Happy 4th Birthday Twins!

Today Carson & Emilynn turn 4!  I cannot believe it!  It has been a fast four years, then again it seems like I've been a Mom forever. 

I promise to most more twin posts, I haven't been able to get around to them this week.  Things have been busy!!! 

For now, we are getting ready for a special birthday brunch, and a fun party at Romp 'N Roll!!!! 

The kids are SO excited!!!  

Twins' Birthday Week-Birth Story

Here is the email I sent out right after the twins were born, describing everything leading up to their birth and hospital stay.  I thought it would be easiest to just repost it!  It was fun to re-read it and also re-live all those emotions I had going on at the time.

It is LONG....just a warning!  I am chatty-but you know that by now!  :-) 

Jan 7, 2010

Hey everyone,   I am sure most of you know by now, but in case you didn't, our babies are here and they are precious! I know there's been a lot of emails keeping everyone in the loop, but I thought I would send one myself and let everyone know first hand about the twins big arrival-now that I have a teeny bit of time to spare-LOL.    I went to the doctor for my regular weekly check up on December 16.  Little did I know that would be a life changing day!!  My dad, Dawn, and my nephew Hunter went with me that day because I was due for my last ultrasound.  I knew my blood pressure was up that day but just chalked it up to Dad's driving (sorry Dad!) trying to get me there because we were running late (no shocker there).  I still didn't really think anything of it when the nurses and my doctor were kind of running around trying to monitor me and saying how I must not feel well.  I just shrugged that off till they finally told me what was going on.  I had gained 7 pounds in a week, had protein in my urine, my blood pressure was sky high.....I had pre-eclampsia.  Who knew it could set in so fast from one week to the next?   I had to go to the hospital for observation and for further tests and blood work.   I guess for some dumb reason I still thought I would get to go home after the 24 hour observation.....boy was I wrong!  My doctor had a chat with us the next night and said the only cure for my declining health issues was delivery and just wanted to get the babies to 35 weeks, which would be the following Monday.  I still had a glimmer of hope I'd get to go home and rest at my own house till then, but again...my head was in the sand.  I was hospital bound till delivery.....boy was that a long 5 days!  And of course the snow kept some visitors away so it was just Dustin and I trying to pass the time a few of the days.    Finally Monday the 21st came and I was very nervous to say the least.  They started the induction at 7:30 Monday morning by breaking my water and starting the pitocin.  Labor went really, really fast and by 11:30 we were ready to head to the Operating Room for delivery.  Twins are always born in the operating room whether born natural or C-section because of the high risk involved (ours were born naturally).  We finally got to the OR at 12:10 after waiting for it to become available.  Our son, John Carson, was born at 12:52 pm and was born with a head full of black hair!  He is a mini-Dustin and is so handsome!  He weighed 5 pounds, 4 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long.  Emilynn Joann was born a little later at 1:26 pm and she weighed 5 pounds, 9 ounces and was also 19 1/2 inches long.  She is gorgeous too, if I must say so myself!  :-)  We just aren't sure who she looks like yet.   The delivery was interesting because there were a LOT of people there.....nothing private about it honestly.  There was Dustin and I of course, my Dr., the anesthesiologist in case we went to C-section, the neonatologist for the babies, my nurse, a scrub nurse, one nurse per baby, and it seemed like more nurses floating about.  A very big birthday party, to say the least.  The labor and delivery was not bad at all though, I was very lucky!      I will say that everyone in the delivery room was just as excited as we were to find out the gender of the babies.....it was the most exciting moment of my life and worth every second of the wait to have the moment when they were born and waiting for Dustin to tell me what they were.   After delivery, both babies were kept in the nursery for a long time.  We finally got Carson in our room at about 7:30 that night.  Emilynn was not brought to us because of difficulty breathing.  I had to be on a drug to keep me from having seizures during delivery due to my high blood pressure and it affected her breathing because she was exposed to it longer than Carson, being the second twin.    It also affected my breathing because I had to be on oxygen that night, my levels were dropping as well in my sleep.    The hardest thing about Emilynn was not being able to hold or touch her.  When seeing her in the nursery, they would not let us even touch her because it was too much stimulation for her.  That was so hard.  Carson did fine but she just wasn't doing better and Tuesday we could not touch her as well.  On Wednesday, she had an apnea spell and was put in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).  She has a valve or vessel in her heart that did not close up, due to her prematurity, and it was causing a heart murmur.   That was a really rough day, and I just cried and cried.  I didn't know much about NICU and I was scared.  I figured if I couldn't even touch my baby in the regular nursery, the NICU would be even worse.  I was very wrong about that thankfully.   I technically could have been discharged Wednesday as well, but luckily my Dr. gave me another day, I was in no shape to go home or anywhere at that point.    Shortly after she was taken to the NICU, a nurse, her nurse for the day came to see us.  She explained a lot to us and was so kind.  She was shocked to know we had not even held our daughter except Dustin did hold her briefly after she was born, and said that by all means we would hold her and should hold her.  So, we went to the NICU and were able to hold Emilynn and it was so emotional....I can't even describe that feeling.  Seeing your baby hooked to so many tubes and machines is tough and we were blessed with a fairly healthy girl, the babies are so sick in there.  It is hard to see and I know I was blessed with Carson to hold when we couldn't hold her and that was a comfort.  My heart goes out to the moms who's only baby is in there.  Emilynn had jaundice as well as the breathing trouble, but she progressed each day, thankfully, even with the heart murmur.  She had one more apnea spell while there, I was holding her at the time and it scared us so bad.  What was most scary was that we didn't even know it, the nurse just came rushing over because she had stopped breathing in my arms.  They attributed most of her breathing issues to the magnesium medicine I was on during labor.    Thursday (Christmas Eve)  I was discharged as well as Carson.  It was upsetting knowing we would be leaving a baby there, so we were luckily able to board for the night and stay again.  Everyone was so incredibly wonderful, since we were discharged that meant no more nursery to watch Carson while we visited Emilynn.  We were lucky that he was allowed in the NICU, so we were able to all visit as a family.  I must say the nurses, doctors, and everyone involved with the NICU was WONDERFUL!  They are truly angels and I will always be grateful for the treatment they gave us.  They made over Carson and just treated us so kindly.  They are like family in there I guess because it is so close-knit and one-on-one and they really helped make a tough situation bearable.  They did so many nice things for us for Christmas, I never thought I'd spend Christmas in a hospital and be happy about it, but it was the best Christmas I've ever had!  Our family was together and that's really all that mattered to us.  We woke up on Christmas and got ready to go see Emilynn before heading home.  When we arrived at the NICU, they quickly wisked Carson away and said they had a surprise for us while we scrubbed down.  I was overwhelmed when I saw what they had done....they had gotten each of them a "My first Christmas" sleeper and had them dressed, had concealed Emilynn's tubes/lines, and taken their pictures, together and separate and made them into Christmas cards for us with their footprints, printed photos, gave them a "1st Christmas" ornament, another ornament they made,  and homemade Christmas quilts volunteers had made.  And each thing they did for Emilynn, they also did for Carson.  It was overwhelming and I cried tears of joy and I'm crying now thinking about how they went above and beyond and used their own money and extra effort to make our Christmas memorable, even in the hospital.  We stayed several hours with Emilynn before making the tough move home minus one baby.    That was the hardest thing I've ever done, and I've never felt so torn, leaving part of my heart there.  It was a very long quiet ride home.    We were busy with Carson and then he began having issues of his own, so those few days were very trying.  He developed jaundice really badly and had to be on a "bili-blanket" 24 hours a day.   He also stopped eating and would just scream when we tried to feed him.  He didn't eat for 12 hours, so we ended up at Chippenham emergency room early Sunday morning after Christmas for IV fluids for him and to make sure nothing else was going on with him.  My greatest fear was them wanting to keep him and having two babies at two hospitals but luckily we did not have that happen.  He ended up being allergic to his formula supposedly, but I just don't think that was it.  He had bathroom issues too, which was what I think the problem was combined with being away from his twin.    But anyway, we got a wonderful call Monday the 28th that we could pick Emilynn up if we wanted to, or she could stay an extra day if we needed to get Carson straight because they had heard about his issues from the pediatrician.  If we wanted to pick her up?  Of course we wanted to pick her up!  You've never seen two people kick it in high gear like we did....but we had to take Carson for an appointment first.  We were so excited to bring Emilynn home and get to know her-we had not been able to spend much time with her at all, except about an hour or two a day visiting at the hospital.  And it was so hard running back and forth to Richmond with Carson in tow.....we were all so worn out.  It was the biggest relief on earth when we pulled out of Johnston-Willis with BOTH our babies in the car.  I can't even describe the feeling, just a huge weight off my shoulders.  And to top it off-Carson's issues stopped right then!  He has not had a problem eating or going to the bathroom since!  He missed his sister-I truly believe that!  They are both doing well and gaining weight-Emilynn's breathing has been fine and her pediatrician does not hear the murmur anymore.  We will still take her on the 25th to the pediatric cardiologist for a follow up, but for now they are both growing and doing well.    They are still considered preemies and are at risk for lots of things, so we are not taking them anywhere except Dr.'s visits and we are limiting visitors per Dr.'s orders until flu and RSV season is over.  We are working towards getting them approved for RSV shots to help keep them well.    The hidden blessing with the whole NICU experience other than meeting some wonderful people was that Emilynn came home on a very strict schedule that we are following at all costs!  Carson fell right into the schedule and it's worked great for us so far.  It has kept my sanity and made everything go very smoothly so far.  I am home alone during the day with the babies and we are doing fine.  I am loving every moment of being their mom-from every dirty diaper, lots of wardrobe changes each day,  every late night feeding, their screaming, their smiles, their little faces they make.....it's better than I could have ever imagined and has been truly a joy.  I look at them and am just amazed at the blessings we have received!  We are so very blessed and have been blessed by the whole experience, even the difficult parts and rough beginnings.    If you are still reading this-God bless you-I am impressed!   You must really love us to read this novel I've written- haha!  But I just wanted to share their birth story and let everyone know what was going on during the first two weeks when we probably didn't answer your phone calls or texts because we were just too emotionally drained and upset. It wasn't because we didn't care or appreciate your thoughtfulness, we just needed our space to deal with what we were facing and it wasn't easy.   It was a rollercoaster but thankfully things are more normal these days.    We really do appreciate all of your cards, calls, and everything everyone has done to make our transition smooth.  I am humbled by everything everyone has done-we have not had to cook, do laundry, shop, feed our pets, or do anything other than love on our babies and that is the best gift you could have given us!  We appreciate everything and it has made us feel so special!

