December 2012

Eyes full of wonder

From sweet joys December brings

Taking it all in

This Christmas season was a lot of fun to share with Bruce.  Sure, last year he loved to lay under the Christmas tree, but not much more beyond that struck his fancy.  This year though.  We've been able to include Bruce in so many more of our family traditions.  Family traditions that Charlie and I had growing up, some that we didn't even realize were traditions until now, and new traditions that we've started as our own family unit.  It has been special, and exciting, and leaves me happily enjoying them now, and anxiously anticipating future years to come.

I'm typically not a huge Christmas music fan, but we've had the holiday playlist going almost nonstop for the past month, and surprisingly I've found myself actually enjoying it.  And not just when the Jackson 5 or Big Bad Voodoo Daddy cycled through - but all of it!  It's interesting how having Bruce around changes things.  Bruce's favorites seemed to be all the classic hymns, with a traditional version of "Joy to the World" topping the list.  He's a funny kid.  His latest dance move has been adding "the swim/airplane" to the hip shakin' mix.

The first decoration that we got out at the beginning of the month was our Advent calendar.  Yes, it has chocolate hidden for every day leading up to Christmas - but it's not your typical Advent calendar.  Several years ago my friend Kim introduced me to the best Christmas cd ever - Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God.  For those of you who know me well, I've probably recommended it to you, and quite possibly have even given you a copy of it.  What makes it special is that it tells the Christmas story from the beginning.  The very beginning.  The songs take you from Creation, through all of Israel's history leading up to the birth of Jesus.  I really wish I would have been the one to compose it, but I wasn't.  What I did do though, was compile a collection of verses that narrate the cd and also summarize The Story.  For those of you who follow me on Facebook, it's become a tradition of mine for the last few years to post my Countdown to Christmas with these 25 verses, and they also are a part of our Advent calendar. (If you want to see all the verses, here's a link: Countdown to Christmas)  Bruce had a great time each morning taking the little felt icons I made out of the drawer of the Advent calendar and sticking them on the outside.  He may have just wanted his bite of the Hershey Kiss, but I enjoyed reading him the verses!

Towards the beginning of the month we had our international students over for dinner and we decorated our Christmas tree.  There's something about having a tree inside the house that brings the spunk back into our cat, Mr. Pants.  And Bruce loved it too.  He insisted the first thing we did every morning was to turn on the Christmas tree lights.  We kept our most precious ornaments toward the top, but Bruce thourougly enjoyed playing with the ones we left on the bottom.  Unfortunately, several of them had to visit "Santa's Hospital" before putting them away at the end of the month because of pieces that were loved a little too much.

Comparing Cowboys with Sojung

Making stockings

The next week when we had our international students over, Santa came a little early and we celebrated Christmas with them before they all left for their holiday travels.  We roasted marshmallows in the fireplace for s'mores, opened stockings, and had a lot of fun blowing bubbles for Bruce!

We didn't get any lights up on the outside of our house this year, but on multiple occasions Charlie bundled up Bruce after dinner and took him for a walk through our part of the neighborhood to enjoy the other houses.  I'm not sure what Bruce thought was going on, but he definitely loved every bit of it!

Bruce insisted that Joseph hold Baby Jesus
instead of Mary, and of course Jesus would
 look better with a cowboy hat on. 
Then Bruce put them on the tree. 

Charlie and I also took Bruce to see the Norman Christmas Parade.  We couldn't stay for the whole thing because we needed to get home for lunch and a nap (not to mention that it was actually pretty cold that day!) but for what we did see, Bruce was pretty impressed - especially with the high school marching bands!

We got to go to two birthday parties this month for littles we love.  Charley had a Bigfoot birthday celebrating five years of adventures, and sweet Caris turned one!  I love birthdays and look forward to bringing Bruce to more as the years go on.

