Christmas pj's

My favorite time of year is Christmas. Most people's favorite time of year is Christmas. I think why I love it so much is because it is so dark and dreary in Oregon, but all the lights just make it so much more happy! 

Bryan thinks it's silly, but I love to buy the boys Christmas pj's. I have to buy them a new set every year. I have to tell you, it's so hard to find pj's without santa on them or some naughty saying about wanting more material stuff.  I really don't think it's cute to have my kids wearing something like that. I also don't like encouraging the Santa junk because it's just a lie and it takes the focus off of what Christmas is really about - Christ being born. 

All this pj talk has got me thinking about how we are going to teach our kids about Christmas, and how we are going to really encourage them to focus on the whole reason we celebrate. I haven't figured it out yet, but here are some of the ideas forming: 

We could have a birthday celebration for Jesus

We could buy and give presents to a family that needs help (while teaching them that helping the poor is really giving to Jesus) Right now we do the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. We've done it since we've been married, and now we do one box for each boy - they pick out toys for a little boy their age.

I'm toying with the idea of getting rid of present giving...I really do love to shop for them, so this is a hard one for me...but all the money we save could be used to help a family that was actually in need (we are not in need)...so maybe just downsize the gift giving?

We have a toy nativity set that I'd like to use to teach them the story - maybe we could use it every night to somewhere remind them constantly why this season is so special. 


That's all I have for now. I'm hoping I can come up with some more ideas or better ideas. I'm great at copying ideas, not so good at creating them! 

I know, there is a reindeer...we're just pretending it's a deer!

Ezekiel James

Here is my first nephew - Ezekiel James! He was born on Saturday, November 27 at 6:51 pm. He is 7 pounds and 19 inches long. Precious and blessed!
Meghan is a trooper. She had him at a birthing center in the middle of nowhere with no drugs. The room was beautiful and huge! Made me think twice about delivering in a tiny hospital room...hm, I may be in search of a birthing center close to me!

Here is my beautiful nephew!

2 more days

So many people have asked me if I'm going to let this little one be a surprise - "Are you going to keep it a secret until your baby is born?"

Um, no.

Remember this planner here? What if I'm having a girl? If so, she needs a proper girl room! I'm not buying/making a generic bed set just in case! I have perfectly useable boy bedding if I'm having another boy. If I'm having a girl, well, I'm going all out (as far as my budget will allow)!

I get to find out if I'm having a boy or a girl on Wednesday! I'm very excited to see my little onion swimming around on the screen. I've had such a healthy pregnancy compared to my last two, and I'm feeling incredibly blessed!

With Isaiah, I only went to a couple monthly visits, the rest were every two weeks. With Elias, I had to go to the doctor every two weeks the entire pregnancy! Now I'm just going to monthly visits, and I honestly wouldn't even bother going if it weren't for being able to hear the heart beat! That is the second most favorite part of pregnancy - hearing the heart beat. My absolute favorite is feeling this little one move all around. I love the kicking, squirming, and fluttering. It just makes me smile!

I would love to have a little girl, I will not lie. BUT I honestly would be just as excited to have a little boy. I love my little men, and imagining even more little boys running around just warms my heart! Two more days and I will know!

Anyway, all this talk of baby is because my adorable little nephew was just born - Ezekiel James. More on this little fellow soon!

2pm

Well, it's 2 o'clock, and I'm tired! I have a ginormous list to accomplish, but not enough energy to get it complete. I know, that is all I whine about these days - no energy.

My list & only the few things I've accomplished:
Laundry (have 3 loads left!)
Target
Albertson's
Dust
Change Sheets
Start photo calendar
Costco return
Call garbage company (someone took our trash cans!)
Look up IRS & Brotherhood Mutual certified letter status' (for work)
Call KeyBank about EIN (work)
Dishwasher/Dishes
Call Dr. Strande
Post Office
Find platters
Cost Plus

As you can see, blogging is not on the list, but I needed a break. I just put the boys down for a nap about 30 minutes ago, so some quiet, calm time was in order for me!

We started off at Cost Plus to use my $10 off coupon. Can't let such a deal go to waste! I got some cute napkins and towels for Thanksgiving. I'm hosting this year! My family from Idaho is coming up, and family from Salem. It's going to be good times!

Then we headed to Target and bought out the store. I got Isaiah and Elias some popcorn to hold them over until lunch! By this time, we're all tired, but I still had to get some grocery shopping in! We got to the car, and Isaiah stood up in the cart under the back door of the Honda and jumped. Not sure why he jumped, but he nailed his head on the door. It looked so painful, and a huge melt down occurred. All is well, no stitches needed!

We headed to Albertson's next. Lucky for me, there was Starbucks in the same complex! We went in to get some coffee, and Isaiah announced to the entire store that he had to pee. Fantastic. We went in, and Isaiah claimed to be scared. It took about 5 minutes of coaxing and the kid finally peed - EVERYWHERE. Not sure what he was doing, but he came within inches of spraying Elias and I! So nasty! So, I got to clean the Starbucks bathroom floor. Meanwhile, Elias decided to drop his favorite car into the very full trash can. He had a huge meltdown, so Mom (that's me) got to go digging! Oh so gross. I would have just left it if we were going home, but I still had a 20 pound turkey to buy!

So after that, we all scrubbed our hands with warm soap and water (3 times each), and headed out. There was a very nice lady outside the bathroom door just laughing her head off. I'm sure she found our squealing, crying, and panic noises quite hilarious. I just smiled at her, and she said, "It appears you have your hands full". Do you know how many times a day people say that to me when we venture out into the world? Everywhere we go.

Albertson's wasn't as bad as Starbucks, but I did turn around to find Elias licking tomatoes. I was talking to the manager about where I might find the lemon juice (it was five feet in front of my face). The manager was very sweet, he just laughed and said, "I think your little guy likes tomatoes." Oh so embarrassing! But really, he is two and he does love tomatoes. I just corrected him to not touch (for the 15th time), and went about my merry shopping.

AH well, I got my shopping done, I got a 22 pound turkey for $4.37, and my kids are sleeping now. All of the chaos seemed humiliating earlier, but now it's just so darn funny. A day in the life of Jen! Off to finish the list!

Confession

I have a confession. I saw the most adorable little girl bedding set for 50% off at Target, and I had to snatch it up! I have no idea if I'm having a boy or a girl, and won't know for two more weeks. BUT, I could not pass up such a great deal, just in case I was having a girl! I called Bryan to make sure he didn't care if I got it, and here was his response, "Getting a little ahead of yourself there? Get what you want if it's that great of a deal."

Haha! My husband is great. He is so level headed all the time. I was just way too excited about the cuteness of it! So, here's  sneak peak at what my maybe little baby girl's room would look like. Although, I just looked up the quilt to go with this set, and it would cost me just as much for the quilt as it did for the set. I'm thinking that I don't need the quilt, anyway. I NEVER used the boys' quilt that came with their set. Okay here it is!

So the lighting isn't fantastic, but really, how do you get great lighting on a rainy day in Oregon??

At this moment...

Jen
At this moment, I'm a stay at home, work at home mom/wife. Before I had kids, I wondered how people would be able to be a stay at home mom. Now, I cannot wait to focus all my energy on my kids when they are awake, and focus on myself when they are sleeping! It sounds selfish, but I honestly cannot wait to spend down time doing what I want to do! My down time these days are spent cramming work in, cleaning  quickly, fixing an easy meal, and fitting somewhere in there my Bible study.

I would love to be able to wake up and just think about my family, not about how many phone calls or emails I need to make for work that day. So, at this moment, my life is chaos. Someday it will be less chaotic and I can become a real stay at home mom. I'm really excited, just so you know!

