Happy Birthday, Dear Clive-y!

Two years ago today we welcomed Clive Simeon Horn into our little family. We had no idea how God would use our joyful little guy to change the dynamic of our family!

Clive has been a pure joy and I can't imagine our family without him. God has used Clive in many ways in each of our lives. Clive, in his overt happiness and ready smiliness, spreads joy easily.

But for me Clive's smile is intensely personal. Since he was just a teensy weensy peanut I've felt a tight unique bond with my boy. Before having Clive, I had no clue how it would be possible for me to love any child as much as I already loved Chloe. However trite it may sound, I truly love both Chloe and Clive in full yet different ways.

In his first weeks I acutely recall holding Clive close and dancing with him to Paul Baloche's You have been so good to me in an effort to console him back to sleep. In those moments my heart sang the words to that simple song and I thought to myself, "How am I ever going to give this little boy up if he gets married?"

As I reflect on Clive's 2nd birthday today the words to Paul Baloche's song ring in my brain . . .
(couldn't find it as an mp3 so here it is via youtube)





Here are some of my favorite pictures of my favorite little guy!

What a wonderful Christmas!

As I sit down to reflect on and summarize our Christmas festivities I'm overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with thankfulness to God for the wonderful family He has blessed me with. Oh yes, we got some stellar gifts (my mom is the world's best gift-giver) and ate scrumptious food (including way too many cookies). But the best part of Christmas was enjoying my family.

Both my mom and gramma traveled here to celebrate with us. And celebrate we did! We did lots of fun things together and both the grammas eagerly jumped in to play-mode with the kiddos. They didn't even complain when the kids tackled, climbed, or generally invaded their personal space. The grammas, experienced babysitters that they are, even gave Matt and I an overnight date night. Fantastic! Though it took Matt and I a little while to get used to talking to each other without interruption.

Another amazing gift from my gramma came in a form of service. She is an incredible seamstress. She knew my mending pile was becoming a mountain so in the afternoons and evenings of her stay here, gramma did almost ALL of my mending. I was slightly embarrassed to show her my shoddy incomplete sewing projects but she gently gave me advice and whirred away at the machine to fix my mistakes. AND whilst gramma sewed away, I got to play lots of afternoon scrabble with my dear mum. We played scrabble together 5 out of 6 days of their visit.
We shared many a laugh as I beat my dear mom in the word battles of the scrabble board. (Don't worry, my mom won one game so it wasn't a total rout.)

Did I mention my mom paid for our groceries too? She funded our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day feasts. We always eat well when gramma is in town! :) We feasted on prime rib, shrimp (which Chloe tried for the first time and LOVED), and loads of yummy cheeses brought from my home-state of Wisconsin.

God is so good to us. He has graciously lavished us with His Son, a loving family, warm home (however mis-matched it may be), good food, and healthy bodies. What more could a gal ask for?

How were your Christmas festivities?

Feliz Navidad!

The grammas have arrived and we are in official Christmas party mode! Thus far we've been noshing on cookies, playing scrabble, bowling, thrifting, and chatting up a storm. The kids are L.O.V.I.N.G. having both gramma and nana here at their playing disposal. And I'm loving having the extra sets of hands around to watch kiddos, cook or do my mending. My gramma is tackling my year-long compilation of mending projects. What a lovely Christmas gift to me! :)

Due to the holiday activity, we will be off the blogging and facebook grid for the rest of this week.

Wishing you and your family a happy, restful, joyful, Jesus-filled Christmas celebration!

Rounding out the Christmas cookie tray

With only one day left before my mom and gramma arrive (yippee yay!) this morning I pulled out all the Christmas goodies from the freezer.

For our Christmas cookie tray we've got:

• Butterfinger balls
• Ginger Molasses cookies
• Sugar cookies (which will get frosted this evening hopefully)
• Thumbprint cookies with raspberry jam
• Chocolate cherry fudge
• Double cranberry bread

I still feel like the tray is incomplete though. I'd like to add something lemon-y and/or something minty.

Any suggestions?

Also, what's your favorite cookie to nosh from the holiday cookie display?

This year my cookie of choice is most definitely butterfinger balls. The baby needs those antioxidants from dark chocolate you know. :)

Boy, oh boy!

I'll let the following VERY CLEAR ultrasound image tell you our exciting news about baby #3. (I sure hope he doesn't feel too violated that I'm posting pictures of his privates on the internet).



