Saving on Christmas-"Elf on a Shelf" on a budget

I had wanted to start the Elf on a Shelf tradition with the kids, but I didn't want to pay the $30.00 price tag for it.  Honestly, $30?  I put it off as long as possible, but this year I knew we had to go for it.  The kids knew about the elves-they had seen them at Poppy's and Nanny's, and they knew Hunter had one.  I went to Target a couple of times and had one in the cart, then put it back.  I just didn't want to spend so much on an elf.  I happened to see at Target where they now have a whole "Elf on a Shelf" section, with plush elves, fleece blankets, and even clothes for your elf to wear.  The plush elves were only $12, so I decided to get one of those and try it.  I figured the worst thing that could happen would be the kids didn't think it was a true elf, and I had to buy the $30 one.  I was willing to chance it. 
The first day he showed up, they were thrilled.  We have had him for several weeks now and he's worked just fine.  $12 and we have an elf.  The plus ones are just a bit different from the "normal" ones because they have a fat face.  The seem to weigh a bit more than the regular ones, making them a tad harder to position, but I'm willing to deal with that for the price difference.  For instance, I don't think you could really wrap his arms around anything and leave him that way, he kind of needs to be sitting. 
You can still be a bit creative though, he's been in our small Christmas tree, in a hanging plant, and a few other creative places.
You don't get the book this way either, but my kids knew exactly what the elf was about so it didn't matter.

Also- I did check Ebay just today, but the prices for the elves on there seem a bit higher than Target even.  Not sure what that's about. 

Now behave, the elf is watching!  :-) 

Kids' Movies

I almost forgot-Disney Junior is having a movie day today-so if you want to DVR some movies to have on hand for those cold winter days you are stuck inside-grab your remote! 

They are showing Cars, Ratatouille, The Princess and the Frog, and Tangled.  I am DVRing them all!  We only own Cars, but I thought it would be nice to have even that one on DVR for easier access sometimes! 

You can't beat a Disney movie!  I hope to take the twins to see Frozen soon!  Santa may bring Planes as well! 

Random Stuff

• The Christmas Parade is tonight.  The kids are super-excited about it.  It is cold!  I can't imagine how cold it will be tonight.  I have my Christmas cookies made and ready for the kids to munch on while we wait for it to start, they were a hit last year.  Dustin is keeping Henry at home and warm.  We decided one night out this week would be enough-we are going out tomorrow night with him.
• Where are we going you may wonder?  The Tacky Light Tour!  I am beyond excited, even though they are calling for rain.  I bought an umbrella at the dollar store, and am hoping for the best!  The twins LOVE "dazzle and glitz" decorations on houses, so I think it will be a blast.  Our entire family is going and we have a 46 passenger bus reserved!  I don't even know if I am going to bother with a camera, I may just enjoy myself. 
• Next week is the twins' birthday week, so I hope to post things about them all week like I did for Henry's birthday.  I re-read his stuff to see what all I had posted (my memory is not that great anymore!).  The bringing him home pics had Carson wearing the winter coat Henry is wearing this year.  :-(  They grow SO FAST! 
• The kids' Christmas program is Sunday at church.  Emilynn does great with her part.  Carson does great too-at home.  I am doubtful he says it in front of everyone Sunday, he didn't at practice.  We'll see though, he may surprise us! 
• The lack of sleep situation is getting a bit better.  I was able to get Henry to fall asleep for nap yesterday!  The twins were great and stayed in the living room without disturbing us.  I am hopeful maybe we can salvage naptime after all! 

In fact, I'm off to try to get him down right now!  :-)  He's a much more pleasant child with his nap! 

Saving on Christmas-Shopping Online

Has anyone else realized Christmas is less than two weeks away?  I am almost ready as far as shopping goes.  Still wrapping a little each night.  I find that shopping mostly online really is the most convenient way and can be the most cost effective-especially if you live in a rural area and drive a gas guzzler like I do!   

Here are a few ways I shop online and save $$$: 

~I think I have ordered everything online that I need to, but I have seriously considered signing up for Amazon Prime.  I think we would make our money back in the year for a couple of reasons.  For one thing, I order some of our harder to find organic products on there.  Also, I have a Kindle, so I would be able to read a free book every month, around a $5 value each month.  Also, if you've ever shopped with three small kids, you understand the appeal of shopping online from the comfort of your home! 
I'm still debating on it, but I thought if I joined right now, I could do the rest of my shopping online, AND get next year's shopping done with the free two-day shipping since I normally do the majority of my shopping in October/November.  That's the way my cheap frugal mind works!  

~If you don't do Amazon Prime, you can still get free shipping with a $35 order (just recently changed from $25 to $35-pooh!).  I do this all the time.  It's not the fastest shipping but if you plan ahead it's great. I think Amazon is my favorite site to order from! 

~Use the "Retail Me Not" app or website to get coupon codes for just about any website/store before you order!  There are coupons out there for most everything. 

~If you shop Kohls, their website has a ton of things on it that you can't find in the store.  You can also sometimes get free shipping, and there are usually percent off coupons to be had! 

~Walmart ships free to their store-I have done this a bunch of times and it works great.  You can also find things online that you may not find in store.  You do have to go pick it up, but I ordered our heavy swing set that way and didn't pay shipping!  It's hard to find swing sets in stores sometimes, there usually isn't a big selection like online.  This worked great for us! 

~Walmart also has free shipping on $35 or more order.  I JUST realized this after another mom pointed it out on her blog.  She bought regular grocery items on there!  I am SO going to try that!  I checked different stuff and you can buy about anything online from them- all your non-perishables like sugar, tea bags, noodles.....anything you can think of, and you can even get the Great Value brand.  It may seem silly to some, but Walmart is 15-20 minutes from me and if I go in with 3 kids it is considerably harder.  They don't ask for stuff, but it's just the logistics of loading and unloading everybody plus groceries. 

