…when you are feeling yucky…

…nothing makes it better like…

UP!

So, Micah became sick on Monday during naptime.  He was so worn out, he fell asleep on the floor much like his cousin did this past week.  It was so pitiful!  Nothing made him feel better than curling up in the living room floor (because Mommy didn’t want him on furniture she might have to clean!) with blankets and watch a new favorite around here, UP.  He finally started feeling normal on Tuesday afternoon.  Unfortunately, Mommy and Daddy were sick by Wednesday night.  Argh!!  I HATE stomach bugs!!  All is well now, thankfully, and Miss Heidi has stayed well despite the craziness.  That makes this mommy rejoice big time!

We went and visited Santa at the Bass Pro shop.   We made the special trip because Santa is free there!  I was very surprised that Micah wasn’t afraid of him.  He shyly told Santa he wanted an Eeyore cake.  Micah spent the entire month of December telling everyone that he wanted Santa to bring him an Eeyore cake.  He was very consistent!  Where he came up with the idea, we’ll never know, but he was sure that was what he wanted.  When asked if there was anything else, he would say popcorn.  I guess my boy is easy to please!

We built gingerbread houses at the church family night.  Micah may have eaten more than he decorated!

We also took a trip for a special family meal together.  Mommy “cashed” in some bonuspoints and got a gift certificate to The Rainforest Cafe.  We also had a nifty coupon, so it was a fairly cheap meal!  Micah enjoyed seeing the elephants try to get Daddy.  Before we were seated by the elephants, we were by the cheetah.  It made Micah very nervous and was not a very interesting part of the place, so we were moved right in front of the elephants!  There’s not a better spot in the place!

We left our goodies out for Santa…he is fond of Sunkist and snickerdoodles or fudge.

(Pardon my exhausted look, but I was, well, exhausted!)  Soon, Micah was in bed and trying to fall asleep so Santa could come.  And, this is what was waiting when Micah got up the next morning…

The Eeyore cake

Micah and Heidi’s presents

And, the stockings!  (one of Mommy’s favorite things)

Unfortunately, I don’t have pictures of Micah opening his packages because I captured that fun on the video camera.  Take my word for it…he had so much fun!  We had Eeyore cake (for breakfast!), and then we packed up and headed to Arkansas.  I will have to do another post on our family visits. 

Well, this week is our week before Christmas.  We are celebrating as a family next Monday morning before heading out later that day to Arkansas.  So, this week is our week of Christmas activities.  Last night, we (Micah and I) made homemade pizza and got to work making the Carpenter family fruitcake.

Jonathan grew up grinding the graham crackers just like Micah did last night.

He had such a great time!  It was hard work for him, but he loved grinding the graham crackers for Mommy.   Afterwards, we put all the components together (after eating a marshmallow or two ourselves) and rolled them up.  Meanwhile, Heidi had some Daddy time at the piano.

Such sweet moments!

I don’t think this is supposed to be a family secret, so here is the recipe if you’d like to try it.

Carpenter Family Fruitcake

1 box of Honey Graham Crackers

1 pkg. marshmallows

1 stick butter

1 cup chopped pecans

1 jar marachino cherries

1 lb. chopped dates (that is two packages, but I will often use just one)

Grind graham crackers in meat grinder or food processor.  Mix in dates, pecans, and chopped cherries (chopped in food processor or chopper).  Melt marshamallows (I do it in the microwave), then melt butter in marshmallows.  Stir; pour over other ingredients.  Stir well.  Use cherry juice to get mixture to appropriate moisture (What is appropriate?  It should be sticky and thick, but stirrable…so, maybe thicker than cookie dough???).

Spoon onto 2 pieces of plastice wrap and roll up into a log.  Refrigerate.  To eat, slice off pieces from the log.

After typing that, I am thinking pictures would really help these instructions…should have thought of that last night!!!

Well, today is the day for The Nester’s Tour of Homes. I tried to pick just a few things to show you, but it was hard to really narrow done everything, so here it is…

Starting in the dining room, I got out my Christmas China.  It makes me happy! I am in love with birds, so these are the perfect dishes for me!  Next, is the dining room tree covered in berries, pine cones, gold and red accents, and birds.