That's right, soon Chloe and I will be outnumbered! And that's probably a good thing. :) Two drama queens in the household are more than enough!

The ultrasound, as always, was an incredible experience. Now that we've been through a few of them, body parts and organs are more recognizable and less blob-like to my trained eye. Each ultrasound moves me to involuntary tears. It's just so amazing to be able to see my little guy's heart beating, his lungs working, and the tiny details like the joints of his teensy fingers and toes.

Chloe was pretty funny about the whole gender reveal. As you can imagine, she was rooting for a girl all the way. But it wasn't until the day before the ultrasound that she finally asked the big question, "Mommy, how will we know if it's a girl baby or a boy baby? Will she have girl hair?"

And me, wanting to take every advantage of the learning opportunity presented by her question, explained quite a bit. In real anatomical terms. So, I should NOT have been surprised when Chloe asked the ultrasound technician politely if she could show us the baby's penis or vagina. That sure made the tech giggle and made me blush. :)

Chloe is excited though she had a few moments where her disappointment showed through. For instance at the doctor's office that afternoon the doc asked if Chloe was happy to be getting a new baby brother. Chloe thought for a minute and then replied, "Oh, yes. I'm very happy the baby is a boy. I'd be even happier though if the baby changed into a girl!"

We are pumped that we're adding another fun busy boy to our family. And now the name debate has officially begun . . . .

Christmas productivity

Man, seems like the days are flying by too quickly as we approach Christmas!

As usual, I have been bitten by the sewing bug for the holiday season. My mind goes into overdrive and imagines all sorts of homemade gifty projects for family and friends. Of course my excuse for this madness is frugality. In order to save money during this happiest and most expensive time of year I should put my skills (or lack there of) to work and make stuff. But in reality it's more than mere cheapness that drives me to sew/craft. I LOVE IT! I heartily enjoy combining the art of giving and creating.

I am in the midst of several projects right now and have resorted to sewing during our at-home mornings while the kids monkey around. Clive often insists on sitting on my lap at the sewing machine (that may explain my crooked seams) and sometimes tries to "help" pulling the pins out and putting in the pin cushion. That drives me to the brink of insanity and then the kids get banished to a different room for some healthy non-mommy play.

I'm also trying to get some holiday baking in here and there. Thus far I've made thumbprint cookies, ginger molasses cookies, and sugar cookies. Cookies are patiently waiting in the freezer for our pre-Christmas week of feasting. Still hoping to make a batch or two of fudge, peanut butter balls, and something lemony or minty to round out the cookie tray.

With a scary busy looking week ahead of us, I best get busy. My goal is do work on one thing a day. And if something doesn't get done it gets chucked off the to-do list. Except of course for the chocolate treats . . . they MUST be made. Especially this year. This pregnant mama needs her daily intake of dark chocolate rich in antioxidants. :)

What are your Christmas project/baking goals this year?

Nativity Candle Giveaway on Simplemom.net

Simplemom.net is hosting a lovely nativity candle giveaway through Friday, December 11. (I get an extra entry for posting on my blog . . . hence the commercial.)

Check it out at: http://simplemom.net/a-holiday-giveaway-dayspring/comment-page-2/#comment-64979

If I don't win, I hope one of you do!

THE song for Christmas 2009

Each year it seems I gravitate towards one favorite Christmas carol to teach Chloe. Last year was O Come, O Come Immanuel. That classic hymn is one of my all-time faves because of the rich lyrics, minor key, and depth of ideas. And you've not experienced full cute-osity until you hear a preschooler sing the word "Israel".

This year I'm teaching Chloe the little known Star Carol. When I first heard the song on Simon and Garfunkel's Old Friends album, I was immediately captivated by the moving harmonies and simple lovely lyrics. (Take a listen for yourself here.)

What I think I like best about the song is the last verse (lyrics below). It's easy to teach the Christmas story "facts" to the kiddos this time of year. But to actually make a purposeful application that will resonate with small children is tricky; this song nails it on the last verse.

It's not a hugely deep or theological application, mind you. But it's a great place to start. It's simple enough that Chloe gets it (pretty sure O Come, O Come Immanuel was more than a wee bit over her head last year) and we can talk about what it means to "make a place for Jesus" in our lives.

Which Christmas song/s are singing a lot this year?

:: :: :: :: :: :: ::

A Star Carol

Long years ago on a deep winter night,
High in the heav'ns a star shone bright,
While in a manger a wee baby lay,
Sweetly asleep on a bed of hay.

