Christmas 2010

What a good Christmas we had this year! There is something so amazing about having a child at Christmas...their excitement, everyone's excitement about seeing their excitement, coupled with the magic and holiness of the season...pure heaven!! We went over to my dad's on Christmas Eve day, so we could open presents with my stepsister and her hubby and my stepbrother and his fiancee. I think Caleb has a bit of a crush on Miss Erin...he hugged her at every chance he could get, haha! He got some fun presents there, napped for maybe 20 min on the way home, and I tried to get him to sleep before we were supposed to go to church that night. HOWEVER, Bryan had secret errands to run and got stuck and so we didn't make it to church after all...I was VERY sad about this, but he told me he had a great story to tell me the next day that would make up for it. (And he did) We went to my mom's house that evening with my brother and his wife, where we ate dinner and opened more presents. Got home SUPER late, opened our traditional Christmas jammies, Mommy had a photo session with those jammies, and put out cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. Read the Christmas story and then we put Caleb to bed, and started playing "Santa". Santa's big gift to Caleb this year was a GeoTrax Christmas train that we put around the Christmas tree. He also brought him some "big boy" tools and a blue truck/book about blue trucks. We are trying to start the tradition of Santa bringing 3 gifts, since that is what the Magi brought Jesus. We fudged a little this year b/c we thought it would be fun to put out the stuffed Bob and Larry, too. We were up late but Caleb woke up about his normal time (7:30) on Christmas Day. We woke up to a BEAUTIFUL White Christmas, thank You, God!! The first thing we did was sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and blow out his candle. It was SO sweet. Then he went and saw what Santa left him! He was SO excited about the train that he didn't want to open anything else...his stocking, his other Santa gifts, any of it! LOL! It literally took us THREE hours to open gifts, only because he was so poky with opening them and then wanting to play with them! Halfway through we ate breakfast, made by Daddy. Around 10:45/11 Caleb had what I am calling the Meltdown of 2010. It was epic. I think it was a combination of no nap the day before, a late night, normal wake up time, extreme excitement and stimulus overload, sugar filled breakfast, etc. I gave him a warm bath (that lasted, um, 30 seconds) and then laid him down for a nap/rest. That did wonders. I think it was just TOO much, and too much unlike his routine. This is a child who loves his routine!! Anyway, we used that time to get dressed and ready to go to my dad's. Went to my dad's around 1:00 and lots of family were there. My dad and his wife, brother and SIL, my aunt and uncle, Cousin Tom and Cindy and Noah, Cousin Greg and his wife Binnie, and my stepmom's dad Guy. Caleb was the center of attention, again, and he played that up to his advantage, haha. No nap again, ate Christmas dinner, and opened more presents!! I think the biggest present hit was Noah's train sets that he graciously donated to Caleb...they are a mix of the electric train Thomas sets and another kind that uses the small Thomas trains but isn't electric. He could have cared less that they weren't new, and he got all kinds of use out of it today!! Here are some pics of Christmas Eve and Day.

 Petting Bella the cat at Pop Pop and Nana's house

 First gift--a Mickey Mouse that sings "Deck the Halls"!! His fav character and his fav Christmas song!

 Getting ready to leave Pop Pop's house Christmas Eve

 ZONKED. For 20 min at least. ;)

 Playing with his new Mickey Mouse 1 man band drum from Gigi Christmas Eve night

 I think we might have a future musician on our hands!

 Christmas Eve jammies!!!

 "Oh SANTA! Where ARE you???"

 His big gift from Santa

 Santa wrote him a note!

 Happy Birthday, Jesus! (And yes, I know He is older than 1!)

 Loving his train!

 Tools! Like Daddy's!

 With Nana and Pop Pop

 With Cousin Tom and Cindy

With Uncle Matt and Aunt Ashley and Sophie!

