Advent Calendar 2010

This past Christmas we did the Jesse Tree along with an Advent Calendar (with pockets) that I made. Christmas is one of my most favorite times of year because K always reminds me and asks me to read him the verses of the day. I need to figure out a Biblical countdown calendar for every month.with all the ornaments

next to the tree we hang the ornaments on

9 Months

My baby turned 9 months today! The time is going so quickly, but I'm sure that has something to do with taking care of two other little ones. I'm fortunate that he's not trying to "grow" up too quickly as he's not even crawling yet. He can get around by turning his backside and he's even pulled himself up once, but not really mobile YET. I'm completely O.K. with that though. I know he's capable and will take off when he's ready. He still doesn't really like table food, but will eat the baby crackers and stage 2 baby food. I think I might have seen him actually eat a Cheerio the other day though. L absolutely adores him and doesn't like to hear him cry and she always makes sure that I know when he is crying.
I took a picture of him today, but unfortunately am not able to upload it, so I will take another one tomorrow to post.

Family Ring

Now that T is almost 9 months old, I finally added his birthstone to my mother's ring. Although the stone is a little smaller than the others, I like the way it turned out. It's hard to tell in the picture, but there are two diamonds next to one another. As you can see, I decided to do something a little different. Instead of a typical "mother's" ring, I have a family ring. The first two stones represent my husband and myself.

Yes, the ring is on a McDonald's napkin. I thought it was fitting.

Christmas 2010

This year, I made the kid's Christmas outfits. I had originally planned to just make L's and then I got the idea to make the boy's shirts from a friend. L's dress needs to be altered, but I don't think it's too bad for my first dress. I think the boy's shirts turned out pretty cute.

It's hard to believe they're getting so big. K liked his shirt so much that he asked to wear it all day. He makes me so proud. I love being a mommy to these 3 kids!

Oh, and can you tell the kids helped me decorate the tree and I didn't move a single ornament.

Advent Calendar

This was the first thing I made on my own with my sewing machine. I made a reusable Advent Calendar to hold the ornaments we put on our Jesse Tree every morning starting Dec. 1 to countdown to Christ's birth. With all the ornaments on the outside of the pockets.

Here you can only see the first 5 ornaments that we had already done. The rest are in their pocket until their day comes. I love Advent. I love how K gets so excited about putting the ornament on the tree and actually asks for the corresponding story. If only ALL of school were that easy.

M & T

Just because....

Poor baby had been bitten by a couple of mosquitos.

T @ 8 months

T turned 8 months and although he's been rolling over for months, I haven't seen him do it yet. I think he's a little sneakier than his sister was.

Birthday Gifts

We had a couple of birthday parties last month. Since I never know what to buy young girls, I made them something instead.

A box to keep her special things in.

An apron for when she helps in the kitchen. (It's reversible, double sided)

K's Baptism

The most important thing that has happened since our last visit in October is K's baptism. This was a decision he made over a month ago, but I postponed it because I wanted to make sure he was ready and really knew what he was wanting and asking to do. One night, while we were reading My Very Last First Time by Jan Andrews, I pointed out to K that the characters in the book believed in God. He asked me how I knew and I showed him a plaque they had hanging on their kitchen wall that said, "Bless This House Oh Lord We Pray". That set off a conversation about what it means to believe in God and what being a Christian is about. Immediately, without prompting, he said the believers prayer and told me he was ready to get baptized. It happened so quickly that I honestly didn't know what to do or how to react at first. Of course, I was very excited, but at the same time, he is only 5. Luckily, not too many of his friends had been baptized yet, so I know there wasn't any pressure. After a month of two of talking to him about what being baptized means and talking to our Children's Pastor, K was baptized and he did GREAT!!!! His sweet little voice echoed throughout the sanctuary and although I couldn't see everyone, I could hear their little giggles of adoration.

After church, we went to lunch at K's restaurant of choice... McDonald's, with some friends.

I didn't take enough pics of his day. I'm sad to say I don't have any of us together as a family or him with his Nana.

Oops! (Again)

WOW!!! I guess, like those of you reading this, I have been a little busy and have fallen behind on my blog updates. These next few blogs hopefully will be able to catch you up.
Since Oct. 1, L rode her first horse, and LOVED it. I am in business for myself again. I became a Thirty-One Consultant and am loving it. M went hunting in NM and killed his first elk. We now (or did) have over 300 pounds of meat. I bought a sewing machine and have made several things so far (I'll post pics later). K learned to ride his bike. I'm still training for a 1/2 marathon, but have been advised by my Dr. not to train anymore (more details later). The kids sitter of 4 years graduates Saturday and is moving to New Orleans soon. We only have 10 days left until Christmas and 2011 is right around the corner. I'm sure I'm missing something, but I won't really know until I start looking at pictures. See ya in the next blog!