Christmas Miracles and Trials of Faith

Things are tough for us, financially, right now.  We moved here because Dug found a good full time job, something that he was unsuccessful in finding in St. George, even after a year of looking.  We're so grateful for that job, and the fact that we were able to move to this gorgeous area.  We knew it would be a little tight for a while, until he got a raise, and I got my diaper business going again.  Well, this month just happened to be more than a little tight.  This week, it came down to either paying our tithing or getting groceries. 

 We debated this.  We thought about perhaps getting groceries now and paying our tithing out of his next check, but the next check wasn't going to afford much extra either and that probably wouldn't have worked.  So, we put our faith to the test and paid our tithing this morning at church.  We figured we could ask the Bishop if we could get some help from the Bishop's Storehouse (the church's foodbank, for my non-member friends) so that we could eat this week.  We'd already pretty much given up on having any kind of presents for Christmas this year, and we were trying to concentrate on the spiritual aspect of the holiday (as evidenced by my last post).  This isn't a bad thing obviously but, as a parent, I want to be able to give my child a wonderful Christmas, even if it's only a few little things.  He's young enough that he wouldn't have known the difference, but  we would have.  Still, the situation wasn't going to change, so we were trying our best to make it a good Christmas, even without presents.  When church was over, we met with the Bishop, explained our situation, and what happened next still has me choked up.  When we asked if we could go to the Bishop's Storehouse, this wonderful, kind man pulled an envelope out of his breast pocket and said that he would do us one better.  He then handed us $300 in gift cards to Wal-Mart.  Apparently the ward Christmas Fund was being passed out to families in need, and he thought we qualified as just that.  I'm sure you can imagine the tears that started flowing down my cheeks at that moment.  So, not only we will be able to eat this week, we will be able to go out and get a Christmas tree tomorrow.  We will be able to get Noah a coat for this winter wonderland that's going on outside right now.  We'll be able to put a few presents under our tree.  And, we will never forget the lesson that we learned today.  The Lord will provide when you do what He's asked of you.  It was tough handing over that envelope this morning with $68 in it.  We did it, though.  And we left a few hours later with more than we could have ever imagined.

Keeping the Spirit of Christ in Christmas

I love Christmas.  Everything about it.  I love Christmas carols, hot apple cider, the smell of pine and cinnamon, Christmas lights, the feeling of anticipation and, most importantly, the celebration of the birth of our Savior.  I've been thinking lately of how Dug and I can instill in our children a reverence and respect and love for the real reason we celebrate on December 25th.  Growing up, my parents would read us the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke and sometimes from the Book of Mormon before any presents were opened.  We would gather around my Dad, as he read about Mary and Joseph making their trek to Bethlehem.  Many years my mom would let us help her bake a birthday cake for Jesus.  I think those things helped us remember what exactly we were celebrating.  It wasn't the fact that there were piles of gifts under the tree.  It was the fact that the Savior gave us the greatest gift of all.  One thing I'd like to do when Noah is older is to adopt a family in need and leave Christmas on their doorstep, anonymously, on Christmas Eve.  I asked people on Facebook to tell me how they keep Christ in the forefront of their minds during the Christmas season, and some of their replies were as follows:

• Listening to mostly gospel centered Christmas music
• Making, instead of buying, gifts
• Concentrating on giving rather than getting
• Giving your children only three gifts, because Christ only received three gifts (which is a great teaching tool, I think)
• Have a simple meal on Christmas Eve, instead of the spread, and donate what you would have spent on that big meal to a humanitarian organization.  During your simple meal, discuss as a family about the way that Jesus lived.
  

I'll keep adding to this list, as things come to me, or as people suggest things to me.  It seems to me that this year, with the current state of the economy, is the perfect time to scale down your Christmas celebrations and really focus on what's important.  Don't you think?

Tricks

Dug gets immense pleasure and amusement out of teaching Noah "tricks". These can vary from burping, to taking off his socks with his teeth, to dancing. Here's another one that he taught him:

He tried to get a third one in there, like Daddy, but it wouldn't fit.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It may have just been the three of us (two, if you're counting those of us who actually eat enough to be counted), but I know how to make a spread. We'll have left overs for weeks, but it's ok. It was yummy.