Thankful

Wow, it's been a while since I've blogged!! Sorry about that (all you many readers, haha)! Just been so busy with other things. I thought I'd take a few minutes to do a Thanksgiving post, and get back on the blogging bandwagon. Things I'm thankful for this year:
1. Jesus. My Everything.
2. Bryan...I couldn't do it without him. He is an amazing husband, daddy, and example of Jesus to me and many others. I so don't deserve him...but so happy I get to have him anyway. :) I'm also grateful that he works as hard as he does (4 12-hour night shifts a week in a position that he doesn't love to pieces) so I can stay home with Caleb. That is a huge blessing.
3. Caleb. Every day brings more and more reasons to love this little boy. Have we had tough moments this year with the 2-year-old transition? Yes. But overall, he is so funny, smart, sweet, loving, adorable, polite, etc etc etc...and I've learned so much about God's love of us through my love for him. I love him fiercely and treasure every moment where he thinks I'm the best thing since sliced bread. :)
4. Family. I'm so blessed to have my mom, dad and stepmom, and brother and sister-in-law close by. They love Caleb to pieces and for that I am grateful. It is so nice to have my dad back in Kentucky.
5. Friends. I've made some wonderful new friends this past year through a moms Bible study, got some unexpected friendships through church that have taught me so much, and deepened friendships with others. I am also grateful for my parenting message board friends, many of whom know me better than even some of my friends in my day-to-day life.
6. Peace. This has not been the easiest year for us in some ways, as some things didn't happen the way *we* wanted them to...but God has continuously given me the peace that passes all understanding. I know that He is in control, not me...and that His ways are not my own. I trust Him and pray for HIS will, not my own, to be done, in all circumstances.
7. Freedom. Freedom to worship without fear and to live in a country with so many things we take for granted. Freedom is never free, so I am thankful to those who fight and have fought for this very freedom we have today.
8. My church. I love our focus on loving those most in need in our community, and the faith we had to step out and purchase the Richmond Rd. property so many more can come to know Him. I love our pastor's heart and the worship each week that gives me a preview of Heaven. I also love that Caleb finally enjoys his time in the nursery.
9. Our house. It's nothing fancy, but it's ours (well, the bank's, technically, but you know...). It is warm in the winter and cool in the summer. We have running water and food in the pantry and fridge. We have clothes in our closets and 2 crazy dogs who curl up with us every chance they get. Yes, there may have been that gross sewage leak, but I'm grateful we had the money to fix it.
10. Health insurance. Sounds strange, but without it, we'd be up a creek without a paddle right now.

So those are my top 10! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I promise to blog more!

A Day at Aldersgate Camp

                                                                    Ready to go!

                                                He did this by himself when we got there!

                                              Meeting one of the goats. He loved them!

                                                               In the campfire pit

                                                       My favorite place in the world

                                                             The covered bridge

                                                                      The lodge

                                                      Throwing rocks in the creek

                                            Mommy was so happy he was so happy at Aldersgate!

                                                 Mommy and Caleb on the  covered bridge

Aldersgate Camp is truly my favorite place in the world. Set in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, it is like coming home every time I pull into that driveway. I spent my first week of camp there the summer before 8th grade, and went back every year after, and was a cook on staff there in the summer of 98. It is truly a special, holy place, and I have such amazing memories of my time there. I asked Jesus into my heart that first year, and rededicated my life to Him with each passing summer. I made friends there who are still my friends today. I fell in love with more boys from camp than I can count on one hand, hahaha! :)  I learned songs I sing to Caleb each night..."Blessed Be", "Ain't no rock," "Sanctuary," "Love Him in the morning"...and, someday, "Pharaoh Pharaoh," LOL! I will never, ever forget the summer of '94, during Leisure Ministries week, how we acted out the book of Revelation throughout the week...having my name called out of the Book of Life, going to "Heaven", hearing "well done, my good and faithful servant", rescuing people from "Hell" aka the sewer pits, singing "One Name" under the most beautiful night sky I've ever seen in my life, complete with shooting stars. I remember my summer on staff there as a cook, getting up at 5:30 to start breakfast, being so dog-tired at the end of the day, the houseboat on staff weekends, the silly pranks and belly laughter, begging to go into town and to Applebee's on taco night because we were just SO sick of tacos...the smell, the mess, the clean-up, the romances between staff members that led to future marriages and babies, the staff Bible studies each week...the list could go on and on. I remember church retreats and also retreats with the Wesley Foundation in college, all of which have special memories of refocusing on what is TRULY important in life, and getting away from the "real world," even if only for a weekend.

