Christmas Is Here

It is Christmas time once again! The older I get, the more I realize just how short a year is. I love this time of year, and even through the stress of what we "need" to get done, there are always special moments to realize and reflect on what is really important.

Like getting out cards and wrapping gifts and figuring out who to visit when and for how long OMG and hating the post office....none of that matters at all.

What matters if focusing on WHY we celebrate. Beyond even Christianity, Saving, and what not, we celebrate because it is a lesson in giving.

To give is far grater than to receive. To be selfless and do for others. Especially in the tradition of St. Nick. He carried on the message of Christ, by picking Jesus' birthday to give HIM the most special gift-all of US giving to others.

Selflessly, anonymously, and without any gratification or recognition. We should give to others the thing they most need. A toy, a Bed, A friend.

We talk to the boys about Santa, and celebrate that tradition, but we call him St. Nick, after the real man that lived in Greece and is the source of all things Santa we see now.

We talk about how St. Nick is giving Jesus the most special gift ever, by getting all of us into the spirit of giving and helping.

This year, the boys are completely stoked to get legos-and Little Dude very much had me stressing because he kept changing his mind about which set he wanted. But. One huge Star Wars plane is picked and will be under the tree. JR has been focused on the same Batman Lego set since before LAST Christmas, so, this year, he will get it. Champ is getting a Thomas train roundhouse. I spent too much on it, but I'm so excited for him to have it.

Princess will be getting a doll from the Disney Store from the "It's a Small World" collection. Of course, the doll is a little Indian Princess that sings in English and Hindi. I love it and hope we can give it to her someday.

And, in the meantime, since we can't give her our gifts, we sent a lot of gifts to the orphanage in general, because otherwise, the children don't get things. We sent clothes and undies and socks-things they needed very much-as well as fun things, as you can see in the video below.

I love how excited all the girls are. Our little Princess is in there too, see if you can spy her in her cute flowered dress.

This is what Christmas is about. Those kids will never know who sent all these toys to them, but they will so much love the fun they have together playing, and knowing that is all the gift and importance I need to focus on this Christmas. The long line at the post office doesn't matter in the least, when at the end this is what you get:



Merry Christmas!

Still Waiting

Our tree, pre-St. Nick's visit!

Well, when you hear people talk about all the waiting that goes with adoption, they sure aren't kidding! It has been 1 year now since we first saw information about the number of orphaned girls in Ind*a-and learned the fates many of the face when they age out of the orphanage system at the age of 14.

Can you imagine?

Ready for dinner after Christmas Eve Mass; we clean up quite nicely, eh? 

Leaving food for Santa's reindeer!

So, 1 year of reading, researching agencies, talking to people, and ALMOST getting scammed by another agency that claimed for $20000 up front we could have a healthy little girl in 6 months-ha! (don't worry, I turned them in to the BBB)

But, we are here, with an amazing agency, our home study done, our education training done, a ridiculous amount of international adoption books read, and an ever growing list of local professionals that deal with international adoption therapy, support and medical care

Reading The Night Before Christmas

And so, we wait to hear if we are approved by Ind*a.

After that, we THEN start the hopeful fundraising to grant applications, more yard sales, and spaghetti dinners and hope that we can raise enough money to make that big chunk payment that is  due when we send our dossier. I've started a little on gathering the dossier stuff, but since most of it must be notarized, I'm holding off a bit until we get approved.

I Think St. Nick has been here!

The months after we get approved will be crazy, with me sending off for grants like crazy, and trying to fund raise like crazy (and chasing the boys around in there, too!) and getting our 11 lbs of dossier all set to mail to our agency-and then to Ind*a for our guardianship and official matching to our Princess.

I am praying harder than I ever have before, but I must admit, my faith is lacking. I'm really scared and actually a bit angry that money could hold us back from making her adoption happen. I just can't accept that money could keep us from giving a child a home and family, and keep us from having the daughter we dreamed of for a year now. Sigh, money .

I had really hoped we could tell everyone at Christmas that we are adopting-as we have kept everything pretty quiet, awaiting that approval status of our home study. (So for anyone reading this that knows me on facebook, don't say anything yet!) So far, any mention of adoption as been met with great skepticism from our family members, so I long SO MUCH to tell them all about our sweet girl, and show them her photos, and let the real connection start for them.

And once we have the approval, and we start full steam ahead with grants and fundraising, I am just so excited to share the news, and print her photo out for everyone. I know special needs-especially physical AND mental ones-can be so scary, but I also just know that once they see her little waiting photo, and read about her, that everyone will fall as much in love with her as we are.

And in the meantime, we have some presents under our tree, that will wait for our Princess to get home and open them. I hope that Christmas 2013 sees us with her guardianship, and even better, sees us with her here, opening these sweet gifts.

A gift for the Princess! 

My favorite bible verse right now:
I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you. -John 14:18.

Somehow, someway, we are coming to her.

Time And Again

How in the world has December almost gone by without me finding the time for a single post? Wow. I really can not believe it is the 20th already! That just seems crazy to me. Time has certainly come up on me way too quickly this year!

For a baby update, our little Champ is growing perfectly, kicking and moving tons, and likes to scare me with sudden, hard jabs. It is pretty fun being at this point; I love feeling him moving and growing.

My varicose veins are doing horribly though, so while I will miss being pregnant when this one is over, I will also be happy and relived, as I am not sure I can handle the veins getting any worse. Apparently they get worse and more painful with each pregnancy-not sure, but I think it will take a super long time and lots of memory loss for me to want to take on this pain again. Let alone if it keeps getting worse at the same rate it has with each pregnancy...that thought makes me cringe.

But we will see. In 3 years when this guy is saying bye and wanting to go to school I might decide the pain isn't too bad and decide we need another baby....we shall see.

On a Christmas update, Christmas is ALMOST here!! WOW! I am so crazy excited. Since the boys can't read yet, I'm safe to say they are getting what they asked Santa for. JR is getting a bike and Little Dude is getting a trick scooter. Supposedly you can do jumps with it-not sure I want him doing that yet, but I'm prepared with all the safety gear, and hopefully he won't be able to do any jumps for a few more years. I can't wait for the kids to open their gifts!!

Starting mid January I won't be watching Emily anymore, as we get ready for the baby to come. I'm really sad about that; she has been so fun to have around. I just bought some new sparkly red nail polish so I can make sure we have one last "manicure" moment together. Sigh, girly stuff is just so fun to do with her. I am hoping it works out that I can watch her again after the baby comes, but we will see with that, too. I'm sure it will be crazy enough with three boys, let alone adding a fourth to the mix all day as well. We will see.

We will see-that has certainly been my motto here lately. It goes for Bill's job as well. We have been a bit nervous, as the construction industry just has not been strong lately; hopefully they will land some work, and if not, hopefully he will still be employed until the baby comes. I don't even want to think of what kind of insurance nightmare it would be to try to change things just before the baby comes.

With work, I have been SO super busy-and that partly is why I have not been able to make it to my own blog much. I am glad we have been busy, but I am again nervous about how having the baby will force me to back off on my hours; especially if Bill gets another pay cut or gets laid off...but then, we will see.

So, the new year has many unknowns for us, as well as many exciting changes that are coming. I know if we just trust in God's plan and leave ourselves open to His ideas, then many great things will happen, even if we don't understand-or even like-what it takes to get to them.

Keeping Christmas Simple

I love Christmas so very much-and my favorite part is getting gifts for everyone.

One thing I really want to make sure for this year is to keep everything simple. I don't want my kids opening truck loads of toys, nor do I want to be just buying little gifts for people just because-I want to make sure everything has meaning.

Quality over quantity is what I'm going for this year, and that means most of my gifts are coming from sites that benefit charities. I'm very excited about that.

But does anyone have any advice on how to get the kids on board to scale back the presents? To help them understand that it is far better to give than to receive? I was thinking about signing us up to hand out food at the local food shelter, but I'm not sure the kids will "get it".

I'm going to take the kids with me when we buy gifts for the angel tree at church, and hopefully they will not have meltdowns over buying toys for other kids without getting. I'm pretty confident they will be able to do well, but kids live to surprise their parents, so we will see.

What do you all think? Any ideas you have in your family for teaching compassion and sharing to your kids? Are there any traditions you have for keeping gift giving simple, budget friendly, and charitable?

I hope that in a few years, I can have quite a few wonderful traditions in place.

Christmas Morning

**Disclaimer: I can't get the video to work and I'm getting annoyed with it. I'll be trying to figure out what is wrong with it after dinner. Or maybe tomorrow. Or maybe tomorrow I'll just post something different and pretend this post didn't happen....**

So I am finally getting some of the videos off my Flip camera (which I love, by the way) and I have this cute one of Christmas morning at our house. I know you guys have been dying to see what the Miche looks like first thing in the morning. This is even after I had some coffee, so prepare to be amazed with the awesome camera skills and rambling amazing commentary:



And just think, if I find some more gems on the camera, I might just share them with you guys. I know you know you're scared lucky.

Christmas Lights

Our house, right after Santa came...

Our yard...
The neighbors went all out...
Seriously, they went all out...

And we had one of the most beautiful streets. With a three year old to really get into it, I think this was the most magical Christmas so far. I'm already excited to do it all again, next year.

Playing Santa

*Disclaimer: Don't let your Santa loving kids read this*




OK, kids away from the computer?




I have to share....








I LOVED being Santa this year.

This was our third Christmas with children, but every year before we just put the "Santa" presents out, because, well, a 3 month old just doesn't care or know.

But THIS year, with a three year old...oh my gosh, the excitement was just overflowing our house. And Little Dudes little neighbor friends were all very excited this year, as well, so they had many discussions over Santa coming down their chimneys.

And there was something so odd, and nostalgic about being Santa with my husband while my sister played lookout for any waking boys. It made me think back on past Christmases, when my sisters and I would await Santa, not knowing our parents were frantically cutting, wrapping, and putting in batteries. I wanted to take a photo SO badly, but Bill wouldn't let me. He said the kids would find it-which, seeing how good Little Dude already is with my computer-Bill is probably right.

So I took photo of Bill setting up the coffee maker after we were all done, so that in the early am we would be able to function.

And the morning of Christmas, Little Dude got up and while he was in the potty I snuck down to get my sister up while Bill got JR, and we adults sat back, drank coffee and watched the magic we had created through huge three year old eyes.

It was just amazing.

Spelling G-I-F-T-S

With Christmas fast approaching, I am actually pretty done shopping. The are only a few small items still left to buy, which makes me so happy because as much as I love shopping, I really hate the mall crowds and craziness at Christmas.

But with all the kid's gifts (esp. the cool ones from Santa) hidden around the house in various places, it is hard for Bill and I to not talk about them. We discuss how to wrap them (one is big and we are still trying to figure out how to do that one) or even just sharing our general excitement for the boys to open them, or even go back and forth on how much should be wrapped before Christmas and how much should just show up Christmas day.

We have been getting around our discussions by spelling everything they might give away the gift or location or even S-A-N-T-A, so the kids generally just ignore us.

Or so I thought.

Yesterday morning Little Dude was fixing breakfast with us, and he started spelling.

He said something like "The milk is so yummy D-i-o-e-y".

It took us a second to figure out what he was doing, and it didn't really hit us until he said, "I want some more please, P-e-y-r-d-i".

Oh my. Good thing he can't spell yet.

Straight No Chaser

I heard this song on the radio today and fell in love with it. It was amazing and humorous all at the same time. Straight No Chaser is an a cappella group that I am now dying to see.

And guess what? They are coming to Raleigh Dec. 23. Oh, I am so there. Right, Love? Date night, maybe? I think if I beg enough Bill will cave and take me. You can see why I am in awe:



I had never heard of them before today on the radio (yes, I even called in to find out who the group was), but I am for sure ordering their Christmas CD; listening to the songs had me laughing and wanting to sing along at the same time. Awesome.

Christmas Budgeting

I'm sad Thanksgiving is over, but oh so happy to have a bunch of my sweet husband's turkey soup! Yum!

Along with loving the soup-y goodness, I am now facing dreading how to get gifts for everyone I want to give gifts to, without breaking the bank. In fact, I'd much prefer to spend as little money as possible without being just "cheap".

So far, I have gifts for all the little kids I know what to get. A few kids I know have gotten too big, or are way into more expensive hobbies(like video games or skate boarding)for me to even begin to figure out what to get them that wouldn't take all of my budget. Therefore, they will be getting what I give their parents: baked goods.

I figure making goodies would be a fun gift to give everyone AND it will be very budget friendly. I have to admit: this will be my first year making food for gifts. I am hopeful it doesn't turn into a disaster.

For budget friendly ideas though, baking food is as far as I can get. I have made crafts before for gifts, but still, getting everything you need from the craft store is expensive. Any ideas from other budget conscious people? What are you doing this year to keep from spending too much?

We are pretty lucky the kids are so little, because they won't know that things are tight this year-in fact, they won't even know or care that over half of what they are getting are REALLY AWESOME "hand me down" toys from the older boys across the street.

Our boys won't realize none of it is new, because it will be new for them. And that has really gotten me thinking.

Perhaps our very tight budget this year is really for the good-we can't just go buy new toys for everyone we know. We can't just go get whatever the boys are wanting-and I think that is a good thing. And not that we ever just spent crazy amounts of money at Christmas, but the cost certainly would add up quickly.

I think getting used toys and being grateful and thankful for them, is a value and virtue I want our children to have always, even on years when our budget could be bigger. Because regardless of what all the commercials throw at us all day, Christmas is about being with your family, reflecting on yourself, your character, helping others, and being thankful and humble for the birth of Christ.

None of which, need a huge budget of gifts to be enjoyed.

Christmas Photos!

I know these are late, but better late than never! To all our family and friends we didn't get to see while in NC over the holidays, sorry we didn't get to catch up! I hope everyone enjoys the photos!
JR's very favorite toy was a cool nursery rhyme CD player from his Super Great Aunt Cindy-THANKS!!! He is army crawling to it in the picture and it is the go to toy for him now.

JR Getting Sleeping after all the relaxing at Grandma and Grandpa's!
Opening a gift for JR; Me, My sis Lisa, and JR
Little Dude's wildest dreams came true: he got the Tonka Trash Truck WITH a trash can and trash man. OH MAN!

After getting said awesome trash toy, Little Dude played with it all day and even put it to bed with him. You should also notice that he is wearing the PJs his Great Aunt Cindy gave him-as soon as he opened them he insisted on taking off his current PJs and putting the Thomas ones on.
JR got a cool story rhyme player; Little Dude was excited too!
JR looking cute, as always, with his big blue eyes. You can see that hair is finally starting to come in-and it is red!


We had one of the best Christmas' ever; the kids were so excited. Little Dude was crazy about all his toys, though got tired of opening the gifts after about the third one. Bill and I stepped up and helped him unwrap the rest, which was super fun for us too! JR was excited with all the other chaos going on and getting held by everyone all the time! Yes, he was in heaven. Being with my in laws was so relaxing and nice; I really wish we could have stayed longer! I hope everyone had as wonderful of a holiday as we did.

New Hair Do

It has been a few weeks now since I got my hair all cut off, so I figure it is about time I share a picture! Here you can see that it looks a little more curly than usual-that is because of the way the girl cut my hair! Apparently the fluffy mass of hair I have always had was really curly hair just horribly mistreated. I thought the hair stylist was going to faint when she saw my crazy long, sad mass of unmanageable hair. Either that or she was dreaming of what she would buy with the money I was about to fork over for her help.

So, a big list hair of dos and donts, a few over priced-but-still-worth-it-'cause-they-work products and one fabulous hair cut later, I got this:



All I do now is use Herbal Essences Shampoo and Conditioner for curly hair every other day, Brush it out after a shower, comb my bangs flat, run a squirt of Redkin light moose through the rest of it, let it air dry and then NEVER TOUCH IT AGAIN. The caps are for the benefit of my hair dresser, as that is how she said it to me, so I figured I would reiterate the importance.



You can also see my awesome, super comfy Peekaru modeled with JR. He loves it, I love it, and it is so quick and easy to use over all baby carriers. In the pictures we are at the Wilmington, NC beach over Christmas with my family. Here are some fun pictures of our beach trip:



Grandma and Little Dude playing in the sand



Bill, John and Lisa



Me, my awesome mother in law, Patty, Lisa and John all piled in the back seat of the van while Bill and Ed took the navigator seats in the front and Little Dude and JR got the middle seats.

Bye Bye Christmas

We had the most wonderful Christmas with my in-laws, sister, in-law siblings, and the kids. Little Dude was so excited about the trash truck he got from Grandma and Grandpa and all the books I found on Amazon were a huge hit.

Being home was so much fun, and I am so sad it is over now. Today we are packing the last few things and then hiding out on the long drive back to Alabama early tomorrow morning. *Sigh*

Oh Christmas was so very much fun; we hope all of you had a great holiday too!

The Greatest Gift

It is so very easy to be wrapped up in the commercialism of Christmas, or for that matter, any of the winter time celebrated religious holidays. Schools can't celebrate any of them, Christmas cards sometimes don't even have the word Christmas on them, and last year some tree farms tried to call their Christmas tress "holiday trees". So, it is easy to see, how everyone can get quickly swept up in putting emphasis on the wrong things this time of year-getting the great gifts, fighting crowds for those early morning sales, spending money you don't have to get people items they probably don't want.

I want to thank Steph from Adventures in Babywearing for directing me to this video; it really makes you think: