Today's Redbox Code

Every Monday, Redbox has a code for a free DVD. Today's code is SNSDVD6. I haven't tried it yet. Adam is about to go get a new tire for my van since the one on it is flat (that's only a small piece of our fun car adventure but I'll post about that later). Anyway, I'll get him to try out the code when he goes. Also, it is rumored that if you use the code Cows now through Dec. 31 you can get a free dvd rental with a one dollar rental.

Blessings,
Dana

A Christmas of Presence...

This is really really long. Some of you have asked me to elaborate on what I meant by doing Christmas differently. Well here you go. So come back and read it in shifts. My counter will go up and I will feel like I have lots of friends. If you haven't watched the video that I posted a couple of weeks ago, this will probably make no sense at all to you. So do that before you proceed further.

Okay, I admit the title of this post is cheesy but I just couldn't resist.  So here's the deal with Christmas... When we were making our move to wonderful South Carolina, I was overwhelmed by our collection of stuff.. I've never been much of a shopper and when I do buy something, I'm thrifty. It thrills some people to spend money. Well, let's just say that it thrills me to pinch a penny until it screams. It's something my mom instilled in me. I thought she was packing picnics and taking us to the park because she was better than all the other moms. Turns out, she was more broke than all the other moms. Regardless, she taught me a lot about being resourceful and somehow managed to make it seem fun to me. So, I was amazed at how much stuff we had accumulated. Around the time of our move, I read a book called, "Serve God Save the Planet" by Dr. J. Matthew Sleeth. This book was written by a a a very educated medical doctor, and though I didn't quite go to the lengths he went to, this book, along with our abundance of stuff made me very aware of how wasteful Americans have become and how my family had contributed to that problem. I haven't gotten to the point where I'm willing to give up my clothes dryer, dish washer, or stop cutting my grass (or letting Adam cut it that is) as Dr. Sleeth has but I did start to make a more cautious look at our decisions and how they effect our economy and our environment. Since that point about six months ago things have evolved in our economy and I've become even more convinced that the fear I was experiencing about our actions was a reality.

There are so many events that have led us to the decision that we have made about Christmas this year and I don't think that I can accurately convey them to you without boring you to death. But, Adam and I have always been torn about the Santa Claus thing. We weren't sure if entertaining this make believe would be seen as lying to our kids and we were a little concerned that they might later confuse this relationship with their relationship with God. IE: There's this guy, he knows if you've been bad or good. He can see you but you can't see him... You get the point. But on the other hand, we didn't want our kids to "those kids" that ruin it for everyone else.. And, we have fond memories our our experiences with Saint Nick. Our faith made the transition so could it be that we can instill a faith strong enough in our kids? Anyway, our decision on that pretty much came to us just sort of downplaying the Santa Claus thing and trying to make sure that Christmas didn't revolve around it. We had already had a discussion with Emma and told her that we were only going to ask Santa for one gift so that he could buy gifts for children who's parents couldn't afford gifts. We were pleasantly surprised at how agreeable she was to the idea. And were pretty comfortable with that plan.

Until... Adam convicted me of a few things in a few of his recent sermons, one ending in referenced video.. Stinking preachers.. Seriously, he has podcasts on his blog and you really should listen to them. I often question whether God made me to be a preacher's wife but I never question God's leading in Adam's life.. He's doing what he was born to do. Don't worry, you don't have to leave me a comment telling me that God made me Adam's wife and if God made him a preacher then he must have made me to be a preacher's wife. I know that... I just sometimes wonder if this world is ready for that mold to be broken because man am I breaking it.. (sorry tangent) So anyway, Adam preached some convicting lessons of things I've been trying to tell him for years of course :). And then one of our elders challenged the church to raise $8000 to send to a community that doesn't have clean water. With $8000 they can supply a community with clean water... FOREVER.

Before I sound more noble than I am, let me say that about three months ago, I booked us a trip to Disney World for New Years. I had originally thought that this would be the main thrust of our Christmas anyway. Since I'm pulling in a little bit of money through babysitting and all of our off time when we lived in WV was spent visiting family, I decided we needed a vacation. Btw, it's a surprise for our kids so if you talk to them please don't tell them. Emma is going to be so excited. However, since I've never been, I'm not sure she's going to be more excited than I. So, once again, we sat Emma down and showed her a video about what we wanted to do. We told her that we were going to do one really great family present but we didn't want to do any other presents so we could send some money to this country that didn't have clean water to drink.. I told her that instead we were going to make a plan where we would do lots of family things together, like baking cookies and making ornaments for our tree and playing games and that sort of thing.. One of my proudest parenting moments was when she responded with, "I think a family present sounds really good. I've got plenty of toys".

