We had a wonderful Christmas this year! Last year was the Not a Very Merry Christmas year, so we were so thankful just to be healthy and well!! The kids were all so excited and we got to spend lots of time with our families. Christmas Eve, my parents came over for dinner and I made Baked Potato Soup and Chicken Soup. We went to church with my grandparents because our church did not have a Christmas Eve service. We came back home and the kids set out cookies for Santa and got into bed. Jason and I had fun setting the kids things up and then opened our stockings from each other. We got new carpet upstairs, painted our bedroom and got a new bedding set for our Christmas gifts to each other.

The kids slept in until about 7:20 or so (thankfully!!) and then they came down to see what Santa left and to open gifts. They were so excited! Madelyn received a Kirsten American Girl Doll. Kirsten was on backorder until May 2010, but Aunt Kristyn in Minneapolis performed a Christmas miracle! She was able to locate a Kirsten doll at the AGD store in Minneapolis. Madelyn was beside herself! Caroline really wanted a Bitty Baby and was so happy Santa left one for her. It has not left her side since Christmas morning. The doll has had quite a few names - Ashley, Caroline, Hannah, Sophie and Emma. I think Emma is sticking so far... Silas got a new Mini Glider bike. It does not have pedals or training wheels. He uses his feet to push and "glide" while learning to balance. He loves it. He also got his first Nerf gun (Jason got one too) and they have had a blast having Nerf wars.

We then went on to my grandparents house for Christmas breakfast with my Mom's family. It was, as always, delicious! It was good to see my cousins, one who lives in LA and we only get to see her at Christmas. Around noon we came home and rested and then headed to my parents for dinner and gifts. The kids even went into the basement to play and watch a movie and the adults got to play a game!

On Saturday we headed up to Cincinnati to visit Jason's parents and sister's family. We went to the museum center and enjoyed seeing the train displays and the Children's Museum. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. : ( It was great to have Jason's parents here at Christmas time this year and enjoyed spending the day with his side of the family.

This year Madelyn got to perform in her first Nutcracker! Her ballet studio performs "The Nutcracker in One Act". She was a Honey Fairy and did a great job. She really loves ballet and especially loves performing. She could hardly wait for Sunday afternoon to arrive so she could dance!







Merry Christmas to all of you! I hope you have a wonderful time celebrating our Savior's birth and spending time with your families. We are having my parents over for dinner tonight and then going to church with my grandparents. Tomorrow, we'll open gifts here and then head over to my grandparents for breakfast. Dinner will be at my parents tomorrow night and then on Saturday we are heading to Jason's sisters house for the day. Merry Christmas!!

Me - "Silas, why did you go pee-pee in your pull up? You know you are supposed to go in the potty. Who do you tell when you have to go potty?"

Silas - "Santee Clause!"

He doesn't say Santa, he says Santee. : )

Pictures coming from our week! Silas and Caroline had a gymnastics showcase - they both did great and got little medals. Madelyn performed in her first Nutcracker. We all went and watched her today and she did awesome. All the kids had Christmas parties last week and are on Christmas break! We got new carpet and are painting our bedroom. It's almost done - we have been sleeping in the family room for a week and are so ready to get our room set back up. Jason and I had a much needed date night Friday night. We ate at our favorite local restaurant (Saul Good) and went to see New Moon. Obviously the movie was my choice, but Jason did enjoy it! I'm done Christmas shopping and have several things left to wrap. I'm working tomorrow and Wednesday and then am off for 4 days. Not bad after being off all last week! Enough random news, pictures hopefully will be up tomorrow or Tuesday!

Dear Jesus,
Thank you that you came as a baby on Christmas and you died so we can go to heaven. Thank you for books about you, and the best book, the Bible. Help people who don't have a bible and people who do have a bible to take them to a store or to a box at church so people who don't have a bible can have one.