Since we spent Thanksgiving with my family in Texas this year, we drove up to Perkins, OK to celebrate Christmas with Charlie's family.  It was just a small group this year, just us and his parents, but we had a really nice time.  Bruce got several hours of tractor driving in with Grandpa Bill and Charlie, so of course he had a blast.  Charlie went to Kansas with his dad one day to see the new bulldozer and bring back a load of hay, and we were all going to cut down a Christmas tree the following day, but some pretty nasty weather was moving in, so Yvonne and I decided to cut down the tree ourselves before they got back.  Well okay, she cut the tree down by herself.  I mostly just tried to keep the cows away from Bruce, and keep Bruce away from the barbed wire fence.  I did help haul the tree over the fence (okay, so the perfect tree just happened to be on someone else's land... shh...) and help tie it on to the back of the polaris.  I think Bruce thought we were crazy, but was happy to have another tree to decorate.

Not your typical tree, but still great!

Lots of rocking chairs at Granny K's!

Christmas morning came before dawn for us since Bruce is still such an early riser.  (and poor Granny K. was up way too late the night before making Christmas bread, but it was worth it!)  Bruce's reaction to all the gifts under the beautifully lit up Christmas tree wasn't quite youtube worthy, but it was really sweet to see him excited - especially about his new wagon!  The weather got significantly colder, but we got our puffy coats on a went for a couple of wagon rides anyway.  We've got the cutest little rhino around!

Our ridiculous Christmas elf
almost ready for bed

Charlie was able to take some time off from work, so we stayed a few days after Christmas and then headed home.  We took down and put away "Christmas" and got ready for our friends Dan, Leslie and Liam to stay with us on their way to Houston.  They got in really late, so we didn't see them until the next morning, and they had to get back on the road fairly quickly, but we had a fun morning anyway.  The best part was that it started snowing like crazy!  They'll stay with us again on their way back to St. Louis in a few days, so we're looking forward to that as well.  Like I've said before, I love having a friend who has a son Bruce's age.  And now that they're both a year old, the two or three month difference in their age doesn't seem noticeable at all.  It's fun to compare milestones and developments and see how the boys are growing.

Liam and Bruce

rubber-banded ziplock baggies make
great snow shoes...

And how is that boy growing?  So incredibly fast.  Do I say that every month?  But it's been great.  He's now so much more of a little kid, and hardly recognizable as that baby I've toted around for what has seemed like forever.   He loves checking to see if the "big boys" across the street are playing outside, and if they are, he insists we go and say hello.  They're super sweet and considerate and always make time to talk with Bruce and include him in what they're doing.  Now that it's getting so cold, it's hard to spend a lot of time outdoors, which makes life a little more challenging, but we're hanging in there.  He still has an amazingly short attention span, but will sit for a bit now and then to play with play-doh, or scribble with markers.  We also got a hand-me-down slide that's intended to be an outdoor toy, but for now it lives in our living room.  It isn't too big, and it gives Bruce something else to play with inside, so I don't mind.

In keeping with leaving babyhood behind him, Bruce is definitely getting more opinionated!  He now will shake his head "no" and even run away from me when he doesn't want to cooperate with whatever it is I may be asking of him.  Or if I'm holding up the "wrong" jacket for him to put on, he'll run into his bedroom and pull the one he wants out of the hamper.  What?  Who knew such small details were so important to him.  So I give in when I should, compromise when I can, and put my foot down when I have to.  Isn't that they way it works?

To compensate for his little rebellions, Bruce has gotten a lot more affectionate these days!  He's been hugging his animals for months, but will now finally give us a hug (usually) when we ask, and can even blow kisses (sort of).  He also is without a doubt saying mama and dad all the time now.  Charlie is usually dada or dad, and I've been various forms of mama, mom-mom, mum, ma, sometimes all together... I'll take whatever I can get! 

