As Promised, Christmas Pictures...

First, we celebrated Christmas with my (Angie's) family, on December 15th. These are all the kids - ours and my sisters'.

Then on Monday, December 17th we had Christmas with Scott's parents. Ellie and Mam-maw used figurines to act out the Christmas story as Scott read it from the Bible.

Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning.

Ellie's "gold" gift was her Diego Rescue Center. She loves Diego and has played with it so much since Christmas - a little bit of a surprise to me. Anyway, this is how we do Christmas. And Tammy, if you are reading, I copied & pasted this from your blog...thanks!

Santa brings 3 gifts to our kids. They each represent gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold was given to Jesus because it was very valuable - a perfect gift for a king. Our gold gift is something they really want. Frankincense was a sacred substance. In Exodus 30:34-37, God commanded the Israelites to place frankincense in front of the tent of meeting to scent the place where he had promised to meet with them. Jesus was sent as a symbolic "Tent of Meeting" for all people, which is why it was a gift to him. Our frankincense is something that will draw them closer to Christ. In ancient times, myrrh was used to scent embalming liquids. Because Jesus was sent to die on a cross for us, this was an appropriate gift for him. In our family, the myrrh gift is something that is needed.

Although our kids are still really too young to understand, I know in the years to come this will continue to keep our focus on Christ, the real reason for the season!

I've Been Tagged...

My friend Tammy tagged me on Dec. 18th, and sadly I am just realizing it. I've been behind on my blogging... my own, and the reading of my friends'. So since today is Christmas, or at least the next 22 minutes is, I thought I'd do this, so here goes...

Tammy tagged me to share 12 random things about myself that are Christmas related. Here are the rules:
1. List 12 random things about yourself that have to do with Christmas
2. Please refer to it as a 'hoopla' and not the dreaded 'm'-word
3. You have to specifically tag people when you're done. None of this "if you're reading this, consider yourself tagged" stuff is allowed...then nobody ends up actually doing it. The number of people who you tag is really up to you -- but the more, the merrier to get this 'hoopla' circulating through the blogosphere.
4. Please try and do it as quickly as possible. The Christmas season will be over before we know it and I'd like to get as many people involved as possible.

12 Random Christmas Things About Angie:
1. I love Christmas cards - sending them and getting them. I've been sending them since college.
2. I love snowflakes. There is something so amazing about them. You know, no two are alike.
3. My Christmas wish list almost always has to do with warmth. Past gifts have included a heater, earmuffs, gloves, scarves, a coat - all by my request. This year I wanted warm pajamas. All those night feedings... I've been freezing in my short sleeves!
4. My favorite Christmas song is O Holy Night. I love, love, love it. And it almost always makes me cry.
5. I love the matching outfits. My kids are doomed on this one. Okay, they can coordinate instead of match, but they MUST at least coordinate. This applies for Christmas pictures and for Christmas morning - matching PJ's. The last two years Ellie and I have matched. This year she and her brother matched. When I went up to get her this morning I had on my PJs from last Christmas and Ellie said "Mom, I want to wear my PJs like yours!" Needless to say, next year I will be back to matching my kids with our Christmas PJs.
6. Nothing says Christmas like cookies!
7. Turkey is not just for Thanksgiving. I prefer it for Christmas, too. Not a big fan of the ham. Ham is for Easter.
8. I will always be proud to hang an ornament made by one of my kids on my tree.
9. My favorite Christmas movie used to be It's a Wonderful Life. But, in my adulthood, I have a need for less serious entertainment. My fav is now Elf. It makes me laugh out loud.
10. You should spend Christmas day at home.
11. The first act of Christmas day is the reading of the Christmas story from the Bible.
12. Christmas is even more fun as a parent than it was as a child!

So since it is now officially Dec. 26th, I won't tag anyone else. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I'll post some pictures from Christmas this weekend.

19 Days 'til Christmas

Christmas is upon us. I can't believe it is so close! I have really been in the Christmas spirit this year. Ellie is now old enough to enjoy all the fun stuff that the Christmas season brings. And having baby Ephraim around has been a great reminder of the true meaning of Christmas. I think about tiny little baby Jesus and how Ephraim seems like such a miracle to us, and how much more so Jesus was to Mary, Joseph, and the whole world!