Thank you for mommy, daddy, grandmas and grandpas. Thank you that they don't give us away. Thank you the when grandma's or grandpa's want to give us away they give us back to our mommy and daddy.
Amen

I had to get this one down in writing ASAP. I already forgot one adorable part of the prayer, but remembered most of it word for word. It just fills my heart with joy to hear that my little 4 1/2 year old knows the true meaning of Christmas and is praying that people who don't have a bible will get one! She even thought up a way for that to happen. People who have bibles can take them to a box at church to give away. : ) She is such a sweet girl and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for her life! I have no idea where she got the giving her away part???? Maybe due to talk about adoption? : )

I love Christmas and decorating for Christmas. I'm not one of those crazy people who put up 16 trees, but we do have one in the family room (the white lights) and one in our front formal living room (the colored lights). The kids each have a small 3 ft tree in their rooms. I'm working this weekend and then am off next week! I took two vacation days and am looking forward to the break. I will be busy finishing up shopping, taking Madelyn to Nutcracker practices, and helping with the kids school Christmas parties.

It is also freezing here. Jason and I have decided we are for sure retiring to Florida or somewhere warm - at least for Dec, Jan and Feb!

This is my ma-maw's recipe and one of my favorites. I made it today to take to a cookie swap. They are really rich, and oh, so yummy!

Hello Dollies
1 box vanilla wafers, crushed
1 stick of butter
12 oz. chocolate chips
1 c. pecans
1 can Eagle brand milk - you can never go wrong with Eagle brand milk!

Melt butter in 9x13 pan. Press vanilla wafers into butter. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Sprinkle pecans over chocolate chips. Drizzle Eagle brand milk on the top. Bake at 350 for 25 - 30 minutes. Cool completely and cut into squares.

This was our 4th year to go to Gatlinburg with Jason's side of the family for Thanksgiving. It was a nice getaway. The kids had a fantastic time playing with their cousins, we caught up on sleep (in bunk beds), enjoyed breakfast at the Pancake Pantry, had a family picture made and relaxed.

Caroline - "Mommy, I think Jesus was really happy when I was being a good helper and helping you put the laundry away."
Me - "Yes Caroline. You being a good helper to mom makes Jesus very happy."
Caroline - "I think Noah was happy too - the guy with the ark."


Madelyn was doing a homework page one night where she had to list antonyms from a story she read. One was the word "will" and she was to write "will not". When I asked her what the opposite of will was she said, "well in our family, it would be Luke!"

My sister has boys named Will and Luke.

Thanksgiving and some random pics to come hopefully tomorrow! Then I'll post some Christmas decoration pictures. I finally got the inside fully decorated this weekend. It was super cold, so we haven't tackled the outside yet.

Happy Thanksgiving (almost)! We are leaving Wednesday for a trip to Gatlinburg with Jason's family. I worked all weekend, and today I am doing LOTS of laundry, picking up the house, and getting packed for our trip.

We are getting over another round of sickness. Caroline is still home from preschool today recovering. All the kids have had a virus over the last couple weeks. Silas' turned into a sinus infection, Madelyn's affected her asthma and Caroline had croup. Caroline was the sickest but is thankfully on the mend. I am fighting it off and feel a little worse every day. Hopefully I can get some rest while we are on our trip.

In the spirit of thanksgiving, I wanted to remind myself of all of the blessings we have! It is so easy to focus on me and my problems, but when my focus is on gratitude and thankfulness my problems seem much smaller!

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for...

• My God, His grace and love
• My husband
• My three healthy children
• My parents and in-laws who raised Jason and I in Christian homes
• My grandparents, sister and extended family
  
• Our life group, church, home, jobs
  
• Coffee

I could go on and on and on, but I must get back to my laundry! I am thankful for a big washer and dryer! I am also so thankful I am home today with Caroline. Working part-time makes me appreciate my days at home so much more. I hope each of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

First, we are still alive! After The Sickness, we are finding our routine again and life is getting back to normal. I have pictures to post of Halloween and hope to do that very soon!

Onto today's topic - Control. This is Silas' deepest desire right now and is so very hard to deal with. His intense need to be in control has always been an issue, but as we resume more and more control he spirals deeper and deeper into seeking control. It is not pretty or fun to deal with. Here are a couple of areas we are struggling with.