 

So how are we ringing in the New Year this year?  With a lot of elbow grease!  Well, for Charlie anyway.  When we bought our house almost five years ago, we did a lot of work updating things around the house.  At that time though, we couldn't do much with the bathrooms other than a few little things.  We've finally decided to take the plunge though and do some major renovations in both bathrooms.  And we're also putting in new ceiling fans in our bedroom and the living room.  So far Charlie has installed new recessed lighting in those rooms because the fans we're getting don't have light fixtures attached, and installed exhaust fans in both bathrooms.  It's so nice being married to a handyman!  We've been looking at tile options for the bathrooms and will hopefully get started on that project soon! 

We may not be staying up, playing games until midnight tonight, but that doesn't mean we're not excited about the new year!  We've had such an amazing year, and are looking forward to what awaits us in 2013!

Countdown to Christmas

December 1: " In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1

December 2: "In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and He blessed them." Genesis 5:1-2

December 3: "Adam sinned, and that sin brought death into the world. Through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, but through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous." Romans 5:12, 19

December 4: "The Lord said to Abraham, 'Go forth from your country...to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing...and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.' And He took him outside and said, 'Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.... So shall your descendants be.'" - Genesis 12: 1-3; 15:5

December 5: "The Lord said to Isaac, 'Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham.'" Genesis 26:3

December 6: "The Lord said to Jacob in a dream, 'Behold I am with you and I will keep you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to the land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.'" Genesis 28:15

December 7: Over the course of time, Jacob's descendants, the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt and the sons of Israel cried out; and their cry rose up to God. " So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God saw the sons of Israel and God took notice of them." Exodus 2:24-25

December 8: "Passover Us" 

December 9: Moses had much wisdom from God to share with the Israelites and he said, "You shall fear only the Lord your God; and you shall worship Him. For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession. So circumcise your heart and stiffen your neck no longer. Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them." Deuteronomy 6:12,13; 7:6; 10:16; 11:16

December 10: "So Long, Moses"

December 11: "All the officials of the priests and the people were very unfaithful and were following all the sins of the nations; and they defiled the house of the Lord, which He had sanctified in Jerusalem. The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, the prophets, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, until there was no remedy. So the Israelites were taken into Babylonian captivity." 2 Chronicles 36L 14-16

December 12: "Deliver Us"

December 13: "When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion, our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with joyful shouting; they said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them.' The Lord has done great things for us; and we are filled with joy." Psalm 126:1-3

December 14: "'Behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord, 'When I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah - not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, but this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days: I will put my law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.'" Jeremiah 31:31-33

December 15: "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentile, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth." Isaiah 49:6

December 16: "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14

December 17: "For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty Go, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this." Isaiah 9:6-7

December 18: "Matthew's Begats"

December 19: "The angel said to Mary, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, His kingdom will never end.'" Luke 1:30-33

December 20: "Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city." Luke 2:1-3

December 21: "Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth." Luke 2:4-6

December 22: "Labor of Love"

December 23: "And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping their watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.'" Luke 2:8-11

December 24: "This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Luke 2:12

December 25: "Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.' When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.'" Luke 2:13-15

November 2012

Mindful of blessings

Grateful for this November

Finding contentment

Charlie was supposed to be in China the first two weeks of November, so Bruce and I planned a trip to St. Louis.  His business trip ended up being rescheduled, but Bruce and I didn't cancel our adventure!  We found a great deal with Southwest, and went to celebrate Baby Liam's birthday and baptism!

I was a little bit anxious about taking Bruce on the airplane, but Charlie was able to take us to the airport, help with hauling the suitcase, backpack of books, diaper bag, and car seat - and even was able to get an escort boarding pass to help us get all the way to the gate and waited with us until we got on the plane!  Fantastic!  Bruce had a great time watching planes take off while waiting, and like everyone, had fun people watching too.  Our flight was almost empty, so we ended up getting a whole row to ourselves - could it get any better?  The flight was nonstop, a little over an hour, and from take off to landing, Bruce was an awesome little travel companion.  He didn't cry over ear pressure, didn't go too stir crazy confined in a tight little space, and amused himself with the seat controls, the bolts that fasten the chairs to the floor, the window shade, the tray tables...  I think by the time we landed he had all the details memorized and could have built his own model airplane replica.  I brought tons of books to try to keep him occupied, but only ended up reading a couple of them - 15 pounds of wasted cargo! (and a backache to boot)  I asked about the little wings that I remember so fondly from my childhood plane rides, but was told that the program that sponsored them doesn't do that anymore.  Understandable, but disappointing!

