Break-time

From this on Friday night...

(courtesy of my camera phone)

...to this on Monday night.

 (courtesy of my camera phone)

From a 2 day hospital stay for Xander due to pneumonia...

to my younger boys needing to catch up on some mommy time.

From a home that, while not a disaster (thanks to my mom's intervention), still desperately needs some of my elbow grease and decluttering...

to Christmas packages that still need to be prepared and mailed out.

Did I mention how exhausted I am from just ferrying kids to and from hospitals and sitting in one room for two days????

Yes, there is a lot to catch up on, recover from and prepare for...

In light of this, I'll be taking a blogging break for the rest of the year.

Merry Christmas!!!

We'll see you in 2011!

Painting Joy

Joy to the World...

...the Lord is come.

We've been learning Christmas carols this month.  There is so much rich truth tucked away in those familiar songs.  And with all of our world geography explorations over the last several months, it only seemed appropriate to put this easy craft together!

You can really use any kind of paint medium - water colors, tempera paint, finger paints, etc...

I traced circles and then set them to painting.   Actually, I made enough so that I could join in the fun too!

This was a great exercise in self-control for the youngest especially to only pick ONE color to paint with when faced with such appealing choices.  When we finished this step, we all just enjoyed painting with ALL the colors on fresh paper!

Due to sickness this last week, we divided this project up into two days.  The following day while sick boy was napping, the two olders set to work cutting land masses out of green tissue paper and gluing them down.

 We got a little excited about the glue use over here...

But eventually, we were able to attach everything together with twine and hang up our new ornaments!

Thankful to be low again...

There are never dull moments when children are around.  But some weeks are more unpredictable than others.  Last week, my youngest woke up on Tuesday morning (3am) with a fever.  He fevered off and on for several days.  He has such a high pain tolerance that he just went from his usual running around like a little madman to quietly playing with toys. 

Really, I had it easy... 

On Thursday afternoon when he started getting glassy-eyed and the fever was above 104 again, I took him in.  No ear infection, no strep, nothing identifiably wrong.

Friday looked promising.  We were headed to zoolights that evening.  His fever was only at 99.5 and I assumed the worst was over as the pediatrician had predicted.  An hour and half later, I found him glassy eyed and looking like death with a fever of 106.9.

Yikes.  We ran him to urgent care and then to the hospital.  Without a clear answer other than a self-admitting color-blind ER doctor thinking maybe an ear infection (after two other doctors had said no in the last 24 hours), we were sent home once the fever came down.  We prayed for him and kept an eye throughout the night.  The fever only inched up to 101 before dropping back down...

God is so good.  And so I continue to count his many gifts to me - during good weeks and one's that are more difficult.

546. Good health care coverage this month.  (Private insurance would have made this a lot more expensive.)
547. His tough personality.  He faced it all like a trooper.
548. Extra cuddle time.
549. A wonderful urgent care doctor who called to follow-up.  A true blessing since we did not receive great care at the hospital.
550. After the worst was over, seeing him flirt anyone and everyone.  Snazzy hospital gown + cowboy boots were a winning combination. 
551. Amazingly quick healing - an obvious gift from the Great Physician who knows and sees what human doctors sometimes cannot.

By Candlelight...

Rich is delayed because of unusually dense evening traffic.  I'm pulling together a simple dinner. 

My usual tactic is to send the boys outdoors while I'm cooking, but with the later hour it is too dark for that...

It is certainly not always this way (they call this the arsenic hour for a reason), but my children are quietly at work, drawing. {Caveat: The two year old is still running laps around the kitchen.  Sickness doesn't slow him down much.  But at least he's doing it quietly and no one is there to throw in a tackle or two which inevitably ends in tears at some point...)

Candlelight appears to have a soothing and mesmorizing effect on them.

I feel so blessed to have discovered this drawing book at the library.  The boys love 'how to' drawing books.  It is a perfect addition for our candelit evenings as we seek to slow the pace down a bit and reflect.