So here's the nitty gritty of it all. Since opening presents is such a fun part of Christmas morning, and well, A Christmas tree just looks sad without them, I don't want to leave that part out. So, my plan is to make them each packages that have things in them to do each event.. For example: We're going to make family tie dyed Christmas pajamas. Oh come on, you know your dying to have retro pajamas that match your whole family.. I handed over cool for a minivan a couple of years ago. Do you think I care if I'm a dork? So in those boxes, I'll put each persons pajamas and some dye. We'll open those gifts and do those activities. The next box will have something like cookie cutters to make cookies. Etc, Etc..

And then, I've picked up various disney character items at the dollar tree and Christmas morning we will have a scavenger hunt where each disney item will lead them to the next item until we end with the last items which will be these amazing plush Mickey and Minnies that I found looking brand new with the tags still on them at a yard sale for just 25 Cents a piece! And along with there Plush Disney Characters that their cheap yardsaling momma picked up will be there DISNEY WORLD TICKETS. I've dreamed it all up in my head like most little girls do their weddings. (I dreamed of using the money that I would spend on a wedding on an investment. The wedding was for Adam.) Doesn't it make getting no presents for Christmas sound like the coolest idea ever? Well we will see. One day, they will either think I'm awesome like I do my mom or they'll get a good laugh when they think of that year mom went crazy. Either way, I'll never be far from their thoughts :).

So there it is.. Be thinking of any ideas that you might have for our Christmas family times together. I know that there is a lot of creativity among you mommy bloggers and I'd be honored if you shared. And I ask for your prayers for our sweet little church. It's full of people with struggles of there own that are so full of love that they put those struggles aside to help those that are struggling more. What a beautiful place to be.

Blessings,
Dana

Have You Fallen Off The Face of the Earth?

That's the question I've started getting. The answer... something like that.. at least it feels that way. Chloe has had a two month long ear infection. She has had three different antibiotics and a shot. We went to see an ENT the other day. The infection is gone but the fluid remains. Which apparently makes her very susceptible to another infection. The ENT wants to do tubes. Since that was the first ear infection that she had ever gotten and it co insides with when she started drinking cow's milk, the dr. thinks she may have a milk allergy. So, we're taking her off dairy. He also said that if we have any hope at all of clearing the fluid up without tubes, then I need to keep her away from all other small children for several weeks. So, I'm sleep deprived and I can't think straight and I have cabin fever ... Oh and did I mention that somewhere in the middle of this, Emma was throwing up for two days? So anyway, until I can get a little sleep, I'm afraid that all I have is one very long run on sentence and a plee for prayers.... I NEED THEM!

Oh, and a fun website for baby/toddlers. Fisher Price ABCs It goes through the ABCs and then sings the song at the end. Simple but effective. I found this when Emma was a baby. We did it all the time and she could identify all of her letters by the time she was two. Now, when Chloe sees me at the computer, she reaches her arms out for me and says, "AAAA" with the most delectable southern draw.

Blessings,
Dana

Christmas will be different this year...

The following subject has weighed heavy on my heart for quite a while. We're doing Christmas different this year. I have a plan that I hope I can unpack on this blog. My prayer is that this will be the Christmas that my girls look back on as there best Christmas ever even though we gave hardly any material gifts at all. Please join me in prayer that as parents, we all will teach our children the true joy of Christmas this year. Please watch the following clip and I'll be back soon with more details on the exciting adventure we'll take this year.



Blessings,
Dana

The Best Holiday of the Year!

No, not Halloween, not even Christmas... I'm referring to the extra hour of sleep we get tomorrow! Don't forget to set your clocks back!

Blessings,
Dana

Am I loosing my MoJo?

Since it's been a while since I got pictures of the girls, I decided today was the day. I had thought we'd make a trip to the pumpkin patch but the temp is cool and with ear infections abounding, this didn't seem like the best plan. So I ran each girl outside for a few seconds and snapped just a few. None of them were big fans of the idea.. So here is what we got.

First up is Maggie. Okay now for any new person that I might have stumble across here, Often when I refer to "my girls" I am including Maggie. I babysit Maggie. She's a part time child.. She fits in just fine but we all know that I could never have a child as calm as Maggie. Usually, Maggie is all smiles for her pictures but today, she had more of a look that said she was thinking, "oh my goodness lady, have you lost your mind? Can't you tell it's cold out here"? I promise we were only out there a couple of minutes..




Though the temperature was cooler, the lighting was much better this time of the day. By the time I got to Chloe, the sun was too high over head which is why they are in black and white. I do like black and white photography but I do black and white a lot because I'm not happy with the color.




Chloe was actually more cooperative than normal which is weird considering she STILL has an ear infection. That's right we're on our third round of antibiotics for this one infection. But I'm not going to go into anymore about that or I'll start crying.. Seriously, I feel panic when I think about it... Anyway, she was compliant but it wasn't the best time of day..