My friend Leslie greeted us at the airport, Bruce napped in the car on the way back to her house, and then all the family loaded up and headed to Grant's Farm for the birthday party.  It was a bit cold, but everyone had such a great time!  We got to feed the camels ( one of which almost ate the birthday boy! ) and offer bottles of milk to the goats, too!  We saw some exotic animals, and got to pet one of the clydesdales.  Ever since Charlie designed the breeding facility for the Budweiser Clydesdales a few years back, we've had a fondness for these giants of the horse world, and it was exciting for me to actually get to see Grant's Farm.  (One of these days I hope to make it out to the breeding facility too!)  

Liam was baptized the next day, and it was so wonderful to actually be there to celebrate with his family.  Leslie and I have been friends for over fifteen years, and have grown even closer over the past couple of years as we've come into motherhood.  It's really precious to me that we have boys the same age and that we can walk through this together.

already wanting to play behind closed doors...

The boys had fun playing "around" each other (so did the mamas), and Liam didn't mind sharing his birthday treasures with Bruce.  The riding toys were especially a hit for Bruce, as he has started to ride anything he can straddle.  We had a great weekend, and it was sad to leave when the time came - but we had a great flight back, and it was nice to be home again!

Not too long after we got back, a special package arrived in the mail!  Our Aggie Rings!  When we were in college, Charlie and I weren't too interested in getting them - we didn't have the money, and didn't want to sell out to The Man.  It was a decision we didn't regret, and didn't think too much about - until recently.  It seems the further removed we get from that season of life, the more nostalgic we get.  Texas A&M doesn't seem like "home" as strongly as it once did, but it's definitely a magical place that we don't want to lose ties to.  Ironically, both Charlie and I started wanting the rings at the same time, independent of each other, and thought we'd have a lot of convincing to do to get them.  Nope!  So we ordered them a few months ago and have been anxiously waiting for Ring Day like giddy little seniors.  As soon as Charlie's travel schedule settles down a bit, we'll be planning a Ring Dunk party!

We celebrated Thanksgiving with our international students the Friday before the real holiday.  It's always fun to introduce our family traditions with our extended family!

Tuesday before Thanksgiving, we loaded up the van and headed to Texas to spend a few days in Horseshoe Bay with my family.  Bruce still traveled well, but this was probably our most difficult trip to date.  He's at that point where he doesn't want to be strapped down, and isn't interested in watching movies yet.  It was hard to keep him happily entertained for eight hours, but we survived decently.  A couple of pit stops at the Fried Pied store and then the Dutchman to load up on homemade chocolates definiately helped!

The Dutchman on HWY 281 - a must!

My brother and sister-in-law and two of their kids were there on Tuesday night, and we all had a play date at the park the next day.  They had to leave that afternoon to catch a plane to Boston, but more family showed up as they left.

My neices Courtney
 and new Baby Jocelyn!

 

There was lots of time to visit with grandparents, play the piano, and hunt for fossils!  (Lots of crinoid stem pieces in this area, too.  Still no dinosaur bones though.)


Me and Mini-me

We had a great feast on Thanksgiving and then ushered in the Christmas season with the Walk of Lights on Lake LBJ.  They expanded their display, and Bruce got to sit on Santa's lap!  We didn't have the all-out Christmas Movie and Game Marathon, but we did manage to squeeze in The Santa Clause, Christmas with the Kranks, and the Polar Express, and several rounds of Yahtzee.

Cousin Peyton giving Bruce his first taste of Mnu-nu

still always points out the moon...

