Stellan (updated)

***UPDATE***
Stellan did test positive for RSV, and as of last night was still having severe breathing difficulties. He is in the NICU, and could be there 7 -10 days. I do not know yet if they needed to intubate overnight. I hope you will all join me in praying for this baby boy and his family! You can read more at MckMama's blog - she was able to have someone post an update for her last night. Thanks!
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Hey everyone, I just wanted to send out a request for prayers for Stellan, MckMama's little 8-week-old boy. He is very very sick and they are waiting on RSV results at Children's Hospital... He is having some serious troubles with his breathing. Please pray for this little baby, and his doctors, and his family! He is already a true miracle because he was diagnosed with heart failure in the womb which God healed and he was born a perfectly healthy little boy! Still, this is a very scary time for all of them.
You can follow MckMama on twitter to catch all her updates on Stellan. Or visit her blog, as I believe someone is updating it for her as they are able.
Thanks, everyone!

Not Me Monday!

It's Not Me Monday time! :) Visit MckMama's to read all about how to join in, and then spend the day reading some funny funny stuff!

This week:

I did not consider taking notes on all the "Not Me"-worthy-moments so I would not forget them when I am frantically trying to type them up quickly on a Monday morning after getting home from work and before my son has to get on the bus.

I have not almost forgotten to wake up my son for school a couple of times because I was busy writing my Not Me's! That would be waaaaay too irresponsible!!

I did not at all regret telling my family that we would all camp out in the living room on Saturday night. I did not want to shred the kids' elephant tent about 374 times that evening because the kids did not knock the thing over on it's side about a dozen times and they did not fight over who got to go in or out, and then of course certainly did not fight about what was or wasn't allowed inside... oh my head still hurts...

I was not at all glad that Friday was a snow day and Ethan got to stay home. And if I were, it would not have been because I had another helper with the girls... no, it would have been because I could spend some more quality time with my son, naturally.

I have not procrastinated on any of the following, no matter what you may hear:

*Christmas baking. Yes, Santa will have cookies. Or at least cookie dough. Or at least a handful of chocolate chips.

*Hanging up the last of the Christmas decorations. This would include the crocheted snowflakes for my tree, some garland that goes who-knows-where, and the Christmas stockings. Of course everything is in it's place and ready for Christmas day!

*Christmas cards. Oh who am I kidding? I never get around to sending them!

*Wrapping gifts.

*Shopping for those last 2 gifts I need to get.

*Laundry. oh wait, that's every week. Cuz I'm always on top of that...

And now, I am certainly not going to eat more fudge, even though I ate nearly a half a pan yesterday by myself. Oh, wait, no, I did not, that's right...

What did you not do this week? ;)

The Mother Letter Project

Okay all you moms out there! I came across the neatest, sweetest thing the other day. I believe it was posted on Angie's blog, Bring the Rain. Or maybe she just twittered about it. But don't be mad at me if I'm wrong. Where I found it doesn't matter - as much as that I did find it and I think this guy is doing an amazing thing for his wife for Christmas this year. Instead of buying presents, he and his wife are making gifts for each other and donating what they would have spent on gifts to help an African village!! Please please please check out this wonderful idea. And then take a few minutes to write a letter. Simple. Beautiful. I love it. (Can you tell?) :)

Please go HERE to read all about The Mother Letter Project. And to submit your own letter. He is hoping for as many letters as possible before Christmas! All contributors can also receive the letters (electronically sent to you) as well! So, take just a few minutes, and write a letter to a fellow mother! Many will be blessed! Thanks, moms!

Not Me Monday!

Hooray for Mondays... well, hooray for Not Me Monday, at least. Read mine, write some of your own, and don't forget to hop over to MckMama's to read everyone else's too! :)

This week I did not contemplate, at least once a day, my sanity for living in the cold cold north. The weather here is lovely and shivering is my specialilty anyway, right?

