Merry Christmas!

" 'For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,'Glory to God in the highest,and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!' ”

Bless the Lord; praise be God on high for sending his son to be our savior! May the Lord draw you nearer to himself this Christmas. He is a beautiful God and we are so very blessed! Merry Christmas to you all!

If it's not one, it's the other!

Elijah has now slept through the night 3 nights in a row! Yea! But early this morning Moses awoke at 4am as bright and cheerie as a little bird! He has been sleeping in our room lately as we were working on Elijah sleeping through the night. Well when he woke up he started "chirping" and wanted to get out and play. We brought him into bed for a few minutes of snuggles, but it was hard getting him to go back to sleep. He just wanted to play and as far as he knew it was time for everyone to get up! I recall my dad telling me that when my sister and I were little, like 3 and 4, we woke up at 4am, got dressed and went into mom and dad's room and woke them up ready to play! I don't remember that at all, but I know what it's like! He did eventually go back to sleep but then Elijah woke a couple hours later ready to eat:) I know these days will soon pass and these moments are precious. My heart is filled with joy(most of the time) at the wonder of the Lord's goodness in giving me such sweet boys. When they smile up at me, it makes me feel like I'm the best thing in the world and it makes all the hard parts of motherhood worth it.

O Christmas Tree

We finally got a Christmas tree! My husband's older brother brought us over the most adorable little noble fir! I think it is the most beautiful tree I've ever had! I thinks it's maybe 4 feet tall or so but it's perfect for our little family and little home. Moses helped me decorate it, and it was the most precious thing to see him try to hang the ornaments on the branches! This is our third Christmas together that the Lord has given us a free tree!

December 22

Elijah just turned 4 months old on the 19th. Wow, it has gone by so quickly! He has slept through the night for the past two nights, but I think he is going through a growth spurt again because he's been wanting to eat like every 2 hours(during the day) the past 2 days! I don't know if he's not getting enought milk or is just super hungry. I've thought about giving him some rice cereal, but I don't know. Anyone have any ideas or suggestions? How can I be sure if he is getting enough to eat from me?

The Christmas Tree

I was wondering about the meaing behind the Christmas tree and I found a good illustration on this website: http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/tree.htm

I just realized that I haven't posted in about a week. Things have been pretty busy here lately. We went out of town this past weekend and with Christmas quickly approaching and two little boys, there's a lot going on! I'm so very blessed, I just feel full these days as I count my blessings and all that the Lord has done. He has been and is so good!

Yesterday the Lord answered our prayers with Moses. He took a bath and for the first time in a couple of months he didn't cry and actually enjoyed it!! He started to cry a little when I washed his hair but overall it was wonderful!! And then when my husband came home and was about to take a shower, Moses got all excited and want to get in the bathtub too. So Ryan gave him another bath and they had a blast playing in the tub together!! Praise the Lord!

Elijah's success with sleeping through the night is going okay. Things have been a little off because of our travels this past weekend. He slept through the night last night, but it hasn't been consistently every night yet. I'm trying to be patient and be sensitive to his needs like if he has a growth spurt or something.

Please pray for our family. We feel the Lord is leading us in a new direction, but we're uncertain of which direction we're supposed to go. There are also several other things going on in our lives that we have no control over but we're praying for God to work his will. One situation: our mobile home park is possibly going to be sold to a developer who would tear down the entire park to build single family housing. If this happens all the people who live here will have to move and basically our homes will be worthless. I don't know what's going to happen or how it will all work out. We just know that God is in control of all things and will work it out for his glory. We have thought about putting up our place for sale to see what would happen. I can't foresee anyone wanting to buy it knowing the possible future of this park. But God knows...anyways, I am learning to rest and trust the Lord. There is nothing that I can do and worrying will do no good...so I rejoice in the Lord "...who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to

Night # 4

Elijah slept through the night last night! It’s amazing and I hope that it will continue. It’s funny how when you want so much for something to happen and when it actually does, it’s hard to believe that it really did! Well, we were at bible study last night and while we were out, about 3 hours, Elijah was awake the whole time. So when we got home and I laid him down to sleep he cried on and off for about 45 minutes. He usually will cry or fuss no longer than 15 minutes if I put him to bed before he gets too tired. So, I think that he was just way overly tired and couldn’t go to sleep on his own, so finally at about 10:20pm I went and nursed him and then he fell asleep. He then slept from 10:30pm-7am, 8 ½ hours! I'm very happy!

