A Day Seems As a Thousand Years

Oh, wait, I guess it was supposed to be the other way around...well, I'm not God. Waiting for Corwin who is now overdue makes me think about waiting for Jesus to come back. I KNOW he's coming soon so I'd better be ready, but keeping everything organized, clean, stocked, and packed is really getting old. Then I have family asking every 5 minutes if anything is happening which makes me feel loved and defective at the same time. Ha! One of my Bible study questions last week was, "If you knew Jesus was returning in 2 weeks, how would this change the way you are living now?" It made me immediately think of how I'm living trying to be prepared for Corwin's arrival and yet how none of that stuff is really important. If I knew for sure Jesus was coming back in 2 weeks, I'd be spending a LOT more time in fervent prayer for many dear lives and probably actively evangelizing my children to the point that they'd probably die from the intensity of it ;)

While we've been waiting, Wally got overly ambitious with the treehouse...

Just kidding. We came upon this sight at our new park just a block through the woods. Needless to say, Wally is very excited. (Sorry about the dates, camera malfunction).

Rhianwen and Alden have been playing "babies" daily. Meaning, they are running around with baby dolls who fuss and disobey and occasionally are happy and eating. Perhaps they are better prepared for parenthood than we were :)

Then again, maybe not. Rhianwen's baby is in her "sling" and she is rock-climbing with her.

We've been acting out some of our Bible stories like David and Goliath, and Alden, bright mind that he is, insists on playing the part of God. "I'm God.", he says. Sadly, I hadn't thought of that as a choice, but it proves that Alden understands more than I do. God is the major player in every story!

I've been realizing too that having perspective on life can be good and bad. I am always finding myself wishing that the little things that are ridiculously upsetting (like a broken orange turtle silly band that, before it was broken, was not an object of attachment by a certain 4 year old) would just be seen as no big deal. I never really know what to do in these situations and probably generally say way too much, am not compassionate enough, and expect immediate results. Anyway, this lack of perspective on the part of my children can be a blessing because it also means that they can live in the moment in ways that I never will be able to do. Enjoying life freely, fluidly, spontaneously, and joyfully the way my children often do are all part of living life with a very narrow perspective. Yet in some ways it is very freeing. I'm trying to understand how to reconcile being responsible and yet living in the moment too. I know it has to do ultimately with trust in God and knowing He has richly given me all things to enjoy (I Tim. 6:17b).

The reason for my philosophizing. How challenging children are but what a blessing to be stretched.

Funny quote of the week by Rhianwen: "I really wanted a Chinese muffin!" (meaning English muffin).

Getting Ready for Corwin

My big belly, although Rhianwen said, "Mommy, I thought you said your belly would be really really big at Christmas time.", as if it's not. Sweet girl ;0)

Since we were here over most of Christmas break (including Daddy who had planned much time off), we started getting the nursery set up and did some projects around the house. It was wonderful to put away the decorations and get ready for the little guy. Daddy set up the crib, put up new cubby holes in the nursery, took down lots of boxes from the attic with the mobile, playmat, the swing, clothes etc. He also got to work on putting up a new tree-fort after tearing the old one down (our kids were stepping through holes in the press-board floor). He's using an old deck from our neighbor, and it will be quite the creation when he is finished.

Some very sweet generous friends threw a shower for us. We had a good time of prayer which was so encouraging! It really helped me feel more ready for baby. (This is a diaper cake just in case Uncle Christopher is reading this ;0) I even was able to purchase an Ergo carrier with all of the wonderful gift cards from my friends!

I've been working on setting things up and "personalizing" the nursery. I made a new boppy cover, a little sheet/blanket for Corwin with his initials, and a cute little stuffed owl that turned out to be way easier than I thought. I followed the pattern given here. Forget paying $50 at Pottery Barn, use some scraps and your sewing machine. It really is one of the easiest sewing projects I've ever done.

Corwin's owl (his only stuffed animal so far...although I've thought of having Rhianwen choose out of her plethora to give him a gift).

This is what Rhianwen and Alden were doing while I sewed. They said they were "putting on a show". Yeah, some show! But they were being quiet and non-destructive, so I was fine with it.

They really loved stuffing the owl.

The blankie, good for keeping warm in a slightly cool car or for swaddling or for lying on or for decoration.

The nursery isn't as together as I'd like it to be. We need to remove some extra furniture, but it's ready for Corwin if he came which is what matters. Wally is gone to GA this week, so I'm praying baby will wait until later to come!

When asked what Alden will do when Corwin comes, he says, "Pet him."

Christmas Documentation

Putting up the last advent symbol.

Preparing for the Christmas play. They take their parts seriously. (sorry about the red-eye!).

Hanging the stockings with care.

I expect most people are ready to move on to the new year and don't want to see another Christmas blog, but I must document for posterity's sake. The week before Christmas, we all consecutively acquired a lovely stomach bug. This was in direct answer to my prayer to God that "if we were going to get this thing, please send it before Corwin's arrival and before Christmas". He graciously acquiesced starting with Wally and ending with Rhianwen on Christmas Eve. Amazing to say the least! God really does answer prayers in detailed ways! So, Christmas was a quiet one of recovery and no travel and ended in lots of snow. It was really quite lovely.

My Christmas morning favorites: reading Luke 2, running down the hall yelling "Jesus is born!!!", singing happy birthday to Jesus, Rhianwen and Alden insisting that "baby Jesus" (ie. the baby doll in the basket from the previous night's Christmas play) be in the family room before opening any gifts.

Blowing out Jesus' birthday candles.

What Rhianwen did for most of the day: fashion stickers.

What Alden did most of the day: drilled.

Good thing it's not a metal pole.

Falling in the snow. Thankful for snowpants!

We postponed our trip to Conway until New Years to avoid infecting anyone. Sadly, this meant missing seeing Uncle Skipper.

Great Grandpa and a real live Tam o' Shanter straight out of Peter Rabbit.

The marble run fascinated everyone. I think Uncle Christopher and Wally had more fun with it than the kids!

Tickle time with Grandpa.

Grandma Nanny Kim reading Rhianwen's new favorite book: The Paper Princess. I got it from Goodwill, and when it arrived, I saw it was signed by the author including a little hand-drawn sketch of the paper princess!!! I love this story too, so I'm so glad I'm reading a book daily that I enjoy. Alden's new favorite book is The Knight and the Dragon, very cute too.

My parents are selling their house, and Rhianwen asked, "How can they fit that house in a store?". So cute. She manages to ask new questions every day even if it's about a book that I've read to her 10 million times. It keeps things interesting, and I hope I am encouraging her curiosity most of the time. Sometimes, all I want to do is rush through and pack them off to bed.