Speaking of shivering, while we were backing out of our driveway on our way to church yesterday and the temps were hovering around 40, our son did not say, "Hey! I don't even need to shiver!! ...And it's Winter!!"

Of course I did not wake up to sub-zero temps and a wind-chill advisory this morning, either.

Also, I did not skip breakfast before church yesterday morning, because we all woke up with plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast of eggs and pancakes... of course.

So I absolutely did not scarf down 4 (ok, 5) Glazers donuts yesterday afternoon.
Because donuts are bad for you and I am not a hibernating bear... I know I don't need to store up fat for the winter!

I am certainly not contemplating having another donut. That would be selfish... and gluttonous... and I am definitely neither!

What did you NOT do this week? ;)

Christmas List

As I was cleaning out the toy room downstairs a few days ago, I started thinking about how cluttered our house has gotten since we moved in a few years ago. So much stuff. Lots of toys. Lots of clutter.
I know we don't need this much stuff. I was semi-gladly stuffing toys in boxes to donate to Salvation Army. What to get rid of, what to keep? Some of it had sentimental value. Some did not. Some my kids still loved to play with. Some, not so much. Decisions, decisions. Why is this so hard?
And then I thought, "Come Christmas morning, there will be more toys, more clutter."
Sigh.
I began to think of what is on my 6-year-old's Christmas list. Or should I say lists? Toys, toys and more toys. I had a talk with him that Mommy is going to be going through all of the toys downstairs and separating toys out to give away to other children. At first he was horrified, but when I explained how some children don't have many toys and he has been blessed with more than he can play with, we should get rid of some, and give to others who will be happy to play with them. And there would be room for new toys, then.
That he understood.
I was thinking this all through as I was sorting toys... And of how if it were my husband doing the sorting that much more would be going in the box to donate.
And it struck me.
Why do we hold onto things that make our lives messy? And then invite even more in? Why is it so hard to just put the toys in the box? I know full well that my children's lives will be filled with other things. That they will not be left without. There will be room for new, wonderful, exciting things.
Oh how my life is the same way...
I hold on to things I need to let go of.
Seriously. We probably all do, no?
So I began making a new Christmas List in my head. And now it's time to write it down and share it. Because writing it down, and sharing it, makes it much more real, you know?
This Christmas list is not of things I want to gain, but of things I want to rid my life of. Because I do not need them, and it is pointless to foolishly hold on to what I do not need. More than that, these things not only clutter my life, they can be harmful. They can block out the good.
This year for Christmas I want to rid myself of things that clutter my life and pull me down. Things that irritate me easily. I want to get rid of my laziness and my complacency. My indifference. I want to get rid of my judgmental attitudes. I want to get rid of my fears, the silly ones and the not-so-silly ones. I want to get rid of all the ugliness I carry around.
Why have I held onto these things? Good question. Why?
I don't know.
But I do know that I can choose to let it go, or I can choose to hold on to it. I can give it to God. I can ask for a fresh start.
And for those things I have a hard time letting go of (because face it, this is no easy task,) I can ask for His help.
And in letting go of the old, ugly parts...
I can be filled again. With hope, with kindness, with patience, with love.
And I won't have to look back with regret over the old...
Because I won't miss it.

What is on your Christmas list this year?

Mango Elves!

To read my Not Me Mondays, click here or just scroll down to the next post! :)

I just had to post this! :) Couldn't wait 'til tomorrow!

Enjoy!

Not Me Monday!

It's Not Me Monday time! What did you "not" do this week? To play along and read other's Not Me tales, hop over to MckMama's!

This week I did NOT stress out about missing last week's Not Me Monday and did NOT worry about what to write this week. Nope. Because that would be just silly! Because Not Me Monday is a FUN THING! (It really IS!) :) So of course I did NOT spend hours wondering what to be (ahem) totally honest about...

I also did NOT yell at positively discipline my children 893 times for taking the ornaments off the Christmas tree and pulling the strings off them so they cannot be hung on again... Because my children are NOT the type needing so many reminders. They are angels. ALL the time.