This was the first time we've ever cooked the turkey, as previous years have always been at my parents' home. I don't eat it, but Dug informed me that we did a fantastic job.

We also had delicious homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast (the cinnabon clone recipe; if you've never tried it, do... they're unbelievable!) while we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and we'll be eating some delicious homemade pumpkin pie in a bit, once all of this food digests somewhat.

Hope all of you had a wonderful day full of family, food, and thanks!

Grown-Up Thanksgiving

In an attempt to forget about the fact that this is the first Thanksgiving that I will not be with my family (my first grown-up Thanksgiving, if you will), I have tried to keep busy this week. I made the pie crust ahead of time and it's now waiting in the freezer to be filled with pumpkin. I made the cornbread for the stuffing. We cleaned the bedroom (thoroughly). I've sewed, cleaned and cleaned again, cooked, baked, played with Noah, and I still have not forgotten. This makes me more than a little sad. Don't get me wrong; I love my husband and my son more than anything, and it would be awful to be away from them on Thanksgiving, so I'm very grateful that we will be together. However, I am thirty years old, and I have not missed even one thanksgiving with my parents and my siblings until now. I think this has kind of thrown me for a loop. So, I've decided to concentrate on creating new traditions for my little family. There's not all that much I can do with Noah yet, as far as crafts or activities like that, but I figure we can start with a few small things this year, and change them or add to them as needed through the years. I was thinking about bundling us all up and going for a drive to see Christmas lights tomorrow night. So, what Thanksgiving traditions do you have with your family? Maybe I'll steal your ideas :)

Birthday Boy!

I can't believe that my little baby, the one for whom I labored 34 hours, the one who survived in spite of two very dangerous conditions that worked against him in the womb and during extensive labor and an emergency c-section, is one year old today. How did that happen? It seems like yesterday that I was waiting in the recovery room with Dug for them to bring him to me. It seems like yesterday that I kissed his soft blond hair for the first time. I can't fathom how a year has passed between then and now. And, yet, my baby has somehow turned into a little boy. A running, giggling, curly haired snuggle monster of a little boy. And, I can't imagine life without him.

We celebrated this afternoon with german chocolate cake, and vanilla ice cream. I made him a cupcake along with the cake for him to mash up on his highchair tray. Last night when we bought his present, we also had a package of wrapping paper in the cart, but somehow it didn't make it home with us, so I had to wrap his presents in some black tissue paper that we had in the junk drawer. Not very festive, but does the job, I suppose. We sang "Happy Birthday" with the help of Grandma on speaker phone, and let him dig in.

*None of these videos have been edited as of yet, so they may be a bit long.
You may want to utilize the FF button.

He didn't make nearly the mess that I expected. He did enjoy the cake (especially the coconut frosting), but lost interest pretty quickly. His presents, on the counter nearby, were too big a distraction, I think. So, we got him down, cleaned him up, and let him open them.

Grandpa and Grandma Bagley sent him the softest sweat suit, tee, socks, and a board book. We got him a set of wooden building blocks, and a DVD of all of the classic Sesame Street songs. Grandma and Grandpa Nelson's present is on its way, so we're excited to see what that is.

He lined these all up like this himself. Smarty.

Sometime soon when I have more time going I'm going to inundate you with pictures of Noah's first year. Yay!

Happy Birthday, Bug! We love you so very very much!

Mommy Made

Noah needs more winter jammies, and we're stretched pretty thin financially right now, especially with his first birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas here. I do, however, have lots of cute fabric, and a sewing machine. So, I gave it a whirl. It was my first time making jammies, and I did it sans pattern, so the collar came out a bit funky, so that will take some practice, but all in all, they came out pretty well, and they fit him! I love these owls. Next up: helicopters :)

You'll have to pardon the grouchy face. We're teething (two molars on either side... not so fun), and not in a very photo-happy mood right now.

Yesterday I made him a hoodie out of super soft bamboo fleece. I'm still planning on appliqueing something to the front, but I haven't found what I want yet. Please ignore the crappy photography.

Also, Grandma and Grandpa Bagley's package came yesterday, and Noah is DYING to open it up. Don't worry though; much to his dismay, he will be waiting to open it until Sunday when there is cake and ice cream and singing.

I'll take this!