Jesus the Lord was that baby so small,
Laid down to sleep in a humble stall;
Then came the star and it stood overhead,
shedding its light 'round His little bed.

Dear baby Jesus, how tiny Thou art,
I'll make a place for Thee in my heart,
And when the stars in the heavens I see,
Ever and always I think of Thee.

Preparing for Christmas

Sheesh, feels like my mind is in constant Christmas-preparation mode these days. Planning projects/gifts, thinking about holiday menus, dreaming of eating Christmas cookies (and I should get more than everyone else this year since I'm great with child).

But the real point of Christmas of course is to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Such an incomprehensible manifestation of God's love to us!

As we teach the kiddos the story of Jesus' birth I hope to also transfer excitement and anticipation to them as we countdown to Christmas. Obviously there will be some built-in excitement as they see the gifts multiply under the tree . . . but I want to convey excitement about Jesus in the mix of all the holiday traditions.

We're doing a paper chain to count down the days 'til Jesus' birthday and also an advent calendar. Also reading a few verses or singing Christmas carols after supper each night. I had hoped to make a set of nativity dolls for the kids to play with but alas, I'm way behind on that project.

Any other ideas for making Jesus' birth real to little ones this Christmas?

Our unexpected Thanksgiving

Feels silly to report on our Thanksgiving now that December is literally around the corner. Yikes!

I hope you all had a restful and enjoyable time of feasting, football and family (no, I did not try to alliterate that sentence). We sort of did. Matt came down with the stomach flu late Tuesday evening and was hence in no mood for feasting come Thursday. I started to feel queasy Thursday afternoon. So instead of traveling to see family, we were needfully quarantined at home for a quiet sickie Thanksgiving.

Despite the sickies though, we truly had a lovely weekend. We got out the Christmas box and did our holiday decorating. Chloe put ALL the ornaments on the tree for me this year. Usually I'm super gung-ho on tree-trimming but not so much this year with the nausea coming over me. What a blessing that she's miss independent lately!

Unfortunately I missed Black Friday shopping. Nuts! But Chloe and I did some Saturday shopping and picked up a few little things. Did any of you brave the crowds to shop BF? What deals did you score?

We laid around, watched much football and generally hung-out together as a family. It was surprisingly refreshing. And laying around helped me get the Christmas cards addressed and written. Also did some re-organizing of my sewing cabinet to motivate me to get working on my ambitious list of homemade Christmas gifts. Why do I always leave all these projects until the last weeks before Christmas?!?

How was your Thanksgiving and how are you progressing on Christmas preparations?

Thankful?

Today I am seriously questioning my thankfulness. The day is not going at ALL as I planned.

Matt was up several times in the night suffering from a minor stomach-plague. He's been in bed all day. The kids have had several conflicts resulting in spankings, crying and whining. I'm wishing I could have had a few more months before Clive learned the word "mine". Have a major to-do list to accomplish before leaving for MI tomorrow and thus far I've completed a whopping two items on the list. One of which was accompanied by a seriously major crying fit thrown by my darling Chloe. In the public library of all places (the librarians know us by name).

Now that I'm sitting down and have a few moments to reflect I know that I am thankful. During a day like this where everything is going contrary to my plans I am thankful that God's not surprised. He planned this day for me and HE is sustaining me and giving me the strength to not turn into monster mommy.

I'm so thankful for God and His unchanging character and unceasing goodness to me! Regardless of circumstances, I have MUCH to be thankful for. (Not the least of which is a york peppermint patty recently consumed -- why didn't I buy two?!?)

And with that I wish you all a happy happy Thanksgiving!

A fun and easy Thanksgiving project

With Thanksgiving literally around the corner now, we embarked on an easy peasy thankfulness-themed project last week.

I fell in LOVE with this burlap placemat project linked on craftzine's blog and then adapted it slightly to suit our tastes. Pretty much it's a cut rectangle of burlap (no sewing necessary) and it uses a homemade freezer paper stencil to create an image for the kids to paint in the center.

Since we've been talking about and trying to exercise a thankful heart in our home lately (i.e. the cure for whininess) this placemat project was perfect. Around the edges I wrote a reminder verse with a sharpie (it's Psalm 107:1 if you're wondering).

Then I made a stencil out of freezer paper. I'm totally in awe of and in crafting-love with freezer paper. It was incredibly easy and worked super well. Next we got out some paints and sponges and Chloe and Clive dabbed away. (It's seriously an easy enough project for even a little toddler guy like Clive to participate in). Check out the step-by-step tutorial here.