I did NOT just this week learn how to do the strike-through feature on my blog... and was NOT thrilled that MckMama gave all of us MckFriends a nice little lesson in it. Because I am NOT technically-challenged and I was certainly able to figure out that on my own. I'm just smart that way. :)

I did NOT punch in late to work every night this past week. This was NOT due to spending time reading blogs and posting on my own blog. I am great at managing my time and would never be late for something as important as my job!

I do NOT spend too much time online reading blogs. I have NOT neglected my housework this week, and there is NOT a ginormous pile of laundry calling to me from downstairs next to the laundry room door. Unsorted. Un-nice-smelling. Un-able-to-wash-itself. Because that would be gross, right?

We did NOT have pizza for dinner about 4 times in the last week because I was too lazy busy to cook a real meal for my family. Because I am always on top of things and healthy meals are so important to my kids.

So there you have it...

What did you "not" do this week? C'mon, join in! :)

Cyber Baby Shower!

My friend Sarah is having a cyber baby shower for her baby due in January! It ends on 12/8, so if you want, please hop over and join in the fun! :) There are some cute games and you can win some neat prizes! Please see her post for more info! Fun stuff! :)

One of the games asks guests to post a pic of the sweetest pic of Daddy and newborn... Here is Seth holding Ruby, our youngest. She was pretty sleepy!

Another game asks us to guess her son Caleb's birth weight... oh boy. I am not good at this. I am going to guess he was 8 lbs 12 oz. (that is how much I weighed at birth!)

And finally, we are supposed to create a Play-doh figure of a baby or pregnant woman, take a picture, and post here. This cracks me up!

Here is my best attempt in the 15 minutes I had while my kids weren't fighting over toy dishes in the other room... Blue is the only color I had that wasn't all dried out! Also, I see a bit of reddish swirled in. How anyone can keep the colors all separated is beyond me! :) Ethan did help a little bit, but lost interest pretty quickly. (I think he wanted to make something other than a baby or pregnant woman!)


So there is my contribution. Better late than never! :)

Best wishes to you and your family, Sarah!!

A New Look, Fun Stuff, Zack Days 4 & 5

I love this new look! What do you think? (I think Danielle rocks!) If you are considering a make-over for your own blog, I highly recommend her! :) Or if you even just want a blog button, check her site out. She does amazing work!

Yesterday I didn't get around to posting because, well, it was Friday and for some reason it just flew by. Maybe it was all the cleaning I did? Before I knew it, it was evening, Seth was coming home, and called to tell me he was bringing home Chinese. (Yey! No cooking again!)

After dinner, I played some games with Ethan. He loves to play games and I always feel that I don't have enough time to spend with my kids individually, so I wanted to take some time to just play with him. It's been a while! We both love games, especially Simply Fun games. If you've never heard of them, check them out! I have two friends that are consultants, and I have quite a few of the games. We just got their game In10sity, so we played that last night. It is a trivia game where every answer is a number between 1 & 10. Even Seth played, which is a rarity. :)

Then we watched some movies and hit the hay. Or tried. Ruby woke up 3 x last night, crying for some unknown reason. So I woke up a little crabby this morning. Ethan came into our room and whispered, "Mom, I can't find Zack!" I waved him out, motioning for him to be quiet so he wouldn't wake Ruby (sleeping finally, in her crib right next to my side of the bed.) He was back a minute later, pointing at the advent / nativity calendar. I shook my head "no" but realized it was useless to expect to get any more sleep.

Ethan found Zack, but it took him a little bit, and a hint from me... First I will show you were he was on Friday, and then I'll post today's hiding spot. :)

I wonder where he will show up tomorrow? Hm, and I just realized that this picture shows just how late I was up last night! :) And maybe explains some of why I've been so tired today!