~I signed up for Ebates, to earn money back from online purchases.  I have not really tried it yet but if it's worthwhile, I'll post more on it later. 

That's really all I shop online for now- everything is from Amazon, Kohls, or Walmart.  I did order some Christmas items from Northern Tool and they shipped to their store for free. 

Another thing I like about Amazon is they will keep stuff in my cart, even if I don't buy it.  You can click "Save for Later" and you don't have to go back and look the item up again.  I have a few books for Henry's birthday waiting right now to be ordered.  It's the little things like this that make me happy! 

I highly recommend shopping online.  :-)  It will help you keep your sanity if you are a mother of little ones.  An added bonus-they get excited to see the mailman or UPS man coming down the drive.  They all know us oh-so-well! 

Controlled Chaos

Yesterday was one of those days.  You know the ones....where anything and everything goes berserk and the kids take full advantage of your vulnerable state and start acting like it's the first day you've ever taken them out into civilization.  Yep, some days are like that around here.  A lot of days really.  I am pretty immune to most of it, I think I've built up a high tolerance for the chaos, noise, etc. 
Before I had kids, I would hear kids in a restaurant going crazy and wonder why the parents did nothing.  Now I know, they didn't hear it!  Ha! 
Anyway, we woke up to pouring down rain yesterday.  I had already promised the kids we'd go to story time and they were really looking forward to it.  I gave a pep talk as we were heading out the door- go straight to the car, do not pass go, get right in or you'll be soaked, DO NOT jump in any puddles on the way to the car (Henry!), dodge any chicken poop.  You get the idea.  We make it to the car, then to the library.  As we approach, I notice the only vehicles there are the librarian's car, and a construction truck.  There is a construction dumpster out front.  I sensed something was off, but keep up optimism thinking maybe Ms. Cindy borrowed her husband's construction truck to drive to story time.  A likely story, right?  Well, we go in and the librarian is the only one there, no Ms. Cindy.  She informs me that Ms. Cindy got another job, and can't do story time.  Oh my goodness, I was so upset, the kids were so upset.  I was telling them to be quiet, because they were close to taking over the library with their excitement over the construction and the fact that Ms. Cindy was missing.  They couldn't hear me telling them anything because of a jack hammer working in one of the rooms.  Guess the construction truck belonged to the guy with the jack hammer.  Go figure. 
Determined to make the best of things, we head into the kids' room and lo and behold, the bulletin board decorations and our attendance chart and everything is gone!  I again told the librarian what a real bummer this was!  I almost, ALMOST volunteered to read the story time books, but I did not.  I get in trouble for following my heart instead of my head in these situations.  I would love to do story time, but with winter coming and all I just don't think it's a good idea.  If I have a sick child I would have to miss, and I just don't know that I can handle any big commitments right now.  I think my plate is very full! 
We left the library with the kids still saying "Ms. Cindy's not here, Mom", "I miss Ms. Cindy, Mom." 
I hope story time is reinstated soon!  It was only going for about 2 months! 
We headed to get our milk for the week and as we are leaving for home, Emilynn reminds me her tooth hurts.  It's been hurting on and off for a few days.  I had called the dentist and they told me to give her ibuprofen and see if that helped before bringing her in.  I thought that was odd advice (it was from the receptionist though), because wouldn't the problem just be masked then? 
Anyway, I decided to call and make an appt. for her to be seen.  They said they could see her at 2:30.  It was 12:30.  No problem, I just had to run home, put the milk up, feed the kids, spit-shine Emmy, brush her hair, brush her teeth, and get Henry down for nap so I could leave by 1:30.  I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off while the kids were CRAZY.  Henry decided yesterday of all days to refuse to take his nap.  He beat me back to the kitchen when I put him down.  Of course, I didn't have time to rock him or anything, so I had to go with it.  Dustin had tried sleeping from working all night, but was awoken by the noise.  It was crazy. 
We went to the dentist (Papa watched the boys) and Em just had a large, strange looking ulcer.  It was not like an ulcer I have seen.  It almost looked like bone poking through-the hygienist thought so too.  Apparently they can get infected and are something to keep an eye on.  We are supposed to brush it like crazy to keep it clean.  Em is my best dental patient though, so that was a breeze. 
The rest of the night was somewhat uneventful until.....bedtime.  Henry would NOT go to sleep!  It took me until 11:46 to get him to give up and sleep.  Yep, I looked at the clock right when he went down.  It was insane.  I am NOT ready for this!  The twins were 2 when they gave up naps also, but I'm just not ready.  I know I'll adjust eventually, but it is hard when you are used to having that time to do school work with the other children and any chores that can't be done with Henry awake. 
I'm sure we'll get through this, but for now, it is crazy and I am tired! 
Today he did not nap, and I got him to sleep around 9:30.  I thought that was good considering Dustin was working and I was alone.  It is really hard to get all 3 kids to bed by yourself.  I wasn't sure what to do tonight, but I gave the twins a long talk about staying in the living room and watching a show while I got Henry to bed.  They did great and I think they complied because they have seen "Monster No-Sleep Henry" the past two days!  They were ready for him to turn in also.  Poor little guy! 
I was determined to not let everything get the best of me today, and it didn't!  We had a good day despite lack of sleep.  I forgot to mention Henry popped up wide awake at 7 this morning.  I got up and got a shower and all and we just started our day.  By 10 a.m. I had done a load of clothes, made cookie dough for Christmas cookies, showered, had everyone dressed, fed eggs to the kids for breakfast, and we were happy.  I will make it through this phase as well!   I just may have black circles under my eyes for now! 
.

Monday Musings

• We enjoyed a bit of a winter wonderland yesterday as the trees were covered in ice.  We mostly got rain though and enjoyed a day inside keeping warm.  We are so blessed to have a nice warm home during this cold time of year. 
• I have been wrapping gifts like crazy! 50 to be exact!   None of them are for myself/my family!  I finally will get started on my gifts this week.  I love wrapping gifts!  I used to wrap all of my grandma's gifts for her as well as my own, before I had kids.  I love putting pretty ribbon on them.  I wish I could make pretty bows.  Curling ribbon is all I can do!  Maybe I will practice with something more fancy. 
• I have been trying to finalize the twins' birthday plans.  I can't believe they are 4!  We are having a brunch with their grandparents that morning, and a kids party that afternoon.  It should be a fun filled day! 
• Mr. Henry can get out of his crib now!  I'm guessing he hoists a leg over the side and slides down, but I'm not sure.  Oh to be a fly on the wall!  The first morning I heard a door shut, which is what Emilynn always does, so I assumed she was joining me.  Instead, here comes little Henry!  He doesn't hurt himself getting out, he has yet to cry.  I know we are going to have to convert his crib to the toddler bed soon though.  I'm just trying to figure out how we'll keep him in his room/bed when we do.  For now, we put him down to sleep at nap and bedtime and he goes right to sleep, even since he's been climbing out.  If that changes, we'll have to figure out different plans for nighttime because right now we lay with the twins at bedtime.  We can't lay with all 3 cause we are outnumbered.  We'll figure it out I'm sure. 

Sunday Scripture-The Christmas Story

 

The Christmas story is our scripture for today.  This time of year, it's important that we remember the real reason for this season, amidst all the materialism that surrounds us (and birthday happenings at our house!).  Last night as we were reading bedtime stories, Carson chose a story about the Nativity.  He started hollering "Jesus, Jesus, I love Jesus."  It melted my Mommy heart. He hopped onto the bed with much excitement.   Then he said, "Let's read this story about Baby Jesus, it's a great story!"

A great story, indeed! 

 

Luke 2:1-20

New International Version (NIV)

The Birth of Jesus

2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while^[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Christmas Cards

Have you gotten your Christmas cards ready yet?  I have worked and worked to get a good picture of the kids for the cards.  I just gave up.  My mom and I tried everything on Tuesday.  We went to see the model train Christmas display, which I knew had some good photo ops.  We got pretty much nothing.  We tried in front of her tree-nope.  I tried just in a chair at the house, didn't work.  We tried in a tree in Mom's yard, figuring the kids would love that.  Nope.  No one can look at the same time, no one cooperates.  I threw in the towel and just had to use what I could from the past year.  Now I need to order them and pick them up.  Then, we'll see how long it takes to address/mail them! 
Sam's seems to be the cheapest price of anywhere.  I've ordered online before and had them shipped to the house, but the shipping is outrageous at most of the photo companies-I've tried them all! 

Here are a few pics from our day.  We did enjoy seeing the model train display-we look forward to it each year.  We stayed for almost 2 hours!  We will be going back many more times before the season is out I'm sure! 

My girl! 

My boys! 

Henry would have stayed all day.  He was mesmerized for sure. 

Santa cranked up the snow machine for us-so fun!  They really make it a fun experience for kids! 

 

Black Friday Shopping Re-cap

We went Black Friday shopping again this year, and if you are trying to be frugal, it is a great opportunity to save some cash!  By "we", I mean, pretty much my entire family, minus most of the guys.  We needed a trampoline from Walmart for a mission project we are doing, so two of my sisters were in line by 3 p.m. for a 6 p.m. trampoline!  We got not one, but two though!  Everyone went before our meal this year, which was different.  I got assigned the job of helping my Dad finish putting the meal together along with Nanny Margaret (my step-mom's mom).  I expected to walk into chaos, but was pleasantly surprised.  They had everything under control and we all enjoyed sitting around chatting and putting the finishing touches on the meal!  I think that was the better job than fighting Walmart right then.  :-) 
After eating and visiting a while, I met up with my cousin Brandy for MY black Friday shopping.  We went to Walmart, then headed to the city to hit up Target, Kohls, and Old Navy.  It was so much fun!  I got home at 4 a.m.!  I love going overnight.  It makes it nice because I can be home with the kids the next day, Dustin doesn't miss any hunting, and we are all happy.  Honestly, overnight is really nice-all the people were super-nice, nothing was really crowded, we got the first deals, and there are NO kids out overnight shopping!  We got lattes from Starbucks and just casually shopped and had a ball!  I was surprisingly not tired the next day. 

Here are some deals I found:

Old Navy-everything was a deal!  The whole store was 50% off, which made it nice.  Sometimes in the middle of the night my brain may not work so well.  You didn't have to do much figuring!  I got boots, a scarf, and sweater for me, socks and a few shirts for the kids. 

Target- We didn't get as much at Target, a lot of their deals were gone.  I did find a Doc McStuffins Operation game that Emilynn will love.  I know I got more, I just can't remember it all! 

Kohls- I got several of their warm, soft "The Big One" blankets for gifts for only $8.99, a Mr. Potato Head 42 pc. set for Henry-he loves "tater head"-I think I ended up paying $6.99 for it with all my discounts,  and more odds and ends. 

Walmart- Walmart has the same stuff most years, so I can always count on them!  I got the $10 Disney Planes movie, some $5 princesses for Emilynn, some of the $5 storybooks they have each year, a $12 bedtime pal for Henry-twins got one last year, socks and undies for the kids (always a good black Friday deal), oh, and a trampoline for next Christmas!  Yep, Meme talked me into it, so we wouldn't have to wait in line again next year.  We've been in the trampoline line for the past several years.  Now, we have to hide it for a whole year. 

It's funny because everyone who came into dinner from Walmart was saying how they weren't going next year, etc. etc.  Then after supper-every last one of them except Meme headed right back out there! 

I think I need to save even more $$ for black Friday next year, I could have gotten so many more deals if I had extra cash! 

If you are trying to do Christmas on a budget, black Friday is the way to go! 

We had a great Thanksgiving, filled with too much food and some fun/crazy black Friday shopping. 

Here are the turkey cupcakes I made with the kids and cousin Hunter last week.  So cute and so easy! 

I made them again Saturday because I had to bring kids' dessert to Dustin's family Thanksgiving.  They were a hit for sure, and we'll make them next year.

Dustin's birthday was Wednesday, so I had to make him a cake.  He always wants yellow cake with chocolate icing, all from store-bought mix and icing.  So, that's what he gets.  I've had the same hunting figurines that I put on his cake for about 8 years.  It's become kind of a joke.  This year, I decided to do something different since I was doing the little turkeys. 

Here's how it turned out: 

A big turkey!  I thought it was okay for a spur of the moment idea. 

I hope everyone had a great holiday last week!  It's kind of hard getting back into the swing of things for us.  Dustin was off almost two weeks straight, and we had all the holiday comings and goings. 
I guess it will be crazy now until after Christmas! 

Sunday Scripture

"God loves a cheerful giver."  ~2 Corinthians 9:7

Look for ways you can cheerfully give to others this holiday season!  It is truly more blessed to give than to receive. 

Happy Turkey Day!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I hope everyone has an awesome day, eats too much, and gets a nap!  :-)  Wait, that's what I want!!!  :-) 

I am so thankful for my wonderful family (every last extended one of them!!!! LOL), our health, and all of our many blessings-way too many to list!! 

Monday Musings

• Today has been one of those days.  You know the ones where your kids fight All.  Day.  LONG!  Urrrghh...I don't know why some days are like this.  It's not even lunch and we've had way too many knock down drag out fights to count.  Honestly, I hope the rest of our day doesn't go like this!!!!!!!!!!! 
• It is so cold!  I love it to be honest!  Although we are stuck indoors which may contribute to the previously mentioned fighting!  It does finally feel like the Thanksgiving & Christmas season! 
• This is the first year I am going to attempt reading an Advent story each day of December to the kids.  I don't know how it will go, but we'll see.  I wanted to do a countdown calendar as well, but I don't know if I will.  I'm thinking the only thing in them is either candy or small toys that get thrown away.  We really don't need either of those....I am still brainstorming. 
• The kids are all excited because we are picking up Hunter from school tomorrow.  Hunter and the twins have wanted to do this for a while.  It seems like we get him every year around Thanksgiving.  I always like to do a craft with them, and it's usually messy.  One year we made Indian feather hats, last year we painted pumpkins and ruined all 3 kids' clothes.  A tip-don't let preschool children use acrylic paint.  Just saying....I hadn't planned to use it but they overpowered me and took it!  :-)  LOL.  This year we are making turkey cupcakes-you use candy corn for feathers.  I hope it's simple and not so messy.  I just found another turkey craft out of toilet paper tubes & paper plates-we may do that one also. 
• My Mom made the cutest little fingerprint crafts with the kids while we were gone Friday!  She made their fingerprints into reindeer and snowmen.  They will make a beautiful garland on the mantle I think.  I will have to post a pic because it is such a cute craft!!!!  The amazing thing was none of them told us about it!  It was a surprise!! 
• I really need to work on our Christmas card for the year.  Normally it's done by now!  I haven't even taken a pic of the kids yet in their Christmas attire.  I really need haircuts for the boys too.  So much to do this time of year!!!! 
• As for Christmas preparations, I AM going to do some wrapping tonight!  Have I mentioned I love wrapping gifts?  :-) 

Sunday Scripture

Here is a scripture from the front of our bulletin today:

"For everything created by God is good, and nothing should be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving" ~1Timothy 4:4

What are you thankful for this week? 

Here is what my kids were thankful for at church (it was read aloud to the congregation-so it got a chuckle out of everyone)

Carson- snakes, tractors, my mom & dad, my chickens

Emilynn-ladybugs, my mom & dad, my brothers, drink, food, cats, my dog

I probably forgot a thing or two. 

Have a Happy Thanksgiving week!

Oh, and we picked up our 22 lb. turkey yesterday.   Carson is quite disturbed that the turkey is now in a bag.  He doesn't think he wants to eat turkey.  He says, "Turkeys don't like when you eat them Mom." 

I'm sure they don't! 

