This year, we got the flu for Christmas! Getting sick wasn't in the plans, but the Lord knows best. Tom came down with it late in the day on Christmas Eve, and by the next morning, we were all sick except Ruthie (who never got it--praise the Lord!). I was really worried that my family would get it, because we had spent Christmas Eve with them. Two of them did end up getting it, but thankfully it didn't spread through the whole family. Our Christmas plans with my extended family were canceled, which was extremely disappointing to me. My sweet mother encouraged me to remember that the Lord has a good purpose for the timing of this.
Tom and I both agree that the longer we are parents, the more we feel grateful for all our parents did for us. As I had the flu I thought about how nice it would feel just to lie in bed and do nothing all day. However, parents can't do that--at least not with four children under four (or both parents can't do it at the same time anyway!). I called up my mom, and told her how much I appreciated her loving service all those years as she cleaned up after all of us kids when she was feeling bad herself!
A few days before Christmas, we had Christmas with Tom's parents and Ed and Susan's family who were out for a visit. We had a full fun day with them. The children always especially enjoy being with their cousin Peter!
In other news, Ruthie is growing like a weed, and is the most cheerful, content little sweetheart a mommy could wish for! She will squirm with delight when we speak to her, her face wreathed in smiles. She spends most of her time in her bouncer seat, watching the world go by. She rarely complains. It is like she knows how busy her mommy is.
Julie's hair has finally grown long enough to put little pigtails in at the top of her head. I so enjoy doing my little girls' hair! Julie has been adding all sorts of words to her vocabulary right and left. She is constantly saying "ah done" (all done) whenever she wants a change to happen. If she wants you to pick her up, she'll say, "ah done" (all done being down, I guess!). If she wants to eat, she'll say, "ah done" (all done being hungry! :)), as well as for all sorts of other things! It keeps us laughing! She is our little cuddle-bug, and loves to sit and have you read to her.
Bethany and Michael are becoming more and more like twins. Those two are inseperable! They don't like to play alone nearly as well as playing with each other. They come up with the cutest, funniest games. Michael has been becoming more and more active, and it takes an incredible amount of time and energy to enforce the rule, "no jumping on the beds or furniture". He likes to play like he is a dolphin jumping in the water (dolphins are a new favorite of his), and will fall down to make a "splash". I often wish I could borrow some of that energy for myself!! It really is amazing that we've had such few injuries with our active little boy--the Lord is watching over us!
It has been fun to notice that the kids are now starting to say, "please", "thank you", and even "I'm sorry" without prompting sometimes (definitely not every time, but I feel encouraged with the progress). However, we still have a bit of work to do, because they often say both "thank you" and "you're welcome" whenever they thank someone! I have been trying to teach them to let the other person say, "you're welcome", after you thank them, and not to say it yourself!
A few weeks ago, after the kids had long since been in bed for the night, (or so I thought), I was in the den and I heard some commotion in their room. I opened the door, and what a sight met my eyes! The light was on, all the toy tubs were out from under Bethany's bed, and Michael and Bethany had dragged bedding down there and made beds for themselves. The blinds were pulled up in a crazy fashion, and Julie was standing up in her crib, watching this circus. It was such a huge mess in there, it was all I could do not to laugh. I had to duck back in the hallway and compose myself so I could be serious when I dealt with the disobedience! Sometimes seeing the funny side of "disasters" has its downsides! :) When Tom and I go in to check on the kids before we go to bed at night, we often find Bethany asleep on the floor with her pillow. I don't know what the fascination is with sleeping on the floor! Daddy is the one who lifts her back in bed, so she can wake up warm and cozy.
During this next year, it is my desire to focus more and more on Jesus, and to lay aside the weights and distractions that the world has to offer. For years, Hebrews 12:1-2 has been my life motto, and it is for this year, too:
"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith."
**Credit for the title of this entry goes to my cousin Anne, who also got the flu for Christmas, many states away** :)
The last few weeks have zipped by so fast! I can hardly believe that a week from tomorrow we'll be decorating for Christmas (we like to decorate the day after Thanksgiving).