We are off to go see the Live Nativity Drive-Thru at my alma mater! :D

Things I Will / Will Not Miss, Zack Day 3

Today I was looking around my house, and I realized that in a few years, my house will look drastically different. I am really looking forward to it. Even if we stay in the same house, I will be able to put stuff down at toddler level because I won't have toddlers anymore! I won't have to stack everything up high, and our Christmas tree(s) will be able to be on the floor again... not on little tables and such.

This led me to start thinking of all the things I will not miss about this time in my life... such as:

*Diapers. Enough said.

*potty-training. This kind goes along with the first...

*sippy cups. I hate washing them, and they don't seem to come clean in the washer. All those little crevices... ugh.

*baby toys all over my living room floor. (Ok, so it will be a few more years before I'll be completely rid of all toys from the floor, but we'll be able to get rid of a lot!)

*separate food for baby. This is already getting better, as Ruby is starting to eat more and more of what we eat...

*door knob covers

*baby gates

*drawer latches

*listening to a scream / cry / whine instead of words.

*our ripped up loveseat that the kids destroyed (although I think this is going bye-bye very soon!)

*booster seats at the table

*booster / car seats

These are just the things I can think of just in the last few minutes.

Of course there are also things I will miss:

*The girls letting me do their hair in cute litte ponytails. (Hopefully I will still have a few more years of this!)

*snuggling time

*tiny toes

*footie jammies

*all those cute little baby sounds (no, not the crying and screaming!)

*first words

*cute little clothes

*the look on their faces everytime they discover something new

*Nap time!

*watching them waddle around on little stubby legs

I'm sure there is lots more... But no matter what I will or will not miss, time isn't going to stop, so I guess I should just enjoy the days we have!

Diapers and all?

Well... maybe not the diapers... but you gotta love this:

and this:

and the ponytails!

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And for those of you curious-types... here is Zack on Day 3. I think he is trying to remind me that I need to hang my valance back up! It's only been months since I took it down and washed it! ;)

Zack, Day 2

Zack picked a great spot today! Perhaps he was trying to be tricky and camoflauge himself in the pointsettias? Ethan found him right away this morning, before he was even fully awake, still rubbing his eyes. It was the very first thing on his mind this morning as he stumbled out of his room. So cute.

Kibby just grinned, pointed, and said, "Lookit! I can't beLIEVE it!" Which made Seth and me laugh out loud. (When she wants to talk, she does!)

Meet Zack!

Today we had the arrival of a special guest at our house! Meet Zack, one of Santa's scout elves!

He arrived this evening, about 30 minutes ago (just before 9PM!) Ethan found him on top of the speaker! He is going to watch over the kiddos' behavior and report each night to Santa at the North Pole. Then he will be back in the mornings, hiding in a new spot each day! It will be the kids' job to find him! Ethan is so excited! :) Kibby just smiled a shy smile, pointed and said, "Who Dat?"

Ethan found our elf and named him.

Here is Ethan reading the book (all about these scout elves) called The Elf on the Shelf.

Zack should be a lot of fun for the kids this month! I'm looking forward to seeing where he shows up each morning! :)

Here are a few more recent pics...

I love this one!

Here is Ruby playing with the Christmas tree bulbs. She was actually waving her arms in excitement and squealing and laughing. Later, she discovered she could take the bulbs off and walk around with them. (Much to her sister's anxiety, which only made it more fun for Ruby!!)

I'll continue to post about Zack's appearances from time to time, especially if he happens to hide in a really creative spot. ;)

MckMama's "Rebel for a Cause"!

Allow me to stray from postings about my kids for a minute here, to tell you that MckMama has a great idea. She is having a raffle with the proceeds going towards 3 different charities. The charities? String of Pearls, No Hands But Ours, and The Elison Project. Please click on the links to learn more about these charities, or visit MckMama's blog post to read all about them and the raffle in more detail! (You can also click on the button on my sidebar at any time to get more info!) The prize is a brand new Cannon digital camera (Rebel) package, including many extras! Ends December 14th! Check it out, and thanks for reading!