Love Came Down at Christmas by Christina Rossetti

Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, love divine;



Love was born at Christmas,
Star and angels gave the sign.

Worship we the Godhead,
Love incarnate, love divine;


Worship we our Jesus:
But wherewith for sacred sign?

Love shall be our token,
Love shall be yours and love be mine,



Love to God and to all men,
Love for plea and gift and sign.

Drop

oh my, it seems child #2 has descended into the lower reaches of my abdomen. At only 33 weeks it seems quite early for "lightening" and we'll know for sure at my doctors appointment on Tuesday if in fact this sensation is the kiddo dropping or not.
I maintain that it is because all day today the pressure in my lower regions has been incredible, I forgot all about that little bit of fun. I also am peeing roughly every 45 to 50 minutes.
But truly the miracle in all this is the oxygen. The beautiful lung filling air that I have been breathing deeply of since 8 this morning. So much so that my husband posited that perhaps I was high.
We are settling in for the non-stop week that is our Christmas week, keeping our eyes on the prize that is the 2nd week of January when everything finally calms down. Having a husband in ministry means I am a "Christmas widow" but this year we have lots of visiting friends and family to keep me occupied. :)
This last month means a lot of changes for us, so I am hoping that the smallest member of our family stays put for a while and lets us catch our collective breath!

Various and Sundry Presents from the kitchen

you can ignore this or place your order!

Spiced Hot Cocoa Mix

Apple Cranberry Sparkler hand pies

Tart Cherry or Blueberry Scones

Brown Sugar Shortbreads

Gingerbread Ladies

Tea Cookies

Caramel Sea Salt Brownies

Girl Trap Chocolate Peanut Butter kisses

Dulce De Leche

Peasant Bread

Cheese Crisps

Also I figure meal vouchers with a little sample menu attached wouldn't go awry...

Morning Music

the "you may have already seen these holiday gems on Facebook" edition


Song for a Winter's Night by Sarah McLachlan, a seasonal favorite of mine...



Can I Interest You In Hannukah? from Stephen Colbert's Christmas Special...hilarious.




Christmas Song by Dave Matthew Band...just discovered this one and I absolutely love it...

Monday, November 29th. 7:30 pm

My posting here has been sporadic. I know why (I want to spend as much time as possible with my only child while he's still an only child) but I thought I should at least post a little tiny week to week, just to keep track of this insane journey. O shudder to think of how giant my belly will be in 10 weeks if this is how big I am now!



Colin is still the amazingly brilliant, hilariously funny, totally creative kiddo he has been. His personality shines, and while we have power struggles now and then (oh LORD don't get me started on the nightmare that has been potty training), he is overall just a joy to hang out with. He's got strong opinions and is fairly shy, so it takes him a little bit to warm up to people. But once he's warm, you're in. He has been quite enjoying the attention from the college kids we minister to at church. The story of how we found his godfather, an amazing 20 year old guy that Colin calls "Mr. Sean" and who has been unfailingly loving and awesome with my kid, is a funny story in and of itself, but suffice it to say the boys scoop him up and wrestle with him and the girls all want to kiss his face.
He loves building things and is still narrating his play, he does voices now and it's so amazing. He has taken to repeating the most inopportune things so I have had to re-instate my swear jar, just to save our more delicate eared friends the horror of hearing a 3 year old drop an f bomb.



The most wretched bit of pregnancy has arrived. That space of time where most everything hurts as one's body stretches and bends to accommodate the little wiggle worm inside. Babylove is a kicker as opposed to a roller like his brother and the comparison has been amusing. He also seems to be on a specific schedule and it makes an easy going, schedule averse parent like myself nervous. Is this an indicator of a temperament? or just how this gestation is going to roll? It's lucky for my husband who knows to get out of the house before the 8:00 hormone induced meltdown occurs and he only has to hear it on the phone.
Good news came in the form of blood test results, my liver and gallbladder are functioning normally! So while I am still fairly itchy I know that I am also processing toxins like a champ! WOOOO!



Of late I have been fretting over our name choice. This has hit once or twice since we decided and I know it's because in not telling people the name I don't get the constant feedback I like to have. Not that it would change my mind one way or the other I just like to see how people react to the name we have chosen to know how they will react for the rest of his life. Luke finds it amusing and irritating but goes with it, voting on the new names and steering me back to the one we both really do love. The middle name is kicking my ass, I just can't settle...I guess it will have to wait until he arrives. And maybe then it will all be clear.

I hope you all have had a marvelous holiday season kickoff with Thanksgiving. Ours was so low key we didn't even take pictures. We just enjoyed one another and a little Aggie pride when A&M defeated Texas soundly. :)

The numbers

Weeks along in the pregnancy: 29

Age of 1st child: 3 years, 7 months feels like however old a tornado or an earthquake is.

Age of mama: 28, feels like 115

Number of naps 1st child takes daily: 1 if I'm lucky

Number of naps I need to take daily: 7

Number of movies my kid has watched while I dozed on the couch next to him because being on my feet for longer than 10 minutes totally exhausts me: way to many to count

Attempts at potty training we are on: 3 (and surprisingly, I am not tearing my hair out)

My guess at the number of weeks I have left to tie my shoes by myself: 2

Number of creative contortions I have to employ to fall asleep at night: at least 5

Amounts of amusement I derive from the countless configurations our family takes as we share our giant bed (contents include, one very pregnant lady, one 3 and a half year old, one long suffering husband): massive

Ounces of water I drink daily to stave of Braxton Hicks: at least 70

Number of joints in my body that are incredibly painful at any moment of the day: at least 6

Weeks that have felt interminably long despite the arrival of my beloved cold weather: the last 3

The amount of irritation I feel at myself for ceaselessly bitching about being pregnant: infinite

Plans for Thanksgiving that involve Texas: 0 (tear.)

Plans for Thanksgiving that include anything: 0 (thank goodness)

Pies baked in the last month: 4

Pies I am planning on baking in the next month: 6

Cures for non-stop itching attempted: 10

Cures for non-stop itching that proved totally successful: 0

Number of pants I own that still fit me: 0

Number of pants that I borrowed that still fit me: 2/4

Degrees outside: a gorgeous 60

Price I am going to pay for a kids haircut today: $5 (yay!)

Number of weddings my husband will work in November and December: 8 (who knew that winter was such a popular wedding time in AZ?)

Number of weddings I will be at with my husband in November and December: 1

Number of amazing friends and family who have offered to watch Colin and give us date nights, naps, or adventures before the babylove comes along: Innumerable

Thing I have to be grateful for: COUNTLESS...


so now you're all caught up.

Thanksgiving preparation

"Mr President, Christianity is not demonstrated through a recitation of facts. You're seeking evidence of faith. A whole hearted acceptance of God's promise of a better world. For we hold that man is justified by faith alone, is what St Paul said. Justified by faith alone, faith is the true shibboleth."

West Wing Episode: "Shibboleth"

no joke, this scene had both me and my husband in tears. It's a lovely lovely episode, from a lovely lovely show. That has never been replaced on TV.