We are staying busy. Work has been going fine. Ephraim is doing better at daycare. Ellie is loving singing Christmas songs. Scott has been busy redesigning our laundry room - he is trying to make it more efficient since it is tiny and I spend so much time in there. We will have Christmas with my family on the 15th and then with Scott's shortly thereafter. They will be going out to see Scott's brother in Ohio for Christmas.

I started a new tradition this year. I gave the kids their first Christmas present on Thanksgiving Day - Christmas pajamas...matching Christmas pajamas! That way they get to wear them for a while. Our only other tradition is reading the Christmas story on Christmas morning. Scott & I have done this since we have been married, I think?!? (It is amazing what you forget. When people look at Ephraim's picture they commonly ask if Scott's eyes are blue. My answer has been...I can't remember! Gotta try and make a mental note next time I see him awake. It's 2am right now & he's snoozing!)

Let me also highly recommend my absolute favorite holiday treat - the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks AND ONLY STARBUCKS - no one can compare. In my opinion, it is well worth whatever outrageous price they charge for it. Even if it's not on the menu they can usually still make it through most of the cold months. Just ask for it - you won't be disappointed!

Hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas season so far!

We've Been Elfed

Our friends keep getting elfed. So we've elfed ourselves as well. Check it out. So funny...

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9595192221

The Battle of the Bottle

Let me start by saying that stay at home moms deserve a lot more praise, support, and pay!

My first solo weekend is now in the bag. Not only was it my first official Mr Mom weekend with both Lil "E" and Big "E", but it was also extended with the added Friday off to make it a Trifecta!

Lil "E" proved to be quite a spirited fighter in inning one of the "Battle of the Bottle". I was determined to to get him to take it as much as he was determined to not take it in a 45 minute screamfest for 3/4 oz. First round: Lil "E".

I went to the bull pen the second day and brought out the veteran relief feeder Mam-maw. She stood toe to toe and found the weakness in the Lil "E" defense. 4 oz taken. Round 2: Daddy.

Day 3 using the previous days scouting report, I took to the mound for a double header 9AM and 3 PM with a mommy fix in the middle at noon. First meeting was shaky, but after a 40 minute negotiation I walked away 4 oz lighter. Mom gave the boy some QFT (Quality Feed Time) at noon. At 3PM I made the call to the pen again and the old silver fox closed the door on this weekends festivities. Winner: Daddy.

I must say that my Big Bro was correct all along, 2 kids is more than 2 times as hard.

To all the stay at home moms who find themselves down all the time thinking that it's easy for everyone else...That's a bold faced lie! You guys are tougher than any Ironman and don't forget it!

Some pictures that made me smile. Big "E" helping me find the bad lights. Lil "E" Chillin with his Old Man! And man, do I feel old!

Working Mom

I started back to work this past Wednesday, and Ephraim started day care the same day. It was hard to leave him. I was a little anxious about remembering everything at work, so that helped take my mind off of worrying about him.

Work is almost as if I had never left. Day care has been an adjustment...for both of us. Ephraim hasn't really had a problem taking bottles, although we have never consistently given them to him. He has now decided that he only likes his milk in the original packaging...me! So we are now trying to work on taking a bottle again. Scott has found that our little man can be quite stubborn. He is also now waking every three hours to eat during the night again. He had been sleeping about six without waking. He sleeps a lot at day care - swing induced sleep is what we call it.

At home, we got our Christmas tree put up over the weekend. I did not reach my goal of having all my Christmas shopping finished by the time I went back to work, but I have gotten a good bit of it done. And we are looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with Scott's parents this year. They just live a few mile away - what a blessing!

Forgive me for not posting pictures this time. I just got up for a feeding and was semi-conscious, so I thought I'd do a few things. But it is after 3am, so I'm going to look at getting back to bed soon. I'll post pictures next time!

November Already?

Time is flying by. I can't believe Christmas will be here soon! We are going Christmas shopping this weekend with the goal to finish up so that we can enjoy the holidays.

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks...