Families never crumble in a day...

I found a video to one of my favorite songs today and had to share. The song is "Slow Fade" by Casting Crowns, from their new album Altar and the Door. It's probably the best album I've ever heard. I highly recommend everyone spend the $10 to buy it. It's worthwhile. As Mark Hall states, "This song was inspired by the spreading cancer of moral failure in the fathers of this generation. As believers, we must guard our hearts and understand that no one crashes and burns. They just slowly fade away one little compromise at a time". I'll post the lyrics underneath for those who don't know the song.

Be careful little eyes what you see~It's the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings~Be careful little feet where you go~For it's the little feet behind you that are sure to follow~It's a slow fade when you give yourself away~It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray~Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid~When you give yourself away~People never crumble in a day~It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade~Be careful little ears what you hear~When flattery leads to compromise, the end is always near~Be careful little lips what you say~For empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray~It's a slow fade when you give yourself away~It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray ~Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid~When you give yourself away~People never crumble in a day~The journey from your mind to your hands~Is shorter than you're thinking~Be careful if you think you stand~You just might be sinking~It's a slow fade when you give yourself away~It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray~Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid~When you give yourself away~People never crumble in a day~Daddies never crumble in a day~Families never crumble in a day~Oh be careful little eyes what see~Oh be careful little eyes what you see~For the Father up above is looking down in love~Oh be careful little eyes what you see

A perfect Christmas

Our festivites started on Chistmas Eve. Sadly, Brian and I were both battling colds and he especially was quite miserable... hence we missed the Christmas Eve service at church. Instead, we read the children's Christmas story out of Caleb's kiddy Bible. We regrouped all day and then spent a fun evening with all the in-laws. It's a tradition in my family to open Christmas jammies before bed... and we then called it a night.

Christmas morning: I was so excited for Caleb to open his presents that I woke up at 5:45 and somehow had to stay quiet until the boys woke up. I was productive though. Showered and got breakfast ready. I'm finding that I love doing things the way I grew up... I remember always having to wait in my parent's room Christmas morning while my dad went downstairs... he'd scout out if Santa came, turned on Christmas music and got a big fire going. Granted we don't have a fireplace, and our stockings were hung on the bannister, but I still love playing Christmas music while we open presents, and walking downstairs to a room filled with Santa droppings (SD's as my parents called them). There'd be candy hidden all over the room... granted it's not as fun when you have to put it out yourself, but still a tradition I want to continue with.

Luckily my boys were up a bit after 7, and since Caleb wasn't old enough to 'anticipate' Christmas yet, we were able to eat breakfast before opening presents. Stockings are always opened first, and someone must love me because I got a beautiful pair of earrings not to mention gift cards, and tons of Bath & Body works loot. Caleb had a 3 foot foam sword hanging out of his stocking... once he saw that Christmas could've been over. He excitedly opened his first few gifts though. Our big gift to him was a Bounce & Spin Zebra (which we stupidly didn't assemble first. A massive fit ensued as we tried to screw it together for him while realizing we didn't even get the AAA batteries he'd need for it--live & learn). I also got a new camera which I'm so excited about!

We had to keep movin' because Caleb needed a bath & nap before scooting down to Brian's parent's house for lunch & gifts with the whole family. We had a lovely time, and Caleb held it together on 1 hour of naps instead of his usual 3. We came home and finally attempted to eat my botched roast that I'd made the day before. Though it was a disappointment, it did it's job and filled our tummys. We then spent the evening playing with our new toys and dancing to the new Casting Crowns cd (which I recommend everyone get)!

All in all, it was a perfect day. I'm so grateful to have grown up in a family, and also married into a family, that celebrates Christ's birth. On New Years Eve we'll be driving up to see my side of the family for about a week. It's like a never ending Christmas! All that's missing is some snow.

My dilemma....

There was a 5 week old infant sitting in front of me in church this morning. He was bald, dressed in blue, and spent the entire service cooing at his parents and smiling at me. I couldn't help from turning to Brian and saying, "I want another one". This was only one instance of many in the past few weeks. Which is where my dilemma comes into play...

We've put a lot of thought into the "when will we expand on our family" argument. There are pros & cons any which way you decide to space your children apart. We've decided that what seems best for our family is to wait until Caleb is closer to 3 before having another. He's 15 months now... even without doing the math, it seems like an eternity. There are plenty of times that I'm aware of how much easier life is with one child. There are others where I just can't wait until my little boy has a younger brother or sister. A lot of my friends are currently either pregnant, or have a newborn... both of which give me strange butterflies in my stomach. As uncomfortable and painful as my pregnancy was, I miss it so much. I now miss the times he kicked me so hard I thought his foot was going to pop out through my ribs. I miss the heartburn that kept me from getting more than 3 hours of sleep a night, and the afternoon/evening sickness that kept my body from consuming anything but plums and Captain Crunch Berries. Strangly enough, I keep looking at my favorite maternity wear sites to keep up on their current lines of clothes. I loved pregnancy clothes. Heck I still sleep in them sometimes :-)

Why wait then, you ask? Though the next time around could be completely different, my motto is always 'plan for the worst, & hope for the best'. If I was as sick as I was last time for 4 months, I don't feel like I'd be able to be the best that I could be for Caleb. I still see him learning and growing daily, and I don't want to miss any of it. I don't want to be too sick to give him all my attention when he still needs it so much, nor do I want to be stuck on a couch constantly feeding a newborn while he's still so young.

So, today my 'baby bug' has just been coming on extra strong, and I thought writing about it might help to lessen my ache for a newborn. Next winter, I'll probably be pregnant again-- laughing at how silly this sounds in retrospect. And for now, I'll try to focus on being content with my wonderfully blessed life.

5 days old:

15 months old:

...I wish these days hadn't gone by so fast.

The long awaited update...

I've been informed that it's time for an update. I look at my blog often, but then lose intrest while trying to figure out what to write about. Most things that I find exciting in life, most other people aren't too impressed by. I'll go ahead and share though.

Caleb's up to 11 distinguishable words now. He talks a blue streak when he's alone with Brian and I, but seems to really shy away from talking while others are around. When I ask him a question, he'll respond with an answer... I can't wait until his responses are words that I can understand. Certain conversations with my son go quite well, such as: "Caleb, would you like your juice?", his response being "Juice, juice". But when I ask more complex questions, like "Do you want to play with blocks or read a book?", I'll get a "doobow" as an answer. It's a learning process for us both... which I'm enjoying to the fullest. I can't tell you how many times he makes me laugh out loud throughout the day. I have tears in my eyes I laugh so hard sometimes.

Even though I have problems understanding him many times, I just love how well he understands me. When I say "bathtime" he runs upstairs. When I ask him to get a book, he'll bring me one. When I say it's time to change his diaper, his face errupts with tears. Dogs say "oof", chickens say "boc", cows say "ooo". He knows where his nose, eyes, and mouth are. He's enamored with our belly buttons. He loves to play basketball, dance, clap, and wave at everything possible. His little brain just amazes me. It baffles me that some people still can't believe in our Creator after seeing a child form, grow, and develop like this.

My goal is to update more than once a month from now on. That will have to suffice for now :-)

my little climber's becoming quite adventurous... the boy loves his puzzles!