More Books to finish out 2015

I've been keeping up with my book reading goal.

"Shopaholic to the Rescue" by Sophie Kinsella. You caught me. I like trash fiction, even when I'm not lounging on the beach. So sue me. haha. But even I didn't like this one. I got about half way through and then gave up. No real substance and the plot was boring. The Shopaholic ship has sailed.

"Nobody's Cuter than You" by Melanie Shankle. She also wrote "Green Sparkly Earrings" and one other one. This one about her appreciation for her friends was deemed to be her best yet but unfortunately I preferred her first book much better. She goes into a lot of detail about her youth and friendships, which unfortunately, I just didn't care about. It was like reading someone's uninteresting diary. But every now and then she'd throw in some insightful life lesson and it did get me thinking about all the relationships in my life that I'm thankful for, but as a whole, the book didn't do it for me. That being said, she's a funny writer and I would say check out her other work. Plus she has an awesome Southern accent so if you ever listen to her on a podcast you'll thank me:)

"Bittersweet" by Shauna Niequist. This is my first by this author, who I'd heard about for a while. After listening to her on a podcast and her revealing that this was her most vulnerable book, I decided to start here. The theme of this book is change, and how trials and change can be both bitter and sweet. She is open and honest about times of hardship in her own life, with job losses, miscarriages, etc... I appreciate that she doesn't try to seem all knowing about getting through hard stuff. She admits plenty of times when she did things wrong. But the self-reflection and striving to be better aspect is really what kept me engaged. The book is chopped up into essays that are related but can be read on their own, as well. There is one chapter called "Say Something", in which she talks about grief and how when one is going through something hard, it's baffling to know that life is going on all around you. "When something bad happens, people say the wrong things so often. They say weird, hurtful things when they're trying to be nice... But there's something worse than the things people say. It's when people say nothing... I remember exactly who walked the other direction when they saw me at church and who walked toward me (p.117)." This really struck me because this year has been a year of a lot of difficulty for people I care about. And there have been so many times when I am grieving for them in my heart but at a total loss about what to say to their face. But that doesn't mean we should let that fear stop us from acting. I'm thankful that even when I didn't know what to say, I simply put a card in the mail that said, "I don't know what to say, but I care." It's not about the words you say, it's about the saying something. It's about showing up when you know others are peddling backwards with fear and uncertainty. It's about that person knowing that even months after the heart of the trial is over, you haven't forgotten. You still think of them and what they went through, just as they are continuing to do as well. I always try to put myself in someone else's shoes... what would I want someone to do or say if I was diagnosed with cancer? What would help me if my child was sick? What would lift me higher out of my grief if I lost a child? I try to think through those questions and then do. I hope you do too. It doesn't take much, but it does take something.

Visiting the Great Grandparents

We had a nice time visiting with Gran and Grandaddy and Grandpa Lieber. 

Jackson and Gran. 

 Reading buddies. She's passing along her love of reading.

 Cute boys with Great Grandpa Lieber.

 The Word Book... read with every grandchild and great grandchild so far.

 Papa Horsie.

 Crazy wrestlers.

Fun with cousins

We are so glad the cousins are back in SD now (last year they were in Texas). Parker has been having a blast playing with Lexey almost daily.

Papa's lawn decorations. 

 Cuzzies.

 Visiting the amazingly decorate Santa House. Over 15,000 people a year visit this amazing home.

 Sweet little elf.

 We had fun exchanging gifts. They gave my kids a Lite Brite and that has been such a hit.

 Decorating Christmas trees (ice cream cones).

 Grandpa Bob with Jackson.

Such a special time of year with all those we love.

Flying high

I braved yet another flight alone from Virginia to California with all three boys. It went pretty well, though no one slept. And our stroller didn't make it to our final destination... but other than that, it was great. 

Mr. Santa greeted Papa when we arrived. 

As soon as we got home, we hit up Wings n things because that's Parker's favorite and then we went to visit Grammy at the preschool. She was very happy to see her boys.

The next day we met up with Sadie at the Children's Museum. So glad we did it that day because started the following day we all started getting sick. They are so cute together.

Merry Christmas

God could have orchestrated His plan of providing for us a Savior any way that he wanted. But he didn't send a Savior that would have it easy in this life, that would be born into privilege, that would be immune from suffering. He sent a baby to be born into this world, to two scared, but devoted parents, in a cold and dirty manger of all places. His upbringing was not out of the ordinary from the other townspeople, but His behavior and choices from the very beginning set him apart. He spent his time learning, teaching, serving, and loving others. He didn't just tell people God's message, He lived it and led by example. And in the end, He was persecuted until His last breath, but He died with a great peace knowing He fulfilled his role as the Savior of the World.

We all go through challenges in life, but we need only look to the Savior to see how it is that we can get through those things. Even in the midst of our greatest trials, we can rely on the power of prayer and the love of the Savior to see us through. It is true that because of Him, we need not fear and we can go forward with a brightness of hope.

Wishing you all a season of great joy and peace, because with a knowledge that He has gone before us to pave our way back to Heaven, we are in good hands. Merry Christmas.

Before we left...

Let me paint you a picture of our holiday doctor visits... 

In October, Parker had a cold that turned into walking pneumonia. Then he got an ear infection later that month. Then Austin got an ear infection. Then Jackson's cold turned into pneumonia. Then the day before we left for San Diego, Parker got ANOTHER ear infection. Thankfully that cleared up quickly with three-day meds. Then once we got to SD, we were at the urgent care with Austin within two days because of another ear infection for him. The next day, Jackson was sounding wheezy again so back to Urgent care we went. Amidst all that, I picked up their bug and got terribly sick with a sore throat and cold. I went to Urgent care the day after Jackson to rule our strep throat (which it wasn't). Ah. Now on Christmas Eve, we are on our last day of antibiotics for the two youngest. Please oh please, we've paid our dues. Let this be the end for a while. 

But how cute are my sickies?

 And here's another pic of the hectic day before we flew home for Christmas... Jackson is clearly a third child who needs to go with the flow. He didn't make a peep and when I went to check on him, he was fast asleep.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Ho ho ho

A friend gave this to me... Ho Ho Ho

 Parker was invited to a bowling party for a girl in his class last weekend. She invited the whole class, but only PArker and another boy came. She had lots of family there, but still... I'm glad we made the effort. Parker was on a lane with several middle school boys (Nevel, Ahmed, and Sincere). And then there was little, blonde Parker. haha. They were so cute and encouraging of him, but quickly got competitive when he got two strikes within his first three turns! Last year on New Year's Eve we took him bowling and he mentioned that his goal for the new year was to be a better bowler. Well, even though this was his only other time bowling in 2015, he met his goal. He ended beating all the older kids. Hilarious.

 Parker and Christina the birthday girl.

 On Sunday night we went to a local Baptist church to see their drive through Nativity. It was so awesome. They gave you an audio cd for your car and it narrated as you drove through the different scenes. What a neat event for the community to enjoy. It brought up a lot of great conversation in our car and was just really special. So glad we went.

Little student

Kindergarten is so fun. It's 3 1/2 hours a day, he has minimal homework and lots of choice when he does do his homework activities. He loves reading daily because of the Pizza Hut personal pan pizza incentive (I can't believe they are still doing that from when I was an elementary schooler), and he also spends some time on ABC Mouse each day, which really reinforces what he's learning. Jackson naps best in his bed nowadays, so our afternoons are spent at home and there's plenty of time to do homework, talk, and play. It's a nice pace of life. 

 We've had unseasonably good weather lately. Today is 68 degrees. So the boys went out to play with the hose. I love our grassy front yard so much. It's the perfect soccer field and the boys are out there playing most weekends. Austin has gotten into wearing Parker's soccer uniforms, but when asked if he'd like to be on a team to get his own jersey, he responds, "No... I'll just wear Parker's."

 We got Jackson this high chair for Christmas. He's not in the eating phase yet but it's nice to have a place to sit up during dinner prep. I tried to give him some applesauce the other day, but he wasn't interested. But anytime he's on my lap at dinner he is grabbing for my food. So we're not far from that phase.

 And we have a roller. He rolled over from his back to belly and is no longer mad about it. He didn't once on accident a few weeks ago and refused to lift his head. Now he's fine with it. Gone are the days when I could lay him down and he'd stay exactly where I put him. He's a little wiggle worm and spins himself in circles, bouncing his bum up and down. So cute.

Poor little sickie

It is very rare that we are all well around here. Germs basically just cycle through from one person to the next, and often catch one of the kids a second time before the illness has made its way out the door. Lame. The pink antibiotics bottle has a permanent place in the fridge. I wish it wasn't so. 

A cold bug went through our house starting about a month ago. Pete got it after his marathon and it took him quite a while to recover. Then Parker and Austin got little colds that turned into an ear infection for Austin. Then Jackson caught the cold (oh and Uncle Jeff who was with us), and he quickly went from bad to worse in a matter of two days. He started wheezing and was grunting with every breath. One night he demanded to be held all night long, so I "slept" sitting up with him. After that, I knew he needed to be seen by a doctor so I took him into the children's hospital ER. I'm so glad I did because upon doing a chest xray, they found some pneumonia on the scan. However, despite the fact that he wasn't eating very well, the doctor wasn't too concerned given his "heartiness." Pneumonia can be so scary for a puny 4 month old, but not my big boy. We started him on antibiotics and he was much better within a few days. 

Here we are in the waiting room (2 hours of our stay). 

 Then they took us back and it was another 5 hours before we were released. Hospitals don't operate based upon a principle of efficiency, that's for sure. But we had very good care from the doctors and nurses. He kept smiling at everyone, and I kept nudging him to stop smiling so they will believe how sick he was.

 A few days later, we went to the church Christmas party. It was simple with a few crafts and a few musical numbers. Very nice. Austin had caught another cold, so Pete stayed home with Jackson and Aussie, and Jeff, Parker, and I hit up the party.

 There's a healthier boy...

 My life in a photo...

I am at my wits end with managing the mess around here. It is like pulling teeth to get the kids to clean up (even when I'm helping them), but even when we do clean up, it looks disastrous within 15 minutes of it all being clean. We have put away several boxes of toys, and they really do PLAY and imagine with all the toys that are currently out. Not only that but they combine types of toys (legos, action figures, rescuebots, etc...), so it doesn't work to clean up one thing before getting out another. I do do that for things like train tracks or cars that need more setup. Any tips would be super helpful.