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?