And last but not least is Emma. She kept wanting to lay her head on her shoulder or put arms out or give me the Chandler smile. But, I did sneak one that I liked pretty well. Again, wasn't crazy about the color..



Hopefully, I will get a chance to get some better ones but if not, this moment in time is officially documented.

Blessings,
Dana

Here you go... Dana on Politics...

We've almost made it. Less than a week to go and I've really pretty much avoided political posts. And, though I've wanted to avoid opening that can of worms, I'm afraid I may be doing it now.. I'm not going to tell you who I'm voting for. That's what those little curtains around the voting booths are for. But, this is the first time that I have followed an election so closely. I have re read the constitution. I have looked at charts of parties in the senate and in congress under different presidents of the past. I've looked at tax levels under presidents of the past. I've looked at tax plans and health care plans of the candidates. I've looked at court cases involving abortion. I have looked at poverty, abortion, education, divorce, economy statistics and how they relate to certain laws, governing, taxes, and the economy. I investigated almost every e-mail forward that I received giving me information on why I should not vote for a candidate. Just for the record, I found a lot of that information to be false. I received these e-mails from people pulling for both candidates. If you sent me several e-mails and I discovered the first few to be false, I wrote you off as an in-credible source on this topic. I will try to be open minded towards you about other subjects in the future. But I will do so with caution. I believe that you should investigate and make sure that information is true before you pass it on. Especially when someone's character is at stake. In an effort to get unbiased information, most of my research has come from historical records. There will always be various opinions but there are some irrefutable facts. Though, this can never be done completely, I've tried to start from a blank slate, putting everything I've ever thought about politics back up on the table. I have the desire to find out who I am for myself. The conclusion? I still don't know... But these are the things that I have discovered. Some of these seem to fit directly into politics and some don't. But in my mind, they're all connected. I cannot separate my views from my faith. I make no apologies for that. However, I do realize that my faith is my own and not yours. I welcome you here regardless of whether you agree with me or not. The question is, will you still welcome me? If I'm being honest, I'm glad that I don't fit neatly into one category..

I believe that political parties by nature divide our nation.

I believe in feeding the poor, clothing the naked, taking in strangers, caring for the ill, and visiting those in prison. I believe that when we do those things, it as if we're doing them to Jesus. Matthew 25.

I Believe abortion is wrong. However, I believe that if we insist that these children are born, we have the responsibility of making sure they don't starve to death once they are.

I believe in an honest days work for an honest days pay. However, I believe that the world is a better place when those that have more share with those that have less.

I believe that there will always be those that take advantage of a heart willing to help. I don't believe that relieves us of our responsibility.

I don't believe that children should be held responsible for their parents choices.

I believe that the idea that everyone in America has an equal opportunity for education is uninformed.

I believe that our economy might benefit from privatized social security. However, I also wonder if that could be disastrous.

I believe that America is the land of opportunity and we should never forget why we are here to start with. However,I believe that immigrants should have to pay the same taxes as Americans and that English should be the official language of the U.S.

I believe that taxes are sometimes a necessary evil. Especially when America is borrowing money from other countries. I believe it is Biblical to repay debts.

I believe that war is also sometimes a necessary evil but that God hates it and that we should always be moving in a direction of peace.

I believe that there has to be a way in a country as rich as America that everyone can have affordable health care.

I fear that outlawing firearms completely would put guns in only criminals hands.

I believe that true friendships can endure a difference in opinion and come away respecting each other.

I believe that you can never achieve right by doing wrong.. I don't believe that political campaigning is an exception. A lie is a lie no matter your reason for telling it.

I don't think that fear is a good motivator.

I believe that my first allegiance is to my God, not my country.

I believe that Americans could solve world hunger if they would reduce their Christmas spending by 10 percent and place it in MUCH more needed places.

I believe that as in anywhere there are always people who do bad things but I believe that at the core, America is a great country that wants to do the right thing. I'm proud to be an American.

I believe in all things.. moderation. Except in love and of that, there is no limit to it's benefit.

Blessings,
Dana

Thank You David!

Thank you to David for rescuing me with your spare memory card!

You rock but not as much as your wife whom I'm sure led you to my post begging for pity about my loss..

I love you both!

Introducing....

September's Student of the month: Emma Ellis..

I have to tell you, she's a really bright kid but sometimes, she misses the obvious..

Her school has a character trait every month and then a child who exhibits that character trait is chosen from each class to be student of the month.. Well, Emma came home at the end of September and said, "I didn't get student of the month, Lauren did". I said, "okay, maybe next month". Well, Lauren must have done something she got recognized for but it wasn't Student of the Month.

