Christmas 2008

Christmas was a little different this year at our house. It was a little more and a little less, it was quieter and also much, much louder. It came quickly and left even faster. Christmas is always a day full of promise, magic and hope. This year was no exception.



Santa stopped by our house this year. And as Jake so aptly noted, Santa didn't wrap his presents this year. My guess is that Santa ran out of time and possibly the Elves were unsure as to how to wrap a couple of the presents. But either way, he apparantly ate a few cookies, left a few gifts and was on his merry way.

There were two new blessings this year to rejoice in, two more stockings, two more voices, two more smiles. Sometimes less is more--and sometimes more is more, and with Em and cousin Cade, it is definitely the latter.

(Yes, Cade looks a little startled--he's just waiting for a moment when Emily will sit still--this moment will never happen.)

We promised on another fewer gifts this year, and for the most part I thought we stuck to that pretty well. But still, in the middle of the day, the house looked like this

and I myself have NEVER suffered from any type of organizational/neatfreak/OCD disorder. But I started having heart palpitations half-way through by the sheer chaos of it all!

Mostly, we just had a family kind of day. We ate. We ate alot. We laughed. We were together and that is the best kind of Christmas there is.

Abundant Show of Grace

Wow! So, today was a big day for the Eudaly's. We sent our first child in for surgery. I realize having your tonsils and adenoids out is relatively routine--my only retort for that is, it isn't routine for me. Still, it was the first time where I wasn't the one being rolled down the corridor of the hospital...it was one of my babies. And for the first time in a REALLY LONG TIME, I actually felt every single minute of a 45 minute time period. For the most part time moves really quickly for me, I am constantly looking at my watch and realizing it is somewhere between 5 and 20 minutes later than I thought it was. But today, every time I looked at my watch I was surprised to see that only 2 minutes had passed. I'm telling you it was like waiting for Christmas when I was a kid.
But, really besides those 45 long minutes, it was a great day. God showed up and proved his faithfulness by answering prayers again today. And don't try and convince me that it is a routine surgery, blah, blah, blah.
I asked God to protect my sweet boy today, and he did.
Period.
And I am so very thankful for this abundant show of grace....


We hung out in the pre-op room.


And played with the blood pressure and oxygenation thingy. Don't even ask me how much this drove me crazy. Or how funny Daryn thinks it is that I don't think we should touch ANYTHING in the room. If the nurse says "he needs to stay in the bed", I think that means he needs to stay in the bed, and of course there is a whole "do not touch anything in the room" that is simply implied. But Daryn is of a completely different mindset about the whole thing....I digress.


So, they blew up gloves into roosters (again the whole "don't touch rule" does not apply apparently) to keep themselves entertained until it was time to go back.


And afterwards a grape popsicle was obviously in order. And I suppose it was the MORPHINE (yes, they apparently use morphine...I don't know, I'm just the mother) that made him ask when Dr. Murray was coming to get him to do the surgery.

Obviously, the best part of the whole thing, riding in the red wheelchair to the car. And let me try to adequately explain how truly devastated he was that we didn't get to take the wheelchair home (he was planning on keeping it in his bedroom).

So, we pulled into the surgery center at 9:30AM and pulled out at 12:28PM--and stopped for McDonald's chicken nuggets and french fries on the way home (yes, he ate every single bit of it). And played ALL afternoon and had pizza for dinner and cheese nips for an after dinner snack. And I kept waiting for him to crash...but he was amazing.

Tomorrow maybe a different story. The pain medicine may have worn off. His throat may hurt. He may be tired. But today was a good day, really a great day. That's how I know that God showed up today. And what can you say but Thank You?

Thanksgiving 2008

Ok, so Thanksgiving was great this year, because I got to sit at the grown up table. This may not seem like the major accomplishment that it is, but unless you have made it to the grown up table, only to be pushed back to the children's table by the birth of your offspring, you cannot truly appreciate the delight of making it back...it involves crystal goblets, linen napkins and not having gravy in your lap.

And, Thanksgiving was great this year, because we spent it with family and friends who are like family. And it was great because we have so very much to be thankful for...even when there are times when it is hard to remember that. And great because, honestly, part of my day looked like the picture below....

Matthew 5:13 says "You are the salt of the earth."...and I like to think that we are "salty" people...and I'm just keepin' it real.

And part of our day looked like this, and there is nothing in the world like a smile from a pretty girl!

Honestly, I see that smile and I am just a puddle on the floor (don't let him know if he smiles at me he could get away with anything).

Then the kids headed down to the creek, and got wet and dirty and filthy and cold. And they stayed outside for the better part of the day. And I'm sorry, but life just doesn't get any better than that!

And our day involved the most ridiculous giggles!

And a little bit of this.

And come on...look at that dark flash of eyes, and lips that look like they might almost pout if you give them a chance. How can a day with a girl like that not be bliss?

How can a day like that not be bliss? I am so full of thanksgiving....

Sunday, Sunday

To my punks....

So, I've been taking pictures of the three of you together. I'm always hopeful of getting the perfect picture...which as much as being aesthetically pleasing basically just involves all three of you looking at me and simultaneously giving me some measure of a REAL smile (not that weird "there's a camera" smile). This is WAY more complicated than it sounds. My goal is always something that looks sort of like this....



It's cute....there's nothing wrong with it.....it's just that to get ONE picture like this, we have to get eight seven that look like this....