Next, we move to the living room.  Here we have our family tree with all the ornaments Jonathan and I have exchanged over the years, Jonathan’s childhood ornaments made by his Mom, and Micah and Heidi’s ornaments from Mimi.

Here is Micah’s newest ornament, Gepeddo.  This finishes his Pinnochio Storybook set.

And, here’s Heidi’s first ornament,

and her stocking.

Speaking or stockings, here they are hung with care on the mantle.

But, my favorite part of Christmas is the nativity.  This one on the mantle was made by my Granny.

We would always set it up together at the beginning of the Christmas season.  It was always my favorite thing to do.  You can read a little bit more about it here.  We try to focus a lot of our time around here on the nativity and what it means for us.  So, Micah has his very own nativity.

Right now, Baby Jesus and the Doggie play together a lot.

Well, this concludes our little home tour.  It was a little cold, so I forgot to get an outside shot.  So, I will just tell you it is decked with garland and wreaths and small rustic trees by the door.  You’ll just have to take my word for it, though!  Merry Christmas!

So, I have wanted to get back to blogging for a while, but I haven’t been satisfied with my current site. Unfortunately, I use WordPress and it is kind of limiting. I want to switch it over to blogger of something, but I am not really capable of that undertaking. I have to rely on my tech savvy hubbie for that, and right now he is very busy recording and mixing the album for evenstill. So, instead of continuing to wait (like I have been for a month or two), I decided to get over it for now and live with what I have. At this point I would venture to guess that if I had any subscribed readers, they are gone at this point, but I am okay with that. I am starting fresh in some ways. I want to write about different things and make this more about our family and a way to keep a journal of sorts for me and the kiddos.
People ask me all the time, “what do you do during your day (other than child-rearing)? Well, maybe I can add blogging back to the always growing list!
So, for a quick update, Micah turned 3 in October, and in August we gave birth to our daughter, Heidi Corene. It has been an exciting few months. We have adjusted to a new baby in the house and a potty-trained little boy (that was fun!). Here are a few pics to enjoy for now.

Couldn’t you just eat her up?    We go for her 4 month checkup Friday!  4 MONTHS!!  I am not believing how fast this is going.  WAY TOO FAST FOR THIS MOMMY!!!

I retreated into the state of pregnancy months back and am just now in the mood to even look at this place. Sorry! Just keeping it honest and real! I didn’t care one bit about writing my thoughts because most of the times I couldn’t gather them enough for a decent phone conversation. So, here I am now…

I am almost 7 months along. As I type that, my heart begins to quicken and I have a scrolling list that rolls across my eyes like a reader board reminding me of all the things I wanted done before this baby arrives. The list is long, the time is short, and the money these things might take is “missing” somehow. I have somehow managed to finish a major project in the last week, though. It gives me hope for the others left undone. I finally finished all of Micah’s big boy bedding and window treatments. If there was a little spare change, I might have added a bit more to it, but baby girl will be needing things a little more pressing ,so I am content with how everything turned out. I’ll post pictures soon. It seems like every time I remember to take the pictures, he is napping!

I can’t even begin to figure out how I will ever get everything sewed for baby girl’s room! It will take lots more time in comparison and I still haven’t managed to find the different fabrics I want to use. I have the main fabric purchased, but nothing to go with it. I am hoping this weekend will be fruitful…I am going to Little Rock to visit family and celebrate birthdays, so I plan to hit the fabric shops there. I have gathered everything from the garage that we will be needing soon, so her room is filled with lots of “mess” at the moment. I have hit several garage sales looking for clothes and things to get us going. I don’t remember worrying and scrambling this much with Micah. What is up with that???

Meanwhile, life at home is good. I am enjoying our family times more and more. Last night as we got Micah ready for bed, I felt so happy. I look forward to watching Daddy give him his bath in the “pretty bubbles” (I am nearby getting jammies and enjoying all their noises), getting him in bed, Daddy reading stories to us, and our prayers and songs. It is such a sweet time! I know that the whole dynamic will change in the months to come, so I am trying to cherish these sweet moments of “just us”. (Some day, if baby girl reads this, I will have to explain this a bit…or else tell her to wait until she has children of her own!).

