Looking back

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm feeling pretty drained from the holidays. As Dan said, we had five Christmases. So that's why I haven't blogged lately. But looking back on the holiday, I think the best moment was when Isaiah came down the stairs on Christmas morning and saw his new train set. Dan and I had set it up the night before, so he came down to see it going around the tracks. It's still the gift he has played with the most.

Christmas Gifts from Samuel

Believe it or not, Samuel did give me two great Christmas gifts. First of all, he's been sleeping through the night since about last Wednesday. I'm starting to feel like a human again because I'm getting a decent amount of sleep at night. That is a great gift! Second, he started smiling on Friday. I carried him for nine months, and now I've been looking at his adorable face for about six weeks now. It's just indescribably rewarding to finally see him smile. It's addicting. For the past few days, everything I try to do takes me twice as long because I keep stopping to get Samuel to smile again. I just can't get enough of it. I understand why God tells us that children are a gift from Him. Thank God for my two cuties.

Spending

I've seen a lot of commercials advertising after-Christmas sales. On a Home Depot commercial I heard the pitch, "The more you buy, the more you save." It sounds so appealing because who doesn't want to save money? But think about it. Think about your bank account's bottom line. The more you buy, the more you spend! So don't get suckered into misleading advertising. Enough soap box.

#50

This is my 50th post. It's Christmas. Isaiah was a blast. Samuel slept through a lot of it. I'm a little overwhelmed by the pile... no... mountain of gifts piled on the counter. It was a great day though. We started out at home, then went to my mom's around lunch. We came home in the afternoon for a mandatory nap time (for everyone!), then went to Dan's parents for dinner. I know that Christmas without kids is kind of boring, but Christmas with kids can get a little out of control. Is there a happy medium? I don't know. But it was great. I hope yours was too. I guess the most important thing I'd like to leave for my 50th post is that I'm thankful to have so many great family members nearby. We are very blessed to have them all.

Ringing the bell

On Friday I rang the bell for the Salvation Army. I had never done it before, but I think I'll do it every year in the future. I was surprised by everyone's generosity. Almost everyone who walked by put something in the kettle. Age didn't seem to matter. Little children, teens, and people in their 20's, 30's, 40's etc. donated, including a man who told me he was 91 years old! I was singing while ringing the bell, and when the 91-year-old man came over I happened to be singing "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear." He told me that he knew that song when he was a child. I inferred that he used to go to church when he was younger but did not attend any more. I encouraged him to go to church on Christmas Eve. He agreed that it would be a good idea but didn't really say he would go. He said the worst thing about living to be 91 years old was that all his friends were gone. How sad. He just seemed like a nice, lonely man. So who knows. Hopefully he'll attend a Christmas Eve service and meet Jesus. Wouldn't that be great?