Crying it Out

My second child Elijah will be 4 months old on the 19th of December. He's been on a daytime routine since he was about 7-8 weeks old, but I've always demand-fed at night. Since birth, I fed him about every 2 hours during the day and let him sleep whenever, but by 7 weeks I realized that I needed to have more of a set routine for him because he was such a cranky baby, and since then the daytime has been much better. So, then at between 10-11 weeks or so, he started sleeping through the night all own his own, sleeping at least 7 hours, sometimes 8-9 hours! So, I was overjoyed and very thankful for those nights of much sleep, and I was so pleased that he did this all on his own. But then around 12-13 weeks I think he hit a growth spurt because all of a sudden after 2 weeks of sleeping through the night he started waking up again like every 2-3 hours. So, I just started nursing him again and was hoping he would start sleeping on his own again when the growth spurt passed. But it's been another 2 weeks and he has yet to do this. So, just in this last week I noticed that he was not eating most of the time I was bringing him to nurse in bed, he often would suck a little and quickly go back to sleep, but so would I. Then I would awake 2 hours later and seeing that he was still in my arms I would lay him down and then he would wake up! Too tired to do anything else, I would just bring him back to nurse and off to sleep he'd go again. Well, knowing that he is old enough and big enough to sleep through the night and that he did it for 2 weeks, we've decided to help him out to get him back to sleeping through the night. So, 3 nights ago, we brought Moses in our room and put Elijah in Moses' room for night time sleeping(so that when we let him cry in the night it would not wake up Moses or Ryan). The first night Elijah woke up in the night I fed him at midnight and then he went back to sleep. He then proceeded to wake up at 1am, 2am, and 3 am! I let him cry himself back to sleep at 1 and 2 and then I fed him again at 3. He then slept until 6am, when I fed him again. So, this first night was terrible. But night #2 was better. He only woke up twice, and I only fed him once in the night. Then last night was the best night of all so far. I fed him at 9:45pm and then put him to bed for the night. He then awoke at 1:30am and I let him cry(i always check on him first, make sure he's okay, diaper clean etc.), he went back to sleep and then slept until 6:45am! Wow. So, he didn't eat at all in the night and went 9 hours between feeding. So, I am encouraged and I hope tonight will be even better. We did this same thing with Moses (he slept though the night too on his own then growth spurted and started waking again, so about the same age we started this, about 3 1/2 months or so) and had him cry it out for a few nights, but by the time he was 4 months he was sleeping around 9- 10 hours at night consistantly. Anyways, he usually never cries longer than 20 minutes and for that I'm thankful. I usually stay up and wait for him to go back to sleep so I know he's okay. I am hoping and praying that a few days (or a week )of hard nights and not much sleep will pay off for the future of sleeping through the night for all of us.

To Him be the Glory!

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, with the power that is within us, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Eph. 3:20-21

Praise the Lord!

This verse has been of great encouragement to me today. I am so glad that God is able to do far more than all that I ask or think, because my prayers are often piddly prayers praying for piddly things(though I know the Lord cares about every little thing in our lives, I just mean that my prayers are often maybe too focused on the little things) and my view of God so small I can't grasp how vast he is that he is able to do far more abundantly than all that I ask or even think. The Lord is amazing beyond my comprehension. The deepest thought I'll ever have or rather the most profound thought anyone that's ever lived has ever had could never measure to what God is able to do. I just can't fathom it. I'm thankful for a God who I cannot fully understand or explain. He is too wonderful for me to behold, yet too wonderful to not try and behold. Does that make sense? Well it makes sense in my mind...It's getting last, and I'm pretty tired right now, as it's been a long day and I need to get to bed.

All praise and glory be to our Lord Jesus Christ!

Children are a blessing from the Lord

I just viewed the most adorable video clip of some cute brilliant kids! I first viewed the clip at biblicalwomanhood.com . Click here to watch the clip

Bathtub Trauma

Moses is terrified of the bathtub(he is 14 mos). He used to love baths and always enjoyed playing in the water. But about a month ago he had a bad experience with the water being poured over his head and getting in his eyes, then when he freaked out about that he kind of flung himself backward and slipped. My husband was right there and caught his head so he didn't physically hurt himself, but he got super scared. So ever since then he cries every time we start to undress him for a bath. It's been such a trial that I've only been bathing him about once a week because of how he cries. He will sit there and let us bathe him but he cries the whole time. I don't know how to make him see that he's okay. I know memories are strong and that his fear is real and valid, so he only remembers the bad experience and he thinks it's going to happen again. How long will this last I wonder? My husband and I have been praying for him that his fear will go away, but I just don't know what to do besides pray. Today I even just had him sit in the water and not do anything in hopes that he would calm down and see that it's alright. His crying subsided a little but not much. I'd really appreciate your prayers for him about this and if anyone has a suggestion for me please pass it along! I would be greatful.

What's on the Menu?

Learning to meal plan has been the biggest help to me in preparing dinners for the week. I only learned about this back in February and though I didn't do it very consistently when I was pregnant, it's something I try to do every week now. At the start of each week (although it doesn't always happen on the same day each week), I sit down and plan our menus for that coming week so when I go shopping I can get all the ingredients I need and then I usually only need to go to the store once. I have really appreciated this because then I'm not stumped with what to make for dinner when 4 o'clock rolls around! I have a list of ideas that I can choose from in the morning and plan for dinner accordingly! It's been wonderful and although I'm not as consistent as I'd like to be EVERY week, most of the time it works well. There are just some days when I don't know what to plan for the week and it seems that I've run out of ideas. I often check out allrecipes.com and tasteofhome.com, or I just type in a food in google and see what pops up. I love learning about new recipes, so if you have one that you really like that's not too hard, please send it to me! Here is my menu for this week:

Tonight-Chicken Enchiladas
Friday-Homemade Pizza
Saturday-Roast and Potatoes
Sunday- Roast beef Sandwiches (using leftover meat)
Monday-Chili
Tuesday-Pasta and Green Salad
Wednesday-Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese
Thursday-Veggie Chowder

Thanks!

Thank you for praying for Moses. He still has a little bit of a cold but I can tell that he is much better. Praise the Lord that he didn't get an ear infection, and if he did have one it's gone now as he was rubbing his ears for a couple of days and he is not doing that anymore. I followed the advice of Mountain Mama and gave Moses garlic but I put it into his food instead of giving it to him straight. I also got some ear drops from a friend and I don't remember exactly what the name was, but they had garlic in them and we put them in his ears a few days ago. Anyways, I am glad that he is better now, thanks again for your prayers!