Tuesday we took Ruthie to the doctor for a "well-baby check-up". She is over 12 lbs. now, which is about 4 lbs. over her birthweight. Her weight is in the 90th percentile, her height is in the 98th percentile (yikes!), and her head is in the 100th percentile!!! Our "tiny" little baby isn't actually so tiny, according to the charts!
Last Sunday morning, Tom's parents had to evacuate their home due to fires close by. They came to our house and spent the night and the whole next day, until they were allowed to return home again (thankfully, their home was not damaged). Our small 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom home was actually quite adequate to fit everyone while they were staying here. The children had lots of fun playtime with Grandpa and Grammy during the day, which included playing trains, dolls, reading books, playing outside, making cookies, etc! We had a nice time with them, and are so grateful for the Lord's protection of them and their home.
Last week we went over to my family's house for a day. Around lunch time, Tom and I left the kids with them, and went on a "date" together, for the first time since Ruthie was born. My family has a whole row of restaurants within walking distance of their house, which is really convenient! It was so good to be alone together, and actually eat a whole meal without getting up! After lunch, we went and had a smoothie at "Jamba Juice". Of course, we had to share one smoothie with two straws, just like we did about a month after Tom started courting me. Tom's mom was with us during that first trip, and I'm sure it must have been awkward to watch the two of us sitting there smiling at each other with all sorts of mushy sappiness, sharing a smoothie with two straws. :) :) Such sweet memories..no pun intended! :)
When we were first starting our family, I had the goal to get a professional family picture every year. However, last year my brother Andrew took a family picture that we liked much better than our professional family picture, and I realized that professional isn't always the best for this wiggly family! The children don't smile nearly as well for a stranger as they do for people we know. Besides, trying to figure out an appointment time around nap schedules and eating times isn't always easy with four children three and under! So this year, our living room was our studio, and a white wall was our backdrop. My sister Rebecca was our photographer. I told her she would be doing a good job if she got most of us to look at her. She was successful, as she got all of us to look at her except Ruthie (which is nigh to impossible). Ruthie's eyes were open, and that was good enough! Rebecca even managed to get a real smile out of Michael and Bethany--not a cheesy fake one, as is becoming common with Bethany! Thank you, Aunt Rebecca! You took on a pretty tough task! :)
Today I'm going to the dentist to get two cavities filled for the first time ever. I have enjoyed a relatively problem-free mouth for many years, and I guess that is ending now! I'm grateful to the Lord for 24 years of no cavities, and I'm grateful to my parents for being really strict about the sweets when I was growing up. :)
We just updated the fall photo gallery with over 30 pictures, for those of you who are interested in scrolling through all the ones at the top to get to the new ones. :)
In my Bible reading, I have just finished reading through the Psalms. I was especially noticing the huge emphasis near the end of the book about praising the Lord. What a timely reminder with Thanksgiving right around the corner. We have so much to praise and thank Him for! Most of all, I praise Him for sending His Son to save us from eternal hell (which we all very much deserve) if we put our faith in Him. Thank you for your mercy, Lord!
When Ruthie was about a month old, we decided it was time for me to learn to "fly solo" during the day with four children three and under, and so my sisters both stayed home, and I began to run the house by myself during the day. There isn't much time for anything else when I'm here alone with the kids! At night, when Tom gets home, we are concentrating mainly on feeding everyone dinner, tucking them all in bed, and then maybe spending a few minutes with each other if we get the chance! Though the schedule is pretty intense at times, it really is possible, "through Christ who strengthens me". My dear sisters left a special gift for me, too--quite a few frozen dinners in our big freezer! Does that ever help! I am trying to stretch them, and not use one every night of the week! After two weeks of being by myself for most of the day, my sister Rachel came yesterday to help out for half of a week. She is catching up on the baking, and I'm hoping to get some "extra cleaning" done (like dusting) while she is here. The house smells like cinnamon, because she is making cookies. I don't usually have time to make cookies, so my sisters try to keep us stocked. :)
During the month of October, we got to go to my family's house for part of a day, to celebrate the Jewish "Feast of Tabernacles" with them. We are not Jewish, but we enjoy celebrating the Biblical Jewish feasts because of their rich symbolism. During the Feast of Tabernacles in Bible times, the Israelites built houses out of branches to live in for a week. The cut branches get dead and brown rather quickly, so obviously the "leaf houses" are temporary! This symbolizes how temporary our lives are on this earth. For Christians, our real home is in heaven. We had fun celebrating one day with my family! While I was there, I worked on sewing something for Bethany. However, I was trying to modify a pattern quite drastically, and it wasn't turning out the way I hoped it would, so I never finished it!
Tom's brother's family came out in late October, and we got to spend several days with them. It was good to see them again! We got a special surprise on the first day we were with them. Our little nephew Peter was wearing a shirt that said, "big brother"! Our children will Lord willing have another little cousin around the fourth of July! :) We got to spend a couple days with Ed, Susan, Peter, and "Sparky" (their baby in the womb), along with Grandpa and Grammy Johnson, and we enjoyed that! We didn't get many pictures, though, because we managed to forget our camera on one of the days we spent together!
Ruthie is growing a lot, and is a very happy, content baby. She is very loved and doted on by her affectionate siblings. They are very sweet to her, though sometimes Julie's affection is a little too rough, as she loves to squeeze her tightly. She enjoys "kissing" her little sister, too, by touching her lips to her--it is really cute. :) Bethany is our little "mother hen" and loves to rock Ruthie in her bouncy seat, or arrange her blankets.
One of the children's favorite games is when I chase them around the house growling, and pretending to be a bear (usually on all fours). They run away from me screaming and laughing, and when I catch them I tickle them. They like to do this again and again! A few weeks ago, after playing this game with Michael and Julie, Michael said to me, "Cute little Mommy. Thank you, Mommy". :) :) I never expected to be called, "cute little Mommy" by my three year old. Needless to say, my heart melted. :)
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13
It is so good to have little Ruthie here at last! Michael, Bethany, and Julie absolutely love her! They want to touch her, pat her, hold her, and "play with her" as often as possible! I think Michael is liking having a new sibling added every year. In fact, he seems to be already looking forward to the next one. The other day, he patted my tummy and said, "another baby?" I hope he wasn't thinking that my post-baby pooch was a four month pregnant belly. :)
Ruthie is a very easy baby, and has adjusted remarkably well to her active, noisy family. She doesn't seem to mind the many rough pats from her well-intentioned siblings. :) As long as we swaddle her, she is usually fairly good at night (for a newborn), and hasn't spit up a single time yet (I will probably regret speaking so soon!)!
My mom stayed with us for a little over a week after Ruthie was born, and that was SO much fun. I always look forward to having my mom come after a new baby is born. She has that special way of cooking that tastes like home, and that special knack for making me feel so pampered and cared for. She also helps me tremendously by organizing different parts of our home that need help. This time, she cleaned out kitchen cupboards, organized our storage areas in the den, helped me clean out my clothes and pack away my maternity items, altered some of my clothes that didn't fit right, trimmed my hair, etc! This is all in addition to lots of talking time. She always encourages me to seek the Lord more dilligently, and to trust and rest in Him. Her own life speaks the loudest of all. I sure love her!
My siblings came over last Thursday and met our little Ruthie. It was so much fun having them here! We all sat around the living room for awhile in the afternoon, and talked and laughed about funny stories and adventures of the past. I am so grateful that I got to grow up with so many siblings! We sure have fun together!
Yesterday Tom's parents came over for a full day of playing and working together. Tom and his dad took down part of the swing set, and replaced it with a much bigger one! There is now room for four swings instead of two! Michael, Bethany, and Julie often like swinging together, and this way, no one has to be left out! We are very grateful for Grandpa Johnson's help on this project, and the babysitting and yummy lunch provided by Grammy! :)
This week my sister Rebecca is here, which is a tremendous help, as I don't have my energy back. I am enjoying every minute of this help, because I know that all too soon it will be just me at home during the day, with four children three and under! I doubt there will be many "recent happenings" entries during those first rough weeks as I learn how to be a mommy of four!
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