What do you like to do by candlelight?

Quiet Moments

We've been slipping into a relaxed rhythm of slower days and peaceful evenings.  Of course having a little one with a fever for the last two days has helped insure more home time.

Last night, I finally pulled out my nativity sets.  The boys were thrilled.  We spent a quiet evening with the hubby and I curled up on the couch reading them the Christmas story from Luke while they acted out the story.

There is something just so special about twinkle lights and quiet play.

We had fun making ornaments today...  They're half done, so I'll be sharing that with you as soon as we wrap it up!

A Way Out

I don't think I could ever tire of Anne of Green Gables.  I saw it in play form last week NINE times and still love it.  I probably love this story so much because growing up in a family of 3 girls, there was plenty of "Anne" types of emotions, imagination and adventures going on between the three of us.

Despite my love for the theater, this play and getting to see my son up on stage enjoying himself, I'm very thankful that we are done.  Now we can catch up on our sleep, slow down and just 'be' for a while...

I had to laugh when I discovered an old journal of mine at my parents home yesterday.  I found it ironic that in light of Xander's play last week, Anne of Green Gables, I would re-read this:

Yes, this was a journal entry from my junior high years...

And yes, I've always been a bit dramatic.  Like the character, Anne, I can go from the depths of despair, to the height of ecstasy and back to despair in a matter of minutes!  Thankfully, age has refined those urges a great deal and at the very least they don't come waltzing out into public very often! ;)

But as I sat and thought about this, I realized that I do still have these thoughts and emotions sometimes.

Bad news, something unexpected, an unmet expectation, a child's temper tantrum and those emotions surge again.

Although I'm not 12 anymore and am usually self-controlled enough to keep them to myself it is still not pleasant.  In fact, it can be downright destructive. 

A sure-fire cure for feeling in the 'depths of despair' can be found in gratitude.  As I thank God for what He has given me - both to have and to do and the work He is doing in and through me, those thoughts of despair are replaced with peace and JOY!   I've always known this, but over this last year as I've consistently looked for His blessings in my life, I've found that those feelings of despair come less frequently and they don't stick around because I immediately turn it over to the Lord.

And so I continue to count...

528. Despair replaced with peace and joy

529. Words written by God and the Spirit's draw to read them.

530. Live theater

531. Getting to play with beautiful red hair and help get 'Rachel Lynn' stage ready!

532. the chance for my little guy to participate in his second play.

533. For friends he's made in the process!

534. Getting to hang out with some really neat junior high and highschoolers.  (Aside from Xander and his friend Emily, the rest of the cast was older.)

535. Getting to witness their friendliness and enthusiasm towards Xander as well as myself.  These kids can interact with anyone, no matter their age.

536. A little boy excited to get roses delivered backstage from his adoring fans, Oma and Opa!

537. A quiet Friday morning to spend walking to the park and just hanging out with my little boys.

538. Friends and family who were so willing to watch the two little one's while I took Xander to his dress rehearsals this week.

539. Sleep.  I certainly needed it after a week filled with 4 dress rehearsals and 5 performances.

540. Peace in the midst of unfortunate news that would usually send me into a panic.  (See, I told you I'm dramatic.  I'm so thankful that He is in the process of changing me!)

541. Getting to hold a new baby today.

542. An email exchange with a friend that got my wheels turning and excited about activities to do with my kids this month!

543. Supernaturally timed answers to prayer!

544. Having my thoughts turned to the mystery and wonder of the Incarnation.

545. The rest of December that is relatively free and unscheduled!

Play Week

 Our lives are a bit crazy this week with rehearsals every morning and a performance every night (Tues-Fri) this week.  Xander enjoyed his experience in Cheaper by the Dozen last year so much, that we decided to give it another try!

This year, he plays a young orphan boy in Anne of Green Gables.

Not having a husband who works from home, made this year far more challenging.  But the end is in sight.  He did a fantastic job last night and as long as we can snatch enough sleep and downtime, we'll make it through the end of the week!