Thankful Thursday

Here are some things I'm thankful for this week:

• Shopping day!  My mom each year keeps the kids for a day for me to finish up shopping.  I am excited that that day is tomorrow!!!!  I have some things I must pick up kid-less, and it's just nice to get out and look around.  I end up doing so much shopping online that it's nice occasionally to see what's available in stores!  Dustin may or may not join me, he hasn't decided yet.  :-)  Either way, it's cool! 
• Pooper Scoopers-yep, I'm thankful for those!  I can't wait to pick one up tomorrow!  Yep, I'm weird like that.  Look, the truth of the matter is, chickens poop a lot!  For my sanity and the sanity of my entire household, we have decided a pooper scooper is necessary.  Our chickens are pets and spend a lot of time up at the house with us, and around our porch.   Have I mentioned they poop ALL the time?  Everywhere?  I can't take dodging poop anymore, I must conquer this issue!  I'll update how this goes- cause I'm sure everyone will be wondering.......
• Decorations- totally by accident-the kids found their Christmas decorations in my storage shed today. There was nothing to do but drop everything and put the trees up.  They turned out so cute-I even took pictures to upload and post soon.  The boys have a John Deere tree, Emilynn has a pink "dazzle and glitz" type tree with her ballerina ornaments and various other pink ones.  It's so her!  I then decided to take all my kitchen themed ornaments and make a cooking tree in the kitchen for myself.  I love it!  Dustin declared our decorating indoors done, so we may save the big tree for next year when Henry is a bit bigger.   I was hesitant at first, but I wasn't going to put ornaments on it anyway, so I agreed.  The twins are thrilled with their smaller, personal trees anyway!  We are still decorating outdoors though! 
• A new Janet Evanovich book!  I love the Stephanie Plum books-my friend Danelle introduced them to me a few years back and I've read them all.  I was anxiously awaiting a new one that was coming out this week.  I've bought it and read it already!  If you have never read these books-they are laugh out loud funny!  I seriously crack up in bed reading them.  You can't say that about too many books.  I am now going to re-read it more slowly.  I love my Kindle fire-it makes it so easy to read new books right as they come out!  Nothing to store either-cause we are definitely limited on space for books.  :-) 
• A yummy Mexican meal!  We took the kids out for lunch yesterday to our favorite Mexican restaurant after swim class.  It was so good!  I LOVE Mexican food.  It's definitely my hands down favorite.  Henry is so adorable eating chips and salsa.  That boy will eat it the entire meal, then it takes him an extra 15 minutes after we are all done to finish.  He even scoops it up with a spoon.  Yes, he gets his very own bowl all to himself! 

Catching Up

I've been unplugged for about a week and 1/2 it looks like!  I skipped my Thankful Thursday, Sunday Scripture, and Monday Musings posts.  I will be honest, it is nice to just be unplugged for a while sometimes.  There are days when I never look at or think about the computer.  I honestly think it's such a time zapper, it's nice to not be so "tied" to it for spells. 
Here is what we've been up to:

• First of all-Daddy is off this week!  Yay!  We've had fun as he's joined us for story time at the library and swim lessons today.  Poppy also came to swim lessons to let the kids show off what they've learned a little.  They really "hammed it up" for him.  He left pretty wet from lots of hugs and kisses! 
• Our Christmas tree is up.  I finally caved.  My mom came by one day and we got it out and "de-lit" the pre-lit tree from last year.  I had bought it at my friend's yard sale, and half the lights didn't work.  So aggravating!  We used wire cutters and cut every light off-all 700!  It can be done, wasn't hard at all, just tedious.  Now I need to shape it and put lights on.  As for decorating it-I'm torn.  I don't know if I want to pull out all my Hallmark ornaments and fight that fight this year with Henry.  I may instead just use kid-friendly ornaments.  Dustin suggested just putting lights on it and leaving it at that.  That is a very tempting idea!  Some of my Nanny's prettiest trees have been the ones where she just put lights on and nothing else.  I think that is where I'm leaning and maybe make some ornaments with the kids.  We made the applesauce/cinnamon ones last year with some success. 
• I do want to finish up decorating for Christmas and put away all the pumpkins.  I love my pumpkins, but hate having both out-which is where we are now!  Since we never carved the pumpkins, I am going to try baking them and freezing the pumpkin for my pies and pumpkin rolls.  If it works well, I'll share!  Don't want to waste the pumpkins!  I also have quite a few outdoor decorations I bought half off last year.  The kids really want the house decorated outside.  We may be giving the Griswolds a run for their money by the time it's overwith!  I have icicle lights for the whole house, lighted candy canes to light the sidewalk, a small inflatable penguin, a yard snowman and santa, the wire-y type ones-not sure what they are called.  It should be lovely!  :-) 
• It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is next week!  My grandma and I are travelling to the farm on Saturday to pick up the turkey and some chickens I pre-ordered.  Yep, those sweet turkeys we went to visit a few weeks ago are now ready to be enjoyed next week.  I don't think my kids have made the connection yet.  I did try to explain it to them, because I think it's important for them to know where our food comes from. 
• Speaking of making connections, a package came today and before I knew it, those little rascals had opened it up!  I will have to be more careful this time of year!  We decided Santa must have sent it on ahead and he may wrap it as a gift and leave it out Christmas Eve.  We'll just have to see what happens.  I find myself in a lot of sticky situations like this as the kids get older.  You really have to think on your feet as a parent! 
• We've found a pre-school we think we want to try out next fall for the kids.  It was like divine intervention to find an affordable, Christian pre-school in a location that worked for us!  I hope to tour it in a few months and see how we like it.  A girl at the YMCA recommended it to me, and it was one I had never heard of at a church nearby.  I could actually work out while they were there, get groceries, take Henry swimming, etc.  I was excited at the idea!   The kids are excited, too.  Carson even-my grumpy one!  He said, "Hunter can walk me in to school, because he's bigger and knows where to go."  I thought it was so cute!  I didn't have the heart to tell him pre-school wasn't at Hunter's school.  We are still doing a 3-year old program at home this year, kind of on a relaxed schedule.  I realized about a month ago I was pushing them too much, trying to get them writing and stuff!  I decided to just "chill" a bit and have more fun and enjoy the process. Since I'm not so focused on writing as much, they practice letters all the time-go figure!   We are going to try a "traditional" preschool next year (more than likely) to kind of see which works best for our family, a regular school setting or homeschooling.  I really want to do what's best for my kids, in the environment where they will thrive the most.  I think it's really important to try both and see what works.   I have no problem with either way, but I do want the opportunity to try both before Kindergarten. 

That is all we've been up to-not a whole lot in the past week.  I will try not to be M.I.A. again for so long! 

Monday Musings

• The kids and I spent part of our morning cleaning out our chicken pen.  Let me just say, chickens poop a lot!  It's not the best job around the house, but it must be done.  The kids actually all put on their work gloves and helped.  It didn't take nearly as long as I had thought, and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought.  I think that's how most household chores are, we dread them so much but if we just go ahead and do them it isn't so bad.
• Speaking of chores, we've been cleaning the house all day too.  I love days where I feel productive.  :-)  Of course if you walked in right now, it wouldn't show!  There is always much to be done.  Also, all the furniture is cushion-less right now as the kids are building a "house" of sorts with everything.  Yep, I'm that kind of Mom that lets them do that stuff.  We were always using our imaginations to do stuff like that growing up, and I think it's so important! 
• Soccer is over-hurray!  I am SO over soccer.  We stayed at the field from 10 am -1:30 Saturday, with all 3 kids and I was so glad to get out of there!  I'm not sure if we'll do it again or not.  A year helps a lot with kids' maturity levels, so we'll see.  Right now, I would say a big "NO!".  Oh, and the kids were thrilled with their trophies.  Emilynn keeps asking for a Ziploc bag to "keep hers clean" she says.  I will be glad to get my Saturdays back! 

Well, I'm back to house work.  This week should be fairly quiet with just our usual swim lessons and dance.  That's it I think!  Oh, and story time at the library.  That is so nice and the kids really enjoy it.  I like that it's so close to the house.  Sometimes it is tiring to have to drive 15-20 minutes every time we have something.  Just part of life in the country I guess. 