Though the production was fun and easy the BEST part of this placemat project has been practicing thankfulness with Chloe. Every time we eat a meal, Chloe whips out the placemat and before she chows down she tells us something she's thankful for. At first she didn't quite get it. She'd just look around the room and spurt out whatever her gaze fell upon. But now that we've been doing this for several days it's beginning to resonate with her.

And her thankfulness is contagious! Matt and I usually join in and share something we're thankful for too. It's a splendid way to start out a meal.

Now if only I could get her to tote her placemat around to remind her to be thankful in our everyday situations. Like when her brother wants to color with her crayons, when she has to change out of her princess dress and put real clothes on, or just whenever she doesn't get her way. I'm guessing that will be a lifelong lesson. This mommy needs that thankful reminder throughout the day too!

What special Thanksgiving crafts or traditions do you employ to practice thankfulness?

A baby Chloe-ism

Last night Chloe wanted to listen for and try to feel the baby growing in my ever-expanding tummy. She put her head on my belly and quietly expectantly listened.

I asked if she heard anything.

Chloe looked up quizzically and said, in all seriousness, "No, silly mommy! She can't talk yet!"

Chloe then proceeded to say goo-goo ga-ga loudly on my tummy. Presumably the baby understood that. :)

And yes, Chloe is CONVINCED that the baby is a girl. She'll either be very disappointed or elated in another few weeks!

Hope this little Chloe-ism delivers a smile to your face on this dreary fall Friday!

Balance

Now that we own a super fabulous wonderful mini-van (NEVER thought I'd use those words to describe my mom ride) I'm tempted. Tempted to over-schedule and throw the kids in the car and go places.

One of the best things about owning one car for our family was knowing that three days out of 5, me and the kids were forced to be home for lack of wheels.

Though at times being home 3 days was a bit stifling (especially on Wednesdays when Matt also taught an evening class), it was comforting to know we could plan on certain down days. Me and the kids would hang out in our jammies until late morning, get some cleaning and laundry done, and just chill out in general. The kids certainly seem to thrive on at-home time especially after a few busy days of driving.

So, now that I have my own set of wheels I have to decide on our weekly schedule. Originally, I wanted to maintain my 3 days of at home status. Some weeks that doesn't seem possible. Already, this week that plan is botched. I gave into the temptation and took the kids out errand-running on a usual at-home day.

As the holidays loom nearer and the December calendar fills up, I'm wondering how I'm going to maintain this schedule balance. (I know the magic word is "no". My problem isn't merely saying no to things but realizing that oft times it's ME who wants to do a particular activity and it's not in the best interest of the kids. That means I have to be self-less and consider their needs as more important than my own. Ouch.)

My goal is still to be at home for 3 days a week during the busy holiday season. Involving the kids in homemade Christmas gifts and letting them play in their home environment will be activity enough. I'm reminded of the wise words, "A child's work is his play". As I plan activities for us I'm struck by the fact that some activities usually aren't as beneficial to them as just plain old playing or shadowing me in daily tasks.

Of course there's a balance we need to strike for our family. If we were hermits all the time that wouldn't be helpful or healthy either (though my husband wouldn't offer any complaints).

How do you maintain a find the balance between over and under-scheduling?

Chloe and Clive hit the lanes

Thanks to a friend's awesomely fun birthday party today, Chloe and Clive experienced bowling for the first time ever!

Both the kiddos enjoyed it but Chloe more-so since she's older. Once she got the hang of it, she happily bounced out by herself (she insisted on doing it herself) and threw the ball. Loudly. And her tongue came out with the exertion necessary for each throw.

I think we've found a fun family activity for the cold winter months! :)

It's an absolutely gorgeous day here in northeast Ohio. After supper we're hitting a favorite park to enjoy the remaining lovely mild weather of fall.

How did you spend your Saturday?

A problem that sucks

In the last few months Chloe has developed a rather annoying habit.

She sucks.

On her shirts, her fingers, toys, spoons, zippers . . . anything that's nearby when the urge strikes goes into her mouth. Of course, it isn't a constant sucking. I've noticed that she sucks things when she's rather in active. When she's watching a video, riding in the car, or listening to music the sucking begins.

I guess there's nothing inherently wrong with her sucking habit but during this cold/flu season especially I'm more leary of the germs she's imbibing while sucking. And in general it seems like a dirty habit.

