Christmas at Thanksgiving

My oldest sister was due to have her baby around December 22, so we planned an early celebration. Well, a healthy baby boy was born on Thanksgiving day!

We still decided to go on with our celebration that Saturday. Her two oldest kids were brought by Nana and Papa. So, we were only missing mom and dad and baby and biggest brother.

9 boys, 3 girls, and one on the way
Go Nana and Papa!

Papa with the four oldest boys.

Papa passing out presents.

Nana enjoying her new treasures.

Papa and Pearly in Party Mode!

Christmas Decorations this year!

Well, we set up our Christmas tree two weeks before Thanksgiving. We waited a couple weeks before we put the ornaments on because I kept forgetting to buy lights at the store. (We also tried the LED lights and I just can't do it. They are so bright. I like the soft color of regular lights.)

Well this is what our Christmas tree looks like now.

We lost the top section of lights a couple days after we put the ornaments on. The bottom section went out a couple of days ago. So, I am not ready to go out and buy new lights. We will just have to wait until the after Christmas sales and have them ready for next year. At least it is in a pattern!

UPDATE: Thank you to a dear friend who gave us some of their leftover lights.

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I, also, noticed that Margaret was playing with our kid-friendly nativity set. She added some characters to it.

I didn't know Cinderella and the prince visited baby Jesus!

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God provided us with an outdoor nativity set this year. (everything came from dumpster diving, even the timer). Dad and the boys set it up.

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WOW! We went out tonight to see a light display at a house in Normal done by an 18 year old guy. We have a couple of videos for you.

O Holy Night

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

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There is video of the house here but there is more info at his website. www.kiblersdazzlinglights.com

Cloth Diapering!

Monkey in his new one-size pocket diaper

by Wahmies (with monkeys on it!) 

I know I am weird, but I really enjoy cloth diapering!  There are many different reasons for this.

1. They are better for the environment.  I really got hooked on cloth diapering when I watched a video I got for the kids on garbage disposal.  I watched these huge trucks delivering garbage to a dump and saw thousands of diapers in the piles.  I started thinking more about my choices then.

2.  They are saving us money.  Yes, the initial cost seems huge.  But, in the long run we have saved a lot of money.  Especially since we are going on our 5th child!  We have, also, stuck mostly with prefolds and covers.

3.  They are really cute!  There are such a huge variety of diapers to choose from.  Many with adorable prints.  It is so fun to see my little ones in a prefold with a plain white cover on.  There is just something about the way their little bottoms look.  Too cute!

Monkey's new diaper - $7 on sale!

We started out with Gerber diapers with plastic pants that you pull up and down.  That did not last very long for me.  Then, I met a woman in town whose knowledge of modern cloth diapering seems limitless.  I learned so much from her.  She introduced me to prefolds and covers.  After that, the one-size pocket diapers came out.  I started with a few and have added to our stash a little at a time.  They are great for when we are out of the house.  So, we use prefolds and covers at home and save the one-size pockets for when we are out and about.

Now, I would not have even thought of trying cloth diapering again if I was not able to speak with the owner of Pinstripes and PolkaDots.  She has helped me to figure out how to do it.  I can call her any time to ask questions, too.  It helps a lot that she lives 2min. away from our house!  Thank you so much, Mrs. G!

Her website:  www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com

Thank you, Aunt Laura!

Wow! I really like the pictures my sister-in-law takes of our kids. They always turn out wonderful. Thank you Aunt Laura...again!

Monkey-2 years

Punkin'-3.5 years

Girlfriend-6 years

Dude-8 years

Uncle Dan's blocks

Today was a wonderful 70 degrees for the high. The kids decided to play with Uncle Dan's blocks outside. (handmade by Uncle Dan) They ended up bringing out the cars and race tracks, also. Soon there was a little city on the driveway. I love to see what the kids imagine and build.

Girlfriend's bridge(just before Punkin' crashed into it)

Dude building and Monkey driving

The finished building and bridge

Punkin' driving

My Wild Punkin'

Punkin' had a run in with a fork the other day. He very excitedly brought his bowl and fork into the living room to show me he had finished his food at dinner time. I praised him and asked him to put his bowl and fork in the sink. After finishing that task (or so I thought) he came running past the couch and straight into the wall. Now, I expected him to be hurt, but the screaming sounds that he made were pretty serious. I bent down to check on him and found the fork still in his hand. It had jammed into his head when he hit the wall. I am very thankful his injury was very minor. This incident could have been a lot worse. I wonder what will come next!

10 years!

We just celebrated our 10th anniversary. Wow! My parents watched our four kiddos while we went camping-just the two of us. It took a little time to remember how to talk to each other, but after that we had a wonderful time. We spent time in God's word, praying together, reminiscing about all that God has brought us through(highs and lows), and thought about a vision for the future.

Our family verses are Romans 12:1-2.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Our family is definitely a work in progress and we are learning as we go. God is good and leads us patiently down his path.

PS We are not perfect by any standard. On the last night we miscommunicated about something minor. That turned into a heated argument with lots of hurt feelings. The next morning we were doing much better. Overall, the positives far outweighed the negatives on this trip!

The Knack

My husband has the Knack. Here is how it is explained in a Dilbert cartoon:

"I'm afraid your son has the Knack - It's a rare condition characterized by an extreme intuition about all things mechanical and electrical."

This is a very amazing gift to have. He is able to fix just about anything: computers, anything in, on, or around the house, etc. Anything that can be taken apart and put back together is fair game.

Just last week he found a piano keyboard in someones garbage on the side of the road. It did not have a cord with it. So, he brought it home, found an extra cord in his stash, and charged it up. He took it apart, cleaned it up, and put it back together. He turned it on and it works wonderfully. We now have piano lessons as part of our homeschool!!

So...I am sure you will hear much more about the projects my husband brings home for us.