it must have been like back then. Little girls and boys ran up to offer baby Jesus (Kensie) little leather bracelets they had made at the craft tents. It was such a precious time for us. I kept thinking just how dirty everything must have been for Mary and Joseph. And why on earth did Joseph stick around when he had absolutely no part in creating this child? Was Mary's delivery a hard one or easy one? How much did Jesus weigh? And how did it really feel for Mary to look into the eyes of this amazing child of God?? So neat to see it in a fresh new light.

Kensie was such a little trooper too. We were there for about 3 hours. She was happy when awake and slept in the actual manger for like 45 minutes! Of course when we got home, she showed her true colors :).

Hope your Christmas was grand!

More to come...Christmas parties and another family wedding!! Stay tuned!

Monday, December 14, 2009

How do you get out of a funk?

Hey there. Havin' a pretty bad attitude over here, and just can't seem to kick it. Everything has been bugging me lately. You know, when it just seems like no one can do anything right? And every time you're around people, you just want to tell them to stop being so annoying? And even when they aren't annoying, you still want to tell them to just stop? And then the minute you think you've had enough of yourself (and your bad attitude), you start to actually enjoy the negativity you've been in?? I've been really frustrated with just plain stupid stuff these past few days. I've been impatient with people I love. I can't stop saying negative things. And well, I'm just in a funk. How do YOU get out of it?

On another note, Kensie has been my happy place lately. She is getting so much more expressive, and seems like she is doing something new every.single.day. I love watching her grow and learn the simplest of things (like finally being able to hold onto her toys!).

Even when she interrupts my Sunday afternoon nap because she blew out her diaper so bad she needed a bath....I seem to have SO MUCH patience with her. No matter how little sleep I get, or how much she demands, I can never be mad at her for very long. :) Maybe that's a little taste of how God loves me? Even when I have my pity parties, he just can't seem to get enough of me. Now that's some crazy love.

morning snuggles

**Also, notice the small birthmark on her arm? It just appeared one day. The doc says it will get bigger and bigger until about age 9 and then will fade. I think it's kinda cute :)**

Monday, December 7, 2009

Brought to you by the number 3...

3 more weeks 'til Christmas!

3 easy steps to a fun homemade dove ornament copied from Ballard's Designs (again)

1) Use Christmas piano sheet music to cut out doves --glued to cardstock for extra sturdiness.
2) put a thin strip of glue around the edge and sprinkle with glitter.
3) hole punch top and secure a piece of raffia to hang on tree!