I've been wanting to take Bryan there for a long time, but wasn't sure we could just go up and walk around. I found out we could, and I was so glad to get to do it. I would love for Caleb to get to experience Aldersgate like I did, but not being a part of a Methodist church anymore, I will have to be proactive about that! Families can rent out a room in the (air-conditioned/heated) cabins for the weekend-I think that would be a lot of fun to do, and we plan on it!

It is hard to put into words my feelings about Aldersgate...it truly helped shape me into who I am today, it gave me a foundation for my faith, it helped me get out of my introverted self as a young teen, it showed me the importance of a community of fellow believers, and showed me what true faith and what loving God really looked like. So many times we would be at camp and ask ourselves, "Why isn't it like this back home, in our churches? Nobody seems "into" their faith--it seems more like a weekly chore, something to check off the to-do list...the sermons aren't that relevant, the singing isn't heartfelt...etc etc etc." We knew what we had at camp was special. I am glad to have found a church now that IS on fire, excited, and putting their money where their mouths are, so to speak...I am beyond grateful for that. But Aldersgate will always hold such a special place in my heart.

Four Years!

Today was Bryan and I's 4 year anniversary! It is so hard to believe that it has been 4 years since I stood on that gorgeous beach in Jamaica and said, "I do." So much has changed since then...we adopted Bentley and then took in Cooper, Bryan got into and graduated from nursing school, I had a baby and quit my teaching job, we bought a house, saw our little boy turn 2 this summer and took our first "real" family vacation, and now Bryan has started school again to advance further in his career...and so many little things in between the "big" stuff!  Are things always perfect and wonderful and amazing? Of course not...things are sometimes mundane, stressful, or a million other things...but I can't imagine having anyone else by my side than Bryan. He is consistently patient, loving, helpful, thoughtful, and sooo very good to me. He is my rock and I am so grateful that God brought him to me. I pray for many, many more years with him (if he'll keep putting up with me!!), with many more milestones being met with each passing year. Love you, baby!

New pipes, sewage, and expired home warranties...

So, a few months ago I smelled something funny when I got out of the car, coming from the vent that leads to our crawlspace. I thought maybe it was a skunk that had died under there or something. But it was blazing hot and nobody wanted to get under the house to check...plus, the smell seemed to go away. But then the other day, I smelled it again. Bryan went under the house and said it was definitely stronger down there, but that he didn't know what it was. So we had some people come and check it out. Well...turns out our old pipes had started to corrode, and sewage (i.e. stuff from the toilet) was gushing out every time we would flush, probably for the past 6 months or so. LOVELY!!!!!!!! So, they quote us $1200, which we luckily have in our emergency fund, but were NOT happy to have to write a check for! And then I was talking to my mom and she asked if we still had the warranty on the house. Bryan checked and it had expired FOUR days earlier. GRRRRRR!!! It would have covered $1000 of it. Sigh.  I almost wish we didn't know! BUT, it is our first big thing that has happened, so we should be grateful it wasn't worse. So, now we have pretty, new, white PVC pipes, yippee! Never thought I'd care about pipes. :) Ahhh, home ownership.