Sunday Scripture

Today's scripture is from Ecclesiastes 3:1: 

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven" 

This scripture is what comes to mind as we enjoy the activities of fall.  I love fall, I love the cool weather, pumpkins, leaves everywhere.  We spent last night by the fire pit at my Dad's, roasting hotdogs and making s'mores.  Today we raked leaves for my grandma, and it seems fall activites are all around.  I am trying to make a conscious effort to enjoy the Thanksgiving season too, and not just go from Halloween to Christmas.  It seems the stores skip Thanksgiving all together.  The kids are pressuring me to decorate the house for Christmas, but I am gonna try to put them off a while yet.  It is hard when my Dad has light up a tree that rivals anything the Griswold's ever imagined.  :-)  I'm not kidding, it's huge y'all!  My kids LOVE decorations, so I know one day, I will ask Poppy to bring the bucket truck over and decorate a tree for us like that.  :-) 
Anyway, enjoy each season as it changes!  They are all fun for different reasons.  I don't think I'd enjoy living somewhere without distinct season changes. 
I'm tired-so that's it for tonight.  Raking leaves will do that to ya!  :-)  Carson said it best as he was raking- "This is hard work." 

Thankful Thursday

Here are some things I'm thankful for this week: 

• Beautiful weather- It warmed up again!  My mom and I got lunch after swim class yesterday and took the kids to a park for a picnic and playtime on the playground.  It is the best playground according to the kids because it has a "twisty slide".  Henry could even walk up and slide down all by himself!  My little man is growing up-he was so proud too!  I love the playgrounds that are fenced in so you don't have to chase your kids the whole time-another thing to be thankful for!
• A clean car- Yep, I bit the bullet and cleaned by car out this morning.  It took 2 hours.  It is clean except I plan to vacuum it tonight at a car wash, so as not to break any of our vacuums.  Ahem....ask me how I know about this.  Some things I found in the car:  13 pairs of children's shoes.  Yep, I counted after the pile began stacking up!, a box of boys clothes for Carson from a friend, several McDonald's Halloween buckets, toys galore, 2 books of mine, a bunch of coloring books and crayons, hair bows, my calculator that's been missing a while, a folder full of vacation information from June, and various other things too numerous to mention.  I find it impossible to keep a clean car when we end up eating in it so much.  I pack food on Wednesdays or we buy lunch out when it's swim class day.  There's no way I'm taking all the kids in somewhere on my own.  I guess this too shall pass and I'll wish for that dirty car and little kids to eat in it.  Or maybe not the dirty car- just the little kids!!!! 
• Date night!  Dustin and I are going on another date night tonight!  We have been making this a priority and I'm glad.  It's really nice to reconnect and also eat a meal without anyone in my lap or taking my plate, trading it for theirs.  The grass is always greener-you know!  We have had a few dates where the kids were asleep in the car and we ate Applebee's Carside to go- in the car, parked in the Applebee's lot.  Very classy, we are!  :-)  You find special time when you can!  I was telling the kids we were leaving tonight and my cousin Brandy is watching them.  Emilynn was excited and said, "She's a good watcher!".  :-) 

I asked the kids to share what they were thankful for.  Emilynn is thankful for kittens.  Carson is thankful for tractors.  Henry was napping, which is something to be thankful for I think!  Everyday when I put him down for nap I always think, you lucky little boy!  Haha! 

You know you live in the country when......

You are sitting outside on such a beautiful day typing on your laptop, watching your kids run around the yard.  THEN- a chicken runs across the keyboard!  Oh, that "Sweetie Pie" is one spoiled chick!  :-)  Gotta love life in the sticks! 

Swimming

Today is swim class day, and we are going to keep going through winter.  It will be a bit harder as we have to wear and take lots more clothes with us.  I don't know how it will work leaving with wet hair, I may have to take the hair dryer along. 

Anyway, swim class is going great.  Emilynn passed her first swim test last week at the Y!  I was so proud of her!  She is now a yellow instead of a red.  That means she can swim in the pool without her Puddle Jumper on.  I will admit, I did tear up a little when she passed the test.  I am THAT mom!  It was so neat to see her hard work pay off, and she was so proud of herself.  The Y pool is in 3 sections, a zero-entry kiddie section that goes to 3 feet deep with a water mushroom and spraying fountain things, the lap area that goes from 3 foot to 5 foot deep, and a 5 foot area with slides.  Emmy had to jump in the 5 foot area, swim to the other end, turn around and swim back.  She did an awesome job!  She has improved so much in her skills and is actually calming down a bit to swim seriously.  She flips over when she is tired and swims on her back and takes a breath, then flips back to her belly and keeps on swimming.  As a yellow, I still have to be in the pool with her.  Once she's a green, she can swim by herself, go down the slides by herself, etc.  I don't know when the boys will get to that point, so I will probably always have to get in the pool!  We were joking at how it will probably cost us a million dollars to get Carson swimming.  He's just a different child with a different personality, and water is not really his thing.  He is perfectly happy to play at the zero entry area, by himself.  He does try floating now a bit, and gets his hair wet, so we have progress.  I think Henry might swim before him though, that's my prediction.  I'm thinking he might eventually just frustrated when everyone swims but him, and finally buckle down and learn.  We'll see how it goes.  It's no rush or race, but it is something I want them all to learn.  Henry really has gotten much more comfortable in the water and I think is going to be a fish like Emilynn.  Have I mentioned how awesome their teacher is?  I know, I have!  She really does good with the kids though, I just can't say it enough.  She always has new ideas to make it more fun.  One thing both the twins love is when she swims with them on her back.  Carson even likes it, although she doesn't dunk him like Emmy.  I like how she's a mom so she doesn't pay much attention to Carson's drama-she just takes him on out there and distracts him.  We are definitely lucky to have found such a great teacher! 
Anyway, I had to post about our latest swimming achievement!  I don't know if Emmy will ever be on the swim team, but it wouldn't surprise me.  I think that girl is going to keep us busy as the years go by!  We'll see about the boys, they are more homebodies like their Daddy I think.  Time will tell!

Vote!

Don't forget to go vote today, even though it's not a presidential election!  It is important to exercise our right to vote.  We take the kids with us, which I think is a good social studies lesson for them!  They need to know about voting, why we vote, why we vote for who we vote for, etc. etc.  As the years go by, they understand more and more.  It honestly amazes me sometimes the things they understand and remember. 

For instance, the other day Emilynn says to me, "The sun is a star mom."  I was taken a little by surprise, then I asked her where she learned that.  She said, "On Bubble Guppies Mom." 
You never know what they are going to say! 

