Missing Caiden

Since last Thursday, our house has been a little more quiet. Caiden went back to "grammie & papa's" to spend a few days. Although the plan didn't originally work out as we had hoped, he was still able to stay and enjoy a few days in the snow. He loves being there alone so he can have all of grammie & papa's attention.

At first, the idea of him going to my parents house for a few days sounded like heaven to me. You see, Caiden is 3.5 years old. According to most of the mom's I know, it is not the terrible 2's you must worry about but the terrible 3's. And boy, have we had our share of terrible 3's. Lately, he's had more of an attitude and temper than he has ever had. I know this is totally normal and every child goes through this but I was hoping my child would just avoid all the attitude issues.

But now, we miss him! Even his little brother misses him. Dawson doesn't know what to do without Caiden to bug. Its been interesting watching Dawson adapt to a few days without someone to boss him around.

With all this said, it has reminded me of a poem that hangs on our refridgerator but I rarely read. I thought I would share it with you...mostly so that you can remind in a few days how much I missed my little guy, Caiden.

If I Had My Child to Raise Over Again by Diane Loomans

If I had my child to raise all over again,
I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I'd finger-paint more, and point the finger less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging and less tugging.
I'd see the oak tree in the acorn more often.
I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
I'd model less about the love of power, and more about the power of love.

Christmas & Family

We've enjoyed a wonderful Christmas week with our family. Caiden's eyes were as big as saucers when he got up on Christmas morning and saw that "Santa" had finally come. Dawson is still too little to know what is going on but he sure noticed the stuff under the tree. Then, we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and had a great meal together. What a perfect day it was!

Oh...and to begin my new year's exercise program...you may just see me in the yard chasing around one of these!

Yummy Goodness

As most of you know, Saturday is our weigh in day for our group. It is a dreaded day most of the time and this morning was no exception. I haven't weighed in since December 8th so I knew that I probably was off track a little. I said "A LITTLE," so I wasn't expecting to be up 3.6 pounds. Ouch, this one hurt. On my drive home, I wondered why is was so bad.

My thought...I like to bake and I spent most of my "free" time this week in the kitchen mixing up wonderful, sweet concoctions of my family favorites. It was wonderful and relaxing. I am not a good cook but for some reason I can bake and I enjoy doing it for my friends and family. This week, I made peanut butter blossoms, date balls, peanut butter bon bons, no bake cookies, sugar cookies and puppy chow. It has been a tradition ever since we have been married for us to make and deliver special packages of these sweet treats to our friends and family. We made our deliveries yesterday - getting most of the yummy goodness out of the house. But, I don't think I stand a chance losing those 3 plus pounds this week with Christmas dinner and all. So, I'm counting on a fresh start (I know you are keeping track of how many times I say that) coming on December 26th. Anyone with me?



Here are our yummy packages ready for delivery.

Our Home At Christmas

So I'm a little late but BooMama is hosting a Christmas Tour of Homes. My friend, Carrie over at Three Girl Circus participated and it looked like fun (thank you Carrie for all your how-to-blog advice) so here's our contribution.

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care...

Our snow globe collection to remind us what it is doing "up north."

The "Reason for the Season."

"O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree..."

From our family to yours, have a very blessed and Merry Christmas.

Hanging Out

Every Wednesday, I have the opportunity to hang out with our church youth during their weekly worship service. I did just that tonight. After the main worship and preaching session, we break out in to gender specific small groups. As part of the girls small group, I've learned that we rarely stay on the sermon topic. So, as expected the conversation shifted and we started discussing pregnancy and just how "fat" (their words) you get. Boy...talk about humbling yourself and trying to shrink under my chair (as I'm dressed in a worn out pair of jeans and my favorite college sweatshirt with more than a few extra pounds around the middle). I didn't have the perfect body before I got pregnant so I never expected to ever have the perfect body after (and I certainly don't).

Now, believe me, I don't want the girls to think that being pregnant is cool (not exactly how I would describe it either) but I'd like for them to someday want children - even so I just kept my mouth shut and quietly thanked God for the two little blessings I have at home waiting for me. And, how every day I'm faced with the fresh and new challenge of being a mom of a preschooler and toddler. And, how I never once thought that the subject of motherhood could bring you so close to so many other women. Thank you God for making me a Mom. Now...I think I'll go find something to snack on!

All Grown Up

Well, it has finally happened. I have now gotten old enough that I no longer care for or really desire anything for Christmas. Sure, I will enjoy opening my gifts on Christmas morning. But, the excitement and adrenaline rush that I have is in shopping for the perfect gift for our two precious little boys. I'm finally all grown up. Realizing this now, I can't wait to see their faces on Christmas morning. Especially, knowing that they are getting one of these http://www.amazon.com/John-Deere-Gator-seat-belts/dp/B000G0KT6Y/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1197436929&sr=8-1

Yes, I'm excited about the gifts and seeing the look on my children's faces. But, the most amazing thing this year is that Caiden is finally "getting it." Not the presents or the wrappings or the Santa Claus thing. He's getting the fact that the main reason we celebrate Christmas is because of the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Last weekend we attended an event where a church displayed a live nativity. You should have seen the wonder and excitement in his eyes. After waiting for over an hour, the wonder was starting to diminish from Dale and my eyes, believe me! But, that moment when Caiden saw the live nativity and (what was supposed to be) baby Jesus, sealed the deal for me. I knew in that instance that Dale & I are all grown up. I knew we had done the right thing in waiting all that time. I knew that Caiden was seeing the "big picture" and what we've been teaching him in his 3 years of life, is now starting to click. As a parent, it is the moment you dream about (even more than seeing their faces as they open their gifts on Christmas morning).

This year, I'm totally driven by the fact that Christmas needs to be bigger than the presents, the stockings and wrappings. It needs to be centered around the birth of Jesus and what He has done and continues to do in our lives. Our kids need to see that. That is what the wonder of Christmas is all about (even if you are all grown up!).

P.S. If you are keeping up with my weight loss, since Thanksgiving I've backsliden a bit (gained a few pounds). But, I'm back on track this week, working out and hopefully I'll be back down on Saturday when I weigh in.

What do you need? Accountability

Did you see this lady on Oprah? I didn't actually watch the show but I read her story online. Check it out... http://www2.oprah.com/health/weight/slide/20071128/slide_weight_tows_101.jhtml
She lost 500 pounds but didn't start losing until she started connecting with people in the outside world via a computer. She needed accountability and encouragement. Only at that point, did she begin realizing that she could win the weight loss battle.

That is what has happened with me. I needed the accountability and encouragement for my weight loss to be successful. But, that is not the only accountability I have in my life. I also have accountability for the spiritual aspects of my life. The sins I struggle with and the quiet times that I spend with God are shared with a few of my closest friends. Even Jesus showed that he needed accountability and encouragement in his life. He also provided it well as he talked and walked daily with his disciples.

So...why do we think we can be successful in any endeavor alone? The thing that held me back...pride! For a long time, I didn't want to admit to anyone that I struggled with weight (even though they could see it all over me!) or that I needed to be accountable for spending time with God. But, lately we have talking a lot about accountability in our church small group and needing it is a natural mechanism that God designed for us.

The challenge for you today...get accountability in your life! Find a friend or two that will help you through the rough parts of life and ask that they keep you accountable, whether you are trying to lose weight, quit smoking, have a sinful desire you are trying to stop or need to spend more time with God. Let's do this thing! I'll be praying for you!