Our Mackinac Trip

We had SUCH a great time on our trip to Mackinac Island, MI. My mom watched Caleb here at the house, so we got to go blissfully ALONE! It was about a 10 hour drive, but it was amazing how much faster it went since we didn't have to stop every couple of hours for one reason or another. We got to talk, listen to music we wanted to listen to (as much as I love Veggie Tales....), and feel like newlyweds again! We got to Mackinac in the afternoon (by ferry!), and right away I loved it! No cars are allowed on the island, it is all horses/carriages or bikes. It is right on Lake Huron (I believe), and is just beautiful. Only 8 miles around! You immediately notice the smell of horse poop, but that goes away soon...because you also immediately notice the smell of FUDGE!!! There are seriously a million fudge shops in one small strip of Main Street. I found out the locals call tourists "fudgies" because we all come and buy their fudge. :)

Anyway, we walked to our bed and breakfast, The Inn on Mackinac, and found out our room had been upgraded to a bigger room with 2 queen beds instead of 1! Yay! After unpacking, we headed across the street (literally) to a little cookout for Greg and Binnie (my cousin and his now wife!). We saw family-my dad and his wife, my aunt and uncle, my cousin Tom and his wife Cindy and their son Noah, as well as others. It was wonderful to have to wear sweatshirts and jeans since it has been so ungodly hot here in Lexington lately! We walked around downtown after the cookout and later stopped and grabbed a slice of very yummy pizza!

The next morning, the day of the wedding, it was raining!! We were worried because the wedding was planned for outside! Luckily, it cleared up and we got to take a "taxi" (horse and carriage) to the Grand Hotel and walk around. This is where a large part of the movie, "Somewhere in Time" from 1980 took place! It was amazing! Don't think we'll ever be able to stay there, though...most of the rooms go for $200-300/night!!! It was really neat to see, though. The whole place makes you feel like you've stepped back into the early 20th century.

After this, we walked back to our B&B and got ready for the wedding. The wedding was held at another B& B down the road, in the garden. It was small and intimate, and a very pretty setting. We headed back for the reception at the same place the cookout was afterwards. After the reception, Bryan and I decided to rent bikes and bike around the island. That is truly one of my favorite memories of anything I've done with Bryan, ever. It was flat (important for my out of shape self), gorgeous, lots of places to stop along the way for photos, and we were able to do it in a little over an hour! Ahhh! I loved it!!!
That night, we went to dinner with all the family at an Italian place, and it was really great. My dad paid for it for our anniversary, which was super nice. It was great to get to talk to different family members and just enjoy being together. We were really tired after a long day of fun, so we turned in early.

On Sunday we had hoped to have time to explore some more, but it didn't happen. We also had a brief thought of driving to Rob Bell's church in Grand Rapids (I think!), but we found out it was 4 1/2 hours away, so that was a big no. It was basically the same distance from Lexington to his church as it was from Mackinac! Instead, we went to a brunch held by the newlyweds, which was yummy, and then basically had to leave, since we knew it would be such a long drive home. We hated to not get to do more, but it just means we'll have to go back sometime when we don't have other commitments!

The drive back home seemed a LOT longer than the drive there, but we stopped at a huge Christmas store (the biggest in the world apparently) which was quite the experience! We got home late that night, and it was good to sleep in our own beds again, but we already missed this magical place! We missed Caleb dearly, but loved getting to see him the next morning; he was all smiles and hugs. :)

                                                      This was the taxi to the Grand Hotel.

                                                   The Grand Hotel's famous front porch

                                        A carriage going up a residential street near the Grand Hotel

                                                            The road up to the Hotel

                                               Dad and Christy in our taxi to the wedding

                                                                  Before dinner

                              Completely out of order now. This is on our bike ride around the island!

                                             Our bed and breakfast, The Inn on Mackinac

                                          St. Ann's church, right next to our B&B. So pretty.

                                                         Bikes, bikes, and more bikes!

                                                                              By the lake

                                                   The happy couple and wedding party

                                                  My love and I...married 4 years October 2!!