Monday Musings

• It is cold here today!  I can't say that I minded all that much.  The kids still wanted to play outside, so we bundled up and played outside all morning until lunchtime!  It was refreshing actually.  Although, I don't know how I am going to walk with the kids on cold days like this.  I may have to come up with yet another exercise plan.  I think the devil really likes throwing curveballs at me as I try to become healthier!  I just don't think it would be good to have the cold wind blowing in their faces like it would be as we strolled.  I'll figure something out. 
• I am so glad tomorrow is election day.  Our phone has rung off the hook with political calls.  It has gotten so frustrating today that I finally unplugged the phone.  I hope anyone who needs us tries my cell!  I even tried picking up and hanging it right back up, thinking that would stop them from calling.  Nope.  Same number calls back again and again, among others. 
• Soccer is over on Saturday.  I have to say, I am really glad!  It's been a tough year.  I think 3 is too young to play (don't tell my hubby I said that!).  :-)  I don't know what we'll do next year.  I do know that I have watched my nephew play for 3 years now, and his 3 year old first year looked similar to ours.  So maybe there's hope???  Emilynn did not want to play Saturday for some reason, and Carson doesn't like to play without her.  It went downhill from there.  Oh well.  We tried. 
• We went to a cousin's farm Friday to see turkeys.  They raise turkeys for Thanksgiving so we had to go see them before they were "processed."  Sorry, I know that seems mean, but, well, that's where meat comes from!  It was nice to see them and pet them.  We also saw chickens, cows, goats, pigs, lambs, and sheep.  We had a great time, I will try to post a few pics soon. We got some local pork and headed home.   I reserved some chickens that will be ready on the 23rd, and hope to eat a bit more chicken around here!  :-)  We are on beef overload right now, since we had 1/4 of a cow, then 1/3 of a cow in the past 3 months! 
• Does anyone else's kids play with the weirdest stuff?  For some reason my kids love to dump out all of Emilynn's hair stuff, and they play with the bobby pins.  Carson has "Cranky" from Thomas, which is a crane with a magnetic thing on it.  He picks up bobby pins with it and thinks it's so cool.  Strange I know.  Of course, they also play with anything that's not a toy more than any toys we have.  Like cardboard boxes, rocks, sticks, fire wood (my sister and I used to play with fire wood all the time!).  Anyway, today Cranky is lifting bobby pins like crazy.  We have a lot of bobby pins for dance!   Both of my kids also want alarm clocks for Christmas.  I am not sure where they got the idea, but they actually pretend other things are alarm clocks, and sit them by their beds.  I saw some really cute clocks on Amazon that teach them time, both the old fashioned way and the digital way.  We'll see if we end up with clocks! 
• The switch witch DID make a visit to our house.  Remember the kids had told me they didn't want her to come, they wanted the candy?  Well, Halloween night they ate all the candy they could possibly hold.  On the way home, Emilynn told me she didn't want her candy, she wanted a toy instead.  She happily gave me her candy, which was amazing because she's the one who has the biggest sweet tooth, and also the one who reacts the worst to the artificial dyes and sugar in candy.  I was glad she gave it up!  Carson didn't want to give his up, but the witch came and took the candy.  We decided she could come back the next night and give him the candy back if he didn't like the toy he got, and pick the toy back up.  Yep, it got a little complicated.  She left the twins roller skates and Henry a nice wooden Tonka fire truck.  I think she found the stuff for a great deal at consignment.  ;-)  She also left the things like chips, goldfish, fruit snacks, pretzels, chex mix, and all the toys/non-candy items they got.  We had to have some balance.  It worked out great and the kids were super-excited to get a special new toy.  They have talked about her non-stop.  Emilynn was also delighted to realize that she didn't check our car for candy, and she had dropped a good deal of candy Thursday night without any of us realizing it in the car.  The witch definitely has to work out a few kinks in her methods, but I think she will come visit us annually.  It was hard because there was no precedence for it like there is with the Easter Bunny, or Santa Claus, who've been visiting for years.  I think she learned she will have to check the car as well as the house for treats!  Oh, and Daddy has been thrilled with the candy stash we now have in our room.  :-)  Our dentist buys the candy for $1 per pound to send to troops, but we aren't close enough to justify going to do that.  It's 45 minutes away.  Anyway, it was all a success and we had fun.  We cut our stops to a minimum and still got tons of goodies.  I loved how so many people give out non-candy items now.  We got color books, stencils, tattoos, cars, reusable totes, chips, cheese balls, chex mix, pencils, and all kinds of neat stuff! 
• Our family is booked for a tacky light tour!  I am so excited and I am excited for how the kids are going to love it.  They LOVE looking at decorations.  It should be a lot of fun, and we have a nice bus with a bathroom and can have snacks on it.  Essential when you do something with kids!  Yes, we are already planning our December activities so we make sure we do what is important, and skip what's going to be stressful. 
• Speaking of December, I think we are going to read and Advent book each day in December and do an Advent calendar of sorts.  I bought a thing with little drawers in the hardware section of Walmart, I think it's meant to hold nuts and bolts.  I am going to make it an Advent calendar with small treats for the kids each day, after we read out story.  I've been wanting to do this for years and just haven't.  I hope we can make it a tradition. 
• I am getting a much-needed haircut tonight.  I have a friend who comes to the house to cut hair, wax eyebrows, or whatever else anyone wants done.  It is so convenient!  It was always so hard to manage going to the hair salon, with having to find someone to watch the kids or go the one night my favorite girl worked late which may not be convenient.  Now, if I can figure out how to get pedicures at home!  :-) 

Well, that's all that's going on around here. 

Here's what's on the menu for this week (I think!):
spaghetti, salad, Red Lobster biscuits (Have you tried these from Sam's club?  So good for a treat!)
chicken broccoli braid, green beans, mac & cheese, applesauce
Broccoli/cheese soup (Panera brand from Sam's club-again so good!), stew for kids, grilled cheese
meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn
dinner out maybe?
leftovers
and I don't know what else yet! 

As for lunches and breakfasts, we normally have eggs for breakfast and fruit.  Lunches are leftovers, or soup, or macaroni & cheese (Annie's), or a snack-y lunch of cheese, veggies/dip, raisins, dried cranberries, fruit, pepperonis, etc.  Sometimes we do sandwiches-peanut butter and jelly or meat/mayonnaise (Carson).  It's just pretty much whatever we are in the mood for.  I have been packing our lunch on the day we have swim class, instead of getting fast food.  That has really saved us money, and I know I feel better not being so stuffed from fast food.  When Dustin is home for lunch, we may have something heartier.  After church yesterday, we had a pepperoni pizza twist that I make for lunch.  We do stuff like that on Sat. and Sun. when Daddy's home a lot of times. 

Sunday Scripture

"The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender."  ~Proverbs 22:7

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (NIV)                   ~Hebrews 13:5

⁸ Owe no man anything, but to love one another, for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.~Romans 13:8


As you can see, this week is all about money.  I am always reading books and blogs about money management and being a better steward of the money God has give us.  About two years ago, I discovered Dave Ramsey, and I must say-his books and program are the best out there for sure!  The Total Money Makeover is a life-changing book.  He is a Christian, and also a straight talker!  He doesn't sugar coat anything and I like that about him.  We have done a few steps in his Total Money Makeover and loved it.  Dustin is probably tired of hearing me start a sentence with "Dave says....".  Basically the idea is to become debt free except for your house, and then pay that off too!  He encourages everyone to use an all-cash system, and when I do that, I love it.  I love to get groceries and not have to balance the checkbook when I get home.  I don't have to do the math in my head when I'm out, figuring out how much we have in the checkbook.  I have already allotted the money and withdrawn it from the bank.  You can have a debit card with the system, but no credit cards whatsoever.  If you've ever relied on credit cards, that can be scary.  It is a good feeling to use only cash or debit though.  If you are looking to make a financial change or overhaul, check out the system!  I don't think you will regret it.  Why am I talking money today?  Well, can't things get a bit overwhelming here with holiday season upon us?  In our area, taxes are due Dec. 5th, right before the holidays.  Also, winter is right around the corner, meaning higher energy or gas bills for heating.  It's been said we may be in for a hard winter.   It seems like the perfect storm of sorts for everyone to experience some anxiety in the money department!   Some may be surprised at how many verses in the Bible address money and how we are to handle it.  My favorite one is the Romans one-"owe no many anything but love." 
I have to say, giving up my job to stay home was really scary at first for us, with the added expense of two infants and loss of income.  However, I have never regretted it one minute!  We have been amazed at how God provides for all of our needs, whether it is a grandparent buying clothes or shoes or something unexpected for the children, finding just what we need at the consignment store or Goodwill, or the case of formula that showed up on our doorstep unexpectedly from the formula company.  The day the formula showed up, the twins were just weeks old and at that moment I knew God would take care of us no matter what.  During that time we were using a $15 can of formula every day.  The NICU had me fill out paperwork to get a free can of it, and little did I know, a whole case was sent to us!  Amazing.  God ALWAYS provides if we just trust him! 

Frugal tip-Shop those after Halloween sales!

I love shopping the days following a holiday!  You can get some great deals for 1/2 price, or even deeper discounts.  Have you hit the Halloween section?  I encourage you to check it out! 
Here's what I normally look for: 