On Friday we made our annual pilgrimage to Johnson City to poke around in their Main Street stores and witness the Lighting of the Courthouse.  Bruce enhanced everyone's firework experience by laughing hysterically every time one exploded - It melted my heart!  They didn't have hay rides this year which was a little disappointing, but on our way home we drove by the forest of lighted trees which was satisfying enough.  It was probably for the best because we had a tired little babe to get to bed!  We headed back to Oklahoma on Saturday, just in time for Charlie to catch his plane to Las Vegas early Sunday morning!

"Dat?!"

When we weren't on vacation, Bruce had a lot of fun playing around the house and growing up too fast!  He's now a pro at walking, and is moving on to grander things... like climbing.  He can go anywhere he wants, but is always quick to shoot his hand up for help down the curb or over a doorway's threshold.  His new affinity for climbing and general accelerated pace of mobility has definitely made me a nervous wreck though!  I find myself whispering quick prayers of thanks for all the near-misses from great catastrophes, but there's always strawberry jelly for the times when the head wallop sends screams reverberating throughout the house.

"riding" his barn

Early Christmas gift from Uncle Paul
and Aunt Leah!  A riding scooter!

somersaults on the horizon...

Look at this big boy sitting at a table to play!

Bruce and I are still going to the library and nursing home once a week and are enjoying becoming "regulars."  The librarians know him by name and he loves to check up on the gerbils they have at the check out counter.  He can sit still in my lap for the stories for the most part, but prefers to watch the film projector machine instead of the little movie they show at the end.  It's fun that they still use an old projector though!  At the nursing home, we definitely bring a lot of smiles with us, and we've started to get to know a few of the residents, too.  Lucille gets the best smiles from Bruce, but Mary's his favorite because she lets him ride on her walker's seat.  John may not have many teeth, but he's got a giant cowboy hat that of course is a big hit.  JoAnn is as looney as they get, but in her sweet, regal southern accent, she dotes on Bruce and swears he'll be a future politician.  Mildred might be a little gruff, but she's always up for a good conversation, and Karen swears Bruce is good luck for her Bingo game (even though she's only won one quarter so far).

Speaking of the library gerbils, Bruce is crazy about mice now!  Whether it's the real deal in a cage, the little cast iron mice from our barn set, pictures of them in books - this boy thinks they're the best.  The other day I made him one out of play-doh and his eyes lit up like it was Christmas, and he toted it around the house, squeezing it to his shoulder - his way of hugging his lovies.  Maybe it's time to get another one as a pet?

Bruce still isn't talking really, but that's okay!  He babbles off and on all day, and you can hear him squawk, "dat?!" a thousand times a day, wondering what the name of something is.  He can point to probably a hundred different words in books now, and can understand several simple commands - so I know he's got some language processing activities going on in that brain of his!  I feel like a very educated cave man these days - I have an answer for all his queries.  "Dat?"  "Table."  "Dat?"  "Chair."  "Dat?"  "Shovel."  "Dat?"  "Handle."  "Dat?"  and it goes on and on...  Even on the "Seven Butterflies" page in the counting book.  "Dat?"  "That's a butterfly."  "Dat?"  "That's another butterfly."  "Dat?"  "That's also a butterfly."  "Dat?"  "A butterfly."  "Dat?"  "Another butterfly."  I think you get the idea...  It's so exciting now though to see that it's not just in one ear and out the other!

As we closed out this month, we had another closing on our calendar!  We finished the process of refinancing our home mortgage, and I highly recommend you look into it yourselves!  We used an online company called Provident Funding, and went from a 6.5% to a 2.875% interest rate, knocked 10 years off our mortgage, saving us over 70,000 dollars, and our monthly payment still went down by 60 dollars a month!  You can't beat that!

Now we're looking forward to the Christmas season, for all the Wonder it brings, keeping in mind the advent of Jesus is what gives us our hope!    

Here's a youtube link to Bruce's latest dancing video, I hope it works!  Boot Scootin' Baby Bruce