Food. I wish Silas would understand that he will be fed. He will be fed food that is yummy and good for him. He will get to eat when he is hungry. He will get a drink when he is thirsty. It might not be his favorite food every time, but he will not go hungry. I am making ALL of Silas' food choices right now. We have had several hour long battles concerning food. As of today, he will not be eating out for a while. Usually on Tuesdays we stop and grab a quick lunch after I pick him up from school. Caroline has gymnastics right after and we do not have time to come home for lunch and make it to gymnastics. On Thursdays when I pick him up before lunch, we always have a huge battle about not going out to eat. As soon as he gets in the car he starts asking for McDonalds or Chick-fil-a. We have not been to McD's in a few weeks because of a huge battle I won several weeks ago. This battle involved him screaming for 30+ minutes, unbuckling his car seat 5 times on the way home, ripping of his BAHA and losing part of it in the car and kicking my seat the entire 20 minute drive home. All of this because we did not go eat lunch at McDonald's. As of today, Chick-fil-a is gone too. I hate taking special treats like a Happy Meal away from him, but he must learn I am in control. So until I have resumed control in the area of food, I will have to pack our lunch and we will eat in the car. It stinks for me and Caroline, because we enjoyed the special treat of eating out as well, but he must learn.

Clothing. I am also picking out all of Silas' clothing now. I cannot even give him a choice between two shirts because at this time he is not able to handle making a good decision. He has favorite jeans and a favorite shirt, but I purposely have to not choose them very often. He must learn that I can take care of him. I can pick out his clothes and help him get dressed.

There are a couple other areas we are working on as well. If you can name it, we are probably having control issues with it! Being in battle mode all of the time is exhausting. I am thankful that I am working part-time because it does give me a respite. Silas is in a wonderful school and his teacher is fabulous. She is on the exact same page as I am and handles him perfectly. I pray often for wisdom, peace and calmness. I have gotten much better at controlling my anger with him, although at times I still loose it. I try to not get emotionally pulled into his schemes and behavior, and try to remain in control. Any sign of weakness on my part is a win for him. I do wonder if this constant battle will ever end.

Dear Sickness,
Can you please give my family a break? I've about had it with you. First, I had H1N1. Then Madelyn got it, then Silas, then Jason and last Caroline. Then being the evil creature you are, you decided to make my Caroline have breathing problems yesterday that landed us in the ER. Thankfully they were just due to a fever spike and she was okay. (PRAISE GOD). As if that wasn't enough, today you gave Silas another fever. The doctor thought it was strep, but thankfully (I guess...) it's a virus. Then as if THAT wasn't enough, you made my precious baby who has had H1N1 and a trip to the ER this week get a stomach virus today. Nine plus hours of puking and not being able to hold any fluid down is not cool. Especially while still recovering from the flu. Sickness - GO AWAY. We do not want to see you in this house anymore!
Be Scared,
The Mom

Prayers are appreciated for us! Specifically that overnight Caroline will heal and be able to hold down some fluid tomorrow. I was afraid we would have to go back to the ER, but we paged the doctor tonight and she wants us to not give her any fluids all night to see if that works. Also pray that the rest of us will be protected from the stomach bug and Silas' virus. Thank you! I feel like all my posts have been about being sick, but lately that's been our life.

**Sunday morning Update**
Caroline is now able to hold down fluids and even just ate a piece of toast! Silas still had a fever this morning, but has lots of energy now so I think he is feeling better. : )

**Monday night update**
Caroline and Silas are now fever free. Silas and Madelyn went to school today and Caroline stayed home. At 12:30 Madelyn's school called and said she had a fever of 102! One step forward, one step back... Madelyn's fever is still 100 on Tylenol and Motrin. She is also complaining of a headache. Hopefully she'll feel better tomorrow!

After our fifth family member (Caroline) came down with flu yesterday I have had enough! Silas thankfully had a really mild case last week that only lasted a couple days. Jason had it over the weekend, he was taking Tamiflu to prevent and still got sick. He is still not feeling 100%, but is not running a fever or anything. Madelyn and I had it a couple weeks ago and were both really sick. Now my poor baby CJ has it and is really sick. She even turned down popsicles I brought home today. : ( Hopefully after she gets better we'll stay healthy for a while!

Thankfully, I'm home tomorrow and all weekend from work so I can take care of my baby. Jason is going to be off the rest of the week to get himself better and take care of her on Friday when I am at work. Hope all of your families are healthy!