I've rebuked her several times and she always stops when I ask. But then I'll find her sucking again later. I'm guessing it's a comforting habit rather than a teething issue since she's old enough to be past all that jazz.

Besides asking her to stop when she's sucking on apparel, my recent strategy is to provide her with a clean sucking apparatus (usually a spoon or a straw). That way at least I know she's not getting any weird germs in her mouth.

Have any of you encountered this? Is it a normal phase for a 4+ year old? If you have seen this before, what strategies did you employ to deal with it?

I'm not stressing out about this. She could certainly have yuckier habits! (And she does. But eating boogers is a pretty normal thing and I'm being a strict booger policeman when I catch her in the act.)

Christmas photo and free cards

No, the picture at left is NOT our 2009 Horn family Christmas photo. It didn't make the cut for obvious reasons.

We usually get the kids' photo taken at a cheapy-cheap portrait place and slide a copy in with each Christmas card we send out. Then I hand-write a quick 2-3 sentence note in each card.

I know that sounds laborious (and believe me, it is when we're talking about 50+ cards) but Christmas correspondence is the only way we connect with extended family and friends. Many of Matt's aunts, uncles, and cousins I've never even met but we've formed a relationship through Christmas cards. There are older ladies in my extended family too that enjoy receiving our cards and pictures each year.

Knowing the immensity of the holiday card project, I had already unpacked my Christmas box and taken out the cards and stationery for this year. (I always buy the next year's stuff during the previous year's after Christmas clearance sales.) I've already crafted a general address list and bought return address labels (check out the swell deal on these at VistaPrint).

To my elated surprise, I came across this deal advertised by Freebies 4 Mom for FREE Christmas photo cards. ABSOLUTELY FREE including shipping!!! Heather, the author of Freebies 4 Mom, will post the free coupon code sometime on Monday.

In anticipation of the free photo card deal, I dressed everyone in coordinating red and green this morning for church. If we're going to get gussied up for a photo shoot, might as well do it when we're already getting dressed up!

Are we the only crazy family that goes through this process of card writing and sending? How many cards/letters do you send out ? Do you opt for a letter or traditional card?

Mini-van mama

As of today we are the owners of a new-to-us mini-van! (And also as of today, I can punctuate that statement with an honestly excited exclamation point!)

Baby numero tres is due in April so we knew our teensy weensy VW Jetta wasn't going to cut it much longer. Hence we began the research into used mini-vans in our extremely limited price range.

I have never been a mini-van gal. I always envisioned our expanding family cruising around in a sleek black Saab or Volvo station wagon or a maybe a fuel-economic red Mazda5.

But alas, a mini-van was the best and most practical choice for our family. So, I must swallow my pride and embrace my new identity as a mini-van mama. :)

Which leads me to a question . . . How many of you drive mini-vans? If you're not a mini-van mama, what wheels do you drive?

The princess and the pirate

I can hardly believe Halloween has come and gone already! Can we seriously be in the midst of November?!? I swear time has sped up now that I have two bambinos to chase after.

We had a smashing (pun intended) good time this year celebrating Halloween! We don't do anything spooky or scary mind you, just plain old innocent dressing-up-and-collecting-candy fun.

Our neighborhood began the candy fest at 6:00 p.m. and we were raring to go. Clive was obviously confused about what was happening but he quickly got the hang of it when he saw candy was involved. :) He then became a non-nonsense pirate and often snatched an extra piece or two at each house.

Chloe was tickled to trick-or-treat with her little girlfriend, Sarah. They were BOTH princesses and looked so cute holding hands and prancing from door to door. Showing the depth (or rather, the lack thereof) of the 4 year old mind, both Sarah and Chloe excitedly compared candy winnings after each house. :)

And Chloe displayed her utter girliness once again by opting NOT to be a pirate (for the past few months we've talked up matching pirate costumes for Chloe & Clive) at the last minute. She sat whimpering at the kitchen table and finally burst out sobbing, "Mommy, I don't want to be a pirate. I want to be something pretty!" So, the cinderella dress-up dress came out and we improvised on accessories. The princess hat consisted of stapled poster board and my wedding veil! It turned out to be a tad bit too tall and needed constant adjusting but it worked. Chloe especially enjoyed decorating the hat princess-style.

Since we were only out for 45 minutes, the kids netted a manageable amount of candy. Our house rule is 1 piece a day (not including mommy and daddy of course).

How were your Halloween festivities this year? What did your kids dress up as?