• Costumes- Do your kids love to dress up?  Mine do, they have been wearing their Halloween costumes for weeks now.  I checked out the Walmart costumes yesterday and found an Ariel costume for Emmy ($8), a knight vest for Carson ($2), and a Buzz Lightyear costume for Carson ($10).  For $20, I got three costumes that the kids will get with some other dress up things for their birthday.  One year I got some costumes at Target for $1.  I will check again as the days pass if I'm near a store.  Each day the discounts get better- for example on the first day it's 50% off, then it may go to 75%, and finally it goes to 90%.  Of course, the selection gets less each day....so if there's something you really want, you may want to grab it! 
• Candy- The twins have a December birthday.  I usually do a piñata and goody bags, and that can get pricey.  I always check out the after-Halloween candy for discounted treats.  I only buy the ones that aren't in Halloween paper.  For instance, you may see some in a Halloween bag, but the candy inside is just wrapped normal.  We got Snickers and Tootsie rolls like this trick or treating, and some Reese's stuff too.  Does that make sense?  Only the outside of the bag says Halloween, but they discount it nonetheless!  Yay!  For us, it lasts just fine till December, only 8 weeks away. 
• Paper products- Check out what's on sale and see if you can use them for another holiday.  For instance, purple is sometimes with the Halloween stuff, but could be used for Valentine's day.  Red at Christmas can also be used for Valentine's day.  Think outside the box!  If you know you are hosting a gathering for Halloween next year, you can pick up plates, etc. now if you know how many you need and will know where they are come next October.  Orange can also be used for Thanksgiving, and plain pumpkins too! 
• Thanksgiving items-Sometimes plain fall leaf items are included in the Halloween sales.  Just make sure you check before you go to the register so you aren't surprised. 
• Baking items- Paper muffin cups, sprinkles, and baking decorations will often keep for a year or two-so check those out!  Also, if you eat a lot of muffins and cupcakes and aren't making them for a special occasion-you can buy the Halloween ones.  Who cares if their blueberry muffin is in a special cupcake liner? 
• Decorations- If you are one who likes inflatables, etc. you may want to get to the store first thing in the morning after a holiday.  Those things go quick!  Other decorations are also on sale.  It feels silly to buy them full price one day, when you can get them at least half off the next.  The pumpkin carving kits go on sale as well-and they of course keep for years and years! 

Happy deal hunting!  :-) 

All About the Twins!

One of our homeschool activities has been to put together an "All About Me" book.  We've done one or two things each week that we are adding to the books.  I asked the kids some questions the other day to add to their books.  I thought the answers were cute and I'd share! 

Here are Carson's responses: 

My favorite color is:  green (of course!)
My favorite food is:  steak, carrots, apples, & macaroni (yes, he made me list them all)
My favorite book is:  choo-choos (I guess any train book will do, at least that's what he got at the library last week!)
My favorite show is:  Julius Jr.  (a new show on Nick Jr.)
My favorite toy is:  Monster trucks
My favorite animal is:  the chickens
My favorite thing to play is:  playing with Daddy
My favorite holiday is:  Halloween, Christmas, & Saturday
When I grow up, I want to:  work at Daddy's work


Here are Emilynn's answers: 

My favorite color is:  pink
My favorite food is:  macaroni
My favorite book is:  my Bible (I thought that was so sweet!)
My favorite show is:  Doc McStuffins  (so predictable!)
My favorite toy is:  my Sofia the First doll
My favorite animal is:  giraffes  (this was a total left field answer!  I knew the answer would be her cat!)
My favorite thing to play is:  princess
My favorite holiday is:  Christmas
When I grow up, I want to:  be a princess!  (she's such a little diva!)

It will be fun to look back on these when they are older for sure!! 

Monday Musings

It's about time I get back to blogging, huh?  :-)  Here's what's going on in our neck of the woods....

• It's Halloween week!  I know a lot of Christians don't participate.  We participate by dressing up and visiting about 10 houses-all family and friends.  My kids love dressing up, and that's just how we do things.  I don't judge folks either way.  My kids are super-excited though.  They get to wear their costumes tomorrow to story time at the library!  We are going to go visit Dustin's grandma in the nursing home afterwards so she can see the kids in costume.  It should be fun.  It's warm this week, so I don't know how my little cow, Henry, is going to do in his warm costume.  We'll see!  Did I share that my Mom felt sorry for him having a homemade costume and bought him a ready-made cow costume at Target?  My kids have the best grandparents all around-they spoil them, spend time with them, and truly enjoy them!  And it has nothing to do with material things like buying them stuff.
• Speaking of Halloween, I saw online where the "Switch Witch" could visit your house the day after Halloween and she takes your candy to feed her cat, leaving you a toy.  I thought it was a great idea, so I pitched it to the kids.  They both were adamant in saying, "No, we'd rather have the candy Mom."  Oh well, it's a great idea I think!!!  I guess she won't visit us though! 
• You know, Christmas is right around the corner!!!!!!  I am almost done shopping, which is a good thing because we have some secret missions projects we want to do for Christmas.  My lips are sealed, but do look around because there are always needs in the community and maybe your family is being called by the Lord to fill in!  He may be calling-are you listening?  Are you brave enough to step outside your comfort zone and answer?  Just food for thought!
• Dustin and I are having a date night tonight-WaHooo!!!!!!!!!!  I love stealing time away when we can.  I have found it's invaluable, especially in a house with lots of little ones=chaos!!
• Speaking of dates.....I am so excited....we are going away next year for our 10th anniversary!  My mom has graciously agreed to babysit for a weekend away!  I can hardly wait!  Haha!  Of course, I love to plan ahead too!  I can't even tell you when I could just sleep till I wanted to!  It's been years, so YES, I am excited! 
• Emilynn almost passed her first swim test at the Y.  I think she'll pass it this week or next.  Exciting!  Henry is doing a lot more in the water too.  He is going to be a fish like Emmy.  Carson is hanging in there, making huge strides over his aversion of water.  He is getting his hair wet and floating a teensy bit.  It doesn't seem like much, but if you knew where he started, it's huge. 
• Our church fall festival was a huge success!  I hope we make it an annual event.  The hayride and bounce house were the most popular things I think.  It was fun to see our yard full of kids! 

I think that's all for now.  I hope to actually blog this week.  :-) 

Sunday Scripture

Oh my, it's been a week since I've blogged!  I was unplugged most of last week as we were so busy with preparations for our church harvest festival at OUR house!  Yep, I invited the whole church to my house.  It sounds a little crazy but it went well.  I never got a head count, but I'm guessing around 50 people showed up give or take.  It was a blast!  I THINK it will become an annual event.  :-)  Just don't tell my hubby yet!   Kidding- he had fun too and was an awesome hayride guide. 

Our scripture for the week is from my kids' homeschool curriculum again.  Very simple...

"Pray to your Father."  Matthew 6:6

I have had an issue that I haven't made peace with.  It's nothing major or huge, but something that's just been nagging at me.  As I was driving home from church I decided the best thing I could do was pray about it and give it up to God.  That is what I hope to do.  He will give me peace I know. 

Have a blessed week!

Sunday Scripture

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."
 ~ Proverbs 22:6

I don't think there's anything more daunting than becoming a parent and realizing you are totally responsible for this little person.  Then I realized I was also responsible for teaching these little people about God.  I didn't even know where to begin!  I kind of just began reading from our story Bible from the very beginning.  I remember sitting with Carson on one side and Emilynn on the other in their bouncer seats reading to them each morning.  They were so small!  We prayed with them, yet you never know if they are paying attention.  Then it happens, those little hands clasp together to say the blessing.  I don't know if a parent could be more proud when that happens!  Henry has now started doing it.  When we sit down to eat, he clasps his chubby little hands together and declares loudly and proudly- "Amen, Amen!"  It's so precious and never fails to make us smile.  I remember one day going down the road and Emilynn's sweet little voice starting singing "How Great is Our God" from the back.  Only she was just saying "our God, our God" over and over with the song.  It was so cute and one of the first moments I remember thinking, I can do this, I can teach them about God.  It will just take time and lots of daily reminders and lessons.  Now, as we begin our homeschooling journey, it's fun to see the twins actually remember their memory verses!  The above verse is one I've always heard in reference to raising children.  It really is an encouragement to parents I think, I know it is to me as I try to raise my children to love the Lord.   Children definitely absorb things when we don't realize they are and will repeat it to surprise you!  Like our little "Amens" for a blessing.  We have shared so many laughs when Henry comes out with something and it shows he has been listening all along and understanding what we are saying.  The other morning I asked who was going to help me with the chickens and he yells "ME!" and grabs his little boots for me to put on his feet. 
I guess my point in all of this is just to simply express how important it is to raise children to love the Lord and teach them all about Jesus.  It came to me as I was sitting in church today, so thankful that our little family of 5 was able to worship together today.  I am also a bit nervous these days because my kids talk now.  A lot.  You know how during children's message kids talk and talk and say things to embarrass the parents?  I feel like my kids are that age now!  I love that my kids feel at home at our church and are loved by so many.  I think the greatest compliment as a parent will be if my children are grown and share that they were "raised in the church" and that Dustin and I were good examples of Christians to them.  That will always be my goal. 

Have a blessed day!