I'm 16 weeks along in my pregnancy today! I'm not as tired or as sick as I was. I continue to hope/pray for a healthy pregnancy! Oh yes, I've been feeling the baby move for a couple weeks, but I felt the baby kick two nights ago for the first time. I forgot how amazing it was to feel my baby!

Bryan
He is an amazing provider. Bryan never complains about how much he works, and he is always positive about everything. He is the most wonderful father, and I get teary eyed so often watching him care for and play with our boys. They absolutely adore their daddy. I thank the Lord everyday for how amazing he is, and for giving me such an amazing husband. Really, this girl did not deserve someone so wonderful, but I'm so grateful!

Bryan is obsessed with bow hunting. Something I will never understand and often wonder if it's going to be a lifelong obsession. Like most guys, he always has football or basketball or ESPN on the tv.

The most exciting thing is watching him grow in the Lord. I love our conversations about God and praying together. I'm seeing a huge change in him, and it's all the Lord's work. I love it.

Isaiah
Isaiah has such a tender heart. He has an abundance of energy and an appetite to match. His favorite things include books, singing, Little Einsteins, riding his bike, trains, play doh, and coloring. I think Isaiah is going to be our art lover.

Elias
Elias is such a lover! He loves anyone who smiles at him, and is so joyful (most of the time). He has just as much energy as Isaiah and an appetite almost as big. His favortie things include singing, trucks, little people, play doh, coloring, balls, and trains. He's our little jumping man, so I'm thinking Elias is going to love sports.

I'm so thankful I get to stay at home with these little hooligans!

Loving God

I started this blog at the beginning to document our family life, but I've been adding more and more of my own story into it. I want to look back and realize how God has changed me and taught me. So, my blog is a mix of us all.

Now I want to share what I'm learning. God works in such amazing ways, and I'm seriously dense sometimes!

Let me just start with my story (and if you're still reading, good luck, this is a long post). I am so lonely. I have an amazing husband who I dearly love and am so blessed to share my life with. But, my dearest friends live so far from me. My best friend lives in Idaho, my other best friend lives in Spokane, my other two dearest friends live in Eugene and Tennessee! Yikes!

Anyway, a few weeks ago, I can home after a Bible study, and I was DISCOURAGED! I seriously just broke down and cried. But I didn't run to God. I ran home to my husband and told him my sob story about not having any friends. I told him that I felt I was obeying God, but He wasn't holding up His end. I felt that God should be dropping a friend in my lap! After that breakdown, I was about to call my friend, Krista, to continue my pity party, but then realized it was midnight in Tennessee. So, I emailed her.

Krista is who God spoke through (and Krista, if you're reading this, you were an instrument to changing my life). Krista reminded me that instead of turning my focus to finding a friend, God was just asking me to give him my focus. She encouraged me to find refuge and solitude in the Lord and to seek Him with my entire being.

The thing is, I know this stuff. I've known the Lord for years, but as I looked back on everything I had done lately, none of it was to seek God. It was to find a friend. I have been so self centered. I couldn't get my eyes off my loneliness long enough to realize that I have an amazing God standing right here waiting for me to respond.

Krista gave me the most amazing passage to meditate on, and encourage me to use it to change my thinking. Here it is:

Psalm 63:1-8

O God, you are my God,

earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you,

my body longs for you,

in a dry and wearly land

where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary

and beheld your power and your glory.

Because your love is better than life,

my lips will glorify you.

I will praise you as long as I live,

and in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;

with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you;

I think of you through the watches of the night.

Because you are my help.

I sing in the shadow of your wings.

My soul clings to you;

your right hand upholds me.

I underlined everything that I underlined in my Bible. I love these verses. I don't know how I've been missing it, but I've not been loving God. I have been serving and obeying out of pure obligation and because I know that it is what I'm supposed to do. I haven't been doing it out of love.

It sounds like such a simple concept, but it's one I've been missing for years. I want to be so in love with God that it just spills into every part of my life.