I am sorry to get several of you excited about the "upcoming changes" in our family. Unfortunately it does not involve another child. Maybe one day we will add another, but not yet. I hate to be so vague, but we do not feel like we can share all of the details publicly at this time. I will let all of my many readers (ha ha) know as soon as everything is worked out. It will probably be next spring sometime.

On another note, we are all healthy! Jason got sick over the weekend, but thankfully it was not long lasting. All the kids are at school this morning, Jason is at work and I am heading to work in a couple of hours - I have the late shift tonight. The kids and I went to Great Wolf Lodge with my family this weekend and had a great time. The water park is so much fun! Places like that get easier and easier as the kids get bigger. I'll post pictures soon.

I'm off to do some laundry and try to pick up the house. We hired a house cleaner since I am working more and I have to "clean" before she comes Wednesday to clean! The house is a disaster after our sickness and being gone this weekend!

Here are a few things I want to remember that make Silas, Silas.

• He currently only wants to wear jeans and gets really upset if his 3 pairs are dirty!
• His favorite shirt has a backhoe on it. Today he told me (after picking out his jeans) "matching backhoe shirt!" He had to settle for a different shirt because the backhoe one was dirty.
• He is beginning to be very independent and says " I do it!"
• He is very ticklish.
• He loves to hang upside down.
• He loves music and singing. He will be very musical.
• He is left handed.
• He runs everywhere he goes. Even if it's just a a foot or two.
• He can sleep sitting up and we have even found him in his bed asleep standing up.
• Deep down, he wants to please.
• I don't think he will ever be potty trained.
• He loves riding his car down the our driveway hill.
• He has a new friend named Jimmy from school. He kept telling us about Jimmy and we though it was an imaginary friend! Yesterday Jason actually met Jimmy!
• He still loves to eat although his appetite has decreased.
• He is our special little boy who we love completely!
  

We are finally all healthy and I am praying that it stays that way. All the kids went to school this morning and I am heading into work in a couple of hours. Tomorrow starts fall break and Madelyn is out of school for the next two days. Nothing like a one day school week!

Friday we are going to Great Wolf Lodge with my entire family. Please pray with me that we will stay healthy! Jason is going to have to stay home to work on some things since he has gotten behind while I have been sick. I really wish he was able to come with us, but I am sure he will enjoy some peace and quite with us gone for a couple of days.

Tomorrow I have a conference with Silas' teacher. I am interested to see how he is doing at school. I talk to her briefly when I drop him off and pick him up, and she always says he is doing great. I'm looking forward to having a longer conversation with her. His speech has made drastic improvements since starting school. He says full sentences sometimes and knows so many words. We still have rough days (like yesterday), and are still plugging along with the attachment side of life. We will be for quite a while though and are settled in for the long haul.

It is poring rain here and freezing! The high today is in the mid-40's. Burr. Fall has definitely arrived although it seems more like winter today!

Madelyn has the flu now too. Poor baby, she woke up this morning with an upset tummy and a fever. She went to the doctor and is on Tamiflu. She is fairing better than I am at this point. The doctor said it isn't hitting kids quite as hard and we caught hers early, so hopefully she can recover quickly. SO thankful Jason was able to be home today to take care of us! He is warming up some chicken soup my grandparents brought over last night for lunch. Thank you Ma-maw and Pa-paw. It is the only thing that sounds good right now!

Well, the flu finally made it's appearance in our house. I tested positive today and am wearing a mask and using lots of hand sanitizer. I feel awful and am praying no one else gets it. I am VERY thankful Jason got home last night from being out of town this week. I could not handle the kids on my own. I can barely get out of bed. He was also able to come home from work a couple hours early today.

I was also very productive this weekend! I did laundry, switched out all the kids summer and winter clothes, deep cleaned the family room, office and playroom, washed all the downstairs windows and made muffins and apple crisp. I'm feeling a little more organized. I know I mentioned changing jobs a couple months ago here. I really liked my new job, but unfortunately they were unable to give me a regular schedule. It was very hit or miss and we need something more stable for me. I have decided to go back to Wa**mart and start tomorrow working 3 days a week and every 3rd weekend. It will be nice to have a regular schedule, I do have to work until 9:00 half of the time, but it will be okay - at least that is what I'm telling myself. : ) It will enable us to save money since we are going to have some changes in our family in the next year or so.