Um, seriously...don't even have words. What is going on here? And is it weird that I am just standing there photographing the whole thing? That's the problem with my new camera, it takes pictures so fast that I just stand there continuing to press the button, oblivious to what it is I am actually capturing on my screen.


And that was just the sort of day that it was yesterday. Not a great day, not a bad day...just a day. And really who can complain about that. After a week full of colds and stomach bugs, sometimes an average day is just about as fantastic as you can get. And really, I am surrounded by this...



so you won't hear me complaining. I love you glorious little peanuts...

snugs and bugs,

mommy

These little intricacies of you

NickyBo,
My little crackerjack! Wow, do I love you!!!! Do you have any idea how much I enjoy being around you? I love having little moments with you, like when we are driving back from taking Jake to school and you are asking me a ridiculous number of questions about concrete, and about Jesus being in your belly, and how you found brown spiky gumballs on your nature walk with Miss Barbara.
I even enjoy listening to you and Jake bickering back and forth and you saying to Jake in a resounding voice:
"Jake! Don't speak to me in that tome of boice!"
Or, that you say "Yes man", when you mean "Yes ma'am".
And can I say how my heart melted when you hugged me the other day and told me I was "your best girl". I have never been so glad to be anyones girl in my whole life.
I love these little intricacies of you. And you are changing and growing at this completely mind boggling rate! Literally you are more of a little boy and less of my baby every morning when you wake up.
I am so incredibly glad that you are mine. I am so grateful for wonderful you.
You were a prayed for, hoped for, wished for child. And you have so completely surpassed anything that I could ever have imagined.
You are delight to me. You are joy and hope and blessing.
I love you forever, no matter what.
xoxoxoxoxo,
Your Best Girl

For My Mom...

So usually, I write about my sweet babies, or about being a mom. But instead, I wanted to write about MY mom.

My mom, who for the past seven weeks, has completely stepped out of her daily life to come and watch my babies. And the great thing about her watching my kids is that she doesn't just "watch" them, she parents, because she loves them, as if they were her own. And she does laundry (which is an entirely separate post which includes lots of grovelling and thank yous).

My mom has a sharp wit, a sly laugh and great thoughts. She's not big on hugging and cuddling, but she is huge on talking. She will talk about anything with my kids, and she's not scared of the big stuff. She likes to ask questions. She likes to make them think. She is happy to share her opinion. I love this. I love knowing that when the kids are with her she is asking them questions, and remembering what they say to her. She can always tell me exactly what happened while I was gone (we call it the "blow by blow")--and I love hearing it, because it makes me feel like I was there.

My mom swore that she would never do this. This, so completely, full-time gramma sort of thing. And then Molly and I totally rooked her into it. And I hate the being away. I hate that I am missing so many little moments of their days. But I love that we are all in this together. I love that I am "in the trenches" with my mom and sister. I love that Nick is so excited to see Yaya every day. I love that she has made him think that this is all one big adventure.

My mom is my hero, she always has been. I want to be just like her when I grow up. I want to be full of wisdom and grace. I want my children to want to be with me, and to be able to depend on me. I want to have a sharp wit and great thoughts.

There are no words to say how thankful I am. There are no words to say how much I love you. But I am, and I do.
I love you forever and always no matter what mom. I really, really do.
xoxoxoxo

Disarm them, and then do what you want

My Sweet Little Cupcake,
We got to spend some time together today. Just you and me. Just me and you. Time like this is a precious gift these days. These days are spinning and whirling and dropping away--faster and faster, like sand at the very end of an hourglass. And you, precious little snuggly little you -- how is it that you are days away from eight months old?
I love to watch you. You are going to be an unstoppable force. And already, you are so coy -- your smile is your weapon of choice. Disarm them, and then do what you want. And I know that you do it, and I watch you do it, and you do it to me--and goodness me, I let you. I am so very charmed by you, by your dark eyes and the tilt of your head that accompanies your smile, and your very wet open mouth kisses, and your "ma ma ma ma ma".
I am so glad your are mine.
You are treasure from heaven,
xoxo,
mommy

Are You Ready For Some FOOTBALL?

Ok, so it's Sunday, and as with so many homes in America...that means football. And, as you can see, we are attempting to create our own football team (we are lacking depth in some positions, but that's a separate conversation).

I love watching the Big D running with his boys. There is laughter and giggling--and even though the object of the game is to AVOID being tackled, they both seem to run right too him, and slow down, and laugh in anticipation (maybe we aren't explaining the game right).

This is big time sport in our family. It's every man for himself.



See, it doesn't matter that he's 3. We take no prisoners.
Oh, wait. Maybe he's just taking a nap...


And just because every post around here needs some pretty....

Enchanting Emily

Little Emily of Mine,
What a delight you are, to me and everyone around you. Yesterday in church three grown men stopped what they were doing to touch you on the cheek, and you flirted with every one of them. You are engaging, enthralling, enchanting...you are Emily. My Emily.
"With wild abandon, I cast my lot with yours..."
love,
mommy

Doesn't it just make you want to swing?

So, today was a good day. A great day actually, just because it was so completely average...and average is something I have been longing for lately. No places for us to be, no reason to be rushing around, just hanging out together as a family. So, we decided to head to the backyard -- place of endless fun and fascination....as you will see.

So, the morning started out pretty much like this. Yes, a bucket full of horse apples. I wish we could find something creative to do with these things. They are horrible, disgusting, hateful things....and they are EVERYWHERE.



But nevertheless, we relish a chance to build family camraderie so the boys picked up horse apples (and I picked up a camera).