I really have a wonderful husband. I have known this, but I am reminded a lot lately. Yesterday afternoon, he was so willing to praise my efforts at home. Now, when I say efforts, think the dishwasher got loaded, kitchen swept, and two loads of laundry (yep, it has been pretty sad around here lately!). I have been a bit sickly and exhausted and have been letting things slide significantly. His encouragement gave me strength to go further and fix dinner (not something from a box or 3 ingredients or less). Sounds so silly, huh?! I was really down and was letting it get in the way of stuff that needed to be done. I would say I got lazy! I am putting it all out there because maybe the embarrassment of revealing it will motivate me to do what I should be doing without the praise and encouragement my sweet spouse gives me!!!

Just because I feel random today and I haven’t posted in ages (I am sure I have no readers at this point, but that was never the purpose of this little thing anyway), I flashed back to the time I came home from the hospital with Micah. Jonathan was so sweet! He took care of as much as he possibly could and that first night, it required a trip to Wal-Mart. Now, my sweet husband was given the kind of list that would send any husband into a tailspin of panic and stress. The list had medications that people might blush while buying, some necessities for a nursing mother, and (to make it even more embarrassing) “granny panties”. I had a c-section and the incision was very tender, so they were needed, OK! My sweet husband said nothing about the list. He just went and got the items and returned with a smile. That has stuck with me!! He will admit that it was a daunting task and he got lots of help from kind ladies working there, but my hubby took care of me! He didn’t balk and pretend he forgot something was on the list. He just did it! That image sticks with me when I get discouraged or tired. I have to remember that this man would do these things and more for me, so I need to keep up my part….I will do better!!!!

So, there you have it…my thoughts for today! Do better, girl!

***Dude!! I published this on Monday, but it never appeared!! Good Grief!!! ****

Saturday, we went to the recording studio in Tyler to record our first song in a group I am in (evenstill). I was really nervous because I prefer not to hear myself singing. That makes recording sessions a little interesting. However, after I finished waiting for most of the day for my turn, it really wasn’t so bad. I was terribly nervous, so it took a few tries for me to settle down, but then I was fine. I actually enjoyed the day. I liked watching my husband savor each part. I can tell he really likes this stuff! We took lots of pictures that I will have to share with you later today after Jonathan comes home with the laptop (all the photos are already there).
I dreaded this process, but in the end it turned out to be enjoyable. I will admit it was very tiresome, though! We were in the studio for 13 hours and finished ONE song! I know the process will speed up in the future because we now know what to expect and how to attack better the next time.
Meanwhile, Micah stayed with church friends and had a blast playing with two older boys. He got to see a basketball game, an indoor soccer game, and go to a birthday party. He was eager to tell us all about it.
Now, I have a nice sinus infection (Thank you, God, for keeping it at bay until recording was over.) and am trying to relax and keep the breathing passages clear. Hope you had a great weekend, too!

I have dropped off the face of the earth for a while as far as blogging goes.  I will be the first to tell you that I am not much of a writer.  I am not eloquent or clever, really.  I just write for my own entertainment.  Unfortunately for this blog, my entertainment was found elsewhere as we got our house converted to home and had a holiday travels.  We have kept busy, but I kept thinking about my sad, neglected blog.  I have had ideas of things I would enjoy writing about, but never got time to sit down and actually get my thoughts together.  I hope I will get better at setting side a time for blogging instead of wasting moments with a little Spider Solitaire (my simple, mindless time passer for those days when I need a brain unload).  On those days when I don’t feel words coming, maybe I will be better with giving a picture of the week, a quote, or a Bible verse that’s on my mind.  I know someting small is better than nothing at all.  My goal this week, is 4 posts.  So, we shall see how this new motivation goes.  I bet I can stretch those four posts with our new home pics and the progress we made to make it ours.  Anyway, here’s to a better start this year!