Flash forward a week or so, I open the newsletter, it says, "Congratulations Students of the Month" and there is her name.. So this is how our conversation goes..

Me: Emma, you did get student of the month, your name is right here.
Emma: Really? Is Lauren's there too.
Me: No
Emma: Oh, hmm.
Me: Did anyone tell you?
Emma: Yeah, the principal told us over the speaker.
Me: Well did they do anything else?
Emma: Yeah, they took my picture
Me: Emma, I can't believe you didn't tell me this, this is a big deal.
Emma: I forgot
Me: You got student of the month and you forgot. Emma, this is a big deal.
Emma: Okay mom, I get it, it's a big deal. Can I have a snack now?

This is the kid that her teacher last year called, "The class cheerleader" She would say, today we're talking about circles and Emma would be like, "Circles! I love circles! Circles are the best! You are the best teacher ever for teaching us about circles". And she gets student of the month and is like, "where's the potato chips"..

Well okay then...
So anyway, even though she acted like we were totally uncool parents for getting so excited, she decided it was a big deal when we told her we were going to Chuck E Cheeses to celebrate her achievement. Can you imagine how the teenage years are going to be?

September's trait was truthfulness and I will say, truthful she is, even when it hurts. But yesterday, she did break a shelf in the playroom and she came directly to tell me. I was proud of her for that.. Even though she was climbing on the shelf when she shouldn't have been.

All About Chloe

WARNING: This is long because I have a lot of catching up to do. Feel free to retreat at any point that this becomes too lengthy.. But, some have been on me for my lack of up to date information so for those OCD people in my life, here you go...

I have some sad, sad news. My 2 GB memory card is damaged and I can't retrieve the pictures from it. This is sad for a couple of reasons. First, it's my largest form of memory. The next largest that I have is 256 MB which only holds a few pictures so I will have to break down and buy a new one. And even more devastating, is that among others that I'm not even sure about, Chloe's birthday pictures were on there. I do have video that we can capture stills so I guess all is not lost but, depressing regardless.

Anyway, I have been following her around trying to get a portrait since her birthday when I got some that I wasn't really happy with. The following is the only one I even remotely cared for.





So, after many attempts to try to get the girl to sit still, I resisted my need to try to make all photos look professional and switched to a wider lens and used a flash (I hate using a flash). I followed her around for about 15 minutes (maybe even less) so when she gets older and wonders why there aren't many pictures of her at this age, I can prove to her that 1. She wouldn't cooperate and 2. I was so exhausted from chasing her that I didn't try as hard as I might otherwise have.

So here we go... 15 minutes in the life of Chloe

I had been cleaning out all of the clothes that were too little for her. I got up to do something for Maggie and forgot to close the drawers.. whoops!



Since Maggie and I were in my bedroom, she joined us there. Here, she stops to play with Maggie..
Ooh, is that the bumbo seat I see in mom's closet?



and this must be where my head goes..

I wonder if mom has anything fun in the bathroom...

and off to the livingroom, I'll help her with her coupons..

Oh no, she caught me..
I guess I probably wouldn't have used that coupon that she has wadded up in her hand anyway..


And this is how our days go.. As busy as a bee. Her because she's on a learning adventure and me well, I guess I'm on a learning adventure too!

And for my thoughts about her turning one that I haven't gotten around to yet:
I've said it all before, she's growing up before my eyes.. I love this age, but sometimes my arms ache for that baby that was gone too quickly. On occasion, I go back through this blog to remind myself that I was actually there her first year. I hate to admit it but there was so much going on.. job interviews, very little sleep, broken legs, moving, preschool graduation and so on that a lot of it is a blur to me now. So much has happened since then that it seems like ages ago. So many people have told me to soak it up... That is my plan for this next year but I'm afraid that no mother ever gets to the next age thinking that the one before took too long..

As far as her development goes... She's doing great... Running around like crazy and she has about 25 words. She loves to dance. She's pretty sneaky so I'm sure she's going to keep me on my toes.. We're still working on the weaning. It's hard when you wait until they can talk. She walks around behind me doing the sign language for more and saying "peas" (That is baby talk for please, not a reference to the taste of my milk)... It's sometimes more than I can take so, I'm just trying to remind myself that a year from now, I'll be longing for these days..

And now I leave you with some footage that I've gotten lately that I think depicts the sweet mess that she really is. It's kind of long too. I guess that's the theme for the day.. There was just too much that Adam couldn't cut when he was making the clip for me.

I have to say a huge thank you to my friend Julie for sending her the personalized CD for her birthday. She loves it! Listen closely and the first time they say, "Hey Chloe" you can hear Chloe say "hey" back :).






Blessings,
Dana

PS: Update coming on Emma soon!